Moving to the region and seeking connections and opportunities sparked this woman’s interest in signing up for a Startup Shakeup program.
It gives people a dedicated forum and gets you to sit down and consolidate your ideas. And you get the advantage of everyone in the group putting their two cents in.
– Julie-Ann
Tell us about your idea or startup.
Knownfood is a produce garden, looking to offer heirloom and unusual vegetables and leaf that isn’t available commercially anywhere else locally. We are aiming to get the farm some revenue and get it working.
How did you hear about Startup Shakeup?
I saw it advertised in the Mansfield Courier.
What were you looking for when you came to Startup Shakeup?
I had recently moved from Queensland to take care of my father and am trying to reinvent everything on the farm to get a revenue stream. I was looking for any and all opportunities that were available. I thought it would add to my network.
Please describe what Startup Shakeup did for you?
It gave me some frameworks and design thinking theories I can use
What has changed in your business and/or life as a result of Startup Shakeup?
It has put clarification around some of the plans. It’s also clarified the fact, that as a community member, I am taking more responsibility to help the region with its waste woes. One of the people I met at Startup Shakeup is also a founding member of the new Climate Action group in Mansfield. We are actively looking to provide solutions for recycling, repurposing, and reusing the enormous amount of waste going to landfill in our town. We have approached the council looking to find spaces for collectibles, to be sold for revenue, used for art, or donated for repurposing.
Where to next for you?
Next, we’ll be preparing everything for a spring/summer growing season. That will be a variety of tomatoes, leaf that we haven’t seen much of in this area, for example miners’ lettuce and testing out what germinates and grows well. We had a small garden last summer and we’re planning a bigger one this year. We’ve done a lot of research and will supply restaurants and possibly community boxes.
What is the benefit of Startup Shakeup to our region?
Startup Shakeup gives people a dedicated forum and gets you to sit down and consolidate your ideas. And you get the advantage of everyone in the group putting their two cents in. I went on to Sister School and got a few more contacts from that.
What is your advice to other people in startup mode/other entrepreneurs?
Use all and any opportunities you can to get information and network with peers and colleagues.