14 Social Enterprise Pitches To Help Create A Better World
The 2020 Elevate+ Cohort.
In February this year, Impact Boom welcomed a high potential group of 14 diverse social enterprises into the Elevate+ Accelerator Program in Brisbane.
The enterprises, led by a group of passionate, purpose-led entrepreneurs, are tackling an array of pressing community issues both locally and internationally.
After a highly competitive, city-wide application process, the chosen cohort stood out as entrepreneurs who were all working extremely hard to create positive social and environmental impact and prove that it’s possible to make money and do good.
Fast forward 6 months and it’s safe to say the cohort experienced a lot of growth, learnings, pressure, fails, big and small wins. Importantly, they showed strong resilience, adaption and the right kind of mindsets to push new boundaries. COVID-19 has brought many challenges for the globe, and Elevate+ was also affected. Impact Boom chose to act fast and turn this year’s Elevate+ into a fully digital program. We combined 25 of Brisbane’s top, emerging social entrepreneurs with 33 highly experienced presenters and mentors, weekly wrap-around support and mentoring, a digital learning program and opportunities to grow and excel.
We’re proud to share some of the incredible outcomes from our dedicated participants of (what became a 26-week) Elevate+ Accelerator Program. On July 14th, a global audience tuned in to the online Elevate+ 2020 Showcase. Below, you’ll find the pitches presented on the evening and we’d encourage you to get in touch with the entrepreneurs where you see opportunities.
We’d like to graciously thank Brisbane City Council who proudly supported Elevate+. The team at Yunus Centre, Griffith University also provided valuable support. I’d also like to give a personal thank you to the Impact Boom team and amazing presenters and mentors. Without their support, expertise and contagious positivity, creating a program of this calibre would not be possible.
Keep your eyes on these inspiring social entrepreneurs as they evolve, develop their projects and maximise their impact. We’re looking forward to collaborating with partners nationally to give other impact-led founders the opportunity to get the critical support needed when turning an idea into impact.
Watch the pitches of the 2020 Elevate+ Cohort
4th Space
4th space makes mental health care accessible and meaningful for people experiencing homelessness and women recovering from domestic violence.
We do this by delivering quality evidence-based counselling when and where people need it the most – we literally meet people where they’re at so they don’t have to go anywhere. We reinvest our profits to deliver this service to the most vulnerable members of our communities. 4th space goes beyond the expected and makes unique ways to connect with people – we speak real world. It is an accessible, inclusive, innovative approach that uses a visiting service provider model. And ultimately works towards breaking the cycle of homelessness and domestic violence by providing the mental health support people need to make changes.
Founder - Jen Wiedman
Food Connect Shed
Our vision is to create a world where everyone has access to healthy, fresh, ecologically-grown food that is fair to growers, eaters, and the planet. In short, we aim to transform the food system.
The Food Connect Shed is a working hub for Brisbane’s local food economy.
We are advancing a more equitable, regenerative and healthy food system by providing a platform for innovative ideas to take hold, a home for food entrepreneurs to flourish, and a place where our community can belong.
Team - Robert Pekin & Board Members
Virtual Custodians
We are a black, white and brindle team with a mission to design and develop interactive and multi-user virtual heritage experiences.
We use digital design to establish linkages between Indigenous and Western sciences that have sustained our landscapes since time immemorial.
We are developing a visualisation software tool to respectfully represent to the next generation of First Nations inventors, knowledge holders and innovators a way of gaining a greater understanding of our lands, culture and heritage.
We research, design, create and strive to represent the impacts and develops of our traditional science, technologies using digital innovation, 3D visualisation and virtual reality technologies.
Founder - Brett Leavy
FRUIT BUTCHER
Fruit Butcher source regeneratively grown meat alternatives for sale in hospitality and direct to consumer. Our Australian grown products are sustainably grown, with a focus on not just being carbon neutral but carbon positive.
We’re working with farmers in Far-North Queensland to launch our first product, Jack Mountain Jackfruit. Whilst working on a retail product, we will be working on a chain of environmentally responsible farmers and at market stalls selling Jackfruit burgers whilst testing other plant-based meat alternatives for future growth.
Co-Founders - Elliot Carter & Chris Jones
Law On Earth
Law On Earth is a public self-service legal platform addressing the access to justice issue, cutting the cost of legal by up to 90%.
The platform provides a free Learning Centre with up to date legal information, geotagged so that Users have one source of truth relevant to their location. The Document Wizard then creates documents by slotting in the most appropriate clauses based on the Users response to simple questions, and provides a Human Guide which explains in plain English every clause, timeframes and next steps. The User can book a 20 minutes video conference with a lawyer to get advice and have any documents reviewed and redrafted. The advice session is recorded, encrypted and stored on their dashboard.
Founder - Katie Richards
SWAPU
SwapU connects people who want to swap goods with other swappers. These swappers negotiate an agreed value of their items and trade item for item or items plus cash.
Swapping saves people money and decreases wastage by expanding the lifespan of items. Combined with the convenience of delivery, SwapU is the circular economy in practice.
Team - Nicholas Robertson, Jordan Piggott & Chad Fallotin
Tracy Poblano Swimwear
Tracy Poblano is a sustainable and ethical swim-wear brand designed for the Australian beach way of life.
As a lifestyle brand we design sustainable swimsuits for comfort, fit, and performance that feature eco friendly designs and unique art work.
Our goal is to impact social change and support ocean conservation, with emphasis on protecting and restoring global reefs, ocean life and the natural world as one.
