Last night was Pitch Night, a double act actually, 4 of the candidates for the seat of Rockhampton doing their best to impress the audience to invest their vote in them this Saturday and on the other side of town budding entrepreneurs also putting on display their verbal communication skills to gain investors to help realise their dreams. One of these events possibly made the front page of this paper, the other you’ll possibly unlikely to read or hear of other than here.
Yet the opportunity Start-up Capricorn provided for someone to get the chance to practice their pitch, share their idea, gain feedback on how they did, will possibly have greater long-term benefit for this region than the result of the state election.
Rockhampton region is starting to grasp the importance of encouraging entrepreneurialism and innovation. Last month near 200 people attended to hear the Chief Entrepreneur of Queensland, Steve Baxter. Part of Steve’s presentation was a plea to budding entrepreneurs to prepare a good pitch. This is the same Steve ‘Shark’ Baxter of Shark Tank, the television series that can help realise or quash a person’s entrepreneurial dream. Thus, his tips on what makes a good pitch are worth heeding as he has heard plenty.
A good pitch is not just being prepared when opportunity presents itself. That is luck, or if it occurs about every 3 years it is probably an election. Just like an election it is not just the idea(s) but more importantly the person behind the idea that you are investing in as a voter or investor. How committed are they to realising their dream or their electorate? When things get tough will they throw in the towel or fight harder? How deep does their passion really run?
It is not just residents of Rockhampton Region starting to better grasp the entrepreneurialism and innovation cultural change that is happening here, but businesses outside the region also. South Western Wireless decision to open an office in Rockhampton is one example.
This and the prototype wave pool being built opposite Mt. Jim Crow will create new high level technical jobs, possibly attracting suitably qualified people to return to the region to live and work.
We need to fan this entrepreneurialism and innovation momentum that is spawning in our region, if not for ourselves, then for our children. Help enable them to have a brighter future in our region, one of diverse opportunity.
As residents we are investors in our region, we thus should be demanding more and better pitches both by our wannabe politicians and entrepreneurs. To do this we must think like investors and consider what pitches (and the people making them) are going to deliver the best returns for our region’s future and back them to succeed.