As every entrepreneur will know, it can be hard to talk about a personally created, crafted and launched venture without at least the slightest amount of bias (usually a lot).
But as we know in the media trade, disclosure is usually a handy counter-measure.
On that note, last Tuesday evening Anthill launched its first ever ‘Young Entrepreneurs’ Night Out’ (YENO) in Sydney. And I am pleased to announce that…
It rocked!
Michael Fox of Shoesofprey.com revealed his penchant for designing stilettos. Jeremy Levitt of PodProperty and Service Seeking proudly informed the crowd that he actually enjoys cold-calling and gets excited by cashflow. (We’re still undecided which revelation was the more disturbing.)
Kirsten Black of Halo Headphones explained why she turned down $500,000 and went sailing instead. Julie Sweet of Certificates Online shared inspiration from Buddha and explained what she’d do with five thousand.
Serial entrepreneur Jack Delosa of ‘currently-unemployed-status’ concluded the night with a deal that didn’t even require steak-knives, perhaps offering a lesson in conversion without the need to mention Google Adwords. (Remarkable!)
The concept event was created as a way to promote and foster a culture of entrepreneurship in Australia. Given the rapid registration of over 100 attendees (once word got out) from among Sydney’s fertile entrepreneurship communities, we suspect that this event will become the first of many to be held across Australia.
Why this? Why now?
Here’s part of an article Anthill published in 2007, called “The pear-shaped hourglass”:
“According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the age with the most number of people in Australia is currently 34 years. This corresponds to children born during the baby-boom ‘echo’ in the early 1970s and represents the peak of Generation X.
Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a shock that a similarly popular age is 58 (the parents of X). What generally does come as a surprise is the stampede of 22 year-olds, who are about to give this hour-glass population breakdown a good shake-up, concluding with a very heavy bottom end.
Yes, within ten years the structure of the working population could look, simply, pear-shaped, with Generation Y representing close to half the workforce.”
This was three years ago. The predication is coming closer to reality and demonstrates the need to foster a culture of entrepreneurship among young Australians.
If you think this is a good idea (Or that we are ageist)
So far, responses to this initiative have fallen into two categories:
- People who love the idea and want us to host the evening in more capital cities
- People who think the event is ageist and ‘highly offensive’ (to quote a LinkedIn discussion)
If you are not based in NSW or not a young entrepreneur, don’t freak out!
We’ve already received many expressions of interest from readers located outside of NSW, of all ages, who want to attend this or similar events. Indeed, it’s shaping up to become a significant national entrepreneurship meetup.
We also know from experience that Anthill readers have clout. We know that you understand the importance of events designed to foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Australia.
So, if you think your state or territory would also benefit from this or similar activities, click the link below and let us know where you’re from, what types of support and education are needed in your neck of the woods and who we should contact to get local support.
We need ideas. We need sponsors. If you are happy or unhappy about this event, this is your opportunity to let us know by offering a suggestion (rather than grumbling).
Click here to register your interest and/or make suggestions.
Any comments?
Other than that, if you attended Tuesday night’s soiree and would like to share any thoughts, give a ‘shout out’ to your new entrepreneurial peeps or contribute anything else that hasn’t yet crossed our minds, leave a comment below.
