Payments startup Xiippy named best in Queensland tech
Privacy-focused payment startup Xiippy was the grand winner of the River Rival pitch competition that concluded Brisbane’s Something Tech conference last week, winning both the Jury Award for Best in Product and Best of the Best award with its subscription service. for diabetes drugs Stripped supply.
Xiipy encourages retailers to adopt paperless receipts and loyalty programs without collecting large amounts of information about their customers.
Hamish Sadler CEO of Xiippy said it feels “great” to have his company recognized by a jury.
“It was a real surprise to win two awards,” he said. “Thank you so much to ACS and River City Labs for organizing this event and giving us this opportunity.”
Sadler was one of eight startup founders to present his company to a jury consisting of John Kearney, Head of Startups and Scaleups at AWS; Siobhan Casey, director of the ACS Innovation Labs; Stew Glynn, co-founder of Ten13; and moderated by RCL mentor Peter Laurie.
Xiippy shared Best of the Best honors with Stripped Supply, a startup that provides a subscription box for people with diabetes that automatically ships much-needed supplies like insulin.
Stripped Supply founder Ashley Hanger said she was thrilled to showcase her company to a crowd of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists at Friday’s pitching competition.
“It feels special to be able to automate something that people desperately need,” Hanger said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to spread the word about Stripped Supply at an event like River Rival.”
Snapi, a startup that makes devices that automatically read electricity meters, won the People’s Choice Award as voted by the public.
Founder Mark Hartmann described it as a “great opportunity” to showcase Queensland’s tech startup ecosystem.
“Winning the People’s Choice award is a tribute to the way we designed a product that appeals to our target audience.”
All winners will receive a free membership to River City Labs.
River City Labs General Manager Pauline Fetaui said she was proud of the quality of emerging technology companies across Queensland.
“Congratulations to the winners of River Rival and thank you to all the speakers who presented over two days and the week as part of Something Tech and Something Fest,” she said.
Siobhan Casey said she loved seeing entrepreneurs discover ways to make a difference in the world.
“I love seeing how people solve problems in innovative ways, like Ashley, who took a concept we all know for things like makeup and clothing and turned it into a much-needed service for medicine.”
River Rival concluded the two-day Something Tech technical conference held as part of the week-long Something Fest in Brisbane.
