Boating safety solution nets eChallenge honours
A solution that makes sure all boat owners comply with the necessary legal requirements has taken top honours in this year’s Australian eChallenge.
The INCASE subscription boat safety kit, devised by Chris Plummer and Paul Baccanello, is a simple solution to avoiding that sinking feeling of being hit by easily avoidable fines. Their idea has netted them a total of $15,000 in cash plus $8,000 in office and consultancy packages in this year’s competition.
Every day, thousands of boaters are hit with hefty fines, are banned from launching, and worse still, are injured or killed as they lack legally required emergency equipment. Marine Safety Officers report that 50 per cent of boats are non-compliant.
Taking the time, stress and thought out of boat safety equipment, INCASE is a subscription e-commerce service that issues an initial kit tailored to the legal requirements of individual customers’ boats. Before anything goes out of date, a replacement item is sent to them.
Chris and Paul won the overall first prize in the Australian eChallenge awards and with it $10,000 plus a $1000 consultancy package from Madderns Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys and desk space and workshops at the University of Adelaide’s business incubator ThincLab worth $3,600. The team also won first prize in the Postgraduate category giving them a further $5,000 plus $1,000 in support from Madderns and a $2,400 package at ThincLab.
The Australian eChallenge is an annual competition-based learning experience that develops strategic business thinking for early-stage entrepreneurial ventures. Run since 2001 by the University of Adelaide’s Adelaide Business School, the pre-accelerator program is a proving ground for future entrepreneurs. It is Australia’s longest running program of its kind.
Professor Noel Lindsay is Pro-Vice Chancellor - Entrepreneurship, and Dean of Business - Adelaide Business School at the University of Adelaide.
“I congratulate all the winners and participants of this year’s Australian eChallenge awards,” he said. “The Australian eChallenge supports the best young entrepreneurs in the nation to conceive innovative business solutions and supports them to bring them to market. “It is a springboard for the leaders of the future to devise business opportunities that deliver practical solutions to real-world challenges.”
“The INCASE team have disrupted a stale and traditional industry with a clear point of difference: the only all-in-one direct-to-consumer subscription solution in the market. They have already gained traction in the market with live orders for their service.”
Teams pitch business proposals for their new, previously unfunded business concepts, to potential investors from the local business community. They compete for cash prizes - this year a total prize pool of more than $74,100 in cash and prizes and the prestige of being awarded the most outstanding Australian eChallenge entrepreneurial venture of the year. Fifty teams, consisting of 165 participants, took part in this year’s competition. Winners were announced on Wednesday 8 December at the University of Adelaide.
The complete list of the 2021 Australian eChallenge winners are:
eChallenge 1st Prize: INCASE. Chris Plummer and Paul Baccanello. $10,000 cash, $3,600 worth of space and incubation at ThincLab and $1,000 worth of consultancy from Madderns Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys.
eChallenge 1st Prize for Postgraduate. INCASE. Chris Plummer and Paul Baccanello. $5,000 cash, $2,400 worth of space and incubation at ThincLab and $1,000 worth of consultancy from Madderns Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys.
eChallenge 2nd Prize for Postgraduate. Servistory. Arland Grant and Joshua Stewart. $2,500 cash and $2,400 ThincLab incubation package. A solution that enables better communication between customers and their car mechanics.
eChallenge 3rd Prize for Postgraduate. Calma. Mimi Ahern Briggs, Kahlia Green and Eloise Spooner. $1,500 cash and $1,200 ThincLab package. An application that assists women in navigating their menopausal journey and track their symptoms to generate tailored health insights. It will support women to identify and acclimatise to on-going changes.
eChallenge 1st Prize for Undergraduate. Nullage. Jack Manson and George Pyne. $5,000 cash, $1000 worth of consultancy from Madderns Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys and $2,400 ThincLab incubation package. A product that reduces the negative effects of oxidation in the ullage of wine barrels.
eChallenge 2nd Prize for Undergraduate. Nano Flow Technologies. Calum Macdougall, Keelan Laube and Sergey Zhukovskiy. $2,500 cash and $2,400 ThincLab incubation package. An innovative product that improves fuel economy, and reduces emissions for the long haul trucking sector.
eChallenge 3rd Prize for Undergraduate. Economical Energy. Angus Fry, Harrison Campbell, Lachlan Woodards and Michael Short. $1,500 cash and $1,200 ThincLab incubation package. A solution that stores excess energy when in abundance so that it can be drawn upon when scarce.
William Buck eChallenge prize. Servistory. Arland Grant and Joshua Stewart. $2,000 cash and $3,000 of tailored, one-on-one mentoring and strategic advice. A solution that enables better communication between customers and their car mechanics.
eChallenge Rising Star Award. Agtech by Design. Zane Sheffield. $1,000 cash. An autonomous robot platform with multiple utilities for farmers that reduces labour and infrastructure costs.
Enabled Award. Servistory. Arland Grant and Joshua Stewart. $10,000 worth of digital solutions from Enabled. A solution that enables better communication between customers and their car mechanics.
Bold Award. Servistory. Arland Grant and Joshua Stewart. $10,000 worth of branding and website packaging from Adelaide company Bold Web Design. A solution that enables better communication between customers and their car mechanics.
Peoples Choice Award. Will be decided at the launch. $500 cash.
The Australian eChallenge total prize pool is $84,100 for 2021, $10,000 of which was awarded to the tech eChallenge winners earlier this year.
The Australian eChallenge awards are made possible through support from partners in business and industry especially Madderns, William Buck, Bold Web Design, and Enabled.
Media Contact:
Professor Noel Lindsay, Pro Vice-Chancellor – Entrepreneurship, and Dean of Business- Adelaide Business School at the University of Adelaide. Mobile: +61 (0)428 842 024, Email: noel.lindsay@adelaide.edu.au
Zrinka Tokic, Director ThincLab and eChallenge, Adelaide Business School, The University of Adelaide. Mobile: +61 (0)401 976 207, Email: zrinka.tokic@adelaide.edu.au
Crispin Savage, Senior Communications and Media Adviser, The University of Adelaide. Mobile: +61 (0)481 912 465, Email: crispin.savage@adelaide.edu.au
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