On Saturday I made a small post to celebrate the 1st Anniversary of Start with Tinni. One of the things I mentioned in that post was that Start with Tinni was part of the NEIS scheme during its first year. It was a good experience.

The NEIS grant amounted a little over $10k, most of which I used to upgrade equipment, insurance, necessary saas service, pay for travel to Launch Festival, costs beyond tuition I had in associated with the MIT Bootcamp. Finally, the out of pocket expenses I had for Impact Boom Elevate+ accelerator. So, in essence, I used the grant to expand my network and build my knowledge.

I am incredibly grateful that I am in a position where I could spend the grant like this. I know that for many, the grant goes towards more essentials things as they wait to generate revenue

I also received training and mentorship through the NEIS program. The training happened in a group setting, so if you believe that the value of accelerator programs is mainly in the cohort, I am glad to have made the acquaintance of such a great bunch of people.

As for the training, I started my six-week in-person workshop-based training in July of 2018. But I didn’t officially launch my business until the 1st of November. I needed the extra time to implement everything I learnt properly. The workshop training also led to a formal qualification in the form of Certificate IV in New Small Business.

I went through the Sarina Russo Group, and so received my certificate through their institute. I thought I had a good grasp of business basics, but there were holes in my knowledge that the training helped to fill. Also, it was nice to have time and space to stop and think about the business.

Finally, I was assigned an official mentor through NEIS and Sarina Russo, and that was extremely helpful. Because sometimes, you need a mentor who has been there, done that and can help guide you. Mine was Sandra Gartner, and I am very grateful to her for her year-long mentorship and support.