GRIFFIN launchpad to help “naïve” startups prepare for seed round

Canberra’s GRIFFIN Accelerator has announced a new launchpad program to equip budding entrepreneurs with the skills needed to win seed investment.

CEO Craig Davis says the launchpad will help early-stage startups get up to speed and ready to go through the program’s accelerator.

“We looked at people who were shortlisted and wanted them to be progressing product development faster and more effectively,” Davis says.

Davis says tech newcomers can be “naïve” about what they should pay for product development, and how long they should expect it to take.

But he hopes the coaching provided to entrepreneurs in the program will mean they adjust their expectations.

“Often early-stage entrepreneurs are not aware that things are possible,” he says.

“They say, ‘we can’t do this’, but then we can say, ‘actually, yes you can’.”

Davis says the biggest problem he encounters with startups is a lack of feedback from customers, building a product they think the market wants but won’t actually use.

The program will use lean startup principles like customer validation to ensure the product suits its market.

Davis encourages startups from outside of Canberra to apply for the program that will last roughly three months.

He says the launchpad is not compulsory for startups aiming for a spot in the GRIFFIN accelerator, but will help those he sees in need of help refocus as soon as possible.

“I’ll often see an entrepreneur and think, ‘I wish I could’ve spoken to you three months ago’,” he says.

“It might be a small change that’s needed, but it makes a great difference.”

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