CONTENTS

About Upstart 2

Meet the Team 4

Upstart results 6

2016 Upstart’s Young Entrepreneurs of the Year 7

Upstart Stories 8

2016 Sponsors 10

2016 Mentors and Judges 12

Finding Solutions 14

Coming Up 15

Get Involved 16

Why Upstart ? farEntrepreneur, teen-preneur, intra-preneur, senior-preneur, agri-preneur, digi-preneur and so the list goes on. Entrepreneurs come from all walks of life, across all ages and backgrounds. They solve problems, create positive impact, build scalable enterprises. They can be found in large corporations, working in their bedroom or garage and even in schools. They all tend to have common traits though – they are inquisitive, persistent, passionate, resilient and risk-takers and are important in driving employment and economic growth.

We believe that developing an entrepreneurial culture is incredibly important, and given the right support, young people can play a critical role in building our society’s entrepreneurial capacity.

“We keep talking about creating jobs and when our kids leave school will they have jobs, it never occurs to us to ask - what if the kids create the jobs?” Jason Clarke.

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• ABS 2013, Education and Work, Australia, Cat.no.6227.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics

The rates of youth unemployment in Australia are still above 12% for 15-24 year olds, and above 20% in some particular disadvantaged areas.”

• Industry 2015, Australian Innovation System Report 2015, Office of Chief Economist, WWW.INDUSTRY.GOV.AU/VATIONREPORT>

“Research has shown that approximately 1.44 million jobs were added to the Australian economy by younger businesses, particularly start-ups (up to two years old) from 2006 to 2011 whereas older businesses (three years old or more), shed just over 400,000 net jobs over the same period.

What is UPSTART? What makes us unique?We ask students “What’s your big idea to positively change your world?” We ignite their passion and take them on a journey to help them reach their goals. We match them with industry mentors, equipping them with the tools to turn their ideas into successful customer focused solutions.

Upstart nurtures and instils the value of lifelong learning principles, collaboration, the need to ask for help and to just have a go. Our fail fast methodologies help build essential life skills such as resilience and problem solving.

We encourage participants to solve problems, real problems, big, hairy, audacious problems, community problems, local problems, global problems, social problems……Solving problems to positively change their world.

Innovative learning complements traditional schooling There are no teachers, classrooms, timetables or exams, Upstart delivers real world applied learning to small diverse student groups, facilitated by business professionals. Our mentors, highly skilled and experienced in their chosen fields, help nurture and develop students and their ideas, offering introductions and insights to the startup ecosystem and the network of investors and collaborators. The real world life experiences students’ gain builds relevant skills, resilience and optimism in their future.

Upstart Entrepreneurial Challenge is a not for profit and registered charity on a mission to raise awareness of entrepreneurship and business start-up as a valid career option. We equip young people for the jobs of the future as the economic and employment landscape transforms.

We’re working to build a culture where young people believe in themselves and their ability to start their own businesses at any time.

The Upstart Challenge is an entrepreneurial education and mentoring program. It culminates in a business ideas and pitching competition for secondary school students. The Upstart Challenge currently runs outside of school time and is free to enter.

We urgently require the support of industry and community partners to help us.

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Meet the team

Leanne Nelson Communication &Event Co-ordination

Rebecca SymmondsAccounts Intern

Rebecca joined the Upstart team as an intern in her final year of a Commerce degree at Deakin University. She was able to advance her skills, while gaining practical real world experience as a valued member of our dynamic team.

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Heather KellyDirector

Jen PerksDirector

We live in times of rapid change, where nothing stays the same for long. And just like our participants, we are acutely aware of the need to test and challenge our thinking to remain ahead of the curve and deliver on our mission. As such, we are fortunate to work with a team of dedicated professionals, our Upstart Challenge Advisory Committee.

Photos thanks to Silver SponsorPam Hutchinson Photography

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Upstart Advisory Committee

Stephanie DaviesLawyerHarwood Andrews

Philippa BakesBusiness AdviserPhilippa Bakes Advisory

Anne-Marie RyanCEOGRLLEN

Jason SteinwedelProgram ManagerDeakin Manufutures

Peter Rudd DirectorPropaganda Screen Printing

Aamir Qutub CEO Enterprise Monkey

How does it work?Participants are led through a series of key learnings on business start-up. These include Ideas Generation, Design Thinking and Innovation.They explore methods and models for new venture opportunity assessment and analysis. Participants learn what innovation is and how to quickly analyse their ideas and identify which are most likely to succeed with maximum impact. In the concept development stage they discover business and revenue models, understand their customer and how to reach them and explore intellectual property and the commercialisation journey.

