The Hunter Innovation Festival (HIF) is back again this year celebrating 10 years of innovative practice and iteration. #HIF17 will be a smorgasbord of exciting new tech demonstrations, high-value events like hackathons and specialised workshops, and a great opportunity to rub shoulders with the ever-growing Innovator Community here in the Hunter.

One sub-group within this community is #newystartups (AKA Newcastle Tech and Startups).

We're a regular meetup founded with the intention of connecting and up-skilling the region's entrepreneurs. We encourage and support our members in their pursuit of creating a vibrant startup ecosystem in the Hunter that rivals Waterloo or Tel Aviv and yes, Silicon Valley. But that's such a lame, overused, cliche.

 

We're already blessed with the key elements of a great startup ecosystem: a university that's really making Research and Innovation a key priority; supportive governments at all levels; and most importantly, a growing number of entrepreneurs forsaking traditional employment to drive their new businesses.

Building a world-class startup ecosystem is not a two, five, or even ten-year task. According to Brad Feld of TechStars (and the unofficial king of startup-crazy Boulder, Colorado), building a strong startup community takes 20 years, continuity in leadership, and successful entrepreneurs willing to pour time and money back into their community.

 

Here in the Hunter, we're somewhere between years two and ten.

We've got a few runs on the board but we know we've got a long way to go. That's why we're so keen to make #HIF17 a success: events like this one are a great starting point for connection, two of the most prevalent characteristics of startup hubs the world over.

#newystartups will host a 'How to Fund Your Venture' event during #HIF17 on Wednesday the 24th of May . The event is for our members and the members of all innovative and technical meet-up groups around town.

The topic for the evening will be an overview of the different models of funding for an idea or business.

Presented by regional experts, attendees will have a great opportunity to learn from those in the know.