Expert boost for new businesses
Calling all entrepreneurs with a plan!
Startup Queenstown Lakes is running a new 10-week Startup Booster Programme to help founders take the next step towards launching their business.
The programme, which begins 20 August, has drawn together a team of industry leaders to deliver insights and strategies, and will provide a clear road map for anyone who has already crystalised their business idea into a plan.
“We’re aiming for founders who have quite a firm business idea, who are able to define their idea with a Lean Business Canvas, which includes a definition of the problem they’re solving, who their clients will be, how they want to make money, and what their costs are,” Marco Dingemans, SQL General Manager & Business Coach, says.
SQL also runs kick-start programmes for those who’ve not yet developed their ideas and lift-off programmes for founders ready to launch.
“But this Booster programme is for mid-level founders who are really committed to turning their idea into a reality,” he says.
SQL’s team - Dingemans, High Growth Startup Coach Jinene Clark, and Community Manager Monette Russo, will be joined by a stellar line up.
They are co-founder of Wildcard Josh Champion; business innovation advisor Zane Trevarton; Mainland Angel Investors network manager Peter Ramsay; legal expert Derek Roth-Biester; operational and financial strategist Mike Goodman; and ethical and sustainable business professional Becky Jane Fox.
They are all donating their time, which allows the course to be provided for a super cheap $299, for Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago district residents.
“All these people are amazing at what they do and can charge a lot of money for the advice they give, but they want to give something back to the community and donate their time and knowledge to a new generation of founders.”
It will be an in-person course, usually 4.30pm - 6pm once a week, at the Liger Academy in Frankton, as Dingemans says SQL has found in the past online courses can lack follow through, as people can switch off more easily.
“There’s an accountability happening in the room, from the coaches and the other founders, for the ideas and the homework ... all good natured and positive.”
Founders go through an application process to get onto the course, including an interview, and at the end of the 10 weeks there is a compulsory pitch night, where they will use all they’ve learned to pitch to investors and the group. The course is also supported by Amazon and Google, so participants can use their credit system to access online help.
“And the coolest thing is we’ve spoken to Business Mentors South and they’re offering a year-long mentorship on from this course. Some programmes, once you’ve finished, you’re let go and might fall off a cliff. We don’t want to happen. So for the ones who graduate and we find are really serious, there’s this ongoing pathway.”
The course is supported by Queenstown Lakes District Council, as part of the push towards diversifying the economy.
“We’re not just about tech, although tech businesses are often the easiest to scale, and grow beyond the borders of the district, which is one of our aims. If you run a brick-and-mortar shop, that’s not so easy to grow, but we’ve worked with some amazing people over the years in the tourism-related businesses, health, hospitality-related. There’s lots of outdoor products created here too, which makes sense when you look around.”
Dingeman says those who are interested should get their ducks in a row relatively quickly, as the course begins in two weeks and there is an application process.
Visit www.startupqueenstownlakes.com/startup-booster for more info.