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Since 2012 Upstart has seen...

These workshop-based activities are led by a team of experts and facilitators, complemented by Upstart mentors who test participants thinking, provide feedback and set tasks to refine the business idea and confirm customer understanding.

Mentors also provide specific expertise and access to their professional networks. Pitching finalists undergo detailed pitch training and practice to enable them to pitch like a pro to a panel of investment judges in front of a large audience of business and education professionals at the Pitching Showdown.

Nurture for HopeWinners of the 2016 Upstart Challenge, team Nurture for Hope, Madeline, Izzy and Ali, (Year 11 at Clonard College in Geelong), developed their Big Idea for supporting the recovery of young people with eating disorders.

Having explored various business models throughout their Upstart journey, the team decided to launch with a Not for Profit model. The Nurture for Hope program will provide a range of services to support and provide moments of normality for people undergoing treatment for eating disorders.

Since winning the Upstart Challenge the team have featured in online and television news media, including ABC News, presented to entrepreneurs’ and start-up groups and continue to build partnerships with medical professionals and healthcare providers.

“I’ve learnt so much about not only what I can do, but how a business works. I’m on the phone now, 24/7. We want to have an office in every state”.

The girls also won the Nick Stanley Start-up Success and Entrepreneurial Excellence Programme. Upstart is thrilled at these young entrepreneur’s dedication to deliver and we’ll be supporting their next steps.

More information on Nurture for Hope can be found on their website

http://www.nurtureforhope.com/

2016 Upstart’s Young Entrepreneurs of the Year

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Team Emergency Local, Henry Glenister and Josh Bertucci, Year 9 students from Geelong Baptist College won Upstart’s 2016 Smarter Tech Award. This was sponsored by Enterprise Monkey.

Their Big Idea was to create an app to help people quickly and easily access relevant emergency information, such as how to administer CPR, deal with bites and the location of the nearest defibrillator.

“My dad has been struggling with his health a bit; he’s had four heart attacks and I wanted to make an app for him and people like him to help keep them safer” says Henry. “It’s scary when someone goes down and you just want to know what to do quickly, you don’t have time to start wading through lots of text” continues Henry, “time is critical.”

Enterprise Monkey CEO Aamir Qutub said he was impressed with the sentiment behind the idea, and the video pitch that the boys entered to the Big Ideas competition.

Team Emergency Local

THE BIG IDEA

“I could see that this app had the potential to really help people access critical information quickly in cases of emergency”.

Aamir mentored the boys through the process to create the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) for the app though a series of face to face sessions (usually after school accompanied by pizza!) and Skype calls.

With the app developed, Henry and Josh pitched to over 180 guests and the investor judging panel at Upstart’s Annual Pitching Showdown where they encouraged guests to download and begin using the app.

Having done such an impressive pitch, the boys received an invitation to pitch at the 2016 Pivot Summit, Geelong’s digital futures event. From here they built valuable connections and continue to refine their app. Upstart will continue to provide support to the team in their next steps.

Find and download the Emergency Local app at the Appstore.

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Northern Bay College were the winners of the Print in 3D Award – with the highest number of Big Ideas entries. They were delighted to receive the prize of a 3D printer for the college which was sponsored by Print in 3D. They were closely followed by Belmont Secondary College.

Northern Bay entrants also did well at the Big Ideas Awards, two teams swooping up the coveted $300 cash prizes and 3D printed trophies, kindly printed by sponsor Deakin University.

Jay Marshall, Year 11, Northern Bay College entered the Upstart Challenge in 2015 and 2016 for two very different ideas.

Both times this creative entrepreneur submitted highly innovative video entries to communicate his Big Ideas, impressing judges such that he was awarded with Big Ideas Awards each time.

