Students’ plans win prize
By Emma Masters
Many people dream of owning their own business – running things the
way they want, no one peering over their shoulder, not to mention being
able to reap the financial rewards of all their hard work. For two UniSA
students – one recently graduated and the other close to completion –
that dream is already a reality. The dynamic duo, Nicholas Zuppar and
Anita Paech (pictured), have just won the $10,000 Pank Prize for
Entrepreneurial Activity to help them kick-start a business of their
own.
The prize winning pair fulfilled the competition criteria by submitting a business plan they prepared for a bachelor of management/marketing course.
Their plan will establish South Australia’s first affordable high-end
video, sound and multimedia post-production and studio facility called
‘G Studios’.
“At present, there is a lack of accessible and affordable post-production facilities available for independent film makers in South Australia,” says Zuppar.
“We have developed a business plan that will provide an affordable alternative for the high demand.”
The Australian film industry is worth more than $1.5 billion each year and the majority of films produced in SA are made by local independent film makers. The students believe they have identified an important niche in the market that will guarantee a viable business for the future and they say the support they received along the way helped them to achieve this.
“Once we submitted our plan, we were given invaluable guidance and support from mentors of UniSA’s Centre for Development of Entrepreneurs, and ITEK,” Zuppar says.
“They really opened our eyes to a lot of things and made us think realistically about the market we wanted to enter into. Meanwhile, we were continually resubmitting the plan for review by the prize committee, a panel of business professionals.
“The entire process required us to be very thorough and business minded.”
The young entrepreneurs now have 18 months to work towards establishing their business – so they are planning carefully for the future and working out how to make their prize money go as far as possible. They say the entire competition process was life changing.
“Even if you don’t win the prize, it’s great to get some free mentoring from business professionals and learn how to write a really decent business plan. If it is a really good idea, you can go and pursue it elsewhere,” Zuppar says.
The $10,000 prize was generously donated by Dr Pank and the Pank Family Trust to help UniSA students foster the development of new business.
Dr Pank passed away on January 8 and was unfortunately unable to meet the first recipients of his entrepreneurial prize. However his son-in-law Rob Hunt, who presented the prize at the official awards ceremony, said he knew Dr Pank would have been very proud to talk to and encourage this year’s winners.
Dr Pank, an honorary doctor of UniSA, is celebrated for his work as an optometrist and as a leading manager of his company Laubman and Pank. An innovator in enterprise, Dr Pank was passionate about training and development and believed everyone should be encouraged to develop their full potential.