Insights on Social Enterprise from Canada: An Impact-Led Breakfast Forum

On Monday morning, I had scrambled eggs for the first time in a long time! Why was I having special food? Because I accepted the invitation from Social Traders, QSEC and Impact Boom spend time in conversation with David LePage!

David LePage is a serial social entrepreneur. He’s currently the co-founder, Director and Managing Partner of Buy Social Canada. But he is also the designer, and was the initial Executive Director of Community Impact Real Estate (CIRE). He is a founding partner of the Social Enterprise Institute (SEI). David is also a Principal with Accelerating Social Impact (ASI), one of Canada’s first ever hybrid social enterprise corporations. So he has a wealth of experience on which he can draw to share some great insights.

The key insight from David’s key note were the six things he believed social enterprise needs to thrive. These are:

1. Business acumen

2. Social value finance

3. Access to markets

4. Measurement of impact

5. Networks of social entrepreneurs and supporters

6. Supportive public policy

I think he is spot on with his assessment because the world is about systems. You need to put the right systems in place for social enterprise to thrive. The panel that followed the keynote echoed the sentiment.

In addition to David LePage, the panel consisted of Social Traders’s David Brookes, Food Connect and QSEC’s Emma-Kate Rose, and English Family Foundation’s Belinda Morrissey. The conversation was moderated by Impact Boom’s very own Tom Allen.

The presence of Tom should be a clue that I was not the only person from Impact Boom Cohort of 2019 at the breakfast. So we had a bit of a reunion!

#WaiTALK A Tale of Two Countries: The AI Edition

On Wednesday, the monthly Women Who Code meetup merged for the night with the launch of the Women in AI’s WaiTALK series. It was also at the Brisbane office of WeWork, which I wanted to check out for quite some time. WeWork is in the old Mincom building, and it’s where I used to work when I worked for Mincom way back when! I have to say, and it was a pretty nifty setup.

Given that this was the launch of Women in AI, there was a bit of a lead into the talk. Max Kelsen, Queensland AI, Young Women Leaders in AI and WeWork It was great to learn a bit about all the organisations, especially since I didn’t know anything about Young Women Leaders and my knowledge of Queensland AI was limited. But then it was on to the main event!

Becks Simpson talked about her sabbatical year working in Canada and China. She compared the AI and innovation scene in those two countries against each other and to Australia. She emphasised the need for diversity, for governmental support and also of dreaming big. I loved how she didn’t shy away from the AI and ethics discussion either.

So I am going to do my best to attend more WaiTALK. I will also make more of an effort to attend more Women Who Code meetups. It should be fun!

Lord Mayor's Social Enterprise Business Forum

I joined many of my cohort mates from the Impact Boom Elevate+ last Wednesday at the Lord Mayor's Social Enterprise Business Forum. I have heard about these, but this was the first one I attended. It was perfect timing too because my new business cards as the CTO of Abide had just arrived! So my co-founder, Andy and I, used the event as a massive opportunity to pitch Abide so that we get inputs and have the opportunity to explore collaborations.

The forum was also a learning opportunity boasting the speakers Alex Hannant, Co-Director, Yunus Social Business Centre, Griffith University who spoke about the "Ingredients for success and failure - 10 things I've learnt about social enterprise". It was a great talk that highlighted the realities facing social enterprises. I especially liked the tip about "letting zombies dies". He was saying that as social entrepreneurs, we are often driven by passion and belief. So we might often keep ventures going that are in realities zombies. I think this is a good tip for everyone who are passionate about what they do. It's not just about business but also jobs, creative endeavours etc., etc.

The second speaker was Emma-Kate Rose, General Manager, Food Connect, who spoke about "Running a business with heart and purpose: why social enterprises are on the rise". But unfortunately, I was not able to stay for that talk. Overall, I had a good time, and I am going to see if I can't make more of these forums!

The Precinct: Too Many Events!

So I went to The Precinct today because I had signed up for Ignite Ideas Information Session happening in River City Labs. But the packed elevator was full of people who indicated we should get off on level 2, instead of going to level 3 were River City Labs is located. There did seem to be an event in level 2, so I assumed it was the information session. It was not; it was a talk on Quantum Computing!

After thinking about it for a while and consuming copious amounts of cheese, I decided to stick around for the Introduction to Quantum Computing (and where AI fits) by Dr Adam Makarucha. I have a rudimentary understanding of Quantum Computing, but I do not watch the field as much as I probably should. So the talk was fascinating, and I enjoyed hearing about the tools IBM has available. I want to try some of them out and will try to find some time to do so.

As I was sitting there listening to him, I realised that three events were taking place in level 3 of the Precinct, including the Ignite Ideas Information Session! The saturation of events is why we couldn’t make Dev Start Meetup work.. There are just too many meetups, talks and events in Brisbane.

After Dr Makarucha’s talk, I did duck out and listen to what EY representative had to say about the Ignite Ideas grant. It’s interesting. I think I will suggest it to both Abide and Josari, and we can explore the possibility of applying for it.

Eventbrite QUT bluebox Accelerator 2019 Demo Night

So yesterday, I found myself in P Block just the QUT Bluebox Accelerator 2019 Demo Night was kicking off. So even though I didn’t have tickets, I crashed the party! Well, at least for a little while. I was feeling pretty sick, so I couldn’t hang around for the pitches. Still, I got a chance to chat with some of the participants. There were familiar faces like Bertonni, who were one of the graduates of last years Impact Boom Elevate+ program. There was also Excise Cloud who are in QUT Foundry with Abide and beat Abide to come second during the QUT Foundry IDEAS Launched Showcase: Pitch 'n' Party.

In addition, I got to speak with Gigshake, who are a digital platform connecting university students to career-relevant paid employment. I remember the terrible job boards from when I was a student. So if they can improve the experience just a little, they would have made a huge difference. But one thing I would like to see on their platform is some way for the students to share their experience with employers. We are too much on the side of employers. But bad bosses can be hugely damaging to young people and a university job board should have emphasis protecting students and teaching them their rights, as much as they should be able helping students gain experience and earn money.

I also spoke a little to Cardlify, who are a digital gift card solution and Software-as-a-Service marketing tool for businesses. I didn’t quite get how they were different from Rewardle. But I wasn’t at the pitch. They probably addressed how they were different. I didn’t get a chance to speak with them a lot.

The last startup I spoke to was Tokens for Humanity, who are a charity using blockchain technology to deliver efficient fundraising and governance applications for not-for-profits. I asked them if their Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash, but they were Ethereum, I was secretly hoping they were paying in Doge coins!

The three startups I didn’t get a chance to speak to where Digital Surge  who are a cryptocurrency exchange platform, specialising in bitcoin trading that is accessible to all Australians. Vanguard Defence Systems who are a defence research and development startup, focusing on creating technology to improve defence force capabilities. Finally, SensaWeb who provide a real-time environmental monitoring solution with an initial focus on radiation area monitoring.

I learnt this morning that Bertonni was the winner of the demo night! That’s impressive returns for Impact Boom Elevate+ cohort from 2018. Because Chatloop, who were also alumni of cohort 2018 won UQ iLabs Germinate 12 Pitch Night. Let’s hope Abide is as successful post-Elevate+ as much as Bertonni and Chatloop!