Prize pool grows exponentially for young Tech23 companies

THE PRIZE pool for the 23 young companies presenting at this year's Tech23 celebration of innovation, on October 29 in Sydney, is growing through new industry and government sponsored awards.

Tech 23 organiser, Rachel Slattery said significant cash prizes backed by industry heavyweights feature in this year's prize pool, with a $5,000 cash prize on offer from PayPal; $5,000 cash from REA Group plus a visit to their head office for digital business tips; $2,500 from AMP Amplify Festival; and $1,000 from Braintree. Supporter ATP Innovations will again take one Tech23 entrepreneur to Silicon Valley for a week of business education and meetings.

"There's also $45,000 worth of prize money thanks to NSW Trade and Investment," Ms Slattery said.

Ms Slattery said the Tech23 team was greatly encouraged by the industry support.

"This year's prizes show how dedicated the tech industry is to supporting young Australian start-ups," she said. "It's really heartening to see them getting behind innovation in practical, material ways."

One of the most valuable in-kind prizes is $10,000 worth of software development donated by ThoughtWorks. There is also the production of a promo video with multiplatform agency The Delicatessen; a two year premium developer partnership and marketing campaign from MYOB; a two year subscription to Saasu accounting plan; tailored set up with Controlabill; a managed virtual server thanks to Anchor; a start-up pack including workshops, legal and accounting services and BugHerd credit from The New Agency; and co-working space at ilab, NewportNet and Weco.

This year's Tech23 will see the awarding of the inaugural University Medal for student-led tech entrepreneurship sponsored by Sirca.

There are also what Ms Slattery called "priceless meetings with key industry leaders" to be won, including mentoring with the Advance program, Citrix, Google, Susan Wu, Matt Macfarlane from Yuuwa Capital, Nick Gruen of Kaggle fame, and Square Peg Capital.

Tech23 showcases the 23 most innovative Australian tech start ups for five minutes each. Panels of Industry Leaders then offer feedback and guidance.

The event sponsors are NSW Trade & Investment, NICTA, Anchor, AMP Amplify Festival, Citrix, CSIRO, and UOW iAccelerate.

This year's Tech23 finalists are:

121cast » 121cast.com » Personalised audio stream to increase productivity.

2Mar Robotics » 2mar.com » Robotic arm for people in wheelchairs

BuyReply » buyreply.com » Sell from any medium without apps

Edisse » edisse.com » Peace of mind in a watch

Ennova » ennova.com.au » Construction project delivery and collaboration platform

Food Orbit » foodorbit.com » Marketplace connecting local farmers and chefs

Geepers » geepers.com » User shortnames for Geo-physical locations

HSK Instruments » hskinstruments.com » Revolutionising respiratory physiotherapy for Kids worldwide

Instrument Works » instrument-works.com » Internet of Things for laboratories

Intersective » intersective.com » Connecting and enabling experiential learning communities

Kounta » kounta.com » Cloud based point of sale

Liquid State » liquid-state.com » Gutenberg for the digital age

My Myk » mymyk.com » Innovative audio solutions for DSLR filmmakers

Nano-Nouvelle » nanonouvelle.com.au » Ground breaking high performance battery materials

ollo mobile » ollomobile.net » ollo keeps kids and seniors safe

OneTouch » one-touch.co » Automated document processing in the cloud

Open Learning Global » openlearning.com » Student centred online learning platform

Roomz » roomz.com » Share a home. Simply and safely

SABRE Autonomous Solutions » sabreautonomous.com.au » World's first autonomous grit blasting robot

See-Out » ceeq.info » Visual search engine for trademarks

SimplyShow.me » simplyshow.me » Private and secure enterprise video messaging

SkyTree » getskytree.com » Reconnecting people with their food

Xped Corporation » xped.com » Launching the world's first device browser

 

 

 

Tech23 2013 Prizes:

Advance mentoring session.

Amplify Festival Most Promising Technology for Enterprise Application Award » $2,500.

ATP Innovations Explorer Award » Return flights to Silicon Valley, five nights accommodation, and meetings with investors, potential customers and serial entrepreneurs organised by ATP Innovations.

Braintree Best Payment Using Mobile » $1,000 Visa gift card.

Citrix Best Early Stage Company Award » 2 hour consultation with Citrix start-up accelerator.

Controlabill Best Subscription Business Model Prize » Strategic payments consulting from Controlabill founder, Stephen Coulter, on collection of recurring and other revenues including tailored etip with Controlabill implementation fee free.

The Delicatessen Agency Light Globe Moment Award » 2 x 4 hr sessions with Multiplatform Producer and Publicity / Social Media Consultant and creation of a 2 min promo video for your product / service.

Google Encouragement Prize » Lunch and mentoring session at Google in Sydney

ilab Germinate Program Award » Up to 6 months free desk plus data at ilab's Long Pocket Queensland facilities, participation in ilab's Germinate Program, commencing in December at Long Pocket, receiving up $20,000 for marketing, business and technical development.

MYOB Online Innovation for Small Business Award » Two years free MYOB Premium Developer Partnership and marketing campaign (up to $5k in value) to MYOB's 1 million+ SME customer base.

The New Agency Best Growth Hacking and Boot-Strapping Award » $3,000 in tailored workshops at The New Agency, 12 month premium plan from Bugherd ($1,188), $500 credit with General Standards on legal and accounting services, $200 credit for co-working at NewportNet.

Paypal creating opportunity together award » $5,000.

REA Group Purpose & Passion Prize » $5,000 cash and an opportunity to visit the REA Head Office in Melbourne for a tailored experience, centred around the techniques required for building a successful digital business.

Saasu Plan for the future award » 2 year subscription to Saasu (Extra Large Plan) with phone and email support.

Sirca University Medal for student-led tech entrepreneurship » Awarded to the most outstanding technology startup lead by a recent or current university student.

ThoughtWorks Getting Stuff Done Award » $10,000 worth of software development services.

Weco 24/7 co-working 2 month kickstart » 2 months free coworking for 1 person, or 1 month free coworking for 2 people.

Lunch with Nick Gruen.

Meeting with Susan Wu.

Mentoring with Matt » 2 x 1hr fundraising/startup mentoring sessions with Matt Macfarlane of $40m VC firm Yuuwa Capital.

Meeting with Square Peg Capital.

 

Tech 23, organized by SlatteryIT, is on Tuesday October 29 at The Auditorium, 37 Reservoir Street, Surry Hills NSW. Tech23 2013 presentations are from 9am-5.30pm. Awards celebration from 5pm-8.30pm.

www.tech23.com.au

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