The Plus Eight Pre-Accelerator program recently concluded with an inspiring Pitch Night, marking the culmination of the six-week business development program, run at the Western Sydney Startup Hub, powered by Spacecubed. Ten innovative local founders took part in the program, led by Caroline Lepron, as they delved into essential business fundamentals, from building enduring business models to mastering fundraising and pitching techniques.
On the evening of Tuesday, June 25th, the cohort showcased their growth and achievements as they presented their innovative ideas to a sold-out crowd of like-minded founders, business leaders, investors and community of supporters. The pitches illustrated the diversity of innovative ideas in Western Sydney, and underscored the cohort's collective determination to make a meaningful impact in their respective industries.
Our panel of esteemed judges included Dickie Currer, Vicky Clare, and Liam Potter. Throughout the evening, they observed the pitches, before asking the startups questions to dive deeper into the problems they’re solving.
Here are the results!
1st place
Melissa Munn & Jayna Patel, Founders of Rollee, a multipurpose wagon that is still useful once children outgrow their stroller.
2nd place
Amanda Leigh Douehi & Gaston Romero, Founders of Sentlie, a sex education platform for young people.
3rd place
Winton Evers & Rebecca Evers, Founders of Hemp Data Platform, a digital traceability marketplace for hemp products.
Crowd’s choice
Dale Cole, Founder of Prolete Sports, an app for athletes to get discovered and find opportunities.
In celebration of their achievements and to support their continued growth, winners received various prizes including Spacecubed coworking memberships, and local restaurant and food delivery vouchers. The winning team was also awarded the opportunity to host their own business launch event at the Western Sydney Startup Hub in future.
The Western Sydney Startup Hub continues to provide a dynamic environment where entrepreneurs and change-makers can refine their businesses, collaborate with like-minded founders and uncover opportunities for growth.
Reflecting on their time in the program, Amanda Leigh Doueihi, Rebecca Evers and Winton Evers shared the following.
“Plus Eight Pre-Accelerator has been a fantastic program with a really great group of people,” Amanda shared.
“You can have a great idea, but that alone doesn’t actually really mean anything”, Rebecca shared while explaining how the program helped her and Winton refine their business ideas and understand whether people would actually pay money for their product.
“As you go through the business process, our product or need that we’re trying to address has actually changed in priority,” added Winton.
“It’s a process that I definitely recommend,” concluded Rebecca.
This program was made possible thanks to the support of Investment NSW.
Plus Eight offers world-class programs for Australian entrepreneurs, change-makers and innovators, designed to help them become a great founder and bring their startup ideas to life. The next Plus Eight Pre-Accelerator program is set to run in Western Sydney in the second half of 2024.
If you’re an early-stage startup founder local to Western Sydney, express your interest in our next Pre-Accelerator program here to be the first to know when applications open!
