Tuesday night I attended the iLab UQ Germinate 12 Pitch Night to support Chatloop. Michael Mersiades, the founder of Chatloop, had a very successful night. He won the Shane Chidgzey Young Entrepreneurs prize. He also launched the Chatloop crowdfunding campaign to raise money to build the Chatloop app. The pilot program for Chatloop was coordinated annually using Whatsapp and other messaging apps. I am happy that Chatloop won and I think it was very deserved as it was by far, the strongest pitch of the night.

As for the other pitches, they were an interesting mix of ideas, at different stages of development and viability. Given that UQ iLab’s applications are limited to UQ staff, students and recent alumni, I am not surprised that some of the ideas did feel more in the germination stage and not necessarily in the acceleration stage.

One of the more developed ideas was Happy Dinosaur creative outdoor advertising for local businesses. I think they have worked out a good niche. They are also addressing a legitimate pain point. They are printing advertisements on paper cups and distributing them in local cafes. Also, using cafe tables to advertise local businesses. They are a lot of potential for synergy but at the same time, they aren’t addressing the fact that people have becomes somewhat immune to passive marketing. But still, good niche, solid solution, I think they have a future.

Another pitch that peaked my interest was Tutio, which aims to provide platform using which school students can get affordable tutoring. The platform also aims to teach students how to learn. It’s a good idea, and I think it has legs. But I know too little about the private tutoring market to comment much. But since they were targeting schools, I recommend they approach the Brisbane School of Distance Education. Since the students of BSDE are required to be more self-sufficient then students in traditional classrooms, I figured they stood to benefit more from Tutio.

Staying in the education vein, Model Econ pitched to provide a platform for economics teachers. They correctly identified that it is hard to communicate the importance of econ in the world at large. You need to see the context, and they aim to provide that via their platform. Good idea but I feel they should be targeting students and empowering them to explore economics more. But teachers need better teaching tools. So Model Econ certainly has a market.

Half-way between education and entertainment you have Robotics Playground. They want to make robotics as fun and accessible as laser tag! I understand their goals. Robots are currently the toys of STEM parents to help raise their kids to love STEM. But not all kids have STEM parents. Indeed, not all STEM parents can master robotics. Robots should belong to everyone. So while I think they need to work out a lot of chinks, I think they are on to something.

In the all entertainment category, there was Nature Freedom. It’s a social enterprise that is aiming to provide people with disabilities, and mental health issues enjoy nature. It’s a good endeavour, and I wish them well.

Now to a set of three pitches that cover three stages of life. Firstly, there was Finding Perfect, a well-pitched play-once type game that determines what a woman would like as her engagement ring. But still leaves the final ring choice a surprise. A fun little gimmick but I don’t know if there is a business there.

Once you get married, you might need furniture for your marital home. That’s where Space Y by North Hem comes in. They display furniture that’s sold online at physical locations near potential consumers so that consumers can come and see the pieces physically before buying. North Hem is an online furniture store. So I assume they know more about this idea and are confident they can make it work. I think it’s a good idea if they can make it work. I am just not sure if they can.

Now whether we get married or ever own furniture, we will all get old! Old age means lots of medication, this is where MediRoo comes in. At the moment, they are mostly another medication tracker/reminder app. But they want to differentiate themselves by adding doctor engagement. If they succeed, and I doubt they will, I think they are on to a winner. But doctors are busy, overworked people. I don’t think they will sign-up for more work.

The final pitch of the night was I Tinker Too. They got torn to shreds on the night by Queensland’s Chief Entrepreneur Steve Baxter, who nearly slipped into full shark tank mode. I think Mr Baxter might have been a bit too harsh on them. But I do think he had a good point. I Tinker Too needs to tinker with its business process a bit more. The found it not technical. He is outsourcing everything. He doesn’t have a stable workforce. So they are on shifting sands, as Mr Baxter pointed out.

Overall, a good night. I am glad I attended. I picked up a few pointers that I could use in my pitches. Now, do I have a pitch coming up? Well, that’s a story for another post!