Be amongst the first to hear about the latest creative business ideas from a group of South West entrepreneurs as they vie for a share of up to $23,000 in seed funding at the Ideas Place Pitch Night.
The event is on at the Noorat Recreation Reserve on September 4 from 6.30pm – 9pm.
Each pitcher will have five minutes to present their idea to a live audience and an expert judging panel.
This is the third and final Pitch Night as part of the current iteration of The Ideas Place.
Sherri Symons won the inaugural event in July 2023 with her idea to use low-grade wool as an organic fertiliser, while Jean Kerwin was the top pitcher in March this year with Tale Mapper: a non-traditional publishing company that specialises in life writing.
Since her win, Jean’s company has been engaged in creating a book on an Australian family based in Western Australia, recording multiple life stories that span generations and are of national historical importance.
“I flew over to Perth and started doing interviews and researching, and I’m based here until the end of the year,” she said.
“At the moment I’ve got about 50,000 words and 454 images that I’ve collected. I have an office here in WA and I’ve got stacks of historical documents that I’ve been going through.
“Before I started the Ideas Place, I knew what I wanted to do but I didn’t have clarity on exactly who my target market was. And the Ideas Place helped me to fine-tune that, and that’s really helpful because that influences your marketing and who your customer is and how you’re going to reach them.”
So while the rapid growth of her own start-up business means she won’t be able to attend, Ms Kerwin encouraged anyone looking for a night of fun and inspiration to head along to the Pitch Night on September 4.
“I think it’s inspiring to be around people that are putting themselves out there and giving their ideas a go,” she said.
“That sort of energy is contagious.
“And to support the community as well.
“Just to watch other people’s pitches is interesting to me, it gets you thinking.”
Innovative ideas that have a chance of making the shortlist include a robot café, miniature farm planning tools, soil enrichment products, wine, unique vending machines and social assistance products. A range of ideas came from the signature IGNITE program as well as via the intensive Ideas Place Boot Camp. Shortlisting and refining of the pitches continues in the lead up to the Pitch Night.
To book visit and search “The Ideas Place Pitch Night”.
The Ideas Place is a partnership between LaunchVic, SouthWest TAFE, Food and Fibre Great South Coast and the Corangamite, Moyne, and Warrnambool City councils to help locals transform their innovative business ideas into viable start-up businesses.
