Thoughts on muru-D so far…
If you’re considering on whether to apply to a startup accelerator, I’ve asked a few people from the muru-D community about what they think of the second accelerator intake so far.
Jo from You Chews about her bootcamp experience:
Though I didn’t ask her, Jo typed up a very in-depth recount of her muru-D Top 22 bootcamp experience.
“The muru-d bootcamp weekend is complete and it’s been amazing. I stand in the kitchen with a small group of fellow entrepreneurs, all of us hopeful to make it through the final pitching round tomorrow, and one asks me what kind of development I do….
There are 22 start ups that have made it this far, and 15(ish) will progress through to Monday, with 10(ish) making it on to the program. There’s quite a variety in the types of businesses, although there are four based around recruitment. We’re the only ones in the food industry. There are just seven women among the startups: Tripalocal is formed of two female founders, 100 Foxes and Freight Exchange have female CEOs and one more start up has a female Chief marketing officer…
We meet four other mentors, all of whom are serious investors with decades of experience in business, and they all poke holes in our pitch and our business until we’re feeling wrung out and stacked full of information. I’ve barely had chance to digest and appreciate the calibre of people I’ve met over the last two days, but suffice to say this is why we are here – whether or not we make it into the final ten, it’s an unbelievable opportunity to get an audience of incredible people who we’d find it much more difficult to meet otherwise. Even as our pitch stands by the end of the afternoon, over time and incomplete, it’s a world away from what we’d started with on Saturday. This is what will happen to our company if we get in to this accelerator, week in week out for six months, and we’ll be unrecognisable by April. Bring it on.”
Shoaleh from Vclass about their advisory workshop:
“I really enjoyed the first meeting, although we went into it unprepared. It was actually nice meeting the advisors and collaborating on a more intimate level with all, including the muru-d team members, and finding out about everyone’s bio. I enjoyed the round table discussions on vClass as a solution, its competitive advantage, its future, the ideas and concepts around our target market, operations, and our business model. Also bringing the general focus back to one use case and target market was very informative, and the action plans were helpful.”
Dan from Fanfuel about muru-D so far:
“After one and a half months its amazing to look back and see how much we have moved forward. Its called an accelerator for a reason and we are definitely feeling accelerated. We have refined our testing skills and our testing cycles have become a lot quicker giving us the ability to learn and grow quickly.
Another great part of the program is the support from the Muru-D network. We have been able to reach people that we never thought possible and some of them are now part of our advisory board. This is a massive value for all the startups here and we all feel very privileged to be in this position.”
Chris Clark, muru-D mentor and founder of fuseSPORT about his experience as a new mentor:
” A founder’s journey is as lonely as it is incredibly rewarding.
Sure, you have that unwavering resolve to build something amazing, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s still really, really hard.
Having walked the entrepreneurial path multiple times now, being a muru-D mentor has provided a way to give back, reflect on my own learning and help accelerate each team’s journey.
Witnessing the muru-D program from the inside, I’ve found it to be impressive. It has sufficient time for quality engagement and unique content relevant to our region.
More than a network of amazing people, muru-D has created a culture of “family” – ready to support these impressive entrepreneurs through all their future successes and failures.
But the support isn’t just for the startups. I’m thankful and surprised at the level of assistance and connections I have myself received.
Each mentor, everyone at muru-D, Telstra and other sponsors, the startup teams – all are willing to contribute to each other’s success.
The spirit of entrepreneurship at muru-D is infectious. The progress of the teams has been significant.
With the pace quickening by the day, I think what we’ll see on Pitch Day will be truly remarkable.”
Of course, the more people you speak to, the greater the diversity of opinions so we always encourage startup founders to attend our events so you can hear firsthand what it’s like to be part of the muru-D family.
– Rachel