Vanessa Lam
19 November 2015: Three teams made up of University of Canberra students and alumni had a chance to kick their business ideas off the ground thanks to the 2015 GRIFFIN Accelerator start-up incubator.
The GRIFFIN Accelerator is a three-month intensive program run by a group of Canberra entrepreneurs who invest in, host, teach and mentor selected start-ups to create successful businesses.
Out of 84 start-ups pitched to participate in the program, six were selected to take part in it and received an investment of up to $300,000 over the three-month period. Three of these successful start-up teams were from the University of Canberra: Solar Bare, HACT and SignOnSite.
Alumna Vivien Mitchell said she was thrilled when she found out her sun-wear company Solar Bare was one of the start-ups chosen for the program.
"The opportunity to be aligned and supported by leaders of Canberra's innovation network is fantastic, it was very exciting to be selected along with other energetic and amazing new entrepreneurs," Ms Mitchell said.
Solar Bare is a new Australian sun-wear label that provides a fashionable solution to sun protection. The company has reimagined the rash vest into designer sun wear: the fashvest, a combination of fashion and rash vest.
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Alumna Vivien Mitchell's fashionable sun-wear label Solar Bare's fashvest design 'Heaven'. Photo Supplied.
"We believe you shouldn't have to compromise on style while being sun smart, and that's the idea at the heart of Solar Bare. With distinctive and original prints, Solar Bare offers beach-loving fashionistas a range of eye-catching and versatile designs to wear on the sand or at the local café," she said.
Ms Mitchell, who completed her graduate certificate in marketing communications at the University in 2005, said the idea of the fashvest came while at the beach.
"One day I was struck by a gap in the market – that sun protection was utilitarian and not at all fashionable. I realised there was an opportunity to positively influence our beach culture by creating stylish apparel that offered sun protection," she said.
The program provided the successful start-ups with access to networks and resources that they might not have had before. During the program, Ms Mitchell said she was able to work on identifying and developing potential distribution channels, finding stockists and launching the company's website.
"The mentors were genuinely interested and encouraging, and the hands-on support helped navigate very unfamiliar and unchartered territory," she said.
Co-founder of SignOnSite Mitchell Harmer said the program has given the company the opportunity to surround itself with experienced Canberra business people who could help it grow to the next stage.
"The access to mentors has helped the team and I grow as executives. It's been really helpful to be able to bounce ideas off people who have been where you are now and to follow along with how they approach problems. I really believe this is what's going to help me develop and take the company to the next level," Mr Harmer said.
Co-founded by Mr Harmer and construction management graduate Alexandria Garlan, SignOnSite is a work health and safely app created for construction workers to automatically register anyone who enters and leaves a worksite just by using their smart phones.
"SignOnSite goes above and beyond other systems by unlocking the individuals' phone as another safety tool. If there is an emergency, the app can notify the individuals on site and site managers would have all the information right at their fingertips," he said.
Currently studying a Bachelor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Mr Harmer said that the University has been a great place to meet people and engage with ideas.
"From meeting my co-founder to working with the team at EntrepreneurshipUC, there is such a diverse range of skills and experiences amongst everyone on campus. It really is a potential hotbed for innovation," he said.
"I've loved how much the University has supported me in my journey. It's great to be applying myself in the real world, working on the company and then going into class and learning there's a word for what I did that week."
As part of the program, the participants were able to complete dedicated workshops on a variety of topics such as pitching to investors and product development.
"It was great to take what you learned that day, then walk out and immediately apply it to your business," Mr Harmer said.
Glenn Grant cofounder of HACT agreed. "The best thing GRIFFIN has given us is the amazing opportunity to get close to some smart and successful industry leaders. I honestly couldn't put a price on the experience and wisdom they've shared, let alone their contacts.
"I didn't really expect how great working with the other teams would be, and the awesome energy of having motivated people working on great ideas all around you. It's truly something special," he said.
HACT runs events to transform how school children aged 10-17 engage with technology. They aim to introduce the students to science, technology, engineering and maths subjects, as well as innovation and entrepreneurship. At the events, students are able to participate in focus streams such as web design, game development, 3D art, virtual reality, 3D printing and mobile app design.
"HACT is about giving young people a chance to experience tech, explore what's possible with real industry tools and build the things they want to create. We're bringing together the events, opportunities and community we wish we had growing up, to inspire the next generation of tech innovators," Mr Grant said.
The software engineering graduate said he enjoyed his time at the University of Canberra and added he's been able to apply the broad range of knowledge he learnt throughout his degree.
"The course had so much variety and it's been really cool to see when those skills randomly pop up, whether it's a technique or language we learned while coding or knowing how to properly structure a database for high performance," he said.
To find out more about the GRIFFIN Accelerator program visit their website.
