Sunshine Coast business Causeway Innovation takes business support to regional Queensland
How this Sunshine Coast business helps others in regional Queensland with the click of a mouse.
Business
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Colin Graham knows a thing or two about innovation
The Coolum man has worked with 300 start-ups and 50 world-leading companies across Australia, North America and the UK.
Twenty years on the Sunshine Coast has given him invaluable insight into helping businesses to grow and thrive in a regional environment.
Mr Graham started out running the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast back in 2002, after migrating to Australia from London.
“It was a culture shock to come from a big city like London to the Sunshine Coast in the very early days of the Innovation Centre,” he said.
“We had to be the pioneers of innovation for business and with 30 start-up companies in the centre we had to create, from scratch, a micro-environment to forge connections.”
After a few years in this role Mr Graham began to see the need for the experience he had gleaned to be applied elsewhere, regionally.
“I got to thinking what would happen if I took the roof off the whole thing and what it meant to help foster innovation that wasn’t concentrated into a bricks and mortar centre.
“I began Causeway Innovation to enable businesses in regional areas to thrive through innovation and build the vibrant communities they need to create new opportunities and succeed in the global economy.”
Causeway has since worked with 11 regional Councils and two State Government’s to uncover practical and valuable opportunities for start-ups, small and mid-sized businesses.
“It doesn’t always matter where you are, but more who you are and what your mindset and attitudes are as to whether you will succeed,” Mr Graham said.
“Covid-19 has accelerated a lot of changes in the business community that may have happened anyway, but much slower, so now is a really opportune time to harness that if you’re in business.”
Mr Graham also consults at the Sunshine Coast’s Sunramp Healthtech Accelerator.
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