Home ANTBITES (Media Releases) The 2019 Collider Program is helping a new generation of creative entrepreneurs...

The 2019 Collider Program is helping a new generation of creative entrepreneurs bring big ideas to life

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Australia’s next wave of creative tech entrepreneurs and business leaders are turning their big ideas into bright futures with the commencement of the 2019 Collider Accelerator Program.

Nine startups from across Australia were chosen to participate in the industry-leading Program led by entrepreneurs and specialists and tailored specifically to founders and enterprises operating in the exciting creative tech sector.

They span the spectrum of the creative tech space from a social network for the podcast community to a training platform for video storytellers; an artwork rotation scheme to an Indigenous art licencing portal; a location-based messaging app to a cloud-based video editing app; beanie-like helmets to digital handwritten cards; to data-driven strategies for esports.

This is the third year QUT Creative Enterprise Australia (CEA) has delivered the three-month startup accelerator with the Program’s unique focus continuing to draw national and international attention, according to CEA CEO Mark Gustowski.

“It’s rewarding to see in our third year that more than half of our founders now hail from interstate and have relocated to Brisbane to intensively grow their businesses with Collider,” Mr Gustowski said.

“This clearly reflects our impact in the creative tech and entrepreneurship sectors at a national level while strengthening CEA’s reputation in the Southeast Asia region.”

What does this program offer founders?

Collider Accelerator is an intensive three-month Program – including a week-long immersion in Thailand – culminating with a Demo Day on July 18 where founders will present their companies to prospective customers, partners and investors.

Collider has been specifically designed to support creative entrepreneurs with growth challenges including business models, market and customer development, team development and finances.

Across Australia, the creative industries represent more than six per cent of the total workforce, in excess of 120,000 businesses and contributes $90+ billion annually to the Australian economy.

Collider’s nine startups also receive $30,000 in pre-seed funding from CEA and benefit from the shared wisdom of industry experts, led by Entrepreneur-in-Residence Chris Heuer.

Mark Gustowski

What experience does he bring at the helm of the program?

The US-based entrepreneur has launched or co-founded a dozen companies including creative agencies, software companies, a fashion modelling network and a global non-profit.

Heuer also helped lead the US federal government’s launch of an ecommerce system for the United States Mint, served as an IBM Futurist and spent several years as a lead mentor in Google’s global Launchpad Accelerator program.

Mr Heuer will be supported by two part-time EiRs – Jamie Pride and Peter Laurie – as well as a full-time Mentor-in-Residence (MiR), Ian Mason.

A former realestate.com.au CEO, Mr Pride has more than 20 years’ experience with international technology and digital media organisations including Deloitte Digital, salesforce.com, Red Hat, Veritas and Cisco Systems.

Brisbane-based Mr Laurie returns as a Collider EiR for a second year to again share his deep technical expertise and advanced business strategy with the cohort.

The co-creator of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin StartUp, Mr Mason will help founders grow their business, support their personal goals and champion their welfare.

A broader team of industry-leading entrepreneurs and start-up specialists from Australia and overseas will join the quartet to host masterclasses in their fields of expertise and deliver one-on-one mentoring sessions with founders.

CEA’s Collider Accelerator is supported by the Queensland Government’s Advance Queensland initiative and run in partnership with McCullough Robertson Lawyers, Bank of Queensland and QUT.

Who are the lucky 9 startups joining the program?

Airsyne: a location-based messaging app that allows the user to create, place and view content in the “air” at any location.

Analytics.lol: a platform specialising in algorithms for esports analysis to predict the style a player must adopt for success.

Anti Ordinary: a unique layering technology used to make flexible head protection, as comfortable as beanies and as safe as helmets.

Cardly: an online marketplace that allows people to digitally create “handwritten” greeting cards using a connected device.

ColourSpace: a social enterprise that sources artwork from local and emerging artists and hires them for use in corporate and communal spaces.

Master Your Video: a community-driven initiative to help professionals become better video communicators and storytellers.

Shotstack: a cloud-based video editing platform with built-in transitions, effects, filters and titles to help automate the creation of video content.

Umelore: an online marketplace that allows users to browse, buy and apply for the reproduction rights of indigenous Australian artworks and products.

WhatPods: a social network for podcast hosts and a community of 100 million monthly podcast listeners.

What exactly is Creative Enterprise Australia?

Creative Enterprises Australia (CEA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Queensland University of Technology (QUT) dedicated to growing creative businesses. CEA was established in 2008 to support and champion the growth of creative industries nationally and internationally.

Since inception, CEA has developed a unique range of accelerator programs, workshops, mentoring, partnering and community initiatives to fast-track how startup businesses take their products and services to market.

CEA works with a broad range of creative companies and early stage ventures across the globe.