Prime Minister Partners with Pollenizer to Launch Startups

Pollenizer has partnered with the Prime Ministers office to launch a new initiative to create startups which leverage the Governments 7500 Open Data Sets.

Pollenizer, Phil Morle had been working jointly with Prime Minister Turnbull for some time before he deposed Tony Abbott.

DataStart creates opportunities for Australian tech startups to develop sustainable businesses through access to open government data.

Startups can apply here .

One team will receive a nine month incubation program with Pollenizer and government assistance with customer discovery, technical support and access to government data. The successful team will also have opportunities to access private investment, networks, platforms and coaching as they create their dream company.

Twenty finalist founders will be selected:

• 5 day workshop in Sydney
• Work with other founders
• Build and test your ideas
• Present to the panel

The successful startup will receive an incubation program with Pollenizer, including:

• 9-month Pollenizer Success Core Program.
• Team coaching and mentoring one day per week.
• Training in Pollenizer Startup Science methods.
• Startup Science tools for fast launch and MVP’s.
• Sydney CBD office and client facing facilities.

Policies under previous leadership created investment and research grants, hackathons, open data platforms, and adviser networks. Yet despite best efforts, the tech startup community did not embrace these offers at scale. The opinion of many entrepreneurs was that these were too slow and cumbersome to engage with.

They were often focused around small business or established companies where business models are known and proven. Startups innovate to disrupt industries by discovering new business models, not replicating the past proven models.

This project differs in four ways:

The focus is not on just ‘starting’ companies. By sponsoring an incubation program it allows founders runway to find a globally scaleable and valuable business model, and not just initiate projects and just hope they scale. Government now understands that a fast failure should create learning insights, and new ideas can pivot.

The thought leadership has been entrusted to experienced startup founders, rather than well intentioned public servants with big organisation mentality. This brings credibility and empathy to the state of tech startup founder challenges. Partnership with world class private-equity startup VC investors also ensures the right questions are asked when making decisions to find high-growth potential opportunities.

Government are now backing founders to pursue concepts in industries they are passionate about, and use domain expertise. Prior initiatives were focused on solving government challenges that may have failed internally even with big budgets. Previously concepts had to meet pre-determined government societal objectives to get support.

Open data will be a powerful tool, not just a prescription. Founders are being given freedom and support to creatively ‘mash-up’ information and discover new value we haven’t even thought of yet. Founders can pursue their big vision without restrictions to comply with mandated themes or outcomes. It’s Founders, not the data, that will make this program succeed.