There are plenty of people on the Border who come up with innovative business ideas, but may not have the courage, know-how or financial backing to make them a success.
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A new initiative called Startup Shakeup will start working with these innovators over the next 12 months, following a $400,000 grant from LaunchVic.
The collaboration between Wangaratta, Indigo, Benalla and Mansfield councils will be headed up by Emma Jones.
She said the project aimed to help the region develop new skills and keeping those people, and their ideas, on the Border.
Statistics show that 97 per cent of Victoria’s startups are based in Melbourne, even if some of them were developed in regional Victoria before people moved away.
“We know that regional divide doesn’t really exist and want to totally debunk that myth,” Ms Jones said.
“A region like our is rich with people who are out-of-the-box thinkers, ideas people and there’s heaps of people who can make stuff happen. It’s just pulling all of the that stuff together and packaging it all up so we can attract some serious investment.”
The first initiative will be “challenge workshops” in each of the four municipalities where LaunchVic experts will discuss some of the challenges to regional startups.
“We have a huge opportunity here to make some serious connections with mentors and people who have done this and to learn from them,” Ms Jones said.
“It’s a new way of having an income, but it’s not something we’re going to see overnight or even at the end of the 12 months.
“This is just 12 months to get something started that will continue to attract investment and reinvestment over the next decade.”
She said failure was inevitable when trying to launch startups, which was not always a bad thing.
“You got to be prepared to fail, and to jail in a fail in a regional town where it will follow you at the school gate and in the supermarket and at it the footy,” she said.
“It’s a big deal to stand up and say ‘I’m going to try this’.
“That’s why it’s really important we surround them with supporters and people who will still egg them on and help them.”
Innovate NEVic steering committee chair Ilena Young said the group was thrilled to have Ms Jones working with Rohan Latimer and Jason Townsend of Jewellers Coworking – an online co-working space for people who work from home.
“Together they will support local startups, businesses and social enterprises, with high-impact potential that use innovation to create scalable (global) tech and non-tech solutions,” she said.
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