Meet some of Upstart’s young entrepreneursAlthough only in Year 8 at St Joseph’s College Geelong, Zac had always been interested in business. He says, “The Upstart Challenge was the first real ‘businessy’ thing I could get involved in, and of course I was very interested in winning the $1000 prize money!”

In fact, Zac was so interested; he’s entered the Upstart Challenge every year since 2013. Each year he has demonstrated an increasing capacity for innovation and business startup, being a finalist every time.

“I’m definitely more confident at public speaking and just having a go now – I would never have thought I could get up and speak to over 200 people before”.

“Upstart is a great way to get some business ideas flowing and also to get support for taking them forward, I’ve learnt so much” says Zac.

“It’s fantastic for helping you make the right connections with business people. It’s a great experience and you could win money! I got a job out of it too.”

Talk to us about how you can join Upstart : info@upstartchallenge.com

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Thank you to our 2016 sponsorsWe would like to acknowledge and thank our 2016 sponsors for their very generous support of the Upstart Challenge. It is exciting to work with these forward-thinking organisations and individuals who enable us to inspire and educate our young entrepreneurs and change makers, and to build future prosperity.

By becoming involved with the Upstart Challenge our sponsors are demonstrating the importance they place on innovation, creativity and youth entrepreneurship and demonstrating their leadership in this area. They receive many valuable opportunities to connect with other businesses, experts, potential talent, innovators, institutions and entrepreneurs at our networking events. Our sponsors’ generous support allows Upstart to continue to offer this unique and valuable opportunity free of charge to participants.

St Joseph’s College Geelong Foundation values creativity and innovation, and is the founding creator and sponsor of the original Upstart pilot program in 2012-13. Seeing the benefits of participation to the College community, the Foundation had the foresight to open it up to the broader community so many more could benefit. The Foundation has continued to be a generous supporter as Upstart has transitioned to its independent not for profit status, pledging a significant 3-year sponsorship. Founding sponsor since 2012

Skilling the Bay is a regionally driven project led by The Gordon and delivered in partnership with Deakin University and the Victorian Government to prepare Geelong for the jobs of the future. We are proud to be a delivery partner of Skilling the Bay and work collaboratively with them.Major funder since 2015

Deakin University is a world-class institute with cutting edge facilities and renowned quality of research and teaching. Through their sponsorship of Upstart, students not only learn how to turn their business ideas into reality, they can work together to find innovative solutions and make an impact on our society. Since 2014

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THE BIG IDEA

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Talk to us about how you can join Upstart : info@upstartchallenge.com

Jason Clarke

Matt Dingle

We have a team of very talented and dedicated mentors who give up their time to support Upstart. They share their entrepreneurial and business expertise with participating teams. Their support is vital to help us grow a ‘start-up’ culture in a world challenged by economic transformation.

Mentors work with teams of secondary school students, guiding development of their ideas, through a business planning process and encouraging them to find their voice and pitch like a pro!

The mentorship process helps students analyse their ideas objectively, and builds resilience and confidence in their ability. Mentors also gain valuable contact with fellow mentors, extending their own professional networks, and building knowledge in different fields.

We would like to thank all the Upstart mentors who have provided invaluable guidance and advice to our participants. Many of the participants specifically pointed to their discussions with the mentors as the most beneficial aspect of the program. Thank you to our mentors for providing their time and expertise, to make the Upstart Entrepreneurial Challenge a truly unique and valuable program.

2016 Mentors and JudgesWe would also like to thank our 2016 pool of judges for their time and expertise in the evaluation of the ideas generated throughout the program. They comprise of entrepreneurs, investors and educators, each providing helpful feedback to every idea they assessed.

Philippa Bakes: Geelong Angel Investment Group Nick Stanley: CEO Tribal CampusLauren Rielly: Jade LionsMaurice Grasso: Melbourne Angel Investment Group Matt Dingle: Co-founder, Carbon Revolution Tina Perfrement: City of Greater GeelongJason Clarke: Lead Facilitator and Event MC. Jason is our creative thinking guru who helps us to ensure Upstart remains fresh and fun. We are extremely grateful for all his support over the last couple of years and look forward to our continued collaboration.

