Thrive Reservoir

Founded in 1968, Australian Home Brewing is the world’s first dedicated home brewing company. ​

For over 50 years, Australian Home Brewing have supplied thousands of home brewers all over Australia with all the gear they need to make a great home brew. ​Based in Melbourne, they are passionate craft beer enthusiasts and have developed a huge range of beer recipes to satisfy the most aspirational of brewers.

Isabel and husband Hamish bought the company from Hamish’s father 9 years ago. ​With majority of the business operations falling on Isabel due to unfortunate health circumstances, Isabel had a desire to upskill her business knowledge. ​She was drawn to the Covid-19 Industry Response Program because she wanted to increase her industry knowledge, business acumen, and more importantly the program was flexible around her business operating hours.

The program has guided Isabel’s focus for the business, being able to gather and utilize valuable data to drive daily business decisions. ​The business model and financial workshops from the program have also allowed Isabel to identify ways to make business operations more efficient.​ Australian Home Brewing has since seen a 10% increase in Gross Profit and 500% increase in online sales since implementing learnings from the program.

"One of the most valuable take-aways from this program has been self-belief, we are now fully equipped to take advantage of the skills we have been given and make the most of the next 5 years plus" - Isabel Martin

Plot Wine’s mission is to own midweek drinking. They make their wine currently down the Mornington Peninsula under the watchful eye of Quealy wines. ​They currently have 3 core wines in their range at the $15 price point with a "Project" line in the works focused on limited edition once offs that will retail for $20. ​

Chris is currently working part-time in the business and would like to move into the business full time though that is currently one of the biggest challenges so far -, balancing both!​

Entering the program, Chris’s main goal was to validate his business model to de-risk growth but also wanted to be connected with a community of growth-minded business owners. Plot Wine launched it's website in March and has sold 80%+ of all products produced to date.​

Over the 12 weeks, Chris successfully launched a new limited-production Pinot at the higher price bracket and is closer to moving into the business full time – a goal that was previously proving challenging.​

Investible is in the process of helping Chris find a cofounder to come into the business with a finance and operations background.

"What the retail program helped me do was address the areas of the business I wasn’t considering or hadn’t put much effort into. Rather than running Plot purely on a day-to-day basis, E-M and the team got me excited about what the future of Plot could be and more importantly how I could get there. Just as important as the course work was the other businesses on the journey with you. It was a safe environment to talk about your business both positive and negative, an environment of support during and beyond the course and an environment where knowledge was freely shared."

- Christopher Nolan

Established in 1996, Alperstein Designs is a family business focused on creating premium gifts and homewares with a focus or art and design. ​

They collaborate with Aboriginal Art Centres and artists around Australia to produce high quality gifts sold in a variety of Museums, Galleries, Tourist destinations, Universities, Airports and High-end gift and homeware stores. ​

​Most importantly royalties are paid to the artist and their community. They also offer private label services for Wholesale, Retail and for corporate/events.

With the increasing desire of artists wanting to sell original pieces rather than their designs on gifts, Marc came into the program needing to build out a B2C model. ​

This program would also be an opportunity for Marc to be able to get a new perspective on the business, and form connections to the right experts to help achieve his goals.

Through the program, Alperstein Designs got clear on their own brand to communicate on their website. They also increased their B2C sales through launching masks – selling out in every kind! ​

Marc even sold a few pieces of original art to members of the cohort.​

Over the 12 weeks, Marc developed and refined his pitch deck, which is now being used as training material for the sales team. Currently, Alperstein Designs are on track to meet all sales targets in 2020.

"I feel like I have only just skimmed the surface of the content, and I still have so much more to absorb and apply to my business. The content and access to networks has been great and such a safe space. This program has shifted my mindset and helped me communicate my business more clearly and effectively. It’s been amazing."

- Marc Alperstein

• 10-week free online program
• Approx. 1 workshop per week
• 2 hours per week required

Must be located within Reservoir

• Business model development
• Entrepreneurial thinking
• Digital strategy
• Customer acquisition
• Financial modelling
• Ethical supply chains

Flexible remote learning

Participate from anywhere with virtual expert workshops, online learning modules and downloadable templates developed by the business development experts at Investible.

Supportive community

Join a private Facebook community of like-minded business owners who understand the challenges and opportunities ahead, to share feedback, support and continued learning.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a key focus within La Trobe University's Industry and Engagement strategy. Within our range of programs, we have supported over 111 start-ups over the past three years.

La Trobe University is looking to help equip small to medium businesses pivot and accelerate through COVID-19 in addition to delivering programs to inspire entrepreneurial mindsets within our staff, students and academics.

Investible is a leading early-stage investor and one of Australia’s most active Venture Capital firms at seed stage.

Investible is the first investment firm in Australia to bring early-stage investment together with proven entrepreneurial development programs under one roof.

Its comprehensive suite of unique business-building and pre-investment programs that continue to support business across Australia and Southeast Asia.