Northland Inc’s Te Tai Tokerau business ideas
competition, The Pick, returns in 2022 following a two-year
hiatus.
Delivered in partnership with The Orchard
Business & Events Hub, Creative HQ and Callaghan
Innovation, The Pick ’22 encourages individuals who have a
business idea, or who want to have a business idea, to test
and develop it into a business model.
Supported by
regional business experts throughout a ten-week programme,
participants will explore and hone their ideas. With
workshops completed either online or in person, finalists
will then be selected to present their concepts in a Pitch
Night in front of a panel of Te Tai Tokerau business
leaders. The overall winner will receive a tailored business
support package to help grow their business idea into
fruition.
Northland Inc’s Business Innovation and
Growth Team Leader, Sophie Wiltshier, says the quality of
business ideas received in previous years shows the value of
early-stage support programmes such as The
Pick.
“The Pick allows Te Tai Tokerau’s innovative
thinkers to develop their business ideas with the support of
regional business experts and a network of likeminded
entrepreneurs. The Pitch Night has seen some outstanding
business ideas presented in previous years, many of whom
have gone on to launch successful businesses off the back of
The Pick competition.”
The Pick:19 winner Jade Kake
used her experience to build a solid platform from which to
grow her business, Matakohe Architecture + Urbanism. Now a
standout kaupapa Māori design studio located in Whangārei,
Kake says she found The Pick workshops to be
invaluable.
“The big benefit was the guidance to
create a business plan. I still go back to my notes when
I’m writing for the business or developing areas of
strategy, I’m surprised at how relevant some of the
content still is”, she says.
With The Pick ’22
entries open until 2 February, 2022, the competition is
timely for those who have been mulling over an idea, or
looking for a new direction in the new year, says
Wiltshier.
“Northland Inc has a dedicated five-year
plan for our Te Tai Tokerau entrepreneurs, The Pick is the
keystone programme for Northland. It’s so exciting seeing
The Pick Business Ideas Competition coming back for 2022,
this is suitable for innovators, creators, and Tai Tokerau
entrepreneurs that have an idea and are ready to win the
chance to make it happen.”
The Pick ’22 will run
from 16 February 2022, with workshops held weekly across 10
weeks before the finalist’s Pitch Night. Entries for The
Pick ’22 close 2 February, 2022.
Applicants are
invited to find all relevant information online at https://www.thepick.co.nz
and contact Northland Inc for more information through [email protected]
© Scoop Media
