Superficially, and perhaps appropriately given the metaphor, new and existing incubators can be subject to the ‘chicken and egg’ dynamic: how to evidence demand from startups when the desire for an incubator by the initiator is driven (in part) by the lack of them? Actually, this question addresses the critical success factor for incubators, especiallyRead more

Western Australia has great history of inventions, innovations and ventures growing from its regions. While fantastic, most of this history and stories are not widely known. More than just ‘nice’ to know, understanding the history and type of innovations can be critical information for new or existing incubators, local ventures seeking mentors, media, investors, andRead more

Twenty one percent of WA’s population and more than ninety percent of export value come from the regions with much of that concentrated in a dozen regional centres of populations less than forty thousand. As a results innovation in the regions is different to metropolitan areas: less density, closer to industry, different skillsets, lots ofRead more

Partners for Incubators For many incubators, partnerships can leverage significant additional resources and services for the benefit of ventures. Successful hubs in ecosystems often build a density of connections that gives them an almost gravitational pull, attracting ventures, talent, capital and other resources. For the partners, incubators can be attractive as a source of ventures,Read more

This is a brief guide, based on historical precedents, of the most beneficial ways the WA Incubator Facilitator can be of assistance through in-person meetings and visits. The majority of support is provided remotely via email, phone and webconference, but visits and meetings are essential at certain stages of incubator development. View the profile of theRead more

The official and full information is available online the Incubator Support website. These resources are for convenience for applicants working with the WA Incubator Facilitator. Incubator: has specific meaning that can include a broad range of activities that “that fosters innovative start-ups…”. Further details are in Appendix A of Programme guidelines. Startup: has specific meaning: “innovative, adaptive, early-stageRead more

This June (2018) I’m in a United States’ on an International Visitor Leadership Program exchange scholarship. This post gives a little context about the remarkable program, diverse participants, and activities spread across the country. Future posts will be here or on my personal blog and more frequent updates on Twitter Since 1948 the United States’ government has facilitated a version ofRead more

What’s an appropriate motivation and intention for growing the WA innovation ecosystem? This question can more easily be asked now, because there is sufficient shared acceptance of ‘innovation ecosystem’ existence, value, and that they can be grown deliberately through different policies, investments and voluntary activity. So now that we have one (an ecosystem) and wantRead more

This post is about the lessons learning through developing the Mid West Innovation Agenda and Mid West Innovation Action Agenda (unpublished*). This is most relevant if you are doing something similar in another region, though may also resonate with anyone facilitating collaborative strategy development. This is not a report about what do grow innovative ventures themselves, ratherRead more