Sharing the start-up story

ONE of the aims of Commerce Ballarat’s Business Day Out 2019 is assisting businesses with localised support and access to tools and information that will help them grow and prosper.

Nick Stanley and Peter Dostis co-founders of Runway are two of the speakers at the event more than qualified to help achieve that goal.

The partners established Runway in Geelong in 2016 and then opened a Ballarat office two years later.

Mr Dostis’ exposure to over 30 different organisations has given him a great depth of business operating experience across different industries.

He said speaking at Business Day Out was a great opportunity because Runway is all about helping startups and existing businesses manage growth.

“We will be talking about innovation for existing businesses and how early stage start-ups can turn their idea into a commercial business that they can launch,” Mr Dostis said.

“It’s an impressive occasion for us to get the message out and to also be part of the bigger picture of what’s happening in the Ballarat region.”

Mr Stanley is an active entrepreneur with a focus on the success of regional start-ups.

He said it sounds like a very exciting program because people wanted to see good outcomes in regional destinations.

“Business Day Out is a really great collaborative initiative that provides a platform for people to share ideas and to meet each other,” Mr Stanley said.

“It’s always exciting what comes out of these types of platforms because it is really unknown.”

The Runway co-founders said they are more than familiar with the challenges faced by regional businesses.

Mr Stanley said they know the science and what the experts say but they are not academics, they are both practioners with decades of experience running large businesses mostly in regional locations.

“Often when you are going into the great unknown it’s good to have someone say, no you are not crazy, that happens and we can help you with that,” Mr Stanley said.

“For me the challenge is how do I access mentors, how do I grow my network and how do I get access to growth capital and those three challenges are what Runway exists to help with.”

Business Day Out 2019 is on Wednesday, May 29 at Mercure Ballarat Hotel and Convention Centre, 613 Main Road Golden Point commencing at 8.30am.

Tickets are $225 for Commerce Ballarat members and $280 for non-members. Register online at commerceballarat.com.au.