{"id":32012,"date":"2023-10-20T14:26:41","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/the-brutal-process-behind-selecting-the-datastart-finalists-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:26:41","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:26:41","slug":"the-brutal-process-behind-selecting-the-datastart-finalists-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/the-brutal-process-behind-selecting-the-datastart-finalists-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u201cbrutal\u201d process behind selecting the DataStart finalists – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A \u201cbrutal\u201d selection process has seen more than 200 applicants for the government\u2019s DataStart program<\/a> whittled down to eight finalists who will pitch for $200,000 in funding as well as Pollenizer and government mentoring.<\/p>\n

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With one of the finalists unable to take part due to personal reasons, seven of the startups will now pitch at a showcase event on January 18th<\/sup> that will decide the overall winner.<\/p>\n

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DataStart will see the federal government making treasure troves of public data available<\/a> in a pilot program. The seven finalists will present ideas for using this data, from treating chronic illnesses to helping people sell their homes.<\/p>\n

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The finalists include CohortIQ, a startup utilising medical services trends for chronic illnesses, and Gemini3, the tech company behind a job sharing and matching enterprise platform.<\/p>\n

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A brutal process<\/b><\/p>\n

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Selecting these finalists was a challenging process, Pollenizer partner Daniel Ringrose says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was brutal,\u201d Ringrose tells StartupSmart. <\/i>\u201cWe had a lot of really good applications come through and it took us longer than anticipated.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He says the process involved balancing the wants of the government, investors and Pollenizer.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe were looking for someone who was working with an idea that is going to be able to use open data in a viable and meaningful way \u2013 that was a priority from the government,\u201d Ringrose says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe investors wanted commercial potential and good market potential, and Pollenizer wanted strong founders that will be able to take an idea from the start and turn it into growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It was also crucial for the program to find founders at the right stage of startup life to fully benefit from the Pollenizer course.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe program is looking for a business at a really early-stage that we can work with and build over nine months,\u201d Ringrose says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere were a few that had come up with an idea for a few weeks and applied without any real thought.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey were too early-stage for what we were trying to achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n

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But these startups won\u2019t be left empty-handed though, with Pollenizer offering free access to its online startup course and waiving the application fee for the Founder\u2019s Institute for those that applied to DataStart.<\/p>\n

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Interesting but realistic ideas<\/b><\/p>\n

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It was also about using public data in unique but realistic ways, Ringrose says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSomeone may find a fantastic use for data that may not be commercial, or they may have a great commercial opportunity that doesn\u2019t leverage data,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cA lot of them would have been a nice service and community concept to put in place but they may not have been commercially viable or the data may not be able to be released.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe companies that have been chosen are the best mix of something that can create real growth and build a meaningful business.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The seven finalists will now complete a five-day course with Pollenizer that will involve market testing and validation and pitch training, before taking part in a showcase in front of four judges on Monday.<\/p>\n

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The room will also be filled with potential investors that will be operating separately to the competition.<\/p>\n

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The eight Datastart finalists:<\/b><\/p>\n


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