There will be a month of workshops before the seven startups make their pitches to judges on June 6. The winners will be paired with mentors and receive in-kind sponsorship from a variety of established companies.
Stefan Roesch and partner and writer-filmmaker Pennie Hunt have started up the company FilmQuest, a film tourism business which through an app will take tourists around the sites of popular movie and television sets, such as Game of Thrones.
Just as Lord of the Rings changed tourism expectations, and offerings, in New Zealand, Mr Roesch said Game of Thrones was a major economic driver for Ireland.
"They're very intrepid tourists ... they'll visit Game of Thrones in Iceland in the winter,'' Mr Roesch said.
The pair say that with Challenger Series success they could be looking for app investors during the next 12 to 18 months.
Once operating, the app would take tourists on a tour around the actual sites, with clips of the original movie or series
Key to that success is securing access to the movies' intellectual property rights from companies such as Sony, 20th Century Fox, Disney and Netflix, and also working with production companies and destination organisations.
Mr Roesch completed a PhD thesis in film tourism at the University of Otago in 2006.
- The other six contestants. -
Winely: Works with winemakers to deliver real time data and analysis on wine ferments during the peak winemaking season.
Kitt: Helps property investors oversee performance, management and accounting of their rental properties, to avoid risk and complexity.
Next Farm: Cloud-based system, using on-farm sensors to enable responsive irrigation scheduling for precision water control.
Kaffelogic: Personal coffee roasting machine; designed and manufactured in Dunedin and Christchurch.
Rugby Bricks: Teaches rugby players, trainers and coaches the skills and knowledge needed both on and off-field.
Brotein: A protein drink of New Zealand-sourced products, blended and mixed in Nelson.
