Inventorium

Wikipedia states that the Blaa is a white doughy bread roll speciality that is particular to Waterford and Kilkenny.  This came as a surprise to us at Inventorium as we were led to believe that the Blaa was originally created in Waterford city back in the 17th century.  Was there some form of inter-county high-espionage at play here ? 

Four centuries later, our curiosity has gotten the better of us.   We’ve decided to give both counties the chance to pit their creative juices against each other.   The Inventorium Open Mic Idea Jam roadshow visits the capitals of both counties to determine which has the best new business ideas of the 21st century.  

We kick off in Langtons in Kilkenny on Tuesday Feb 28th at 7pm and quickly follow it with Tuesday 6th March at 7pm in the KazBar in Waterford City.

We’ve had a huge response from both cities with people not just registering, but also getting their pitch slot confirmed for the night.    You can expect to hear loads of different ideas including an iPad game designed to teach 7 year olds orthographic 3D, the perpetual motion machine that plugs into your attic cold water tank and an topical online service to help people struggling with eating disorders.

 Our events in Dublin we’re oversubscribed and people found it difficult gain access to the event because they failed to pre-register online for their chosen event. So, take a look at our video clips of earlier Idea Jams, grab a few friends and register to attend your counties event.  Remember, you don’t have to pitch an idea to come along, but just like any Open Mic night, you’re welcome to provide feedback .. good and bad ….

Dragon Run 1027 is a 1027 mile, circumnavigation of Wales by Arry and Guy over 45 days.

The route will consist of 2 National Trails, primarily the Wales Coast Path that is due to officially open on 5th May and The Offa’s Dyke path, which runs the length of the Wales/England border. This presents many challenges not just with stamina and endurance but coping with various terrains, wind and weather conditions. It is by no means a flat easy run and is along varying elevations of coastal paths, tracks and minor roads.

This admirable pair will commence Dragon Run 1027 outside the Senedd Building in Cardiff on Friday 6th April and will tackle the run in a clockwise direction. Fundraising collections will be held at most of the stopping points along the route and any support is appreciated. To find out how you can help click here.

In the build up to next weeks workshop in Coleg Harlech it was interesting to read about some novative approaches being taken with the youth of America; Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel is conducting a high-profile experiment: Put $100,000 apiece in the hands of 24 entrepreneurial teenagers and give them free rein to pursue innovative ideas.

The condition? They have to leave their studies and classmates, and vow to stay out of college during the two-year fellowship.

Thiel’s endorsement has been followed by some quick successes; Eden Full, 19, won a $260,000 social entrepreneurship award for her efforts to improve solar energy in developing countries. Dale Stephens, 20, landed a Penguin deal for his book Hacking Your Education.

With startup success stories tempting undergraduates to quit, universities have raced to add entrepreneurship to their curricula. Stanford has StartX, an accelerator for student-run startups. Similarly, last year UC Berkeley created FounderSchool, which prepares students to raise venture money. James G. Boyle, managing director of the Entrepreneurial Institute at Yale University (which lost four undergraduate students to Thiel fellowships) agrees that more colleges should help kids start companies, but he says that most students benefit from an environment where they can test ideas without betting their future.

Read the full article here

In contrast there are examples that the potential to innovate improves with age, Vivek Wadhwa of the Technology Review writes; the young understand the limits of the Web world, but they don’t know their own limits. It’s proving to be a powerful combination. Since they don’t know what isn’t possible, the Zuckerbergs can come up with new solutions to old problems. That is why they lead the charge in starting innovative mobile and Web companies.

But great ideas by themselves don’t lead to breakthrough technologies or successful companies. Ideas are dime a dozen. The value comes from translating ideas into inventions and inventions into successful ventures. To do this, you have to collaborate with others, obtain financing, understand markets, price products, develop distribution channels, and deal with rejection and failure. In other words, you need business and management skills and maturity. These come with education, experience, and age.

Read the full article here

Having worked with both the youth and the more senior amongst us – surely the way forward is to combine the experience of one with the unlimited potential of the other. In Wales we have mentoring schemes but maybe we need to look at taking this a step further?

The Smarter City is undoubtedly one of the big issues of the next decade. The ability to integrate data to provide better service to the workers, residents and visitors to a city has potential to generate new and exciting business opportunities. It is a playing field for fresh thinking for both big players and the small start-up in digital business. Read More …

 There is a dilemma. Many chose to settle in rural Wales and rural Ireland to escape the rat race. We know that for many that means getting on trains to travel to clients in London. The family can fully enjoy Wales and the breadwinner has the pleasure at weekends. However there is a need to make a living. How does that square with innovative nation?  Inventorium has a challenge to help develop businesses in Wales and rural Ireland. Read More …

What happens to your eureka moments? Do you write them across your hand? Do you scribble them on the back of an envelope? There’s an app for that and now there’s a forum, too. Inventorium’s Open Mic Idea Jam series was part of Innovation Dublin 2011, and offered an audience and a microphone to anyone with an idea and three minutes to spare. Below is a review of the events and details of the Open Mic Idea Jams planned in Wales and Ireland in 2012. 

