Now in its second year, UWA showcased its Launchpad graduates – which gives participants full six credits for any undergrad course at the university – at an annual pitch night…
‘They never had uni courses like this in my day‘ – is what almost every audience member over the age of 25 was probably thinking, as they watched the nine graduating teams from UWA’s Launchpad unit pitch on Monday night.
Not only that, most people were also thinking ‘I wish they’d had‘. And ‘what a great idea‘.
Yes, it’s true. A 13-week course, with mentors and guest speakers, took enrolled students through all the main stages of ideation, lean canvas model, customer problem, market validation, key metrics, channels, the pitch and reflection, culminating in a pitch night.
KPMG consultant Graeme Sheard and Bloom Lab co-leader Jack Hallam put the students through their paces in a 3-hour workshop every Monday, with weekly assignments including blogging and business plan development.
It’s the only university in WA to offer such a course, and in a fitting conclusion, the final pitch night at Bloom showcased all 9 businesses, before a panel of judges, which included a visiting professor from the University of Denver (Colorado, another hotbed of startups).
Last year, Humm Tech went through the program, and they were on hand, via video link to wish the graduates well. As reported a few months ago on, Humm are now based in San Francisco.
The startups this year were a real mixture, with five of the nine having a social enterprise angle, and four being educational.
The businesses ranged from a neat little coffee capsule for making a great cuppa in the outback to story telling cooking classes to help better understand different cultures to a program to help Year 12 students find their true purpose.
After much deliberation, the judges gave the pitch contest to Charlotte Pennel from ‘Mother & Bride’, who in a pitch perfect performance, explained how her new wedding planning web service works. Yes, she got married earlier this year – and found the process of the wedding planning a pain – and yes, her mother is also in the business. And she already has four weddings booked up on her platform.
Honourable mentions were given to the team from ‘I Can and I Will Project’ (educational resources for rural kids in Cambodia), ‘EnviroVend’ (vending machine to replenish food and staples, to reduce plastic) and ‘Pay It Forward’ (an app that allows you to gift a meal to a homeless person).
All great ideas, and some real potential businesses here. Plus, another unit ticked off at uni. How good is that?!
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MAIN IMAGE: Charlotte Pennel pitching her ‘Mother & Bride’ startup
