At the Canberra Innovation Network, we couldn’t be any more proud of this community of entrepreneurs. For their achievements. For their ingenuity. For the way they’ve turned challenges into opportunities and absolutely thrived. The Innovation Showcase is our way to celebrate the hardworking innovation and startup community in Canberra, highlighting those achievements and inspiring even bigger goals for the new year.

It’s a fun and interactive afternoon, encouraging the community to come together, share stories and get energised for the next year ahead.

At this year’s Innovation Showcase Canberra startups will go head-to-head in a live shark-tank style pitching competition judged live by YOU. You’ll have the opportunity to meet new people, learn about the exciting things that came out of 2022 and get a glimpse into what’s in store!

We interviewed the innovators that will be headlining the showcase this year and discussed the meaning of innovation, the future and the event!

Introducing Andrea Butler from bakesale. 

What are you pitching at the Innovation Showcase?

I want to transform and inspire the way people sell, buy and enjoy home-baked goods. To buy and sell better, to support local bakers, to bake a difference, to home- baking not mass-making.

I came up with the idea to create an online marketplace to bring local bakers and customers together. bakesale hits that sweet-spot of connecting people looking for that extra special something made with love, with local bakers selling their amazing, home-baked creations.

I will be pitching our newly launched online marketplace at bakesale.com.au with the Find your local baker on the first map of registered local bakers in Australia.

If the sky is the limit, what is your ultimate goal?

To establish bakesale as the global marketplace connecting local bakers and buyers.

bakesale provides an exciting alternative to mass-baked goods that supports our local bakers, provides more unique options, and ultimately tastes better. I believe bakesale can empower bakers to bake the world a better place.

What has been the high of the year for you?

bakesale has had a momentous year as the marketplace launched on 1 October this year. We have had a significant social media following and we have onboarded 26 bakers onto the platform – many from Canberra.

bakesale has developed relationships with the important industry partners such as the Australian Cake Decorating Network, Her Canberra and Canberra Mums.

The year has also seen significant networking across the baking industry with bakesale sponsoring many of the major baking awards and competitions: the Cake, Bake and Sweet Show bakesale Cake of Art competitions held in Sydney and Melbourne; the Australian Cake Artists and Decorators Association, International Cake Show awards major prize, Battle of the Sugar Giants, where it was a neck to neck between six-foot dinosaurs and life-sized Marvel characters – all made of cake!; and many of the royal shows in Hobart, Adelaide, the Sydney Easter Show, Ekkas and Darwin. Bakesale’s sponsorship of baking excellence has been instrumental in establishing its market presence. These events also allowed for significant market research and connections and industry contacts.

bakesale has also been successful in being awarded an ICON grant which will fast-track our development to offer better delivery, local pick-up and postage options for our bakers and customers, and ultimately broaden the ability for bakers to join the marketplace.

Clever, Connected & Creative. Which of these words do you most identify with and why?

bakesale identifies with all terms – Clever, Connected and Creative. The most significant for bakesale is Connected as bakesale connects local bakers, customers, to each other and to the community, and connected in the industry.

What does innovation mean to you?

Innovation means identifying a problem and creating a new solution that solves that problem. It is more than an idea, as innovation requires the action and perseverance to continue creating and iterating to improve the solution.

bakesale is innovating by developing the original idea and is now entering its fourth iteration of the platform, to better meet the needs of bakers and customers.