Inside Start Up with Jo Allum

Tauranga Startup Weekend lead organisers Pascale Hyboud-Peron and Jo Allum recently attended Wellington Startup Weekend to get a feel for how the event comes together in other New Zealand cities and see how it can best benefit Tauranga's business startup community.

'Wellington hosts the self-proclaimed ‘best Startup Weekend in New Zealand', and indeed, it seems it is a hard act to follow,” says Pascale.

'With a great panel of mentors, an inspiring ‘education' theme – based on the belief that entrepreneurship is the most powerful force to positively impact education outcomes – and support from Massey University, it got off to a solid start.”

Ninety participants attended, with 45 presenting an idea and 12 being selected to be worked on during the weekend.

'They finished the weekend off with a grand showcase of high-energy, high-calibre pitches; it was an inspiring experience,” says Pascale.

So what can Tauranga Startup Weekend do to best benefit our local community of budding entrepreneurs?

'We can create a great event custom designed for the Bay of Plenty community,” says Pascale.

'We'll deliver an equally valuable Startup Weekend learning experience, but with a distinctly open and inclusive local flavour.”

So how have Tauranga Startup Weekend organisers planned to achieve this and what will it feel like? With a new team of passionate people organising, we've been weaving together past participants, and an incredible line up of mentors with volunteers. The experience of organising the event has become as much of a shared learning experience as the event itself will be, so everyone involved already feels completely engaged.

- To enliven the entrepreneurial spirit our promotional events startup café, the Angel at My Table – where the tables were turned and investors pitched to entrepreneurs, organised with our local investment group Enterprise Angels – have been a great success, increasing the unlimited thinking of participants and what we can achieve from right here in Tauranga.

- We've encouraged a diverse range of participants, from secondary school students to serial entrepreneurs, from mature computer sciences people to local councillors to create the conditions for an exciting collision of ideas and fresh thinking to happen.

- Tauranga Startup Weekend is now being held at Basestation – a collaborative working space for communication and tech people – a natural entrepreneurial habitat developed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs.

- With the involvement of wonderful local sponsors investing in and supporting local entrepreneurship at Startup Weekend, we really have an opportunity help new ideas go forward to create jobs and success here in Tauranga.

- We have planned follow-on events, to support participants to further their ideas, or start new ones with their newfound business skills and confidence and engage everyone involved in continuing to grow the startup community in Tauranga and build the event year after year.

Jo wraps up, saying Startup Weekends are such amazing value.

'It was a great experience to visit Wellington's event and learn how they pitch entrepreneurship as an exciting – and possible – career pathway.

'We look forward to seeing our community come together in November to build the same exciting future for our region's people – and if you haven't registered yet, get in quick!”

Tauranga Start Up Weekend takes place November 7-9 at Basestation, Durham St.

To find out more visit: tauranga.startupweekend.org/

Or enter the Tauranga Startup competition, by clicking here, for your chance to win a ticket to participate courtesy of SunMedia, SunLive and Weekend Sun.