Success stories

Entrepreneurial spirit combined with university experience delivers real-world business

7 March 2018

Marketing scholars Kayla Wren and Bianca Cannell started their business ‘The Minimal Co.’ as a university simulation project, and with the help of QUT know-how have launched their own real-world business.

“We want our earrings to help customers to stand out from the crowd and feel truly unique at every event. Travel was also a big contributor to our vision as we both share a passion for exploring foreign destinations,” they said.

QUTopia is a physical and simulated marketplace where QUT students form a business, create an authentic product or service that is offered for sale to real customers, and monitor financial performance.

“QUTopia gave us the fundamental skills and knowledge needed to successfully start The Minimal Co. Being offered close guidance meant we knew what steps to take in our business venture to ensure The Minimal Co. succeeded. Without undertaking QUTopia we wouldn’t have had the knowledge or confidence to give The Minimal Co. a chance.”

While encouraging others to follow their dreams, Kayla and Bianca want other aspiring entrepreneurs to know that it isn’t always a smooth process.

“There was a lot of trial and error in product development and we had to keep persisting – even when things went wrong. In order to work towards our ideas, we spent countless days meeting up and discussing ways in which we could convert our visions into tangible products.”

Although the business is in its infancy, the pair already have their sights set on the future.

“We hope to see The Minimal Co. expand into different handmade markets. We would love to expand our own handmade jewellery, but also be able to off sell other local handmade goods. Showcasing anything from art to handmade scarves on The Minimal Co. platform.”

Kayla and Bianca encourage their peers who aspire to start a business to do their research, use connections and seize the opportunity with both hands.

“If you have a business idea in mind, QUTopia provides you with the perfect platform for trial and error. We would highly recommend using this opportunity to its full potential in order to learn from your mistakes and see how your product succeeds or may fail in the simulation.”

QUTopia experience helps deliver real world outcomes

1 December 2017

A chance to test a business idea within a simulated marketplace has provided four entrepreneurs the opportunity to realise their future.

Participating in QUTopia has propelled an idea beyond university assessment into a potential real business for marketing scholars, Elliott Bell, Ryan Davies, Danielle Mullane and Campbell Thomson.

QUTopia is a physical, simulated marketplace where students form a business, plan and create an authentic product or service that is offered for sale to real customers, and monitor financial aspects of their business.

Building on their collective passion for furry canines, the team formed Scout & Companion, selling a range of authentic products and doggy delicacies.

“Each of us shared a common passion for our dogs and we wanted to work that passion into our business vision. Sticking to our strengths, the team worked tirelessly towards the goal of creating a fun and on-trend brand that sold only the finest doggy desserts and delicacies that QUTopia had to offer.”

The team said QUTopia helped them push their limits and develop the skills needed to deliver a successful marketing plan.

“Unlike previous subjects the team had undertaken; QUTopia really threw us all into the deep-end, expecting us to put into practice all of the skills and theory we had learned up until the point of its undertaking. By granting us the independence to freely ideate and create our own small business, we were expected to make mistakes, learn from them and correct accordingly. This coupled with a sense of urgency helped us to really push ourselves to our limits.”

This year all teams were invited to apply for the inaugural QUTopia-QUT Bluebox LaunchPad program. From dozens of entries, the Scout & Companion concept was chosen as the most viable and secured the team an intensive one-month mentoring program to help commercialise their business for the real world.

“Winning the Foundry Marketing Plan Competition means that Scout & Companion will be given the incredible opportunity to develop our vision further, potentially turning our simulated business idea into a real-world reality.”

The QUTopia program is offered as a subject within the Marketing coursework program.

Find out more about the QUT Bluebox Launchpad program: https://www.qutbluebox.com.au/launchpad

QUT experience helps grow and shape business venture

15 December 2016

Take a peek through the glass walls of a terrarium and you will find yourself immersed in the tiny world of its maker.

These are the miniature worlds Ben Maxwell creates from anything that he can find – humble jars, old teacups to more modern pieces.