Interested in supporting Upstart Challenge? Talk to us: info@upstartchallenge.com.au

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Thanks a million!Mike Everest Duxtel

Dr Russell Walker Praecedo International

Nicole Newman The Food Purveyor

Matt Dingle Matt Dingle Pty Ltd

Jackson Docherty Dunroamin Leadership Academy

Liz Grant Small Business Smart Business

Dr Richard Helmer SuperInteractive

Davina Montgomery Adcell Group

Terry Hickey Enterprise Geelong

Todd Hubers Startup Cloud

Andrew Jones G2 Innovation

Greg Hall-Burns 10 sq M

Amanda LaBonte Voice and Communications

Dr Grace Chan Davies Collison Cave

Jamie Dunbar Dragonboots Studio

Scott Brown Nel’ nero

Andrew Flitton Third Reef

Aaron Belbasis RMIT

Fiona Lucas irespectonline

Alex Wilson ANZ Bank

Robert Foster KØBEN digital

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Bringing creative young minds and industry together In 2016 Upstart was delighted to offer a series of school holiday programs and school excursions aimed at generating innovative solutions to improve the health of the Geelong community thanks to the sponsorship of GMHBA.

Students were treated to an immersive day applying creative thinking and learning the importance of teamwork and leadership in a bespoke facility.

They undertook a range of outdoor command tasks, demonstrating resilience, persistence and newly developed skills. Indoors they worked collaboratively with the GMHBA team to develop business solutions to the problems presented.

Do you need some out of the box thinking to address a problem?

Tap into our innovation bootcamps and the minds of tomorrow’s global entrepreneurs and job creators.

Their Big Ideas could be your next big solution?

Teens learn ideas generation, evaluation and pitching skills to develop creative solutions to real problems posed to them by the business.

They undertake fun leadership and team building activities in a mix of challenging outdoor and creative indoor activities.SCHOOLS

Looking for a school excursion with a difference?

Talk to us about how we can meet your student outcome and curriculum needs.

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Sponsorship of 2017 Bootcamps

Urgently Required

Talk To Us Today

The Digital Inclusion Strategy is all about harnessing the opportunities that the digital world can bring and this partnership makes perfect sense for Upstart participants.

What this will mean for next year is an increasing focus on digital as an idea enabler, and the skills required to utilise digital tools for ideas that “positively change your world”.

Digital Inclusion Strategy

Coming Up

We’re excited to announce that, as part of their Digital Inclusion Strategy, the City of Greater Geelong is joining the Upstart Challenge as a Platinum Sponsor.

We’re looking forward to seeing you during our upcoming program of events and workshops with the 2017 launch event set for March 22 2017.

Join in with the many forward thinking individuals and organisations who are part of our network, working together to unleash creativity and develop the entrepreneur in us all!

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Upstart is expanding!

To help us achieve even greater positive impact we have expanded our reach and now offer tailored programs, workshops and events to help build entrepreneurial skills and culture in your work place.Talk to us today!

BusinessesMake an investment in the future by becoming a sponsor of the Upstart Challenge.

Your business will be recognised as a leader in innovation, creativity and youth entrepreneurship.

You will enjoy opportunities to access new and emerging talent for your organisation and promote your brand to a large network of business, investors, entrepreneurs, educators, students, families and the wider community throughout the program.

Collaborating with Upstart means you are supporting young people to create the jobs of the future and contributing to the socio-economic development of the local community.

Talk to us to find out how to become involved.

info@upstartchallenge.com.au

SchoolsThe Upstart Challenge offers secondary school students with a unique opportunity to develop leadership, teamwork and entrepreneurship skills.

The program is widely supported by the business, government and school communities for its innovative approach to developing the global entrepreneurs and job creators of the future.

We offer a number of flexible ways for schools to offer the benefits of the Upstart Challenge to their students to ready them for the jobs of the future.

Talk to us to find out how to become involved.

info@upstartchallenge.com.au

We need YOUR help...please

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Interested in supporting Upstart Challenge? Talk to us: info@upstartchallenge.com.au

As a Not for Profit and registered charity we can only continue to offer this valuable program to participants free of charge with your help.

Contact Us to Find Out How You Can Be Involved

info@upstartchallenge.com.au

Jen Perks on 0434 205 945 or Heather Kelly on 0418 831 195

twitter.com/upstartchall @upstartchall

facebook.com/upstartchallenge

Jason Clarke

Matt Dingle