WATERWAYS TEAM SAIL TO VICTORY IN START-UP CONTEST
alister.thomson@news.com.au the event saw nine teams develop and then pitch a range of innovative projects.
Keen boatie Jordan, 18, came up with the Waterways app to combat the difficulties of reading paper navigation charts to find features such as sandbars.
“GPS navigation is becoming more and more widely used,” he said.
“I thought: why is it not available for boats?”
He said the Gold Coast, known for having more canals than Venice, is the ideal place to develop the app.
Jordan pitched the concept, along with six teammates including brother Mitch Murdock, to a panel of Start-up Weekend judges including Queensland chief entrepreneur Mark Sowerby.
Mr Sowerby said most business ideas don’t see the light of day.
But he believes a Waterways app could be a winner.
“The Waterways team had a superb idea and presentation,” he said.
Jordan and his team, which also took out the crowd favourite category, will receive six weeks of mentoring from innovation hub Beach City. Chief executive Leigh Kelson said the students will be helped to develop a business model.
“We’ll help them take it to the next level, showing them how to roll it out and what marketing channels to use,” he said. Mr Kelson said the weekend was about entrepreneurs learning key skills.
“We want to get them to the point where when they come up with their next idea, they will know what to do. If we can build capability in these kids at this age, it gives them a real headstart.”