The technology industry is becoming a big deal on the Gold Coast, especially in the health field.
One of the co-founders of online health platform HotDoc, John Servinis, said he recognised the attraction of living outside the major metropolitan centres about a decade ago.
“There’s been a lot of brain drain from the cities,” he said.
“It’s easy for someone chasing a better lifestyle to leave Sydney or Melbourne for this.“
John Servinis (right) is making the Gold Coast the home base for his next project. (ABC Gold Coast: Julia Andre)
According to at least one metric, the tech sector is catching up to the city’s key economic drawcard of tourism.
It contributed $1.4 billion in gross value added (GVA) to the Gold Coast economy in the year to June 2023, according to Invest Gold Coast.
The organisation, set up by the city council, found tourism contributed $1.6b in GVA in the same period.
The Cohort office has been designed so entrepreneurs can network with one another. (ABC Gold Coast: Julia Andre)
Co-working investment
Mr Servinis said he had moved to the area to work remotely, but was planning to base his next venture on the Gold Coast.
There are about 9,000 people employed in the technology sector in the city and the council wants that number to grow.
The City of Gold Coast is eyeing off a bigger chunk of the industry set to be worth $250b by the end of the decade, according to an Australian Trade and Investment Commission report.
The Cohort Innovation Space offers entrepreneurs a chance to put down roots in the city. (ABC Gold Coast: Julia Andre)
The city’s research hubs include Griffith University’s Institute of Biomedicine and Glycomics, the Gold Coast University Hospital and Bond University.
The council is aiming to support growth by investing in a co-working office called the Cohort Innovation Space, designed to help start-ups get off the ground and grow their roots in the city.
The office hosts an annual program called LuminaX, which aims to support entrepreneurs and teach them how to secure funding.
The Gold Coast’s tech community meets for a coffee catch-up every week. (ABC Gold Coast: Julia Andre)
Networking opportunities
General practitioner Vu Tran met the co-founders of his start up, Bloody Good Tests, through the program.
It allows anyone to pay for any blood screening they would like without getting a referral from a doctor.
He and his co-founders have kept the start-up’s base at the Cohort office.
“It’s given us access to great facilities, infrastructure and networking,” Dr Tran said.
Each week entrepreneurs and investors meet to grab a coffee, take a walk and bounce ideas off each other.
It is a networking exercise that makes use of the city’s natural beauty and comfortable year-long climate.
Mr Servinis said the Gold Coast’s livability increased his output and creativity at work.
“It’s so easy to get out of bed in the morning when you can go and take your laptop down to the beach or a cafe,”
he said.
