Townsville home to several promising tech start- ups
OUR APPENING CITY
THEY may be a long way from the tech hub of Silicon Valley in California, but that hasn’t stopped two young Townsville programmers pursuing their start- up dream.
It’s a case of third time lucky for Aden Tranter, 25, who, with business partner Zane Grant, 32, is nearing the launch of his own tech company. The pair hope to launch their website and appcreation software soon.
“It started for me when I was about 15, when I got my first computer,” Mr Tranter said. “This isn’t my first time trying to launch a start- up, but this time I have gotten a lot further.”
Townsville is home to a small yet promising start- up scene, including the birth of a location- based tracking app used by Rio Tinto, and global workplace health and safety software company SafetyCulture.
“There are no limits to being in Townsville,” Mr Grant said.
The duo’s company Comit Platforms represented a steep learning curve and countless hours of hard work. Mr Tranter believes failure is a critical part of the path to success.
“The hurdles that have been resolved by those past failures have helped me to learn,” Mr Tranter said.
“The first time I thought I’d write the program and the buyers and investors would come. That’s not the way it is, and learning those lessons in a practical sense has been very beneficial.”
Mr Tranter said tech start- ups were often confused with being “the next Facebook”, but most of the time they were more like a regular business.
While the pair eventually want to expand their business, they are in it for more than a quick buck.
“There’s a perception that you have to make it fast, and there are a bunch of start- ups that do that but they’re the very unique,” Mr Tranter said. “Most take a lot longer, like Netflix, which was founded in 1997 but is only now exploding.
“There are many that start out small, building a client base and seeking venture capitalist funding.”
Mr Tranter warned any aspiring techies of the hard task ahead of them.
“This isn’t something that can be half- hearted – it is going to consume you,” he said. “It’s much more than a hobby.”