Online course to support Kiwi entrepreneurs

A new online course has been developed specifically to help budding Kiwi entrepreneurs.

A result of the ongoing partnership between New Zealand's Creative HQ and Australia's Pollenizer, 60-Day Startup helps New Zealanders develop and work on their startup ideas.

The 60-day programme is New Zealand's first structured resource to help Kiwis progress very early stage startup ideas remotely.

Creative HQ and Pollenizers are well known for the innovative guidance, networks and resources they provide to their respective startup communities.

"Currently the handful of startup programmes available in New Zealand cater primarily for ventures who have formed a team, validated their idea and begun to attract customers," the companies say in a joint statement. "For those whose idea currently exists solely on the back of a napkin, it is hard to know where to start.

The 60-Day Startup consists of 12 modules, all geared around providing practical tools and support through Lean Startup Methodology.

The course has been designed to help new and experienced entrepreneurs alike, encouraging them to challenge their assumptions and giving them the tools to find out exactly what it is their customers want.

"A programme like this helps us reach out to all the budding entrepreneurs who are stuck or have got an idea but don't know what to do with it," says Alan Hucks, Creative HQ's head of incubation.

"This is the first step for them to take in realising if their idea has legs, and what to do next if it does." He adds, "The point is to validate and solve real problems.

Phil Morle, CEO of Pollenizer, says, "The combination of entrepreneurship and modern technology empowers people to create new businesses faster and larger than ever before.

"For most people the hardest step of building a startup is to get started. For those who overcome that hurdle, their next big challenge is to keep their business moving forward, day after day after day.

The programme is predicted to be particularly beneficial to tertiary students who may have entrepreneurial ideas they wish to explore while studying. Ideas they validate through the programme can then be taken into summer programmes.

The course is priced at $199 NZD.