Media releases

Masterclasses for growing entrepreneurial businesses

Published 9 September 2018

Leaders from top companies including Atlassian, Google, Airtasker, Canva, Freelancer, Showpo and TEDxSydney will coach Sydney business owners and their teams in a series of professional workshops.

Sponsored by the City of Sydney and created by learning platform Zambesi.com, the 10 seminars will focus on ‘essential skills for emerging businesses’ and will provide 600 small businesses with entrepreneurial and digital skills over the next 12 months.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the three-hour workshops were a wonderful opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn skills directly from successful, high-growth technology companies.

“We’ve seen a phenomenal growth of more than 60 percent in startups across our city, making Sydney the centre of Australia’s startup community.

“We support co-working through our work and run the Visiting Entrepreneur Program and the Business 101 seminars.

“Our commitment to supporting female entrepreneurs is a key action of our tech startups action plan, so I’m pleased to see one of the workshops is specifically designed for female business founders.

“These workshops are a great opportunity for our entrepreneurs to build their skills and be connected to the startup support network thriving in our city.”

Zambesi CEO and co-founder, Rebekah Campbell, said the interactive sessions were designed to help business owners and professionals gain new skills and remain competitive.

“We're thrilled to partner with the City of Sydney to launch this series of 3 hour programs on marketing, sales, leadership, money and more,” Ms Campbell said.

“Our mission is to give every local business owner and professional the opportunity to learn what these companies are getting right. This is a great way to share skills, network and collaborate.”

Zambesi will run 10 workshops from October 2018 to August 2019. The following are now open for registration:

  • October 25 – How to get and leverage PR to grow your business with Mat Beeche, founder Startup Daily and Liz McKenzie, head of communications at Canva. Register here
  • November 19 – Going global: US and China market entry strategy workshop with Trena Blair, CEO FD Global Connections, and Andrea Myles, CEO China Australia Millennial Project. Register here
  • January 30 – Build and leverage your personal brand to grow your business with Fleur Brown, Cofounder TEDxSydney. Register here
  • February 4 – Kickstart your side hustle Michael Ruhfus, former COO Freelancer.com, and Rebekah Campbell, co-founder Hey You, Cofounder Zambesi. Register here

The subsidised cost of each course is $45 per person.

Program details and early bookings are now available at zambesi.com.

For media inquiries or images, contact Belinda Wallis. Phone mobile 0467 810 160 or email bwallis@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au.

For interviews with Lord Mayor Clover Moore, please contact Julia Lenton. Phone 0410 748 039 or email jlenton@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au.

For more stories from your local area, visit news.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au.