Hopeful news arrived this week for aspiring entrepreneurs, budding techies and existing startup companies in the Sunshine State, as Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Labor Government in Queensland announced its plans to invest $25 Million towards the rapidly expanding startup sector. This investment is part of the $180 Million package of reforms aimed at creating “jobs of the future”. As well as the plans to invest into the startup sector, Palaszczuk announced that there will be the ‘Advanced Queensland’ package which will review how coding, computer science and robotics are taught in school.
The term startup has been thrown around increasingly over the past few years, as its popularity grows. Most people associate startups with Silicon Valley, Uber, Airbnb, and Tinder. But what really defines a startup? The term “startup” is not constrained by any definition but in essence a startup is a fledgling business enterprise with the key attribute of growth at an expeditious rate.
Although startups are not constrained to technology based businesses, technology is often associated with startups due to its ability to grow at a tremendous scale notwithstanding geography. This rapid growth is ultimately what differentiates small businesses from startups.
So what does the startup future hold for Queensland?
The Queensland Premier reiterated that the aim of the $180 million package was to assist Queensland in becoming a place where “industry, universities and government work together to take great ideas, turn them into investment-ready proposals, attract that investment and create jobs”. While advancing and innovating the approach to Queensland’s education system, Palaszszuk made it clear that the Queensland Government also aims to position the state as “an attractive investment destination with a strong innovation and entrepreneurial culture” claiming that she does not want Queensland to be a part of the pack but to lead in working towards “innovation and research for the next wave of opportunities”.
Key components of the program include:
- A $50 million Advance Queensland Best and Brightest Fund, which aims to develop, attract and retain world-class talent – both scientific and entrepreneurial;
- A $46 million Advance Queensland Future Jobs Strategy, which will open the door to new industry/research collaborations, tackle the big innovation challenges, focus on translation, and deliver 10 year roadmaps for industries with global growth potential; and
- A $76 million Business Investment Attraction package, which will encourage a new wave of Queensland startups, support proof-of-concept projects, and attract co-investment through the Business Development Fund.
https://delimiter.com.au/2015/07/14/qld-ploughs-24m-into-startups-teaches-coding/
The drive for the startup sector has been around for some time now with Queensland programs such as iLab, Germinate Program and Impact Academy who find, fund, grow and support Queensland startups. These programs will likely be welcoming the announcement from the Queensland Labor Party. Furthermore, the Queensland Government has opened applications on their website and is offering $300,000 in Startup Queensland funding for businesses to deliver practical information, networking opportunities and entrepreneurship training to Queensland’s startup community.
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industry/science/grants/startup-queensland
http://startupqld.org/programs/
Seems as though Queensland has a lot to look forward too if things go according to plan.
You can find the full speech by the Queensland Premier by clicking the link below.
http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2015/7/13/advance-queensland-launch-breakfast
Please feel free to contact one of the team at Irish Bentley to organise an initial consultation to discuss your startup business, today. We provide expert advice in intellectual property, technology, corporate structuring and litigation solutions, which are all relevant to the business life cycle of a startup.