Five top pitches from the SydStart start-up jamboree

SydStart held its third annual start-up conference and pitch event yesterday, showcasing some of the leading innovators in Sydney.

The event, which attracted more than 900 attendees, featured an eye-catching line-up of start-up luminaries as speakers, including Freelancer.com founder Matt Barrie and Pollenizer co-founder Mick Liubinskas.

A massive pitching competition between 30 different start-ups rounded off the day, with business process analysis venture ProcessGo taking out the Startup Trophy and $25,000-worth of services from sponsors including PwC and General Assembly.

ProcessGo allows businesses to compare their current operations, such as accounts payable, payroll and IT support, with alternatives in the marketplace in order to choose the best solution. The slides for the winning pitch can be accessed here.

Pete Cooper, organiser of SydStart, says that co-founder Matt Allan “nailed” the pitch and showed off around 15 corporate clients that had already benefited from the service.

Cooper adds that the event has become a good way to knit together Sydney’s start-up community, although the sector still has some way to go.

“SydStart is becoming a bit of a fixture, it’s got a bit of a life of its own now,” he says.

“The goal is to get Sydney hyper-connected, which could well mean greater links with Asia in the future.”

“We’ve doubled the size of the event each year, but Sydney’s start-up scene is still a bit of a gangly teenager which is finding out how fast it can run.”

“It’s got all the working parts, but it’s not quite there yet. We need better connections, more incubators and a steady stream of investment. It’s all a bit sporadic at the moment.”

From those looking to catch the eye in the pitching competition, we’ve picked out five that hit the mark, only to be ultimately outshone by ProcessGo.

1. StyleRocks

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Founder: Pascale Helyar-Moray

When she returned to Australia following a career in the corporate world, Helyar-Moray was searching for something new.

It came in the form of customised jewellery, born from a frustration in not finding the ideal piece online, as she explained to StartupSmart last year.