CityPods in CBDRobina is proud to be a major sponsor of  the 2015 Gold Coast Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

This year’s awards, which showcase the city’s top young business leaders aged 40 and under, are being hosted by Business News Australia in partnership with Young Professionals Gold Coast – an organisation that is committed to fostering an environment that supports local entrepreneurs.

The awards were launched last night at Paradox Coffee Roasters in Surfers Paradise with guest speaker Alan Jones discussing how the Gold Coast could continue to build on its reputation as an entrepreneurial hub.

Jones, who is Chief Growth Hacker at Australian accelerator BlueChilli where he is responsible for advising and mentoring startup entrepreneurs, spoke about how to turn conceptual ideas into a successful business.

His message for Gold Coast entrepreneurs? Aim for the stars – and Gold Coast City is a perfect location for lift-off. According to Jones, you don’t need a Silicon Valley address to succeed – just a city that offers an ‘ecosystem’ of business dynamism, creativity and innovation.

Nominations for the 2015 Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards are now open to people that have founded their business, are the owner-operators, are based in Gold Coast City and were born in 1975 or later.

The winners will be announced at a special gala dinner at Jupiters Casino on Friday, October 30.

Robina Group is a big supporter of entrepreneurialism and its $14 million CityPods development is a business hub for innovation with a broad range of cutting-edge businesses.