Spring, perhaps, is the season that best symbolises the spirit of a startup. Why not a spring festival to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship?
That is the thing StartupAUS, the six-month-old not-for-profit group, has come up with, in addition to its Walkabouts in several cities.
Startup Spring will be a three-week long, Australia-wide festival of more than 50 events and activities to celebrate and promote the tech startup community and encourage more Australians to become tech entrepreneurs.
“Australia has film festivals, music festivals and wine festivals which are a tremendous celebration of our culture. Now, it’s time for the country’s first startup festival,” declared Alan Noble, founding board member of StartupAUS and engineering director at Google Australia.
Events during the festival in Victoria include Startup Grind, OzAPP, Startup Walkabout, and more. The three-week (18 September-9 October) celebration runs run across the country. Check out the full event listing here.
StartupAUS was formed by a group of entrepreneurs and tech executives with the goal of accelerating the growth of Australian startups. Its founders believe it’s just the time for startups to take centre-stage in Australia.
“With today’s focus on how Australia can maintain its wealth beyond the resource sector, there’s never been a better time for Australia to become the creators, rather than just the consumers, of technology,” says Noble. “We want to see Australian kids growing up not just aspiring to be lawyers, doctors, or bankers, but also to see entrepreneurship as a valid and rewarding path.”
Stephen Baxter, a StartupAUS board member and managing director of River City Labs, believes the startup sector has the potential to contribute $109 billion and 500,000 jobs to the Australian economy by 2033.
Other members of the StartupAUS board include Bill Bartee of Southern Cross Ventures; and Peter Bradd of Fishburners. Founding members of the group include Michael Fox, CEO and co-founder of Shoes of Prey; Matt Barrie, CEO and founder of Freelancer.com; and StartMate founder Niki Scevak.
