Merimbula launches bid to be the “SeaChange Startup capital” of Australia

The NSW south coast town of Merimbula will be running a start-up camp and Dragon’s Den style investment pitching event in March this year, in a bid to draw entrepreneurs to the area.

Entrepreneur and conference coordinator Liam O’Duibhir told StartupSmart the event had two target markets and objectives.

“The camp is basically to inspire people in the region to be more entrepreneurial, embrace technology and ultimately form start-ups, potentially disruptive ones, that will become the backbone of a new economic sector for the region,” O’Duibhir says.

Beyond inspiring the locals, the camp is also to inspire entrepreneurs based in metropolitan centres to move to the beachside town.

“We also want to send a big message to those involved in metro regions like Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne that tech and entrepreneurship are happening here and you can carve out your life in a lovely area and get the best of both worlds,” he adds.

The two-day conference will including speeches and workshops with NSW Finance Minister Andrew Constance, start-up mentor Pete Cooper, as well as entrepreneurs Simone Eyles from 365Cups and SignonSite app’s Mitch Harmer.

O’Duibhir says more start-up events are needed in regional areas to connect the community as the biggest challenge for regional entrepreneurship is finding the right talent.

“Unless you’re going to do everything yourself, which is a tough proposition, you need access to talented people to validate and implement your ideas and enable you to scale up,” O’Duibhir says.

This is the third time the conference has been run by local not-for-profit technology promoting group IntoIT.