Each Wednesday we interview women in our community about innovation and what drives them to make a difference in their industries everyday!
Indiana Holley, Lynne Goodyer, Sheena Ireland and Lisa LaMaitre are part of W.O.W, the all-female team for this weeks FatigueHACK!
What are you working on?
We are excited to bring our combined talents together again to compete in the upcoming FatigueHACK being hosted by the Canberra Innovation Network and the Australian Trucking Association.
I bought the team together in April 2017 for Lighthouse Business Innovation’s Start Up Camp, where we won for our concept of a wellbeing app.
It was the first time any of us had competed in such an event. I hand selected the team from my female business friends to showcase the depth and variety of expert knowledge that Canberra business women have.
I invited Indiana because of her background in government, medical research and health coaching. Lynne joined us for her vast expertise in all things design. Sheena was selected for her communications and PR acumen. While I (Lisa) bought to the team retail, business and health experience.
We are looking forward to spending time together to collaborate and develop another solution for FatigueHACK. Driver fatigue in the trucking industry impacts our community and nation as a whole and we are aiming to develop a prize winning innovation. Any winnings will be used to further develop our well-being app.
Why is innovation important to you?
Innovation creates opportunity for change and improvement.
Four Canberra business women are not the expected entrants in to a Hack competition. And that’s what I love about innovation!
It’s about taking concepts, ideas and solutions from vastly different industries and bringing them together to create a novel solution.
Being able to research, learn, brainstorm and share ideas in a supportive and collaborative space is where innovation is born. This is the space that the four of us thrive in!
Innovation is ultimately the outcome of creativity, resilience and determination. These are traits that we each possess and value, making innovation a natural result for us.
What drives you to make a difference?
The four of us value health and well-being, and creating positive change for others. Each of our individual businesses have people as our focus. We have all faced challenges in our lives where our health and well-being has been impacted. Being able to share our expertise and wisdom in ways that support, educate and heal others is a huge driver for us.
Our other driver for the competition is simply that we love spending time together – supporting each other, encouraging each other and growing our business skills together! I’m sure we will be the team having the most fun this week! We know that we do our best work when we are having fun!
Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovation ecosystem?
Women need to listen to the little voice inside that whispers to them when they have an idea. They then need to build a support network of people around them that believe in that idea.
So many ideas never make it out of people’s heads – because people share their ideas with people who lack vision, passion or ambition.
If you have an idea – Start! Start thinking about it. Researching it. Chat to business people and know that you too can create a whole business from one idea! If you need someone to chat with – look us up!