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The 12 tech start-ups transforming the northern beaches into the next Silicon Valley

The northern beaches has a growing number of well-educated, ambitious, entrepreneurs with big ideas who are in need of investors. Read about 12 hot new start-ups here:

\Greg Twemlow at Manly Corso where he is hoping to create a Manly Innovation Hub. Picture: Adam Yip / Manly Daily
\Greg Twemlow at Manly Corso where he is hoping to create a Manly Innovation Hub. Picture: Adam Yip / Manly Daily

Efforts to turn the northern beaches into the new Silicon Valley of Australia are being ramped up with a project to connect wealthy investors with local entrepreneurs.

Greg Twemlow, founder of the not-for-profit SEVENmile Venture Lab which supports start-ups on the peninsula, said he believes the long term success of Silicon Valley was essentially matching smart, innovative entrepreneurs with the capital they needed to realise their potential.

Now he wants to replicate that formula on the beaches with the launch of Northern Beaches Angels.

Manly looking towards the city, could be the next Silicon Valley. Picture: John Appleyard
Manly looking towards the city, could be the next Silicon Valley. Picture: John Appleyard

“Silicon Valley worked on a simple formula,” he said.

“If you can match brains and entrepreneurship with capital you can create magic.

“With all the talent we have got we can create something pretty special right here on the northern beaches.”

The next Google could come from Sydney’s northern beaches. Picture: Josh Edelson
The next Google could come from Sydney’s northern beaches. Picture: Josh Edelson

Mr Twemlow set up the venture after retiring from a career working with start-ups and said he believed the northern beaches could be a new innovative tech-hub.

He said there was an abundance of people on the peninsula who were highly educated, ambitious and were thinking big.

He said many innovators had ideas that related to the environment.

“This part of Sydney is beautiful and people want it to stay this way,” he said.

“That is why there is a strong flavour of doing things with the environment.”

Manly start-up TinkerTank is leading the way in encouraging kids to explore technology like robotics, coding and engineering.
Manly start-up TinkerTank is leading the way in encouraging kids to explore technology like robotics, coding and engineering.

He said the next stage was to match entrepreneurs with high net worth “angel investors” who generally need to have about $1m in assets and an annual income of around $250,000.

To encourage this he is launching Northern Beaches Angels on March 26.

He added that an active angel investment community could help support social and economic resilience on the northern beaches.

Manly MP James Griffin and Northern Beaches Council Mayor, Michael Regan both back the program and said it would help ensure expanded access to economic opportunities on the northern beaches.

State MP for Manly James Griffin is backing the new program Northern Beaches Angels. Picture: RMS
State MP for Manly James Griffin is backing the new program Northern Beaches Angels. Picture: RMS

You can register for the launch of Northern Beaches Angels at events.humanitix.com.au/northern-beaches-angels-kick-off

Find out more about some of the promising start-ups on the peninsula:

12 great ideas from northern beaches entrepreneurs

•TinkerTank is a makers space teaching young kids to love science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics: tinkertank.rocks

•Cache is a new bank/credit card that encourages you to invest and has raised over $1m so far: cacheinvest.com.au

•Pursuited is a revolutionary new direct recruiting marketplace: pursuited.com

•Kebloom is helping young people turn their ideas into a business: kebloom.com

•Lunar Media TV helping business tell their stories via video marketing: lunarmedia.com.au

•Inclusive Getaways is holidays for disabled people: inclusivegetaways.com.au

•GoTradie help people connect real, local tradies instantly: gotradie.com.au

•GoodForm Sports Academy is a high-performance fitness academy for high school students: goodformsa.com

•2Mpower is about empowering women for business and life: annemckeown.com

•YellowBox is a network of smart, secure lockers controlled from an app: yellowbox.app

•InternetInnovations is ensuring 5G super-fast internet connectivity: internetinnovations.com.au

•ImpactHR is outsourced Human Resource Management: impacthr.com.au

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/manly-daily/the-12-tech-startups-transforming-the-northern-beaches-into-the-next-silicon-valley/news-story/6ad655325934bce258b88c19372b427c