Students from California State University were given a lesson in sharing when they visited Sydney recently as part of their Accelerated Master’s Degree.  The 27 students attended a panel discussion/ Q & A session at The Sharing Hub in Pyrmont, an accelerator for start-ups in the fast growing sharing economy space. On the panel were five entrepreneurs:
· Mike Rosenbaum – Founder, Spacer.com.au and The Sharing Hub
· Justin Hales – Founder, Camplify (Airbnb for RVs)
· Ilter Dumduz – Founder, Blys (on-demand massage)
· Alexis Soulopoulos – CEO, MadPaws (Airbnb for Pets)
· Will Davies, founder, Car Next Door (Airbnb for cars)
With a diverse range of offerings, each of the businesses was able to provide their unique, as well as common, experience and knowledge about growing a platform within this emerging sector.
The students also spent a week visiting the Sydney Startup Hub, Deputy, Vamp, NSW Department of Industry, and volunteering with Tangaroa Blue.
Sydney is recognised globally as a hotbed for start-ups in the sharing economy, and Pyrmont is acknowledged as the “Silicon Valley” of Australia, with technology entrepreneurs attracted to the area by complementary businesses, like-minded people and the presence of leading tech institutions such University of Technology, Sydney and Google.