Getting started

Familiarising yourself with where the action is, will be your first step into the startup scene in Adelaide. Co-working spaces are a bit of a new thing to Adelaide. To their credit, those in operation are making noise and adding substance to this bustling startup community.

• SouthStart Cowork (previously named Majoran Distillery) is Adelaide’s first co-working and cohab space especially for the techies and tech startups and innovation entrepreneurs.
• HUB Adelaide plays a huge role in connecting entrepreneurs as well as providing a workspace that accommodates collaboration and creativity. The HUB offers members access to a huge variety of resources while connecting them to the HUB Australia, essentially giving regional access to all members.
• That Space offers a solution to entrepreneurs who need flexible workspace with access to a readily available community.
• Adelaide Business Hub offers a hot-desking facility which is also a good spot to book once-off meetings.
• Base64 provides co-working spaces from an historic Adelaide mansion for innovative technology businesses such as startups and university spinouts.
• Little City Studio is a city within the Adelaide city that offers workspace for those who want to build networks and work on their small business and startups in an affordable and relaxed environment.
• DEW (Drink, Eat, Work) offers a variety of services from local and international wine in level 1, co-working spaces in level 2 and photography studio in the basement.
• Sass Place is a niche co-working space for females who want to start their own businesses and offers various facilities and support services to assist them.

Startup events

• Startup grind Adelaide is an event series and website designed to help educate, inspire, and connect local entrepreneurs. Taking place monthly, the event presents an amazing speaker who shares their story with the community and tells what worked, what didn’t, and what they’ll do differently next time. The Startup Grind crew also have a great Facebook page, worth checking out.
• SouthStart offer workshops focused on assisting startups and small businesses to grow.
• Start Lean, Go Global Adelaide is a forum that utilises Eric Ries’s Lean Startup approach to provide and share knowledge on growing successful enterprises as well as lean startups.
• Adelaide FinTech Meetup is an event series for people interested in innovative and disruptive technologies in the financial services. It is an ideal event to partake in if you are an entrepreneur.
• The Entrepreneur Club is a supportive environment for passionate entrepreneurs to meet up, chat and share knowledge on everything relating to entrepreneurial things and the events are held every month.
• Innovation in The City (Adelaide) aims to support and develop innovation and entrepreneurship in Adelaide. They hold fortnightly meetups and discuss what’s new, innovative, disruptive and interesting in the entrepreneurial ecosystems. Although not orientated to have business pitches and the likes, it provides branded content that is relevant, timely and interesting.

Connecting outside events

Given its size, Adelaide is fortunate to be one, or at least two degrees of separation, making most Adelaidian’s well connected already. This makes introductions easier and connections strong and sustainable. However, should you need some extra help, there are a couple of resources available online to support early stage ventures.

• The Adelaide Business Hub is a great resource for those interested in starting a new business. Listing many startup facts that will support the start of a new venture.
• Startup Adelaide helps entrepreneurs take the plunge, and get started. While the site is under developed, it’s a gateway to further resources that have assisted with the emergence of this small ecosystem.

Funding for startups

• InnovyzSTART is an accelerator program assisting businesses progress faster. Headed by Jana Matthews, the program welcomes 10 startups per intake, offering support in the way of capital, education and workspace. The program runs across 13 weeks, with entrepreneurs working on their businesses full time.
• Acumen is an early stage venture capital fund investing in world class startups emerging from South East Asia and Australia. Represented by Adelaide’s Shane Cheek, the fund works on a global scale assisting founders access greater markets through their connections.
• Adelaide Angels, set up by Google’s Alan Noble, is made up of local investors. The group lay low other than their AngelList profile.
• iPitch is a great way to find individual investors to fund your startups. Its database contains angel investors and venture capitalists as well as other business funding options.

*Credit to Majoran Distillery’s Michael Reid, for being exceptionally helpful putting this blog together.

Pollenizer runs Get-Started Bootcamps at Majoran Distillery‘s coworking space. Check out our events here.