To mark the end of season three of the progam, we take a look back at just a few of the many highlights that co-hosts John Burkett and Sharyn Doolan have had the pleasure of bringing to you. It was really hard to select extracts from 29 programs and some 53 hours of talking to such a superb line up of guests. But we eventually managed to get it down to just 14 pearls of wisdom covering a range of topics and issues that arise on the Entrepreneurial Journey. 

Colin Kinner – What statups need to do to understand their market and test it.

On this last show John and Sharyn are also joined by Startup Mentor and Innovation Advisor, Kellie Dyer.

We have covered many points on the Entrepreneurs Journey over the last three seasons, but there is one key topic we have not got to yet, the Exit. It’s often hard for founders to think about the exit when they are just at the start of their Entrepreneurial Journey, but as with all good planning, it helps to start with the end in mind. So as a founder, what do you need to do to think about, plan for and then eventually manage your exit? Joining Sharyn and John to look at this important topic are Andy Hill, Australian Regional Director of international Merger and Acquisition advisors Corum Group plus Josh Steele, partner of Brisbane based law firm Piper Alderman. To provide the perspective of a Founder who has successfully navigated more than one exit, we are also be joined by Brisbane based software Entrepreneur Piers Cockram. Listen in to check out the ins and outs of Exits!

Pitching is an essential part of the capital raising process for many startups, getting your pitch right can be make or break. But what should, and what should not, go into your pitch so that it hits the mark with prospective investors? In this edition of Searchlight Entrepreneurs Journey, we take a look at what are the essential ingredients that make for a good pitch. We will also delve into that ‘elephant in the room’ topic, valuation. Just what is the best way to handle the issue of valuation in your pitch? To help us answer these questions regular hosts Sharyn and John are joined by experienced startup and investment advisor Dr Chris Booth of 42 Ventures, Simon Horne, founder and CEO of Australia’s largest Angel Investment group, Angel Loop. Also joining us to share her own Entrepreneurs Journey experience is the founder of Female sports body protection specialists Fempro Armour, Stephanie Bofinger.

In this edition of Searchlight Entrepreneurs Journey, by way of a prelude to the forthcoming Young Entrepreneur Summit taking place at Redlands Performing Arts Centre of the 14th of September 2022, we take look at the topic of Entrepreneurship for the younger generation. Joining regular hosts John Burkett and Sharyn Doolan are the organisers of the summit, leading social entrepreneur Taj Pabari along with Tionne Young from The ASE Group. Taj and Tionne tell us about the summit and how they encourage the younger generation to take onboard the possibilities and opportunities that entreprenership can open up for younger people. We also hear from an insirational young entrepreneur, Siobhan Wilson, author and founder of Redlands based Our Pixie Friends along with her Startup Mentor, Kellie Dyer.

In this edition of Searchlight – Entrepreneurs Journey we once again throw the program over to become ‘Redlands Angels Live’ where two startups deliver their pitches to our panel of Redlands Angels investors.  You can hear the pitches and get a flavour of the type of questions, debate and discussion that takes place following a pitch. We also try to uncover what interests prospective Angel investors and why they focus on some areas of a pitch rather than others.

On the receiving end of the pitches and giving feedback are Redlands Angels members Tony Wheeler, Greg Bevan and John Burkett. John also doubles up as program co-host alongside Sharyn Doolan.

There is a battle going on in the business world, it’s one that’s been going on for a long time, but it’s probably never been as bad as it is now. That battle is the battle for talent, finding and recruiting the right talented people to not just run your business but also the talent that can help grow it and take it to the next level. Tech startups have faced the issue of finding the right technical talent for years, but the issue is now more widespread as those with skills in other areas become increasingly in demand. So, what can you do to make sure you are as best equipped as possible to win your skirmish in the battle for talent? To answer this question on this edition of the Searchlight Entrepreneurs Journey program, regular host Sharyn Doolan and guest host Tony Wheeler are joined by Caddy Neville - Talent Acquisition Partner at video games developer Gameloft,  Sunny van Angelsen - Talent Acquisition Consultant at Professional Recruitment Australia and Paul Collins – CEO of Skills management platorm SkillsTX.

Not so long ago, if you went to business school to learn about marketing you would have been taught about the ‘P’s of marketing, Product, Price, Place, Promotion etc. But the Internet and the growth of social media has changed those old principles forever. So in this edition of Searchlight Entrepreneurs Journey, we take a look at the importance of digital and online marketing and ask what, as as a founder or business owner, do you really need to know and understand about it?

Joining regular hosts John Burkett and Sharyn Doolan to explore this important topic is online and digital marketing expert Mark Jones of Your Digital Solution. We will also be joined by some entrepreneurs to find out about their real-life journey in using on-line and social media marketing, Diane Conroy of Wild Woolly Heads, a craft product business, Drew Campbell of business insurance broker startup Tetris Insurance and Paul Collins of Redlands based software as a service business SkillsTx.

In this month’s Searchlight Entrepreneurs Journey we will be taking a look at Accelerators, Hubs and Start up Programs. If you are in the world of startups and early-stage ventures, you will no doubt have heard about these and the related concept of co-working spaces. But what are they all about? How do they differ and how can locating your Startup in a Hub or doing an Accelerator program really add value to your business and help it be successful? Joining regular co-host Sharyn Doolan and special guest co-host Tony Wheeler are Sharon Hunnybell, CEO of the Gold Coast innovation Hub. Pauline Fetaui, General Manager of Brisbane based River City Labs and Kellie Dyer, principal of Keldy consulting.

It’s an old maxim that sometimes you have to spend money to make money, and that’s never truer than in the world of startups and early-stage businesses. In this edition of Searchlight – Entrepreneurs Journey, we are focusing on what you need to know about getting investment from Angel Investors. How do Angel Investors operate? What do they look for in an investment? What are the key dos and don’ts around getting an Angel investor on board? To answer these questions and more, regular hosts John and Sharyn are joined by Mike Avey, Managing Director of Pachira Capital, a Director of Redlands Angels and a former CEO of Brisbane Angels. Greg Beaven is a Redlander and tech entrepreneur who is also a member of both Redlands Angels and Brisbane Angels. To give the perspective of a business that has successfully obtained Angel funding, we have Royce Crown, CEO of Monarc Global, a platform that delivers real-time automated pricing for aircraft charter operators. The panel also run trough John's list of 'Common Pitch Fails' - so listen in to make sure you don't make one of these classic errors in your pitch!

For this first program of 2022 we are going right back to first principles and posing the question "So, you have had a bright idea to start a new business, but what do you do next?" Where can you go to get that vital help, guidance and support to make sure that you take the right steps towards giving your business idea the best possible chance of success?