UTS startups break into leading accelerators

Within a cohort of 10 startups, WallSync and Clipboard will participate in a six-month program and receive $75,000 in seed funding from the Telstra-backed accelerator.

Collaborative teams use thousands of post-It notes, but hours are lost transferring those notes into digital tools that teams use every day. WallSync, founded by UTS Business MBAe student Geoff Bullen, set out to fix this with their augmented reality app which scans post-It notes directly into project management tools.

Clipboard, co-founded by UTS Faculty of Social Science student Sam Clarke, and Ed Colyer, allows schools to manage their extra-curricular programs and their administrative tasks.

Important next steps

Alan Jones, muru-D's current Entrepreneur in Residence, had previously advised both WallSync and Clipboard during regular progress check-ins at UTS Startups. 

“It’s very early days for WallSync but this could be a runaway hit in 2019 among the tech development community,” says Jones. “They’re providing a solution that potential customers are surprised doesn’t already exist, and that is a great early indicator of startup success.” 

The funding will allow WallSync to move faster, making group workshops more productive and fun.

"We're chuffed to have been selected for muru-D; it's a great opportunity to develop WallSync supported by fantastic people,” says Geoff Bullen.

Jones is also impressed with Clipboard and says that founders, Sam Clarke and Ed Colyer have “deep knowledge of their target customer, which has helped them make impressive progress on winning some great marquee customers in their first few months.” 

Sam Clarke wants Clipboard to be a global leader of extra-curricular management in schools: “Getting accepted into muru-D is incredible validation for us and we can't wait to use this opportunity to continue our journey.”

Startups gaining traction

“I almost fell off my chair when I heard this,” says UTS Director of Entrepreneurship, Murray Hurps. “We’re generating the best student-led startups, who are being accepted into the best programs and it’s great to see this being recognised.”

Earlier this year, three other UTS startups also worked with separate accelerator programs in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. 

• Tech Gym are in the third cohort of The Actuator, Australia’s national med-tech accelerator (Melbourne).
• Plannero are participants in INCUBATE (Sydney)
• Tekuma has relocated to Adelaide as one of the initial startups accepted in Venture Catalyst Space program’s first cohort.  

UTS Startups continues to support student founders on their entrepreneurial journey and connect them to opportunities. If you want to take your idea to the next level, apply here.