So why the Startup Experience?

There are currently many vocational training opportunities for the trades and blue collar type careers.  However there are few opportunities in the more white collar or professional careers for students to gain valuable work experience before graduation.

Starting a business can be tough.  According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, more than 60 percent of small businesses cease operating within the first three years of starting.

The possibility created by the “StartUp Experience” is to slowly reverse this business failure rate, engage the local business community whilst at the same time offering value experience to students.

There are three key components to the “StartUp Experience”

As a past student and now a business owner, I have stood on all sides of the fence.  I’ve been that student looking for experience to gain that all important job or establish myself in a new career.  As an employer now looking for staff, I now pour over countless applications from graduates with the academic credentials but not the real world experience that I require.  An all to familiar catch 22 position, “how do I get the experience without the opportunity?”  As a mature business I am now offering mentoring to other business owners eager to head out on their own business adventure.

The Student:

When I was first starting out in my current business over 10 years ago, my first employee was a part time university student.  He was studying Business/IT and wanted a career in software development and implementation.  Working in my business doing website and app development,online marketing and a host of other IT related tasks saw him gather valuable experience.  Two years past quickly and it was time to graduate.  In his own words “my resume went to the top of the pile because I had experience”.  He landed an internship as a software implementation engineer with one of the top four consulting firms.

The StartUp:

Typically startup or early phase business lack many of the skills and/or resources needed to develop their business.  By harnessing the skills of undergraduates in the supply of a range of skills, the business will be able to gain valuable project work which will free up capital for investment into other areas of the business.

The Sponsoring Business:

A sponsoring business is any business that would like to donate their time in mentoring and guiding a student(s) in the delivery of a small (4 – 12 week) project.  Students, startups and sponsoring businesses are matched together based on the desired needs of the startup, the area of interest of the student and the specialty of the sponsoring business.

How Does the StartUp Experience Work?

Students, startups and sponsoring businesses are matched together based on the desired needs of the startup, the area of study of the student and the speciality of the sponsoring business.

Startups submit the projects they need completed or the areas they are seeking assistance.  Projects are assessed on their ability to be completed in the designated time frame.  Students will be provided with a formal letter from the sponsoring business and the startup acknowledging their participation and the details of the project undertaken.

Applications open Friday August 10th 2018.

The “Startup Experience” community project has captured the valued support of Innovate Moreton Bay and Brendale Business Connect.