New initiative to lend a helping hand to Adelaide tech startups

Launching a tech business in Adelaide is set to become easier thanks to a new private initiative aimed at helping startups that lack the technical resources to get off the ground.

Furio provides design and development expertise to startups that may not have a chief technology officer or the money to pay a developer.

Co-founder and technical director Chhai Thach told StartupSmart the aim of the initiative is to see more successful startups come out of Adelaide.

“In Adelaide there are plenty of people who are in tech but they’re not able to find the right co-founder,” he says. “We’ve got a close-knit community here, almost everyone knows each other. We want to bring in new people with different experiences.”

Furio operates from Adelaide’s co-working space Majoran and is looking to connect individuals so that local startups can adapt and scale up. Steve Barrett, co-founder and product director, says Furio’s product team will assess an entrepreneur’s idea beforehand in order to see if they will be a good “fit”.

“We’ll work with individuals or business to build those very basic products and support them through potential growth,” he says. “If we personally feel there is something there we may actually invest in the idea ourselves, but it’s really about giving them the technical expertise they don’t have on their own.”

Like other startup incubators and co-working spaces, Furio will encourage people to take a lean approach.

“We want to make sure we’re bringing in the right people with the right ideas,” says Barrett. “We want to see global business coming into Adelaide, tapping into the knowledge and experts here to perpetuate growth.”

Barrett says from his own experience you can never underestimate the power of people working together and sharing ideas in the same space.

“We want to work with individuals rather than work for them,” he says. “You’ve got to get out there and really connect with people on a deeper level.”

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