It was a pleasure to be able to attend a recent event at Inspire9 Richmond and hosted by weteachme. The energy in the current Melbourne start-up scene is impressive, with 50 or so in attendance, with about 1/3 having already started their own business. The presenters told their story; the challenges and drive behind getting their new ventures off the ground.
More to give
William, Co-Founder of Short Story
It is hard to hear William speak without admiring his passion for life and the joy of giving. His story of founding Short Story along with Carolyn is a story of passion, taking risks and being resilient.
It all started with the unquenchable feeling that he had “more to give”. Starting out in local markets, their first product range failed. Perhaps, it was the case of a product/solution looking for a market. The product failed, but the feeling of “more to give”, the passion that started it all, endured. They repositioned into a new idea and took a big risk to back themselves for an art exhibition. “Amazing things happen when you through yourself into it”.
From there, the business continued to grow and now has national and international distribution with major retailers such as MYER. It wasn’t without it’s challenges. After all, the bumps are what we climb on. Through out this entire time, the passion and vision remained and they embodied their vision; the joy of giving. In the end, “put yourself out there. Be genuine.”
Stupid enough to follow through
Georgia, CEO of Startup Victoria and Founder of Lupé Wines
Listening to founders talk about how they started, you’ll often hear them mention that they started because they were too stupid to know not to! This was the case with Georgia, when she started Lupé Wines.
Fresh out of studying Entrepreneurship, Georgia found a gap in the market for single serve wines. This mindset to look at a situation, identify the problem, and then go out and do something about it is what makes a person an entrepreneur. It didn’t require specific knowledge, just some vision and no small dose of courage. The most important step in any adventure is the first!
The idea required capital. With a home-made prototype and some drawings, Georgia was able to get investment for the plant to start production. This is big jump, from an idea to having products rolling off the line and then having to figure out what to do with them all! By starting off in niche markets that were too risky for the large players to service, and taking advantage of weaknesses in the competition, allowed the business to expand and develop new products.