This year’s Vivid festival in Sydney has a certain flair of entrepreneurship about it, with Blackbird Ventures’ Sunrise taking over Carriageworks this past Monday and Rare Birds getting ready to set up its first conference at the nearby University of Sydney Business School next week.
To be held across June 8 and 9, Rare Birds Con will focus on the four pillars of entrepreneurship, which it calls getting in, growing up, getting on, and getting out, with concurrent sessions allowing attendees to get an experience tailored to their needs.
Speakers will include Marita Cheng of 2Mar Robotics, Laura McKenzie of Scale Investors, Peter Moriarty of IT Genius, Kate Weiss from Table of Plenty, and Sally-Ann Williams of Google, with sessions on topics such as engaging with government, mentoring, how to navigate international expansion, and social entrepreneurship.
Given the purpose of Rare Birds, there is a strong focus on female speakers with a look to inspiring more women to take up entrepreneurship.
The conference comes after a busy few months for Rare Birds. Earlier this year founder Jo Burston announced the launch of Rare Birds’ International Ambassador Program, which aims to connect women from all over the world, including those who are based in regional and remote communities, to one another with an aim of spreading the Rare Birds message of diversity and inclusivity further.
“From day one, I have said we are not a women’s organisation, we are a global movement which supports women entrepreneurs. That support comes from all genders, cultures, nationalities and politics,” said Burston.
“Progress towards gender parity won’t just impact women, it will have significant impact on the global economy.”
To give a couple of entrepreneurs the push they need to go big, Rare Birds Con will also feature a pitching competition, looking for entries from student entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, and emerging entrepreneurs.
The winner will receive up to 191,000 Virgin points, valued at $7,000, a full office fit out for one year, valued at $10,000, a year of mentoring from Rare Birds, development of a lean business canvas, a brand consultation session with the Xero marketing team, and other prizes.
The two runners up will receive prizes including a year of mentoring from Rare Birds, a full office fit out for a year, and development of a lean business canvas.
Entries for the pitching competition close at midnight tonight, while Rare Birds is also offering Startup Daily readers 50% off tickets to Rare Birds Con. Type in ‘Startup1’ at checkout for 50% off one day passes, or ‘Startup2’ for 50% off a two day pass.
Image: Jo Burston. Source: Supplied.