The Idea Jam was intended as a place to share ideas at all points of development, network with like-minded and compatibly different people, and contribute to a climate of idea-sharing, mutual encouragement, and constructive critique. There were potential investors and mentors present, too, but for most it seemed a chance to open up new conversations about ideas. Eighteen people spoke at the first event in the Stag’s Head, beginning with Conor Lynch of Connector.ie, and his idea for a website for skill sharing. The pitches ran the gamut from an idea for an eco-friendly and cost effective way to dry clothes without a tumble drier, to a travel website targeting walkers in Wicklow aged 50+, to a cloud hosting service called Astroboa, described as “like a WordPress service for data”.

There was a similar mix of digital, service and physical product pitches at the second Open Mic event at Odessa, including a novel idea for car sharing that sounded like a cross between Airbnb.com and Gocar.ie. Along with this were some very early-stage, more amorphous ideas like Lisa Feay’s idea for a jazz radio station, and some other arts focused concepts, like Castle Variations, an annual week-long musical mashup in a castle.

The Idea Jams bring together a wide range of people and ideas that wouldn’t otherwise end up in the same room on purpose. They’re as useful for the audience as they are for the people pitching, a few of whom seem to have gone home with business cards for potential collaborators, partners, investors or customers. However, what was striking but perhaps not surprising was the fairly low representation of women, not just pitching, but actually attending the event. Is it because there are fewer female entrepreneurs? Or is a woman less likely to air publicly an idea that isn’t quite ready yet?

The most striking thing was this: digital companies, organisations, would-be entrepreneurs and innovators can learn some important lessons from people who make physical products, or sell services. We know already that starting something successful, whether it’s for profit, for fun, or for the greater good, means understanding who your customer is, what that customer needs, and being really clear what problem you’re solving. Your sweat equity, your money, and your passion is tied up in this great new idea. It’s easy to think that you’ve thought all of the important things through everything else can be clarified later.

For a video of previous Open Mic nights click here.

More Open Mic Idea Jams are planned for 2012:

Wales: 17th April, Fat Cat, Bangor

For more details and to register visit the events section of our website.

An article on WalesOnline.co.uk gave some interesting perspectives from business leaders on what 2012 holds for businesses in Wales some extracts are included below;

Phil Cooper: Managing Director, Venture Wales

“The natural reaction for some will be to downsize and simply cut costs. However, I hope others will respond by exploring new markets and diversifying products and services.”

“Yes, we are in a tight corner and 2012 is going to be very tough for many businesses. But only through individual enterprises taking initiatives and pursuing new opportunities together with strong political leadership will we start to turn the tide.”

Iestyn Davies: Head of External Affairs, Federation of Small Businesses in Wales
“Based on early indications, small businesses will be looking to employ more staff and will be keen to innovate and bring new products and services to market. In tough times they realise that innovation gives them a competitive edge over their competitors.”

To read the article in full click here.

Throughout 2012 Inventorium will be continuing to encourage open innovation inWales andIreland, helping teams to work towards the generation of new businesses, products and services. Our programme of workshops and Symposia will support the development of new ideas and ways of working for the public sector, SME’s and not-for-profit enterprises.

Events planned for 2012 will look at how digital technologies can be used to better support aspects of culture and industry in Wales Including workshops focussed on: Digital Culture inWales

Heritage Tourism

The Rural Economy

Education

Welsh Language and Media

Tourism

Agriculture

At each of these events Inventorium will aim to have sector professionals clearly defining some of the problems they are currently facing – the main focus of the rest of the day will then be on diverse teams of people – made up of industry professionals, technologists, designers, developers, academics and entrepreneurs – working together to develop solutions to those problems.

Details of these events will appear on www.inventorium.org/events

Ganed Eric Maddern yn Awstralia ac mae’n adroddwr straeon a cherddor proffesiynol. Ef yw sylfaenydd ac ysgogwr Cae Mabon, sef pentref arallfydol hynod drawiadol mewn llannerch ger afon fyrlymus wrth odre Eryri. Cyhoeddwyd mai’r Ganolfan Encil Eco hon oedd ‘prosiect adeiladu naturiol rhif un y Deyrnas Unedig’ yn 2008. Yng nghalon Cae Mabon y mae Tŷ Crwn to gwellt fel y rhai y bu ein hynafiaid yn byw ynddynt am filoedd o flynyddoedd, gyda thân ar yr aelwyd a mwg yn codi o’r to gwellt. Mae’r cabanau gerllaw mewn coetir ac wedi’u codi o ddeunyddiau Cymreig lleol fel llechi, pren o Gymru, a gwellt.

