Wild Idea is a nature-based business incubator providing a free programme to support innovators, environmentalists and entrepreneurs who are passionate about protecting the natural environment through establishing businesses.
It is the personalised, ten-week, webinar-based incubation programme guiding businesses from an early-stage idea to a market launch. Participants receive expert mentoring and personalised performance coaching, as well as connections to potential co-founders and investors who share the same vision. Investors are often found for businesses by the support of the incubator to provide solutions to Australia’s biodiversity challenges.
A major programme highlight is mentoring by a dozen nature-first entrepreneurs like Chris Arms, the CEO and Founder of CJ Arms, a creative design firm that develops design solutions by using nature-first principles.
Odonata, in partnership with the New South Wales Government’s Saving our Species programme and the NAB Foundation, is delivering the innovative Wild Idea incubator to support environmental conservation-focused start-ups.
Whether a scientist with limited business acumen or a businessperson with an idea that needs that scientific understanding, this programme is for you to get what you need to get a commercial business up and running that can support Australia’s biodiversity challenges.
Sam Marwood, CEO Odonata
The 2021 WILD IDEA Incubator Programme kicked off on March 26, 2021, to help individuals and businesses realise the potential of their environmental ideas with an opportunity for $10,000 worth of free coaching, networking, and mentorship.
In 2020, the Wild Idea network expanded to over 70 startups, who participated in an intensive 6-month coaching programme and over 30 of them achieved commercial launch including;
- GeoNadir Drone: mobilising the world’s drone flyers to crowdsource high spatial resolution data to protect at-risk ecosystems – achieved a $200K+ grant to launch
- Beyond the Fairway: Turning golf courses into biodiversity reserves and carbon sinks and encouraging greater interaction between golfers and their environment.
- Planet Warrior: Helping Aussie kids learn more about the environment and wildlife. Providing creative, science-based learning resources and courses – launched and picked up a valuable corporate contract which is helping them scale their business.
- Xylo Systems: A cloud-based platform set to revolutionise how Australian wildlife conservationists track, manage and connect conservation initiatives – increased its partner networks significantly.
“We started this with one question, ‘what does your 2040 look like?’ over the weeks in the incubator we have been given the tools, concepts and frameworks to help us take our ideas into a business model to make that 2040 vision a reality”~ Camille Goldstone-Henry, Founder and Creator of Xylo systems.
Wild Idea was launched to address Australia’s poor record of species extinction and fragmented biodiversity interest groups working to find a solution. Professor Graeme Samuel who recently conducted an independent review of Australia’s Environment Law acknowledged that “Individuals from science, government, and researchers can’t solve this crisis alone and reverse Australia’s lamentable record for biodiversity devastation”.
The Wild Idea team believes that the only way to achieve positive change is to elevate the role of business to provide solutions and use the leverage of commerce to deliver economic, social, and environmental benefits.
Find out more about the Wild Idea by visiting the website at https://www.wildideaincubator.com/
