11 July 2018
Single person vehicles, a digital assistant for farmers and an app that converts recipes to online shopping lists are among the 15 Australian start-ups competing for $85,000 in development grants at Hybrid World Adelaide this month.
Hybrid World Adelaide has announced the businesses and entrepreneurs who have been selected to participate in the HWA Lab to receive invaluable industry advice and feedback on their projects.
Rae Johnston from pop-culture and technology zeitgeist Gizmodo will host the HWA Lab finals pitch session at the HWA Conference on July 23-24. Hybrid World Adelaide – the country’s unique tech festival – will be held from July 20-24 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
The 15 participants selected to be part of the HWA Lab, supported and hosted by the University of South Australia’s Innovation & Collaboration Centre, highlights the immense range of industries, evolving tech culture and applications being developed across Australia.
Key stand out applications for this year’s HWA Lab include Wagga Wagga’s Tim Klapdor’s agtech digital assistant venture Kelpie, aimed at improving farmers’ access and interaction with the digital age. Improving the automotive sector one idea at a time is the mission of Victoria’s Davis Tolley through his Capsule Vehicles, an early stage start-up on a mission to create the ultimate single person vehicle, combining the comfort and safety of a car with the low cost and efficiency of a bike.
Adelaide’s own GOGO Events is developing recruitment career pathways for people experiencing homelessness and disadvantage through employment at events and festivals. Their goal is to deliver financial freedom, paid employment and on the job training for those who need it most. Meanwhile Verbalise.Science are working towards delivering scientific information in friendly way to amplify research and papers through augmented web application that turn vocal recordings into social media explainer videos, podcasts and more.
Hybrid World Adelaide Creative Director, Robert Tercek said that he was deeply impressed by the calibre of this year’s entrants.
“This year’s applications were exceptional. Narrowing the field down to just 15 participants was extremely difficult, almost painful,” said Mr Tercek. “Two days of intensive mentoring can lead to astonishing results for start-up firms and their founders. The novel combination of local and international mentors at the HWA Lab will spur creative breakthroughs and rapid evolution among the participating ventures.”
“I am looking forward with great enthusiasm to working with the other mentors and meeting and developing some of Australia’s newest entrepreneurs at Hybrid World Adelaide this year.”
One of the Lab Partners, South Australian startup support agency TechInSA, has a strong track record in helping start-ups drive their business forward, with successful companies such as Myriota, Inovor, Life Whisperer and RHS accessing TechInSA’s grants and support networks to scale up.
Judy Halliday, TechInSA’s Industry Development Director, is one of the mentors during the two-day workshop, and is excited to work with participants on making their vision a reality.
“South Australia has a very strong start-up community and ecosystem already, but events like Hybrid World Adelaide provide a global platform for entrepreneurs to test and workshop their projects, and are a fantastic opportunity to develop talent, support great ideas and contribute to innovation in our state,” said Dr Halliday.
The HWA LAB gives local and national start-ups and established companies the opportunity to develop their projects with the help of world-class digital and technology experts. On July 20 and 21, the interactive boot-camp style lab will bring together applicants and mentors to share ideas and bring them to reality. The selected entrepreneurs will be mentored by international and local industry leaders, including one of Finland’s leading business speakers André Noël Chaker, Hybrid World Adelaide’s Creative Director and technology futurist Robert Tercek, TechinSA’s Industry Development Director Judy Halliday, USA CEO Dr Phillip Alvelda, and many more.
Winnie Wong - Assisted Outing: An online platform that takes people who need physical assistance on private and bespoke outings, both locally and globally, by connecting them with local assistants at the travel destination.
Simon Cullen – Asylum: A biotech startup developing advanced vision and artificial intelligence products for customers in the healthcare and agriculture sectors
David To - Athlete’s AI: Athlete’s AI combines computer vision and machine learning to deliver three distinct advantages over our competitors: lower cost, real-time, and further insights.
David Tolley - Capsule Vehicles - Capsule is an early stage start-up on a mission to create the ultimate single person vehicle, combining the comfort and safety of a car with the low cost and efficiency of a bike.
Moira Deslandes - GOGO Events Pty Ltd: GOGO events unlocks the employment potential of the poor, the homeless and the disadvantaged by creating pathways to employment at events and festivals.
Tim Klapdor – Kelpie: Kelpie is a digital assistant aimed at improving farmers’ access and interaction with the various digital systems, applications and hardware.
Louise Nobes - KIK Innovation and enterprises: Custom made chocolate moulds using advanced manufacturing that can make any shape/design quickly
Shane Aherne – ModelFarm: An Adelaide based company specialising in 3D Visualisation and Augmented Reality for the property industry.
Elmer Roderick Niem Bool - NeurUL Software Foundation: A community startup that aims to bring together contributors and users who share the same vision of an optimally centralized and consensually connected future.
Rolan Harrison - PCMTEC: PCMTEC develops and sells performance vehicle tuning software for Fords in Australia.
Barnaby Scantlebury – Playt: Playt aims to convert any recipe, in print or online, into a digital shopping list, which integrates with national and international grocery partners, for instant grocery delivery.
Nick Lothian - Tyto.AI: Tyto.AI is building A.I. powered software development tools.
Dr Andrew Stapleton - Verbalize Science: Delivering the scientist friendly way to amplify research and papers though an augmented web application that turns vocal recordings into social media explainer videos, podcasts and more
Will Tamblyn - Voxon Phonotics: Voxon’s 3D Volumetric technology brings digital content to life and helps empower people to visualise, communicate, learn and have fun in a collaborative manner with no barrier to the 3D experience.
Tobias Crush – WillBits: Willbits aim is to make the complex and risky world of a legal will simple and accessible for all.
