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Dr Jochen Schweitzer introducing the finalists at the UTS Venture Day. Photo: UTS
‘Pitch perfect’
Budding entrepreneurs on display
at 2018 UTS Venture Day.
By Richard Garfield
H
igh-speed racing drones with
cameras capturing sports action,
an app to help hotels better
manage resources, and a digital platform
that enhances the humble post-it note
with augmented reality – these were
just some of the creative business
ideas pitched by graduates of the MBA
Entrepreneurship (MBAe) program at the
2018 UTS Venture Day.
The culmination of the UTS Business
School’s capstone Venture Planning and
Pitching subject that forms part of the
MBAe, close to 20 students pitched their
ideas to a panel of expert judges.
Each presenter was given eight minutes
to pitch an idea, including the challenges or
problems it solves and how it differs from its
competitors, before fielding questions from
the panel, which was made up of CEOs,
company directors and legal experts.
Now in its third year, the UTS Business
School MBAe is an on-campus intensive
MBA for entrepreneurs and innovators that
is designed and delivered in collaboration
with the entrepreneurial community.
For Dr Jochen Schweitzer, who directs
the MBAe and teaches two of its core
subjects, what makes the MBAe so special
is working with students intensively for a
whole year.
“That’s what I love. Seeing the students
develop the skills to accelerate any
project. The MBAe is not about creating a
particular startup. It’s about developing an
entrepreneurial mindset, and applying it to
whatever problem you want to solve.”
UTS associate dean (education) Chris
Burton said Venture Day was a key
component of the MBAe program, where
students learn to develop their idea,
build a business case and then pitch it to
industry specialists.
“What we want to do through the
MBAe is give students the best chance of
understanding money, cashflow, business
cases, and what it’s like to be on the other
end … We want them to really stand in the
shoes of the investor to see it from their
point of view, and what the pitch therefore
should be aimed at,” she said.
“The real game here is to get
people thinking creatively, critically,
entrepreneurially, so they can take that to
wherever they end up in their career.”
The top prize was taken out by Tim
Cochran with his RESISTx app, which helps
people track and achieve their fitness goals
in the gym.
“There is a set of fixed principles, core
principles to training that can help you make
progress. But they are hard to activate on
your own. You need help. And most people
can’t afford personal trainers,” he said.
“What RESISTx does is help weight
trainers implement progressive overload
in their programs by creating a feedback
loop that informs future training based on
previous training.”
Finalist Geoff Bullen, whose WallSync
concept uses augmented reality machine
learning to replicate the collaborative
approach of post-it notes in a digital project
management system, said the MBAe
program was leading the way in focusing
on entrepreneurship.
“It’s just awesome to have a program
where you’ve got 20 people all wanting to
launch a business and going through that
journey together,” he said.
The Floetic task management system
that gives hotel managers better insight
into how to manage their staff’s time was a
Venture Day prize winner.
Co-creators Brayden Beaumont, Rio
Weerasinghe and Nora Nasser said the
MBAe course had helped them to develop
their idea.
“It’s a really intense course. We’re
working full-time, so that adds in a lot to
the stress of it … but I think without this
course we wouldn’t be where we are now,”
Weerasinghe said.
Beaumont added that the MBAe isn’t
for people who are “just looking for a
piece of paper”.
“You’re going to have to want this because
they challenge you. They put you through a
lot and they’re not just going to give it to you
free and say, ‘Here’s the answer’.”
Finalist and prize winner Kent Boehm’s
SpeedSight concept uses special high-
speed racing drones to get closer to the
action in sports cinematography.
“The idea’s been in the back of my mind
for a couple of years, but really it’s been the
last year that it’s intensified with the MBAe
course,” Boehm said.
“They really push you to test your ideas
against real people and then change them
if need be and validate your findings.” ■
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