Bondi Innovation

The long awaited Waverley Council Boot Factory innovation space is open! There are music, activities, talks and more this weekend, check it out. It is definitely a beautiful building, very well renovated to keep the old charm while infusing it with contemporary vibes. The highlight is the event space on the top floor, with a soaring ceiling and lots of natural light. It is pretty small however, more than 60 people or so would be a stretch. The second floor has a series of meeting rooms. When I was first shown the concept of the Boot Factory as an innovation space six years ago my first response was: this is great, but it’s not nearly enough. It is of course about more than the space. The Thinker-in-Residence program will help to drive ideas and change. If the space is well activated it can help bring innovators together and showcase the area’s commitment to innovation. We should think about this as a small first step to building a true innovation precinct in Bondi Junction, a whole block with at least 4000-5000 sqm dedicated to innovation. Bondi Innovation is on a mission to help make this happen. I hope you can help on that journey.

Our latest newsletter includes three events we're running over the next week! Tomorrow night's Social Networking & Advice Sharing will be special, come share insights or get feedback on ideas and challenges.

Bondi entrepreneur Alisdair Faulkner, who spoke at our Christmas event a couple of years ago, gets an AFR feature on selling a company for $1 billion and aiming for 10x that with his current venture. https://lnkd.in/gVf32Sum

Our monthly social drinks is always a great event bringing together inspiring innovators. This month we're stepping it up with an advice sharing session. Come with an idea or challenge you'd like feedback on and/or come to share your advice and experience so we can find solutions and opportunities. Hope to see you there, and bring a friend!

The finalists for Waverley Council's Best & Brightest awards are announced! Now you can vote for your favourites. 😀 Congratulations to the finalists in the Young Entrepreneur of the Year category, which Bondi Innovation is sponsoring: Guiliano Pessoa of Bondi Bike Shop, Benjamin Sexton of Healing on Spring, Catherine Duval de Navarre of NALUKA, Eitan Or of Sandy Skies, and Zachary Ehrenfeld of Summit Physiotherapy & Sports Medicine! You can vote for anyone across all categories here: https://lnkd.in/gyG5umYH Finalists announced at the Awards ceremony on 25 November!

Bondi Innovation is a social enterprise with a purpose of supporting greater connection, wellbeing, and social and economic prosperity in the region. We are proud members of Social Enterprise Council of NSW & ACT (SECNA), a fantastic organisation that brings together social enterprises across the state. We believe that social enterprise is a vital part of our shared future, and love being part of an organisation that hosts so many wonderful ventures-with-a-purpose!

Join us at Fishburners as top Bondi talent and others share their exciting ventures!

We have perhaps the world's best location for our Advisory Board meetings!! Great insights and input, thank you to Sivan Goltzman Chris Zheng Samantha Hickson Tibo Roumagoux Nia B. Marta Pin and also to those dialling in or overseas Steven Max Muller Lisa Rock Nicole McKay Michael Signal Nikki Greenberg Stephen Hunt Dickie Currer Thomas Wheeler. We have an absolutely amazing team!! Stay tuned for much more soon from Bondi Innovation to support and highlight our inspiring local innovation community.

What a fun evening for our monthly Social Networking last night! Lots of new people coming into the community, bringing wonderful energy and always a fabulously diverse set of ventures. Thanks for joining us Joshua Arnall Matthew F Buckley Samuel Davis Chris Evans Christina Fam Piotr Gierczak Rod Millner Lea Nesdale Juan Sebastian Ossa Moreno John Phipps Ramiro Roman 🚀 Gwendolyn Reilly Flynn Rogley Lisa Sun and the rest of the crew!! See you at the next one, be sure to get our event updates by registering at https://lnkd.in/gK7vNCu

This evening is our monthly social drinks! Come and join the crew for conversation, connection, and inspiration after a beautiful spring day.