Innovate Taranaki winners crowned

Taranaki’s budding entrepreneurs were celebrated at the Innovate Taranaki finals night on November 9.

Innovate Taranaki is a 10-week mini-accelerator programme culminating in a finals night where the entrants pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges.

On the night, Neil Boyd was the overall winner with his business idea River Track – a set of tracks for boats, allowing them to drive on land.

This year a youth category was added to the competition, and Georgia Mumby was the inaugural category winner with her business idea Just in Case. Just in Case are emergency packs for women which include lip balm, hair ties and sanitary products.

At the finals night, the guest speaker was Venture Taranaki’s Power Up 2021 winner Glen Stephens. He spoke about the positives and challenges of being an entrepreneur. He also talked about his skincare range, Sol and Sea, and how he exported it to global markets.

Innovation HQ event director Pallak Singh says to get ready for the finals night, entrants attended workshops facilitated by Doso (rebranded from Startup Taranaki) owners Dan Thurston-Crow and Katherine Blaney.

“There was one workshop a week. They covered business topics such as marketing, business models, finances, legality and all of the other things involved with running a business. Dan and Katherine were the perfect people to facilitate this as DoSo is similar to Innovate Taranaki but on a smaller scale.

“We want to bring together the different people associated with entrepreneurship. It allows us to introduce our entrepreneurs to the different people available to help them.”

She says at the end of the workshops finalists receive feedback to help them pitch their final ideas to the judges.

“It’s a whole wrap-around approach covering all the areas of business.”

Innovation HG chief executive Simon Singh said Innovate Taranaki wouldn’t be possible without support from sponsors, mentors and participants.

“Our sponsors, mentors, judges, programme facilitators and the dedicated participants were pivotal to the success of 2023. Their contributions and innovative fervour elevated this event to new heights. As an event that stress-tests business ideas and puts budding entrepreneurs and innovators through their pace, it is unique in Taranaki.”

Simon said he encourages local entrepreneurs to put themselves forward in 2024.

“It’s not all about the prize money and investor exposure, but the wonderful skills acquired, ability to collaborate with other entrepreneurs and the opportunity for participants to draw from experienced mentors and successful entrepreneurs is second to none.”

Details about the 2024 event will be revealed in the coming months.

Simon said the organisers are committed to presenting an event that “continues to surpass expectations, offering an even more transformative experience”.

“We look forward to hearing from all entrepreneurs, potential sponsors, school pathways and YES leaders as we finalise planning the 2024 event.”