Lord Mayor’s Global Entrepreneur grant awarded to Universal Field Robots
Universal Field Robots is proud to announce that we are one of ten forward-thinking Brisbane businesses to be awarded the Lord Mayor’s Global Entrepreneur grant on Friday 6 December 2019 to help take our products global.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announced that each business has been awarded $5000 to help expand into global markets and reach new customers.
“These businesses represent some of the exceptional ideas to have been incubated in Brisbane. The ten recipients represent a cross section of the Brisbane economy, from travel and hospitality to healthcare, advanced manufacturing, robotics, fashion and finance. The grants will help recipients expand their markets and reach new audiences,” Cr Schrinner said.
Brisbane Chief Digital Officer Cat Matson said that beyond the grants, it was support from within the entrepreneurial ecosystem that can be critical for new businesses.
“Whilst there is no doubt that growing businesses desire funds to help them succeed, it is often mentorship which is more crucial” she said.
“These ten entrepreneurs join the Global Entrepreneur program alumni, which now includes more than 95 businesses, who have used their grants to connect to international markets, customers and investors.”
Universal Field Robots Business Development Manager Owen Beard said that UFR’s dedicated engineers and entrepreneurs were excited to see how they can leverage the grant funds.
“The Lord Mayor’s Global Entrepreneur grant will help our team to unearth and access further global opportunities to save lives and revolutionise the way we work outdoors in agriculture, construction and mining,” he said.
Thank you to the Lord Mayor and Digital Brisbane, and congratulations to our fellow Lord Mayor’s Global Entrepreneur Program round four recipients:
(1) Geoff Michelmore – AREMDE – Murarrie
In September 2018, AREMDE launched their core product, Nexus One, an espresso machine built in Queensland for the global specialty coffee. Having started with a coffee machine, the ethos behind the company is to create an eco-system for the café, changing the way hospitality businesses imagine flow and process.
(2) Magnus Murray Douglas & Tom Watkins – Australian Droid & Robot – Taringa
Australian Droid & Robot specialises in the design and manufacture of robots and unmanned aerial vehicles, with a major focus on the development of a supersonic drone that delivers medical supplies and communications anywhere in Queensland within 40 minutes.
(3) Sean Melis & Jay Farrell – bot•hello – Brisbane City
bot•hello is a chatbot design agency and platform that delivers scalable Facebook Messenger solutions to large consumer brands. In a hyperconnected world, customers demand instant responses to their questions and queries. bot•hello works with these brands to design and deploy Facebook Messenger chatbots. Powered by Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning, the chatbots give customers fast and accurate responses that stay true to the company’s brand.
(4) Simone Joyce – Paypa Plane – Brisbane City
Paypa Plane allows banks to offer their SME business clients a packaged and integrated payment system. This means that businesses do not need to use costly third-party payment providers in order to find the best digital payment experience for their business and their customers.
(5) Chelsea Murphy – PlayBook – Newstead
www.playbook.coach connects athletes to sports coaches for one-on-one, small group, team or online training. All sports. All abilities. PlayBook is the destination to search, book and pay for a sports coach for athletes to play to their potential. It’s all about kids enjoying sport so they stay playing the game and are confident both on, and off, the field.
(6) Dion Jensen – REVA Hospitality – Brisbane
REVA Hospitality provides a unified digital interface which enables hotels, resorts and casinos to drive additional revenue and enhance guest engagement. Their proprietary geo-location technology ensures hospitality businesses never lose a guest, even if they move from the place they ordered from.
(7) Rebecca Kroon – Robe (getrobed.com.au) – Paddington
Robe was born from a desire for a garment that could be easily throw on over wet swimmers without having to compromise on style, quality or feel. It has evolved into a lifestyle brand that delivers wardrobe essentials for the fashion-conscious woman. Robe’s signature fabric is a 30% silk/70% cotton blend that retains the best qualities of silk but has added functionality that ensures it won’t be compromised by water – a world-first innovation that has become a cornerstone of the brand.
(8) Darren Oliver & Simon Turner – SensaWeb – Karana Downs
Radiation monitoring is a multi-billion dollar industry, yet it is stuck in the 1950s in terms of how it is monitored, measured and reported. SensaWeb provides a global-first specialised sensor-as-a-service solution to clients in highly regulated industries having an exposure to radiation infrastructure and/or operations. SensaWeb’s service provides remote monitoring and automated alarms and reporting features that no competing product currently offers.
(9) Damian Bielinski & Caleb Yeoh – TravelbyBit – Fortitude Valley
TravelbyBit is an online travel agency built for the blockchain generation. Customers can book flights and hotels using blockchain payments for travel services from anywhere in the world, in addition to traditional payment methods, and enjoy up to 10% rewards in bitcoin.
About the Global Entrepreneur Program
The Lord Mayor’s Global Entrepreneur Program assists early-stage, growing businesses to connect to international markets, customers and investors and grow their start-up beyond Australian borders.
The program provides grants of up to $5,000 for use in growth activities, such as participation in accelerator programs, pitching programs, or mentorship programs.
