Perth’s innovation industry has seen substantial growth but changing the narrative that entrepreneurs fit a particular mold could offer more diverse solutions to the problems startups are trying to solve.
Chandra Sundareswaran, general manager of Spacecubed, believed anyone could be part of a world-changing idea and it was a message they supported at the co-working hub.
“Entrepreneurs don’t fit a certain mold. Sometimes the stock image that’s used (for startups) is a 20-something-year-old boy wearing a hoodie and what we want to change is that narrative,” Mr Sundareswaran said.
“We need your average Joe or Jenny getting involved in these ideas because it’s not just about the next Uber or Canva. It’s about how we can solve genuine problems that we are facing or we will face.”
Mr Sundareswaran’s comments followed the 18th Techstars Startup Weekend event hosted by Spacecubed in Perth, which saw more than 60 Perth entrepreneurs aged between 16 and 65 pitch their ideas.
Mr Sundareswaran said they heard a “smorgasbord” of ideas over the 54-hour event, particularly ones solving issues around mobility as the world moves towards more autonomous and driverless vehicles.
He said the event highlighted the evolution of Perth’s startup ecosystem from when Spacecubed first hosted the global accelerator event in 2012.
“(The event) is the top end of the funnel and it helps identify what ideas are out there. If the problem-solvers come from a variety of demographics, that will reflect in the solutions,” Mr Sundareswaran said.
“Once we recognize that the (startup) ecosystem welcomes people of all ages, shapes and sizes, we will see real, genuine diversity in solutions.”
Jack Harvey was the youngest entrepreneur over the weekend and said he felt privileged to be given a platform to pitch his ideas.
It’s never too early to bring your ideas to life. Being an entrepreneur is definitely something I want to pursue in the future,” Mr. Harvey said.
The 16-year-old, along with friends Abdulmalik Kribi and Doug Batzorig, both 17, developed a sporting app designed to connect teams and players together, which saw them place third.
Harrison Kenworthy, 17, also developed a platform allowing car enthusiasts to get on-demand advice and solutions from automobile companies.
Mr Sundareswaran added: “For a 16-year-old to be part of a team that involved people from (a wide range of ages) just gives them real-world experience that they would never get at school.”
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