Victoria’s startup agency LaunchVic has kicked off their ‘Startups Start Here’ campaign to champion the state’s most successful and hardworking startups as well as scaleups and to also encourage more Victorians to commercialise their entrepreneurial ideas with the support of the State’s robust ecosystem of business investors, accelerators and founder support programs.
What is the industry offering of LaunchVic’s campaign?
The first-of-its-kind Victorian Government advertising campaign – distributed across the State today for 12 weeks – will promote entrepreneurship and celebrate the achievements of the diverse AUD$91 billion startup ecosystem that now employs more than 52,000 Victorians.
Startups Start Here tells the story of some of Victoria’s best startups and how the people and place backed them to be where they are today. Featuring some of the State’s best founders; Zac Leigh of Tixel, Hannon Comazzetto of AirRobe, Ben Pfisterer of Zeller, Dr Ben Hurst of HotDoc, Kim Teo of Mr Yum, Jordy and Julia Kay of Great Wrap and Jeanette Cheah of Hex their stories aim to inspire the next wave of budding entrepreneurs to start their startups right here.
LaunchVic remains the only state government startup agency with a mandate to proactively grow the startup business ecosystem since its inception back in 2016. Since then, the value of this startup ecosystem has grown 16-fold to AUD$ 91b – the same size that Tel Aviv was in 2016 – and it has also become the home of 19 unicorns (80% reaching that status after 2017).
What makes Victoria an opportune place for start-ups?
Promoting the state’s startup credentials around the country, the Victorian Government’s investment recognises the entrepreneurial sector’s ability to drive exponential job creation, establish new markets through innovative R&D breakthroughs and spur economic growth.
Victoria’s forward-thinking and resilient business startup ecosystem supports approximately 2,950 scaling and successful businesses, according to the LaunchVic data (from Dealroom) released as part of a new interactive map showing the location of the state’s business startups.
What are the executive remarks about the campaign?
Tixel CEO and co-founder Zac Leigh said: “The startup ecosystem in Victoria is very progressive and in addition to Melbourne being the place Tixel was born, it was a fantastic place for us to find our feet as we scaled. We simply wouldn’t be where we are today without the network of expert advisors, investors and founders we found in our home city, in addition to the Melbourne music fans who quickly adopted Tixel as the place to buy and sell their tickets.”
“LaunchVic provides programs, opportunities and networking that every startup should have access to, and aspiring entrepreneurs should know that from humble beginnings they can create a successful business like Tixel if they set their mind to it and seek the right resources.”
LaunchVic Chief Executive Officer, Dr Kate Cornick said, “The Startups Start Here campaign is about putting the state’s most exciting companies and their accomplishments on a pedestal and showing how the people and the place have backed them to be where they are today.”
“Victoria is doing amazing producing globally competitive companies, but not enough people know. Startup founders shaping the future of Victoria should be revered – just like our sports stars – so they can inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs from all across our state.”
