SUCCII is lucky to have such a supportive entreprenuer and investment community supporting this event.  Here are the entreprenuers and technology investors who have agreed to attend the final critique panel.  They will give the teams feedback on their business ideas and award the Business Establishment Prize Pack:

David O'Rourke, Managing Director, Projects Assured,  David is also a on the Board of Directors of Lighthouse Business Innovation Centre. 

Alex Mair, CEO Lucy Media  http://www.lucymedia.com.au/

Nick McNaughton, CEO, Blue Cove Ventures, http://www.bluecoveventures.net/

Murray Rankin, Mentor, Advisor, Professional Director

I am pleased to annouce that Liam O'Duibhir will be my co-captain for this year's event.  Liam participated in the event last year and is a tech entreprenuer in his own right.  Liam's boundless energy, enthusiam and way-cool sunglasses were a real highlight for me last year. I'm very excited to have him back as a facilitator.

We did try to get Bart Jellema again from Start Up Australia, but he is flat chat with the recent sale of his start up, TJOOS.  We have Bart's well wishes and hope he will be involved in Start Up Camp Canberra events in the furture. 

Here is a bit more about Liam:

Liam O'Duibhir is an IT professional and entrepreneur. In 2006 he founded SoccerFit (www.soccerfit.com.au) which is a business that combines the benefits of social fun fitness with the world's most popular sport!

SoccerFit was inspired by StartupCamp Australia 2009 to develop a software platform to power the business venture across Australia. Liam has since received grant assistance from the ACT government and secured significant 'venture IT' investment from a leading Canberran software team to pursue development.

This year's SUCC schedule is now avaliable here.  For those who participated last year, they will be pleased to see less talking heads and more time for development.  We will still have plenty of experts on-hand to network with at the closing event on Sunday. 

The expert panel is yet to be confirmed, but plans are to get a number of successful local web entreprenuers along to the event to give you feedback.  Contact me to nominate your favourite.  Keep visiting this blog for more updates and please tell people about the event and encourage them to register!

Plans for this year's Start-Up Camp Canberra are well under way!

This year's event will be held as part of the Australian Science Festival, 'Business Fringe'.  We hope to attract good representation from both of ANU and UC as well as the general tech start-up business community.

Who is this event for?  SUCCII is for serious aspiring technology entrepreneurs and for those who want to network with them.   We provide the venue, food and guidance.  You provide the brilliant idea and the gear you need to build your killer app.   'Bench warmers' and sundry 'observers' are encouraged to scam free food and Wi-Fi elsewhere.

If you can build stuff, you will be like a god at SUCC, however, if you aren't a coder you are still welcome.  This exercise isn't just about building something cool (although that is a significant portion) it is also about complimenting that killer app with a business and marketing strategy that will work.  Yes, this is about making money.  Preferably, lots of it. 

Why give up your weekend?  Well, we all have great ideas, but who was the time to actually sit down with some other smart people and figure out if it can actually work?  SUCC is about creating an environment that allows you to do that.  Oh, and it is lots of fun too.

Of course, you don't have to take my word for it.  Read what some of last year's participants had to say about the event:

Start Up Camp is almost finished.  We know this because Bart is wearing a tie.  He is the only one-the bleary-eye participants are far too busy to care about dressing up for the party tonight.

Each of the five teams have become experts in their 'micro-niche' and are working to build the features and functionality that will appeal to their target audience.

Today is all about putting on the finishing touches on their sites and telling the world on the internet that forums for new relationships now exist.  The marketing and communications folks are furiously twittering, creating Facebook sites, sending press releases and blogging.  Designs are being optimised and the usability/testing freaks are trying to break things. . .

Web 2.0 is all about communities-building them and, eventually, (hopefully!) monetising them based on the aspirations, needs, and desire they share.  It is a marvellously simple concept-the ultimate exercise in democracy and free-market economics. 

Ultimately, the point of Start Up Camp is journey itself.  Each participant is challenging themselves technically in their chosen area.  However, I can actually see myself as part of all of the communities that are building built, which, I think is an excellent outcome.  It remains to be seen which (if any) of these sites will continue after Start Up Camp Canberra.  But, here is how I would use them: