Brisbane’s booming mobile tech start-up scene to gather on Monday night

Brisbane start-ups are preparing to launch a new wave of mobile technology, with a sold-out showcase event set to take place on June 17.

The event is part of the global Mobile Monday movement. First launched as a casual gathering of developers focused on mobile technology in Finland in 2000, the event now includes 160 cities, including Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

Ten start-ups will be presenting their ideas. They will each get four minutes and four slides.

Co-founder Chris Kettle told StartupSmart the event was focused on networking and there would be venture capital investors and start-up experts in the audience.

“There are so many companies doing cool things. The Mobile Monday start-up night is about showcasing the latest and greatest idea so people can get some validation. Companies can be in ideas phase looking for developers, or doing really well and about to launch major campaigns,” says Kettle.

The sold-out event is another sign of the rapid development of the Brisbane start-up scene.

“The start-up scene in Brisbane is totally erupting right now. We’ve gone from six people at Mobile Monday Brisbane and we’ve filled the last few with 60 places,” says Kettle.

Kettle attributes this growth to better resources and a cultural shift.

“There have always been lots of creatives in Brisbane and now the ecosystem is really taking off. Ideas and developers are everywhere and there is angel money coming in,” Kettle says.

“Places like the River City Labs (where the event takes place) are really useful at bringing people together.

“It’s now so easy and apps are very exciting. There have never been better distribution platforms and since We Are Hunted came out of Brisbane and got bought by Twitter, everyone is really focused.”

Kettle launched the Mobile Monday Brisbane evening in 2008, after meeting co-founder Mark White at a Mobile Monday London event.

“We’d been working the same industry in the same city for years, and never met. So we decided when we got back, we were going to make this happen in Brisbane,” Kettle says. “It wouldn’t surprise me if we had another global win in Brisbane in the next 12 months.”