{"id":43079,"date":"2023-10-20T15:25:56","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/startup-catalyst-on-the-hunt-for-queenslands-next-batch-of-entrepreneurs-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:25:56","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:25:56","slug":"startup-catalyst-on-the-hunt-for-queenslands-next-batch-of-entrepreneurs-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/startup-catalyst-on-the-hunt-for-queenslands-next-batch-of-entrepreneurs-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Startup Catalyst on the hunt for Queensland\u2019s next batch of entrepreneurs – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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River City Labs is on the hunt for Queensland\u2019s next crop of budding entrepreneurs in order to ship them off to Silicon Valley to learn what it takes to build a world-class startup.<\/p>\n

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Twenty young people from the Sunshine State will fly to the United States free of charge in September in order to immerse themselves in America\u2019s startup culture.<\/p>\n

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Over the 10-day Startup Catalyst trip, participants will visit the offices of Google, Facebook, Twitter and Apple.<\/p>\n

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They will also attend networking events with various founders and student entrepreneurs, as well as meet with Australians making their mark in Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n

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The tour will finish after the 20 Aussies take part in the world\u2019s largest startup competition as part of Startup Weekend in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

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River City Labs and Startup Catalyst founder Steve Baxter said the purpose of the 2015 trip was to get the participants to come back and \u201cact as a kernel\u201d in order to grow the local startup scene by sharing what they\u2019ve learnt while overseas.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere\u2019s currently a gap that we have in the startup ecosystem in Brisbane and in some respects in Australia in that you have a lot of people who have ideas that are technically clueless and don\u2019t have the drive to bridge their skills gap,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou don\u2019t have to have a startup, but you\u2019ve got to have some sort of entrepreneurial enthusiasm. The idea is to take them to Silicon Valley and immerse them in an environment where what people do every day is about tech.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Baxter also pointed out that last year there was a \u201cdepressing\u201d lack of female candidates, and he would like to see more women apply for this year\u2019s trip.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn an ideal world it\u2019d be 50-50 but we know there\u2019s a gender gap,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe need technically capable people\u2026 but we need to reach out to women.\u201d<\/p>\n

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READ MORE:<\/i><\/b> <\/i>Startup Catalyst aims to encourage young technical talent<\/i><\/a> <\/i><\/p>\n

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Last year\u2019s Startup Catalyst participants previously told StartupSmart<\/i> that they learnt a lot from their short stint in Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n

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Brisbane resident Alex Ghiculescu said the trip taught him that Australia was on the right track and that everyone \u2013 whether you\u2019re based in San Francisco or the Sunshine Coast \u2013 has to overcome similar issues.<\/p>\n

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\u201cObviously there are cultural differences but all in all, everyone still has issues hiring good talent, sometimes struggles to find product market fit, and is super keen to build a huge business,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo it\u2019s a great sign for Brisbane \u2013 we aren\u2019t doing anything wrong, we just need to keep doing what we are doing to help the local sector grow to new heights.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Startup Catalyst will run from September 28 to October 7, 2015, with the successful applicants announced in early August.<\/p>\n

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To be eligible, participants must be a Queensland resident aged from 18-25, a capable programmer and willing to share their experiences with the wider community when they return from the trip.<\/p>\n

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Applications close on Friday, July 24.<\/p>\n

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Do you know more on this story or have a tip of your own? Raising capital or launching a startup?<\/i> . Follow StartupSmart on<\/i> Facebook<\/i>,<\/i> Twitter<\/i>, and<\/i> LinkedIn<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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