Ben’s horticultural background working at a plant nursery gave him the inspiration and knowledge to create his business ‘Glass Gardens’ as part of the QUTopia experience.

“I’ve always been interested in plants. Succulents and cacti are on-trend and very easy to look after. Realising their broad appeal at local markets, I decided it would be a great opportunity to market-test products for my own business.”

QUTopia is a physical and simulated marketplace where QUT students form a business, plan and create an authentic product or service that is offered for sale to real customers, and monitor financial aspects of their business.

“The QUTopia marketplace simulation helped me to gain real insights on how I could respond to market demand and expand my product offering. Through market research I realised that my products had broader appeal and would be highly sought after in terrariums and other unique containers.”

The miniature urban green-maker was also awarded the highly coveted People’s Choice Award; given to the QUTopia business voted as most popular by the students enrolled in the subject.

Business is definitely growing in the right direction for this glass gardener, and you can now find Ben selling his creations at local garden expos and markets.

“Before QUTopia I had never sold succulents and cacti in terrariums, but have now started selling them as gifts and homewares at the markets and garden expos I attend.”

Ben’s top tip to other students wanting to expand their entrepreneurial enterprises after a QUTopia experience is to “believe and be interested in the business concept. Success won’t come easy; you need to maintain the interest through hard work.”

Laser-focused ambition plus QUT know-how drive student business venture

11 November 2016

For Emma Mulhern, the opportunity to test products in a simulated marketplace at QUT helped launch her small business start-up, creating unique laser cut products and gifts.

While Emma spent her childhood working in the family laser cutting business, it wasn’t until she participated in QUTopia that she saw the potential to create, market, and refine her business idea.

QUTopia provided Emma with the experience and evidence to create her business, Cut & Burn and design unique product offerings.

“The practical experience of QUTopia allowed me to determine which ideas were marketable and viable… it allowed me to understand my target audience and how to reach them in a saturated market,” Emma said.

“I can make models and parts to suit customer needs. Some of the 3D models also include an element of build-it-yourself, which I’ve integrated into branding as my point point-of-difference. Customers want something that is engaging and fun.”

To other QUTopian entrepreneurs who want to translate university experiences into real-world businesses, Emma identified two great qualities, persistence and lateral thinking.

“Think about what extra value you can add to your products. It really helps to have a point of difference…that’s what people will spread good news about.”

Launchpad to success

29 September 2016

An opportunity to take a risk-free leap into business combined with a simulated marketplace has provided two young budding entrepreneurs the opportunity to start their own authentic small business.

When friends and classmates, Shaun Kennedy and Mitch Carrigan, were given the opportunity to create a business as part of QUTopia, they seized the opportunity to experiment and test their business skills.

It has been an eye-opening, inspiring journey for two young entrepreneurs who came up with the idea as a result of Mitch’s creative talent.

“Mitch has amazing caricature skills and we thought it would be a waste if we didn’t leverage them for our product,” Shaun said.

“We threw around a lot of different ideas about what vehicle we could apply it to and came up with the idea of coffee mugs – they get a lot of exposure each day and fit perfectly with the goals were trying to achieve … and Mugshot Caricatures was launched.”

The duo says they owe some of their launch success to the great platform offered by QUTopia.

“QUTopia gave us the opportunity to apply the knowledge we are learning in class in a real business sense… it gave us the evidence and confirmation that the idea had some commercial viability.”

“What we had studied through our degree up to the event was really useful, and with QUTopia you could apply that in a practical way and start to do real-world tasks… it may be cliché but that hands-on, real world exposure is as real as you could get without having to invest some of your own money into starting your own business,” Mitch said.

To those aspiring entrepreneurs wanting to launch their own businesses, Shaun said the key was to

“always be patient and open to advice, people who take an interest might actually uncover the best paths or decisions that you might investigate.”

You can follow their journey through Facebook and Instagram @mugshotcaricatures