2018 UTS Venture Day

The vibe at the event was fantastic, the MBAe students were really inspiring and the conversations afterwards were brilliant.

- Glenn Whitewick, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Innovation and Enterprise), UTS

Judging Panel

	Alexi Baker〡Director of Strategy & Corporate Development, Nine Entertainment Alexi Baker joined Nine in 2011 and was appointed Director of Strategy and Corporate Development in March 2016. She is a strategy and transaction-focused executive with expertise across media, retail and digital, at Nine she is responsible for group strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and investments.
	Ian Davis〡Director, Epona's Dream, Chairman & Investor, Inkerz Ian is a senior executive with over 30 years’ experience and an excellent track record of results as a change agent focused in media, education and telecommunications across all areas of strategy and operations in Australasia and North America.
	Peter Kazacos〡Managing Director, Kazacos Foundation Mr. Kazacos has over 40 years’ experience in the IT industry. He founded KAZ in 1988 and was responsible for guiding KAZ from a small IT services company in NSW to one of Asia Pacific’s leading IT services and business process outsourcing service providers.
	Luscheyne Mellon〡Digital Strategist, The Virtual Collective A versatile consultant with a strong pedigree in experiential marketing, digital product development, launch and strategy. Luscheyne has worked for a wide array of blue-chip companies, SMEs  and start-ups. Her real passion lies in the start-up space and seeing it thrive in Australia.
	Walta Kazzi〡Executive Director, Stratton Walta's finance career began as a graduate program within AGC/Westpac. Not long after, he became his own boss and co-founded Lowestrates.com.au which was later acquired by Stratton in 2008 and in 2014 the company was valued at $120M.
	David Langford〡Adjunct Professor, UTS & Managing Director and Chief Investment Analyst, Long Lake Research David's 25 years of professional experience is diverse, and has been gained in the establishment, growth and re-engineering of businesses in the Investment Management, Investment Banking and Communications industries.
	Ali Linz〡Co-Founder, GroupTogether Ali has over 20 years experience across the gamut of marketing. Ali gained a classical marketing training at the global packaged goods company, Unilever. In her six years, she was responsible for brand management of household names such as John West, Lux and Domestos.
	Michael Williams〡Partner, Gilbert + Tobin Michael is well known for his strategic skills, subject matter knowledge and robust approach to complex disputes and IP advice.  He acts for a wide range of Australian and international clients in fields such as electronics, software, content, entertainment, FMCG, mining and financial services.

It was fantastic to hear such innovative projects and well-presented pitches.

- Natalie Zwar, Lawyer, Gilbert+Tobin

Winners

2018 UTS Venture Day Winners

An impressively fluid and smart pitch competition.

- Carrie Kwan, Co-Founder, Mums & Co

• Timothy Cochran - RESISTx︱Kazacos Family & Foundation Prize
  RESISTx is the community built solely to help you perform better in the gym. Train harder, smarter and see results.
• Livia Leskovec - LoopdKIDZ︱UTS Business School Dean's Award for Best Social Venture
  Engage, educate and empower kids to have a positive impact on the environment... through swapping toys.
• Mahya Mirzaei - LearnEDHub︱UTS Business School Dean's Award for Best For-Profit Venture
  Success based mathematics tutoring.
• Kent Boehm - SpeedSight︱Paul Thorley Prize, Gilbert & Tobin In-Kind Prize
  SpeedSights produces action sport cinematography through high racing drones to get cameras closer to the action than ever before.
• Brayden Beaumont, Rio Weerasinghe, Nora Nasser - Floetic︱BDO In-Kind Prize, TCF Services In-Kind Prize
  Improving operational efficiency by giving hotels insights into their workforce.

Other Participants

• Karlo Alvaro - Kakikala
  Small-task services platform for businesses in the Philippines: helps Filipino's get things done!
• Geoff Bullen - WallSync
  Augmented Reality for Post-its.
• Jolien Dirven - START
  Uses practices from the performing arts that help you rediscover creativity.
• Freya Whereat -​​​​​​​ nable
  A digital platform that helps people in local neighbourhoods connect, give each other a helping hand and build a stronger, more sustainable community.
• Synthia (Ngoc) Huynh -​​​​​​​ She is Strong
  Creating an inclusive society by proving marginalised women overcoming domestic violence and homelessness a safe haven and the tools to make empowered decisions.
• Vanouhi Nazarian -​​​​​​​ Kindershare
  Connecting owners and renters of baby equipment.
• James Rabin -​​​​​​​ Investor Inspired
  Improving operational efficiency by giving hotels insights into their workforce.
• Rahul Prasath Thangavelu -​​​​​​​ Farm to Table
  A market where you can connect with growers and artisans, find fresh produce, experience coffee culture and discover local flavours. 
• Celina Tang -​​​​​​​ Pijinhole
  Manage your learning experience beyond standard university platforms, allowing you greater control over how you organise and engage with content. 
• Julius Tjong -​​​​​​​ GetShare
  Locate the share bike closest to you, regardless of operator, in one app. 
• Anne Wiggins -​​​​​​​ GWGlobal
  Sustainability-focused professional advisory services.
• Azal Khan -​​​​​​​ Kan&Kahn
  Curating ethical, unique handmade accessories from around the world to promote cultural and socio-economic sustainability for artisans.