Creative companies called upon to pitch to investors and represent Australia at world championships for entrepreneurs. Applications close this week!
QUT Creative Enterprise Australia is calling upon creative startups to pitch to early stage investors at Australia’s only event dedicated to connecting creative industries ventures with investors, the Creative Pitch.
Applications close on June 26 and the winner of the Creative3 Pitch goes on to represent Australia and compete against 63 countries at the world championships for creative entrepreneurs, the Creative Business Cup in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Recognising the need for creative businesses to understand the angel investment community and what they are seeking, CEO of QUT Creative Enterprise Australia (CEA) Anna Rooke says they launched the Creative3 Pitch in 2013 to build the capacity of startup founders in the creative industries and increase the number of investor-ready businesses in Australia:
“We are delighted to be able to extend the deadline and encourage all creative businesses looking to raise capital to apply. For the past two years, the CEA Startup Fund has gone on to invest in one of the finalist companies, so this is potentially a life-changing opportunity for the finalists.
“As Australian hosts for the Creative Business Cup, we’re excited to be able to offer our Creative3 Pitch winners a unique opportunity to represent Australia internationally as our best emerging creative entrepreneurs.”
Ms Rooke says that creative industries are often underestimated in Australia.
“Our creative industries sector employs more people than mining and contributes $35 billion to our GDP however creative startups struggle to find funding as they are often viewed as high-risk by investors.
“Denmark has shown international leadership in this area by forming the Creative Business Cup, which profiles creative entrepreneurs on a global stage and highlights the potential for growth, jobs and innovation in this sector. This will only be the second time Australia has been able to compete on the world stage.”
Previous Creative3 Pitch finalists include Handkrafted, TrademarkVision and Project Tripod – all of which have seen great success after the Creative3 Pitch.
The winner of the Creative3 Pitch will receive flights and accommodation for a founder to represent Australia at the Creative Business Cup in Copenhagen, Denmark. Here they will pitch to some of the biggest venture capitalists in Europe during Global Entrepreneurship Week and compete for a prize pool of over USD $35,000. All four Creative3 Pitch finalists have the opportunity to qualify for the Creative Business Cup where an international jury will choose the winners based on criteria of creativity and market potential.