Mae Cae Mabon yn cynnig amryw o enciliadau a gweithdai creadigol, therapiwtig, ysbrydol a ‘glampio’ poblogaidd yn yr hyn a alwyd yn ‘Shangri-La’ Cymru! Gallwch weld manylion yn www.caemabon.co.uk

Richard Andrew Cuthbertson yw Cadeirydd DMM Group sy’n gwneud a gwerthu offer chwaraeon a diogelwch. Dechreuwyd DMM mewn sied yn Llanberis 30 mlynedd yn ôl, wedi’i sefydlu gan bedwar cyfaill a oedd yn gwneud offer dringo mynyddoedd. Oherwydd cynnydd mewn deddfwriaeth iechyd a diogelwch, daeth y cwmni i fasnachu mewn marchnadoedd newydd, ffyniannus a bellach mae’r cwmni yn cyflogi 144 o bobl yng Ngwynedd.

Mae Richard yn Gadeirydd ar Damos Construction hefyd.  Ef yw Cadeirydd y Wild Country Group, sef gwneuthurwr offer dringo creigiau, bu’n Gadeirydd ar yr Ymddiriedolaeth Genedlaethol Cymru (1997-2008) ac yn Aelod o Gyngor Ymddiriedolaeth y Tywysog – Cymru (2002-2008).  Mae’n Drysorydd ar Rhwydwaith Amgylchedd Pobl Dduon a Chyfarwyddwr Anweithredol ar Cofnod ac Agored Cymru.

Richard Andrew Cuthbertson is Chairman of DMM Group which makes and sells sports and safety equipment. DMM started life in a shed in Llanberis 30 years ago, founded by four friends who made mountain climbing equipment. The increase in health and safety legislation has allowed the firm to trade in new and fruitful markets and the company now employs 144 people in Gwynedd.

Richard is also Chairman of Damos Construction.  He is Chairman of Wild Country Group, a manufacturer of rock climbing equipment, was Chairman of the National Trust Wales (1997-2008) and a Council Member of Princes Trust Cymru (2002-2008).  He is Treasurer of Black Environment Network and Non Executive Director of Cofnod and Agored Cymru.

We are having a Festival of Ideas. We are exploring different ways innovation might look in a small nation – especially the more peripheral bits of it.  We want to get a feel from those who are already practicing innovators, we want to investigate and explore how innovators are managing to do it – what drives them and how they are supported. At the end of the festival we want to ask ourselves hard questions about how we can be better at innovating.

The Festival is an event as part of the Ireland Wales Interreg project Inventorium. It is being supported by Pontio – whose physical manifestation – an arts and innovation centre being built in the centre of Bangor. Both Inventorium and Pontio are premised on the idea that innovation is not a solitary activity – it requires conversation and multiple perspectives. We bring people together who might not normally meet. Innovation, at its very least requires one conversation between someone with an idea or invention and someone who needs to use the invention. In most circumstances there needs to be some third person who has the wherewithal to drive it from and idea and deliver it to the customer. We might call them an entrepreneur – but that is something we can learn.

Inventorium also encourages Open Innovation based on the idea that innovation does not necessarily come from in-house and equally innovation may be better exploited in environments other than the place it started. The Public Sector needs to learn this.

So we are having a Festival that brings people together to be  innovative about innovation.  It is a participatory day with invited contributors and anyone else who wants to think hard and differently for a day.

We have invited some key contributors. We have people with international reputations in design thinking and enabling people to think differently. We have invited local pioneers who have made international impact through their actions. We have invited the small business  people who are not settling for the ordinary.

We will start the day with inspiration. We will hear short messages from those who are innovating in the arts, science, commerce, and technology and how Wales works for them.

We then get to the practical business of conversation for innovation. We will work on problems set by real business – and that will mean leaving the venue to visit people in their place of business. We will reflect on the process and imagine what we/they might do next.

Finally we get into a non adversarial debate. We will hear different perspectives on innovation in a small nation – what can be done, what needs to be done and what we can do.

This event is not for the faint hearted. It is for those who want to innovate or innovate more, and want the mutual support and atmosphere of being in a culture of innovation. There is more about the free to attend event on http://www.inventorium.org/events/innovation-in-a-small-nation/