Before I attended the recent Lightning Conference called to discuss Victoria’s #StartUpFuture, I jotted down I few rough ideas to take with me on the day. They need more work if anyone is interested in contributing to them:
1. Register of Tools & Ideas (not a job bulletin board)
- what projects/initiatives are people working on (might be a piece of IP that hasn’t gone anywhere?)
- what solutions are people looking for
- what help do people want/can offer
- curated matching
2. Foster collaboration & co-creation
- from which innovation & entrepreneurship will emerge
- connecting suppliers – build solutions collectively
3. The (re-)start-up of me
- we are all micro businesses
- by 2020 – 40% of workers will be “casual”
- need for training/upskilling workers
- paid periods of study leave for SMEs (use long-service leave to kickstart your idea?)
4. A quota of government tenders and projects have to go to SMEs or startups
- Gives startups better access to opportunities
- Enables government to get early access to new ideas
- Would foster more startup activity designed to help the public sector
5. Innovation & Entrepreneur Fairs – Trade Shows (Regular Road Shows?)
- to address social/community/economic initiatives
- what are the priorities for next 5 years (Private, Public, Social)
- who wants to contribute and how
- mini-consortia to bid on projects
- outcome focus – R&D plans, simplified contracts, tax breaks, rates holidays
- hiring new/old workers (1:1) “Your Idea, My Experience”
6. Pre-screening platform – how to be discovered and to find projects?
- register of experts (ADB model)
- register of “inventions”
- screening process:
- inventors submit ideas/proposals
- where do they need help
- what do they need validating
- who would they like to work with
- what type of clients (ideal customer)?
- panel of experts review proposal (anonymously)
- rate/rank ideas on key criteria (free)
- risk/reward rating (scores get published, teams can bid on projects)
- offer to help (remuneration)
- make introductions (fee)
- inventors submit ideas/proposals
- collective access to the IP value created
- connect people with similar ideas – 2 heads better than 1
7. Startup Kit/User Guide
- “what would you have liked to have known before you started your business?”
8. Intrapreneurship – “Intel Inside”
- small ideas within large organisation
- ring-fence new initiatives but back with resources and relevant skills
- try before you buy – see how both sides feel about the other
- focus on incremental & continuous improvement & sustainability
- opportunity to license the IP
9. Education program (primary & secondary)
- use existing channels like LMS/content platforms
- code.org
- KidsLogic.net
10. Funding
- model where banks, instos & corporates use part of their marketing budgets to “invest” in or back new ideas
- not an equity model, or a loan, and separate to R&D tax breaks
- benefits to “investors”:
- right of first refusal over products/services
- branding or naming rights
- goodwill in wider community
- R&D at low-cost
- benefits to “borrower”
- tax-free income
- partnership
- leg up