2023: A Year of Growth and Resilience at the Hub
Back to Posts2023 has been a year of doublings at the Hub.
We doubled our facilities with the launch of the new AI Lab. That allowed us to double the number of events and programs we run, which in turn has doubled the number of members now based out of the Hub.
2023 was of course the year of generative AI and we ran umpteen classes, workshops, talks, cadetship sessions and hackathons to make sure our community is right at the edge of that exciting wave.
Aside from AI, 2023 was a tough year for the tech sector. High interest rates meant that capital suddenly became very difficult to raise and a number of startups in our ecosystem have had to take painful steps to survive the downturn and “get fit”.
At the same time, we have a number of new startups at the Hub that were born into that climate: built lean, focused on revenue from day one and sprinting towards profitability without any talk of raising investment.
2023 has also seen major growth in our digital ecosystem.
It has never been more important to bring people together and we are very thankful to Bendigo Bank (Community Bank Sunshine Coast) whose support has allowed us to bring our digital ecosystem groups together once a month over drinks and pizza.
Building a world-class digital ecosystem in our region is a long term game and requires the unselfish efforts of leaders who care not only about growing their own businesses but also about growing their sector. On behalf of the Hub and Noosa Council we are massively grateful to these folks for their efforts in 2023.
Richard Pruss and Ben Duncan for the work they have done for over 10 years cultivating and growing “Coding from Beach” - our network for Technologists.
Michelle Mason, Glenn Fawcett, Phillip Ohren and Rebecca Lauder for growing “Reboot” - our network for digital marketers and creatives
David Edgar, Louise Hayse, Bill Missett, Livia Hanich, Gareth Davies, Heather Macfarlane, Liz Boyd, Jonathan Coghill, Dan Munday for the Screen Collective - our network for screen professionals
Robert Easton, Steve Barnes, Gilad Bakas, Michael Greeff for the SunCoast Angels - our regional angel investor network.
Tim Kelly and Kevin Bennett GAICD for the Manufacturing excellence forum - our network for advanced manufacturers.
Matthew Allison for building our Investor group - our network for HNW investors & business leaders.
Leigh Kelson (GAICD) for leading Firetech Connect - the network for bushfire technology providers.
Raeleen Kaesehagen for leading our Tech Founders group - the network for folks who have built or are building venture-scale tech startups.
Craig Josic, Bryton Wishart and Adelaide Renee Coman for leading the Silicon Coast network and putting on the annual FWD Fest event for smb innovation.
On behalf of the Hub team, we’d like to wish our members, partners and friends - and their families - a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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