Bright business ideas from Western Australia could get the Royal seal of approval thanks to a special competition coming to Murdoch University on Friday 23 November.
Pitch@Palace Australia On Tour Perth will help to support entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses by providing mentoring and a platform to promote their ideas in front of an audience of invited business leaders and HRH The Duke of York himself - Prince Andrew.
Applications are now open for entrepreneurs who would like to amplify their work and ideas at the event, which will take place at Murdoch’s Perth campus. The event at Murdoch is part of a series of competitions happening across the nation for the Pitch@Palace Australia 2.0 contest.
Murdoch University Vice Chancellor Eeva Leinonen said the University was delighted to be welcoming The Duke of York and business leaders onto campus.
“Pitch@Palace is a fabulous opportunity for the state’s entrepreneurs to get their ideas out to an audience with access to distribution systems, supply chains, business acumen and maybe even investment dollars,” Professor Leinonen said.
“I am hoping to see Murdoch students and alumni among the finalists in the competition. Murdoch is committed to building partnerships and connections with industry and the community and the Pitch@Palace event will be a great platform from which to do this.”
Connecting entrepreneurs
Pitch@Palace was founded by HRH in 2014 as a platform to amplify and accelerate the work of entrepreneurs. The program guides, helps and connects entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses with a global network of potential supporters including CEOs, influencers, angels, investors, mentors and business partners.
Over the last four years, Pitch@Palace has held events in or worked with entrepreneurs from more than 50 countries across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, Latin America and Europe. The event at Murdoch will be the first time Pitch@Palace has come to WA.
Up to 20 businesses will be selected to attend Pitch@Palace Australia On Tour Perth, to receive coaching at Murdoch from business leaders and communication coaches before pitching their idea in just three minutes.
Judged by a panel of local business leaders, eight winners will be invited to join other successful pitchers from similar events around Australia at the Pitch@Palace Australia Boot Camp on 28 November and the Pitch@Palace Australia 2.0 final on 30 November, both in Brisbane.
The winners of Pitch@Palace Australia 2.0 will attend Pitch@Palace Global 3.0 at St James Palace, London in December.
Applications can be submitted online at the Pitch@Palace website. The deadline for applications has been extended to Sunday 7 October.
About Pitch@Palace Australia
Pitch@Palace Australia 1.0 took place in 2017, with events in Melbourne, Gold Coast and Wollongong. In 2018, Adelaide and Perth will also hold events as part of the Pitch@Palace Australia 2.0 program.
Pitch@Palace Australia is part of the Pitch@Palace Global program, which gives international scale to Pitch@Palace and helps entrepreneurs and audiences build access and connectivity around the world. It supports entrepreneurs in seeking new markets and finding new partners and investors, building prosperity and creating jobs globally.
Since 2014 Pitch@Palace has helped 666 start-up businesses create more than 2,314 new jobs and generate over £600 million (A$1.06 billion) of new economic activity.
Image caption: HRH The Duke of York Prince Andrew with entrepreneurs who competed in the first Pitch@Palace competition in Australia.