Five start-ups have been selected by international investors and announced as finalists in Perth-based, national app development competition OzApp Awards.
They were selected by a panel of judges including Qualcomm Ventures director Patrick Eggen and Silicon Valley-based start-up investor Bill Tai who has backed Australian start-ups including Shoes of Prey and Canva.
“I was blown away by the quality of the ideas and teams in this year’s applications,” Tai said in a statement.
“There is a growing awareness in the Valley that Australia is a great source of innovation in the digital space and the awards are providing a focal point for people to come and take a look for themselves.”
Attracting international interest and investors has been a goal for the OzApp Awards since the competition launched.
“The competition now has an international profile with a significant group of global entrepreneurs and investors attending the final event in Perth and checking out the scene while they are here,” says Rohan McDougall, OzApp judge and Curtin University director of intellectual property commercialisation.
The five finalists come from across Australia, with only event aggregator tool Triplifier based in Western Australia.
Photography app Project Tripod and toy customisation app ToyPrint herald from New South Wales, and panic button for seniors platform Ollo Mobile and fashion networking app Infinite Wardrobe are based in Queensland.
The five start-ups will pitch at the upcoming West Tech Festival for a $100,000 convertible note with Qualcomm Ventures. The top three finalists will split $20,000.
Rose is the current head of growth at Rampersand Ventures. She was formerly a reporter at StartupSmart.
