Back to UQ: Judging the #TransformLaw KWM Prize!

On Tuesday I had the pleasure to be on the judging panel for the #TransformLaw KWM Prize! The event featured six teams made up of UQ students who scored the best in the written portion of the competition.

The 2-4 person teams needed at least one Law student and one non-law students and were looking at the role of technology in addressing the a law and justice issue. Of the six teams that pitched, three pitched an issue and solution that was a bit “generic” in the sense I could see these startups feature in any startup event. These three teams were addressing what I would consider “sticky” problems because the underlying issue lies with human psychology and behaviour. That’s not to say their ideas couldn’t work, just that the go-to-market case would be more difficult.

The other three teams did address problems that required insider knowledge of the justice system. Two of the teams overlapped in that they were trying to improve access to legal access by improving the intake and assessment process of the not-for-profit legal sector.

The clear winner was Team PEAM addressed issues around mediation where the emotions of one or more parties can hinder the mediation process. It was clear that they had done a lot of research into the problem. They also had customers ready to take up their product. They had run trials with their prototype and while their solution will probably need a few more iterations to perfect, what they had accomplished in eight weeks was truly impressive.

They won by a huge margin and apparently, were a bit of a Cinderella story as they barely made it into the final pitch based on their performance in the written portion of the competition. I am glad they did make the cut and won on the night. I can see them being successful with this idea if they stick with it and get the right guidance, connections and mentoring along the way.

Anyway, it was a fun event and I am glad to have been invited. This was my first role as a judge and I got a gift of a Tirtyl starter pack to go with my evening of pitches!

I am back at UQ this weekend as a mentor for the weekend of startups. So watch this space for more on that!

Catalysr Pre-Accelerator Concludes!

Last Wednesday, the 23rd of June, the Catalysr Pre-Accelerator program came to an end, and with it, so did my time as one of the two Brisbane Chapter Leads!

I enjoyed the experience greatly and I hope I was able to add some value to the participants. Because of the nature of the program, there was a huge number of people during the first couple of sessions but the cohort self culled from those who were motivated enough to apply but did not have firm enough ideas or commitment to continue for 12 weeks. But those who stuck to the end have solid ideas that I believe they are committed to pursuing to the best of their abilities.

As we still live in the shadow of COVID, the program did not run as intended. Because originally, the community sessions were supposed to be in-person. But the Brisbane chapter moved to online and was combined with ACT because just as the program started, Brisbane was put into a snap lockdown. Overall, I was glad for the change as I was able to manage my time better with the sessions being on Zoom.

Of course, as the program went on, we had COVID lockdown refugees from Melbourne and while some people did wish that the sessions were in person, even more, were grateful it was online. Catalysr will have to resolve this issue for the next iteration of this program.

Other issues facing Catalysr is that too broad range of participants. I was hosting people who were already undertaking a pilot, while others were still identifying a market niche. The pre-accelerator felt like it was combining a full entrepreneurship education program with a Startup Weekend. So that was one of my feedback to the operations team. I suggested that they consider hosting a weekend-long program that focuses on transferrable skills around market research, niche identification and idea generation that can also be applied by migrants and refugees in other aspects of their life like job search, identification of areas of education and then those who come out of the process with ideas are better suited to spend a longer period of time exploring what it would take to turn the ideas into a business.

That said, I think many of the folks in my cohort had great business ideas and I can’t wait to see where they go with them. I have given them my contact details and hopefully, they will stay in touch! I will also do my best to stay involved with the Catalysr program and do what I can to add value.

Finally, Catalysr has launched its accelerator program for businesses that are a bit more mature. I have encouraged a few of the participants from the Brisbane-ACT cohort to apply and I hope they will make the cut!

4 weeks down, 6 weeks to go as the Catalysr Pre-Accelerator's Brisbane Chapter Lead

Here are some snaps from our first #community session on the 7th of April 2021. NSW, VIC & SA #cohorts got an opportunity to meet in person, and NT, QLD, WA & ACT cohorts met online. pic.twitter.com/s4CR5NAssN

— Catalysr (@Catalysr) April 8, 2021

Given how silent this blog has been, you would think that I had gone into a mini-lockdown! But the truth is that April was packed for me. Especially Wednesdays, as the Catalysr Pre-Accelerator program is in full swing.

So far, the program has covered:

• The Entrepreneurial Mindset

• Human-Centred Design

• Prototyping & User Testing

• Understanding Landscape & Competition

I have enjoyed facilitating the community sessions so far. The QLD-ACT cohort has some exciting startup ideas germinating. Hopefully, I’ll play some part in helping some of the ideas take hold. But I am also learning a fair bit, and developing my facilitation skills. I am looking forward to the rest of the program!

Implementing Digital Transformation to be more Efficient and Effective

As part of my effort to give back to the communities that have helped me, I presented a free webinar for Sarina Russo Entrepreneurs. So here's me giving an introduction to digital transformation.

I hope I brought some value to the attendee. I am in talks with Sarina Russo Entrepreneurs to do a webinar on more specific implementation steps that business owners can act on. So watch this space for more information!

Sharka Bosakova's 3D / OVA Kinetic Jewellery Now Funded on Kickstarter!

Thanks to a lot of hustling by Sharka, her 100% Plant-Based, Sustainable 3D Jewellery Kickstarter got funded! By the time this post goes up, there should be just under 48 hours to go on the campaign. So if you want a Thorn earring, like the one I am wearing, you should back the campaign now!

It’s been an interesting experience being on the other side of a Kickstarter campaign. My involvement with the campaign was as follows;

• Initial idea and encouragement

• Helping Sharka with setting up the campaign

• Copywriting for the campaign page

• Helping with the layout, the look and feel of the campaign

• Seeking feedback from r/Kickstarter on Reddit while Sharka got advise from her network

• Writing the press release and putting it out on free press wires

• Setting up and launching a Facebook Ad campaign

• General technical support and assistance with community engagement

• Setting up Mailchimp and helping with Mailchimp campaigns

The marketing campaign was not effective and really hammered home how much more I have to improve my sales and marketing skillsets to be an effective entrepreneur and business owner. I had success with Facebook Ads before, but I forgot that the algorithm changes all the time, and so what worked last year would not work this year! There is a reason why digital marketing agencies exist.

That said, I was shocked by how expansive marketing packages are for Kickstarter campaigns. Like you have to pay a fee upfront to get the marketing material, and then some even took a cut of the money raised! It’s prohibitively expansive for small projects, and there are so many agencies that it’s hard to tell who is worth it and who is not.

As this was the first Kickstarter campaign for both myself and Sharka, although Sharka has previous experience crowdfunding through GoFundMe for her Madagascar Project, I think it was good to do or attempt to do everything ourselves as we went through the Make 100 small project track. But perhaps in the future, I’ll look more into marketing agencies.

I am glad I got to see behind the curtain. I have learnt a lot, and I am hopeful that we’ll finish strong. So please back us today and get your own sustainable modular jewellery!