I’m not an ‘entrepreneur’ – I just have a cool idea

Written by Joshua Crouthamel

When I explain to friends what we do at the Canberra Innovation Network, I fall back on a cliché – “You know that show ‘Shark Tank’? (I’ve never seen it, but…) you pitch your great idea to some big-wig investors from around the country who know the business-side of things, and then they give you money, and then you grow your business, franchise it across the globe, someone will buy you out, and you retire at 23.”

And although it sounds a bit unhinged, it isn’t too far from the truth.

Canberra Innovation Network, in close partnership with CIT, exists as a collaboration touchpoint for the idea-makers and dream-funders, experts in government grants and innovation-leaders. It facilitates the next-step refinement that takes an idea you work on in your mum’s garage or share-house loungeroom or local café with free Wi-Fi to the next level – through a network of refiners and re-definers.

In a few short months at the Canberra Innovation Network, I’ve seen local tinkerers become global thinker-ers with ideas such as non-alcoholic cocktails and supercomputer conductors. Ideas can germinate to become startups, then grow in a greenhouse of programs and workshops to bloom, with roots and nurturing mentors right here in Canberra. That’s what we are. That’s what we do.

So … growing something good? Interested in seeing an innovative change you came up with in the shower affecting the world around you? Do you have a better mousetrap in mind, or know how to automate a step in instant delivery, or understand the way we can break down a barrier that hinders space tourism or domestic inoculation or high-speed travel to Sydney or Melbourne at a low cost? We’re looking for you, friend.

Book a chat with the team and let us help you propagate your passion.

Originally published for CIT’s Excite Magazine.