INDUSTRY & RESEARCH
campusreview.com.au
Startups lawyer up
The Hatchery is gaining a reputation for nurturing young Australian and international talent. Photo: UTS
Entrepreneurial
students at UTS
now have access
to some of the
best legal minds
and resources
in the country to
help them with
their budding
business ventures.
Joe Allen interviewed
by Patrick Avenell
18
H
atchery+ is a startup accelerator at the
University of Technology Sydney (UTS). It
recently signed a partnership agreement with
Hong Kong-headquartered law firm King & Wood
Mallesons (KWM).
“One of the most difficult aspects of launching a
startup is navigating the myriad of legal documents
you need in place to reduce the risks of doing
business,” says Joe Allan, program manager of
Hatchery+.
“It can be an expensive process which can kill a
startup before it has begun.
“Partnering with KWM will bring a wealth of
knowledge and experience to help our startups build
a solid legal foundation.”
Sue Kench, global management partner at KWM,
says the partnership fits with the law firm’s forward
agenda.
“Growing a mindset of innovation is a strategic
priority for the firm,” Kench says.
“We are constantly challenging our people to think
differently, to explore ideas and draw inspiration from
outside the legal profession.
“Collaboration is critical to accelerating our
innovation agenda, which is why the partnership with
UTS Hatchery is so exciting. It will give our people
a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in
innovation and expose them to new ways of thinking.”
Campus Review speaks with Allen about this
accelerator, the startup culture in Australia and the
partnership with KWM.
CR: Tell us about the UTS Hatchery and what it does.
JA : The UTS Hatchery was established in 2015
and aims to create and inspire the entrepreneurs
of the future. What that breaks down to is two
extracurricular programs that we run. The first is a
10-week education program for current UTS students
to help them think like an entrepreneur. This program
is essentially designed to try to bring together
students from really diverse backgrounds to develop
entrepreneurial skill sets in order to help them adapt
to a changing work landscape.
The second program is Hatchery+, which is a bit more
like an incubator. We call it a startup accelerator, and this
is a three-month program which provides seed funding,
co-working space and access to mentors and resources
for early-stage startups. The programs are designed to
take people with an idea and make sure that they can
develop a successful business.
Can you provide some examples of startups that have
been in the Hatchery, and some of the mentors?
We've had a really wide range of startups come
through the programs, and students as well.
Some examples include: Matthew Childs from