Entrepreneurs flock to Brisbane for Creative³ forum

Next month, a group of entrepreneurs from all over the world will gather in Brisbane for the Creative³ forum, where they’ll be explaining why it’s important to back “the future power sectors of the Australian and global economy” – the creative, innovation and technology industries.

Creative³ curator Anna Rooke says innovation is key to competing and succeeding in the global landscape.

“Many organisations are now reaping the benefits of developing innovative products and services, accessing emerging markets or applying innovative approaches to traditional sectors,” she says.

“We established the Creative³ forum five years ago in order to equip business leaders with the latest thinking on new technology, business tools, creative intelligence, industry insights and design-led innovation.”

Among the speakers at this year’s forum are David Briskin, chairman of sass & bide, Jonathan Chippindale, CEO and co-founder of augmented retail provider Holition, and Simon Moss, CEO and founder of ImageBrief.

They’ll be sharing their journey as business entrepreneurs and how they tackled the task of raising investment.

“We’re giving startups and entrepreneurs an opportunity to challenge themselves, be inspired and gain business insights from leading game-changers and industry experts, but fundamentally to back this important sector which is currently not recognised as a major driver of Australian economic growth,” Rooke says.

“This year we have particularly focused on new and disruptive business models and applications. This is a unique cross platform event to inspire startups through to established business leaders on what it takes to build innovation in business.”

The Creative³ forum is an initiative of QUT Creative Enterprise Australia and will run for two days on September 18 and 19. It will feature interactive sessions, keynote speakers, workshops, networking events, and an investor pitch event.

“Sometimes Brisbane’s creative startup community is underestimated when compared to international hotspots such as Silicon Valley, but we have some of the best and brightest talent here,” Rooke says.

“Through Creative³, we’re bringing successful entrepreneurs from around the globe to Brisbane, to help our Australian startups access capital, connect and grow in confidence.

“We have a thriving local startup community that is being fostered by incubators and co-working spaces but we need to mature our innovation ecosystem significantly to compete globally.”