The Bronte Centre

By Jan Clarke, Warragul

Sharing the journey to freedom from eating disorders


Bronte Centre has always been a face to face service provider for the families of individuals who suffer from eating disorders. The service has always been delivered in a face to face format so this limits the number and location of families who can engage with us and make a difference in their loved one’s recovery and connection with life.

“The Bronte Foundation was established by Jan Clarke, mother of Bronte Cullis after unsuccessfully seeking treatment for her Anorexia in Australia. Bronte was abandoned by the mainstream medical system in Australia and left to die at the age of 15. Her family decided that they would do all they could to ensure that other Australian families did not have to leave the country in order for their loved ones to receive the treatment and support they deserved. The Bronte foundation was established in August 2003 and to date has provided treatment, education and support to more than 150 families in an intensive program and ten of hundreds of families across Australia via school and community education programs.”

Jan Clarke completed the inaugural Startup Gippsland Program in June 2019. She said:

“The opportunity to be part of a startup program appealed to me because of the education, resources and mentoring that was on offer as I attempted to navigate the minefield of scaleability through a new, untested digital platform.

The program delivered far beyond my expectations. Not only did it clarify my business idea but it actually brought it to life because of the thorough, methodical nature of the program. This means that anyone with a business idea can develop, test and go live by following the expertly articulated pathways taught throughout the program.

I really did not expect to learn as much as I did having run a successful business across two decades. The team who delivered the program we able to tailor their broader approach to meet the needs of program participant’s businesses/ideas and this meant that the end result was a solid understanding how Bronte Centre can work differently in a digital space and the likelihood of it succeeding in that space.

Since completing the program I have received three offers of funding, built and tested a range of new offerings for families, have four employees, am building a new website and hope to go live with new services very soon.”

Testimonials

“I would not be where I am now without the direction and support I was given through the Startup Gippsland program delivered by Gippstech.”

Watch Jan’s Startup Gippsland Pitch

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