Is WA really a State for innovation? Join our next CORE Connect with Charlie Gunningham and find out!
Charlie Gunningham is the Director Innovation for the WA Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation. He has spent more than 20 years in Perth’s business, tech, media and startup sectors: from founder through to exit, as CEO, mentor, advisor / investor, in federal and (now) state government.
Originally from the UK, he spent 8 years in Singapore before arriving in Perth in 1997. He graduated top of UWA Business School with an MBA and co-founded property listings site aussiehome.com in 1999, which was later sold to REIWA in 2010. He then ran reiwa.com, went on to be CEO of Business News, and work on the federal government's Accelerating Commercialisation fund.
In 2021, he was awarded WA Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year at the 30th Incite Awards, and in early 2022 joined the state government as Director Innovation at the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation (JTSI).
Charlie will be presenting at CORE Connect this September sharing his journey from Start- Up Founder to CEO, to government innovation director. In addition he will be exploring is Western Australia really a State for Innovation?
This highly interactive session will cover:
Why is it important to be Innovative? Or is it not?
What holds back WA innovation?
How can the government help (if at all)?
If you were to wave your magic wand over the local ecosystem, what would you wish into being, and/or wish away?
Ahead of this session, we took five with Charlie to find out a little more…
CORE: What does your role entail within the business and what will your key focus be in the coming months?
CHARLIE: I joined JTSI in Jan 2022, and as Director Innovation run the ‘New Industries Fund’. The NIF looks to support the early stage innovation system in WA, with various programs such as Innovation Booster Grants, WA Innovator of the Year, X-TEND program, various sponsorships (such as of West Tech Fest) and co-funding four Innovation Hubs (in cyber, data science, life sciences and creative tech).
My objective is to maximise the impact of the NIF, and help diversify the WA economy, creating new industries and jobs, through innovation. The NIF is a $16.7M election commitment, and is funded through to June 2025.
CORE: What are 2-3 industry challenges you are facing/coming across?
CHARLIE: The startup ecosystem faces various challenges, as starting a new business in a new industry (or taking on an incumbent) is very hard.
I have a list of things I want to get accomplished that is as long as my arm, but probably at the top of the list are 2:
Venture industry: there is no real sizeable VC industry for early stage in WA. Only BetterLabs is active. While there are 113 ESVCLPs in Australia, not one is based in WA, and not one has an staff in WA. We need to support the valley of death, post seed, post angel investment, so the best ventures can get some rocket fuel. Sometimes you need to build the rocket before it launches, and always, it needs rocket fuel.
Procurement: not every startup needs a grant or even funding, but they all need customers; and often the stage gov (or a mining company, or property company) can be that first customer.
How can state gov encourage both of these?
CORE: What are your thoughts around the pace of technological change in the resources sector?
CHARLIE: It’s at two levels – in one sense, it’s never been faster (and as they say, it will never be this slow again); and in another sense, it’s slow. Mining can be a slow and ponderous industry to innovate in, and to take on new technology. Getting a new tech trialled in a mine site is hard; winning commercial contracts is hard.
What can we do to improve this?
CORE: What does innovation mean to you? CHARLIE:
CHARLIE: It means doing better things, and doing things better. Better, cheaper and faster. Smart and sensible, creating new industries, new companies, new jobs. Well paid jobs, interesting jobs. Creating the future society we want to live in. A fun and creative place to live and work and play; to raise a family, to visit, to relax, to prosper.
CORE: What are you most excited about covering in your upcoming session?
CHARLIE: I’d like to hear from the attendees:
What holds back WA innovation?
How can the government help (if at all)?
What’s the role of government in innovation?
What has state gov done well / badly in this space?
Have some thoughts on this? Join us at CORE Connect on September 15 and be part of the conversation!