Our local Mobile MVP & BizSpark Network Partner James McCutcheon of foundry 38 recently interviewed Dale Cameron from Designerholic, a local start up business & BizSpark member. He has posted the VidCast on Vimeo here: http://vimeo.com/9723541
Getting to know ... Designerholic Episode 1 from James McCutcheon on Vimeo.
Michelle Williams and Mick Liubinskas from Pollenizer have been lucky enough to convince Eric Ries to stop over in Sydney on his return from WebStock so that he can share some of his valuable insight on Start Ups & help kick off the Lean Startup Circle.
Eric has some great experience and advice for people building startups and web businesses on how to build them lean and mean. He writes a lot about customer development, and his experience of applying it (and NOT applying it) at real startups he was a part of.
So if you are in Sydney on the 1st of March, then I strongly suggest you book yourself a ticket & get along to hear the stories & met other locals in the start up/web space.
http://www.amiando.com/ericriessyd.html
Today I caught up with Jayantha Ekenayake, President of Australian based technology company Cerebiz to talk about his company’s Cloud Solution that provides Business intelligence & collaboration for Small to Medium Enterprises (SME), “cerebiz on-demand” www.cerebiz.com.
It all started with a conversation Jayantha had with well known IT industry figure Peter Kazacos in which Peter said, ‘if someone can come up with a low cost simple to use BI in the Cloud it would really suit the SME market’. And so the idea for Cerebiz was born. By drawing on the background of its founders in the Business Intelligence (BI) Industry with products such as ProClarity, Microsoft Performance Point and their own Business Intelligence application the company was able to quickly identify the need for a strong, but easy to use BI offering to support the many MYOB users in Australia.
The result is Cerebiz-on-Demand, which is built on Microsoft Windows Server environment, using SharePoint, SQL Server, .Net 3.5 and Silverlight technologies to provide customers a quick, powerful, low cost and easy to use solution. Cerebiz-on-Demand empowers SME companies to gain low cost subscription based access to Business Intelligence & Collaboration tools via the Cloud.
As per the screenshots, you can see key features of the solution which includes:
But none of this would have happened if the BizSpark program was not available. As with many start-ups, there was limited cash flow & a barrier of cost of entry to gain access to the tooling required to build both the infrastructure required to house such a solution, as well as the developer tools to build the application. For Cerebiz, the BizSpark Program was their key enabler. By signing up to BizSpark, Cerebiz received access to their MSDN Premium subscription, which was the enabler, but as Jayantha pointed out, “having access to the Help Desk team when we hit a problem, has proven to be invaluable!”.
So as Cerebiz-On-Demand continues to grow and extend the solution to cover other Accounting packages such as Microsoft Dynamics GP as well as custom SME applications it is great to know that they will continue to utilise the BizSpark program
BizSpark is a great program to get you access to the tools to build you application – but what if you need to get extra funding to take it to the next level?
The great news is that its not just Microsoft that sees the potential in this space. The Australian Government also sees great opportunities in the Australian Start Up Community & so have put together a program to help nurture and grow it.
The Australian Government Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research have announced their $196.1 million initiative called Commercialisation Australia. They are now taking applications to provide funding and support to convert ideas into successful commercial realities and create high-skill, high-wage jobs.
The idea is that by providing funding & support, great ideas will flourish into growing businesses. This support could mean that our great entrepreneur community here in Australia, could really be the driver of successful commercialisation for Australia in the years to come.
The program combines hands-on assistance around specialist advice and services, proof of concept and early stage commercialisation activities. Successful applicants work with a case manager & also gain access to business mentors.
Commercialisation Australia is a merit based, competitive assistance program that offers:
So if you want to get the ball rolling, Apply NOW! Complete a Pre-Application Form as the first step in applying for assistance.
Download a Pre-Application Form
After the great success of both Start Up camp 1 & 2, its now time to get ready for Silicon Beach, Start Up Camp Number 3!
The event is on 19-21 Feb and will be once again held in Sydney.
Start Up Camp is an intensive 2 days (well 2 and a bit as it kicks off Friday Night) that covers creating a business idea, building a team, building a proof of concept & business plan, then even gives you the opportunity to pitch your idea to Venture Capital funders!
The main goal is to learn from each others experience and to get a chance to work with a new group of people and of course to have a lot of fun.
I have been fortunate enough to visit on the previous Start Up Camps & the pure energy, ideas & team work that i have seen is in itself inspiring.
Currently There is a requirement for people who have skills in the following areas:
Places are limited – so be quick & sign up here: http://sucs3.eventbrite.com/
Upcoming National Growth Summit is on In Sydney on the 17th & 18th of February.
The entire conference looks interesting, but I am inspired by the Workshops. The technology Workshop looks particularly interesting.
The PDF for the summit describes it as:
Technology to Drive Growth and Profitability In this highly interactive one-day workshop you will hear from leading experts who will help you build an IT framework and invest in the next stage of technology and systems for your business.
The one-day seminar will comprise of: • Case studies and expert presentations of highly successful businesses designed to illustrate real-world examples of best practices in the use of technology and processes to achieve goals • Keynote presentations by thought leaders taking an overview approach on hot topics and issues of the day • Demonstrations – how to/practical application of the latest technology • Round table discussions – an opportunity to interact with other business owners on their experiences with technology and ask the experts questions relevant to your business
It is great seeing many of our great local speakers and some of our BizSpark Partners covering some fantastic looking sessions:
8:30 - 9:10 FUTURETAINMENT – The New Media Revolution Mike Walsh, CEO of innovation research agency Tomorrow and leading authority on the digital future
9:10 - 9:30 Your Business Online: Growth and Depth Mick Liubinskas, Founder, Pollenizer
9:30 - 9:50 Using mobile phone technology to help your business grow Phillip Wise, Sales Director, Small & Medium Business, Optus
9:50 - 10:10 Mobile Ubiquity and the Smartphone Revolution: Getting on the Front Foot for Growth Tim Parsons, Director of Product Development, Quickflix.com.au
10:10 - 10:30 Wherever Your Customers are - Stay Connected Ben Swanson, Director Small to Medium Enterprise Solutions, Avaya
11:00 - 11:20 Web Software: Avoiding the Integration Hangover Geoff Mcqueen, Managing Director, Hiive Systems
11:20 - 11:40 CRM – Strategies, Systems and Data for World Domination Stephen Belfer, Managing Director, YTEchnics
11:40 - 12:00 Understanding the Search Engine Sam Shetty, Online Business Advisor, Netregistry
12:00 - 12:20 Engagement Marketing Kate Carruthers, Digital Business Group Pty Ltd
12:20 - 12:40 How to ‘Webinar’ Your Way to Success Michael “MC” Carter, Co-founder, Business Fitness
12:40 - 1:00 An Insider’s Guide to Evaluating Technology Tim Molloy, General Manager, MYOB
1:45 - 2:05 Cluetrains, Conversations, Trust and Openness Stephen Collins, Founder, acidlabs
I am booking my seat there now!