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The majority of participants in a program for start-ups have gone on to start a business, with expressions of interest for the next intake now open.
The Ideas Place Ignite Program aims to help South West entrepreneurs make their innovative business ideas a reality.
Following the completion of the Ignite Program, a number of participants also went on to pitch for up to $10,000 in funding from the Ideas Place.
Sherri Symons won $10,000 in seed funding for her idea to use low-value crossbred wool as an organic fertiliser, and Ideas Place facilitator Liz Grant said that Sherri wasn’t the only success story.
“If you look at the participants who were in the previous Ignite, most of them have gone on to establish a business,” she said.
“By the end of the Ignite program, many of them had made their first sale.”
The Ignite program runs for 10 weeks and covers topics such as finance, marketing, operations, risk management and everything else needed to launch or expand on an innovative business idea.
As well as this, Ms Grant said that the opportunity to connect with like-minded people from South West Victoria is one of the major benefits of the program.
“It takes a village to raise a business,” she said.
"And we’ve found with the program that has just finished, great friendships were made, really strong friendships.
“Everyone has different ideas and different experiences, and it adds to the richness of your idea to have input from others on how you might make it happen.
“You don’t know who other people know, so you start that network and from there, it broadens.”
Ms Grant said that the program is flexible to accommodate people with other commitments.
“It’s 10 weeks of three hours on a Monday night, but in that three hours there are three separate modules, and they are recorded so you can access it later,” she said.
Ms Grant has worked in the business growth space for almost 35 years, and the start-up sector for 14 years.
She encouraged anyone with either an idea for a new business, for an innovation in an existing business, or an idea for a not-for-profit program to express their interest in the upcoming Ignite Program.
“Often we think we’re a lot less ready than we really are,” she said.
“If you’ve got an idea and this program has piqued your interest, it’s likely that you’re ready.”
Expressions of Interest close on Wednesday August 30.
To find out more visit theideasplace.com.au.