We are proud to share beautiful swimsuits that transform the soul to our reef tribe, swimsuits that can take on any adventure in style.
Founder - Tracy Poblano
Bloom
Bloom is an impact investing company, 100% focused on climate solutions.
According to the IPCC, a $1.6 - 3.8 trillion USD investment is required, annually, until 2050, to achieve the low-carbon transition and maintain global warming to a 1.5 ˚C above pre-industrial levels. Bloom’s mission is to close this climate investment gap and reduce global carbon emissions by unlocking private participation in climate finance.
With Bloom, it is easy and financially rewarding to be an eco-investor: with no minimum investment required, and via a simple online experience, Bloom helps people learn about green investing and offers opportunities to invest in green portfolios or small-scale clean energy projects such as solar farms or wind farms. Bloom’s investment strategy is 100% fossil fuel-free and uncompromisingly committed to investing in companies accelerating our path to a net-zero emissions future with a key focus on renewable energy and clean technologies such as electric vehicles, energy efficiency, carbon capture and storage, regenerative agriculture, circular economy, waste to energy and biofuels. For every $150 invested in the platform, Bloom will participate in reforestation efforts and plant 1 tree.
Co-Founders - Camille Socquet-Clerc & Bertrand Caron
Green Fox Studio
A creative agency that puts time to good use.
Green Fox Studio is an award-winning graphic and digital design studio that also provides training and employment to prisoners both during and after incarceration. In doing so, we reduce the growing rate of homelessness and recidivism, keeping our communities safer and putting our team on a path to employment success! At present, there are over 10.5m people serving time in more than 220 prison systems worldwide. There is substantial evidence to demonstrate that incarceration does little to reduce re-offending behaviours, or to equip people with the skills to live a more fulfilling life. For most organisations, training and employing people with issues such as these is a risk they are not willing to take. We are.
Co-Founders - Amanda Shepherd & Kelly Willmott
Mind For Me
Plenty of people are in need of a hand, especially those such as shift workers, FIFO workers, Defence families, single parents, migrants and those living pay cheque to pay cheque. Yet dormant resources can be seen everywhere. Capacity for people to get more help already exists within our community.
Mind For Me empowers people with establishing support networks through friends, family and neighbours. Easily exchange help for childminding, pet sitting or home and garden, drawing on dormant community resources.
Unlike others with financial costs for each transaction, Mind For Me uses Kind Coins, a points exchange approach. Families no longer spend money they can't really afford but can exchange help in a fair manner without the difficulty of asking for favours.
Founder - David Toohey
Rethink store
At ReThink info hub + store we provide employment for people living with disability and products and information that help you reduce your household waste.
We provide a gentle introduction to the world of work for people who may never have worked before. Our employees learn retail, customer service and system skills. They gain workplace experience, confidence and social connection. We support our employment program through sales of everyday household products for cleaning, hair and skin care in reused or reuseable returnable packaging. Our products are locally sourced where possible or made in house. We provide local information on other low waste shopping options and optimal recycling. Our aim is to create a model that can be duplicated in other communities.
Team - Megan Ashcroft, Kelly Prowse, PJ Humphreys
Sprout
Food security is a topic of hot debate the world over. In the wake of climate change, scientists and world leaders have begun scrutinising our current agricultural practises. Many hail relocalising our current agricultural systems as one of the best solutions, however as Australian consumers begin demanding more fresh local food, it has raised questions about the ability for these local systems to keep up with demand while maintaining their inherent social, environmental and economic benefits.
Sprout is an IoT Farm Management system that enables farmers to more easily manage their farms and increase crop yields. The farmer can assign tasks to specific beds and delegate them out to the community who in turn can access information and tutorials to autonomously carry out the work. By allowing the farmer to engage the community, it can dramatically increase the capacity of the farm while also providing an opportunity for those community members to contribute. Sprout allows small scale farmers to increase productivity through simplified community engagement, task management and insights through data analysis. Ultimately Sprout will enable local food systems to scale while maintaining their inherent benefits by growing the community that forms them through contribution and education.
Team - Will Swain & Dave Swain
Human Connection Project
The Human Connection Project is a multi-layered social enterprise working within the community to engage, enrol, educate and empower communities to create a more connected, empathetic and resilient social standing to improve the current state of mental health in Australia.
We do this through educational workshops in social, school and corporate settings and community events designed to bring a number of different communities and demographics together. We also move through a number of other avenues and channels including our clothing line, How Good's Living. We have also owned and operated a meal prep company called Your Prep which we have currently put on hold to focus on our impact through education and collaboration with the aim to redesign and reopen in the near future.
Our vision is to not only build more resilient and empathetic individuals but stronger connections to their community as well.
Founder - Matthew Boyce
Face It. Sunscreen
Face It. Sunscreen aims to be a mineral based sunscreen that is better for your skin and better for the environment.
Growing up in Queensland we knew too well the importance of wearing sunscreen everyday but often found that the formula and ingredients provided insufficient coverage or resulted in irritation to our skin. When we dived into researching possible ingredients and solutions however, we realised that there was an even bigger problem than our skin. We were blown away by the effects sunscreen has on our sea and coral reefs and were embarrassed to not have known about this until now.
Face It. Sunscreen is therefore more than just a product; it’s a movement to provide the education and tools so that others can make informed decisions of how their products are effecting the world around us and what small steps we can make to reduce our global footprint.
