Startup Invest welcomes over 250 attendees

Startup Invest was held on December 5th 2018. the annual event brought together an exclusive crowd of pre-screened investors and industry experts to watch teams from River City Labs' Accelerator Demo Day pitches and finalists from River City Labs exclusive RiverPitch series.

All eight teams from RCL Accelerator cohort delivered polished pitches as they looked to secure seed and series A funding from the group of high-powered national and international investors.

The teams embarked on the accelerator program six months ago, ready to scale-up.

Cristo Pajust ( RCL Accelerator Head ) shared: “Having built several international businesses myself, I understand the need for Australian companies to grow out of their home-market as quickly as possible. Our accelerator is attracting founders that are running truly established growth businesses. Already during our program, we’ve seen some impressive traction stories immerse in front of our own eyes. I’m proud to present the next generation of founders to Queensland ecosystem and know we’ll hear about their successes continuously!”

The evening also introduced six teams that had successfully applied for RiverPitch. RiverPitch was first welcomed to the Brisbane scene by River City Labs CEO Peta Ellis and River City Labs Founder Steve Baxter. The event series has staged 17 events and produced 64 Alumni companies. One-third of these companies have raised capital within a 12-month period after the event as a result of RiverPitch introductions.

"We introduced the RiverPitch concept in 2012 ( back then it was just dinner with investors ) with the hope that it would become an annual event bringing together Startups with investors for opportunities they wouldn't encounter elsewhere. We wanted to create a stage where they could confidently create a social setting for everyone to connect and network".

This year the audience saw strong pitches delivered by teams from RCL Accelerator and RiverPitch, ranging from biotech,  agritech, medtech and education categories.

RiverPitch applicant AgriChain Co-Founder Baden U'Ren pitched his startup with his message focused on improving margins from farmers by increasing efficiency and transparency in agricultural supply chains.

From RCL Accelerator cohort #BNE4, Monarc Global Founder Royce Crown impressed the audience with his on-demand online booking interface for private aircraft charter. "We generated $3.1M in total charter revenue in 5 months," said Royce to a curious audience.

Ellis said "It's now up to the community to support these startups through the next phase of their journey. It's risky and scary for these teams to continue to grow and scale, they risk alot to change the world and to keep their business alive.

"We support them as much as we can through the program with the best mentors and daily support enabling them to manage the tougher days while building a support network that will play a vital role post-program. But the journey doesn't stop here for them".

River City Lab Accelerator #BNE4 cohort

World's Biggest Garage Sale - Founder Yasmin Grigaliunas

FlightSuit - Founder Scott Hutchens

Orbmaps - Founder Lachlan Spedding

Icosian - Founder Sam Robertson

Edoome - Founder Leonardo De La Fuente

FloodMapp - Co-Founder Juliette Murphy

Conpago - Mackenzie Jackson

Monarc Global- Royce Crown

 

RiverPitch

Atmo Biosciences - CEO Malcolm Hebblewhite

AgriChain - Co-founder Baden U'Ren

Parent TV - Founder Sam Jockel

Kynd - Founder Michael Metcalfe

CodeBots - Co-Founder - Eban Escott

Realar - Co-Founder Dan Swan

 

End Media Release

 

About River City Labs

River City Labs fosters the growth of startup companies solving big problems. We provide resources to empower, support and connect entrepreneurs. River City Labs powers a range of programs, events and engagement opportunities, enabling our corporate partners to innovate differently and embed their teams within the startup community.

River City Labs is a human-led organisation ensuring founders come first always and every engagement is underpinned by our core values of Give, Learn, Grow, Take Action and Always Challenge.

 

About RCL Accelerator

The RCL Accelerator, powered by muru-D is a 6-month growth program that pushes later stage startups to reach the next level. Operating out of River City Labs in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley, each program takes up to 10 startups and provides them with capital funding, office space, mentorship, workshops and the necessary tools that will propel them into becoming investment ready business. The RCL Accelerator has had 4 successful cohorts, with some impressive results to date.

 

About RiverPitch

RiverPitch is an event series run by River City Labs that provides a great platform for Entrepreneurs to present their business opportunities to a group of registered investors in order to help raise capital for their company. RiverPitch aims to provide a different approach to capital funding and de-formalise the search for the next investment. There have been 17 events since 2012 producing 64 Alumni companies. 1/3 of these raised capital with a 12 month period after RiverPitch.