Bunbury entrepreneurs make Australia Post Regional Pitchfest state finals

Local business brains Angela del Pino and Tim Hayes have both been selected to present their business ideas to an expert judging panel in July for the Pitchfest state finals after a successful application process.

Mrs del Pino is the founder and director of Delpino’s Ethical Department Store, an idea born out of her desire to buy more ethically but the struggle to find brands who work to make the world a better place.

The young Bunbury business woman runs the national online platform from her coastal townhouse, aiming to make it more convenient for shoppers to buy based on their values and remain informed about such products.

“We started our business in January, when we launched it and I had been planning it since June last year so we’re in the really early phase of business.

“Our online store is running and is functional but we’re looking to make updates and are in a phase of expansion at the moment.

“It’s an online store and we sell a range of ethical products and it’s a convenient and accessible way for Australians to purchase based on their values, whether that’s fair trade, organic, vegan, whatever values our customers have.”

Mrs del Pino recently left a corporate career in human resources to pursue her business dream, with a background in international aid and degrees in community development and human resource management behind her to aid the transition. 

“I’ve always been interested in community development and non-for-profits and I have a business mindset so running my own business but for more philanthropic reasons kind of ties those things together,” she said.

“We try and buy ethically as much as possible, checking the supply chains of clothing brands and sourcing fair trade coffee, but we found it was really inconvenient to search for and takes you to lots of different websites so we wanted to bring it

“There’s quite a lot of sustainable businesses around but I guess the difference between ours is that we’re not producing our products – I don’t pretend to be a fashion designer or chemist, I’m just curating and creating a place to sell these amazing brands that already exist.”

Mrs del Pino said her product is far from finished but she’s excited for the opportunity Pitchfest will provide.

“It’s nowhere near the department store that we want it to be yet but it’s functional and is a great platform but we’ve started and we will gradually grow into that vision,” she said.

“It’d be great just to get that networking experience and workshop my ideas.

“But of course if we won, any capital would be great. We’re trying to build a sustainable business that also makes revenue so wouldn’t say no to a cash prize.”

Tim Hayes will also be among the five finalists pitching their products in Bunbury in July, with his idea the Wizenbox – a modern food dehydrator.

The 50-year-old, who discovered a love for Biltong during a six month trip to Africa, has spent the last few years honing in on a more fun, visual and economical way of drying food and said he’s finally decided on a creation he’s ready to share with the world, starting with Pitchfest.

Helped by Mike Robb at Bunbury Plastics, Mark Scasserra from Elite Fabrication and Trudi Blakely from Truely Delicious Thyme, Mr Hayes has put together a number of different models of the Wizenbox and is still working on his finished product.

“There’s been a lot of trial and error. We’ve done a few models and it just keeps changing and changing. Every time I talk to Mike and Mark I get a new idea so it’s something that just keeps evolving,” he said.

“But it’s no mess, easy to clean and has an easy storage/flat pack system and is very small and compact.

“It revolves so it dehydrates the food evenly and has it’s own timer unlike dehydrators where you have to keep shuffling the trays.”

A qualified butcher by trade, Mr Hayes said the idea started from his own experience making Biltong for colleagues after mastering the skill in Africa.

“I was making so much Biltong for blokes at work – over 300 50g bags a week. I was spending every second of my week off at home making Biltong and I was making good money but I decided to instead teach them how to make it and make something so they could do it themselves,” he said.

“You can use it for meats and also fruit and veg but it’s all seperate so it’s just as viable for vegans and for carnivores.

“I want to take this from a prototype and make it into something that’s easy to produce and be able to sell it along with its range of products.”

Mr Hayes is hoping to sell the Wizenbox alongside Biltong and dehydrated fruit and vegetable recipes, marinades and spices for a full range of consumables.

Mrs del Pino, Mr Hayes and the other three finalists will go up in front of a live audience and panel to pitch their ideas to expert judges including OzAPP Awards executive director Paula Taylor, Bright People Technologies managing director Petra Nelson, SyncLabs co-founder Andrew Larson and Australia Post chief innovation officer Greg Sutherland.

Australia Post chief innovation officer Greg Sutherland said Australia Post were thrilled to be involved in a program that supported and promoted regional and rural innovation.

“I am excited to see the innovative ideas that Australia Post Regional Pitchfest will unearth from our local entrepreneurs and small business owners. The exciting thing about rural and regional businesses today is that they can be born locally but go global with the power of eCommerce,” Mr Sutherland said.

“Sometimes all you need is that helping hand to get your idea off the ground, so I can’t wait to meet our finalists and see what they have on offer,” Mr Sutherland said.

The state final will be held in Bunbury on July 21 with contestants competing for a place in the national final in Wagga Wagga in August to share in $100,000 worth of prizes. For event and ticketing information, or to vote for the ‘Community Choice Award’, visit regionalpitchfest.com.