AN inaugural accelerator program that invites startups to take a "deep dive" into business development as they scale has been launched by the Integrated Innovation Network (I2N) at the University of Newcastle.
Applications close on August 14 for the free, 10-week program, which has funding the NSW government and includes access to an "entrepreneur in residence", Diffuse Energy founder James Bradley.
Siobhan Curran, senior manager of operations and innovation at I2N, said the Network had over five years delivered many support services to emerging entrepreneurs and believed there was now demand for a "cohort-based program" to take entrepreneurs to the next stage of their business development.
Until now, the Network has run exclusively pre-accelerator programs, which focus on "problem, solution, fit" to support entrepreneurs develop their business.
"This [Accelerator] program looks at the 'product, market fit', so that is you have developed a solution because you realise there are enough customers, and now you want to figure out the business model, how would you deliver a sustainable business model to create a business around the problem and solution," she said.
"This [program] reflects not only the level of talent here in the region, but the sustained contributions of time, expertise and funding from many supporters to help this community thrive."
The Accelerator program will be taught by a pool of Hunter mentors who have participated in the Network's venture mentor service (VMS). The weekly "deep dive" workshops on business development covers topics such as customer discovery, product development, business model, startup legals, financial modelling, marketing, pitching and raising capital.
Applicants can be individuals or a team.
"They work on their own idea but the beauty of the cohort is they take away the basic frameworks and principles of the deep dive sessions and then are responsible for acting on those framesworks each week. Then they come back and play back their learnings as it relates to their business and share that, which benefits the whole cohort," Ms Curran said.
The program will allow founders to focus on their business development, irrespective of their experience.
"The frameworks provided are great fundamental aspects of business development, so even if they have experience doing a business before, being reminded of foundational aspects is helpful because you can take for granted what you know or have experienced in the past," she said.
The "Entrepreneur in residence" is available to assist participants with any problems or questions they have during the program.
Ms Curran said the ideal applicant would have a tech-enabled solution but has been boot strapping, or using their own resources to build a prototype; or who already has a product and is generating revenue but wants to scale beyond the domestic market.
Lisa Winn, founder of Med-Tech startup Ihydrate, said her decision to participate in I2N's Female Founders accelerator, similar in structure to the new Accelerator, had helped her business.
"The course content was excellent with a strong focus on customer understanding [and] the link to UoN and network to other start-ups, mentors and local suppliers has been fantastic," she said.
"iHydrate is now partnering with UON medical engineering students and the software developer, regulatory support and marketing are all local businesses via connections made through the I2N Accelerator program - a huge bonus."
Ms Curran believes that COVID has demonstrated that, "there's never been a better time than now to work in a regional location to develop a startup with the Hunter's entrepreneurship scene maturing.
"The recent opening of I2N Hub Honeysuckle provides a purpose-built space that supports tech-enabled startups through mentoring, accelerator and incubator programs. Throw in a range of regular pitching and networking events, you have a recipe that connects ventures to industry and investors to help them grow," she said.
"This is resulting in really exciting developments in sectors such as clean energy, circular economy, and Medtech... and there's so much potential that will further drive diversification in our regional economy, which has always been the ultimate goal of I2N.
She said economic diversification initiatives such as Astra Aerolab at Williamtown, the John Hunter Health and Innovation Precinct, the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources (NIER), and the Port of Newcastle's diversification strategy that includes hydrogen all combined with programs run at I2N to support growing industries.
