Emma Earley (00:56 - 01:23): Yeah, let's get started. Hello everyone Welcome, okay, we'll get started
Video - Speaker 1 (01:23 - 01:26): Launcher is a place for founders who want to make an impact
Video - Speaker 2 (01:29 - 01:35): It is a place for anyone who has the wildest ideas that they want to bring into the disability space
Video - Speaker 3 (01:46 - 01:59): What I found with Launcher is that I learned a lot about customer interviewing. As someone with ASD, I can find going out of my way to have conversations a little bit challenging but I was able to get support from my mentor in how to structure those conversations
Video - Speaker 4 (02:00 - 02:15): Our idea was very much just an idea around the time we joined Launcher. We were able to gain some insights from people with lived experience with disability. We were always able to reach out to the Remarkable team. They were always really resourceful and linked us to any useful connections.
Video - Speaker 5 (02:31 - 02:43): Being part of a community is key to succeeding in whatever part of life, but even more amazing when you're part of a community that has that same passion for bettering the world that we live in and having a genuine impact.
Emma (02:59 - 03:32): Hello everyone. Welcome I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the lands on which we are gathered today and for a lot of the Remarkable team that is Gadigal Land of the Eora Nation, so we pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging acknowledging their continuing cultures and traditions and the contribution they are making and we believe we are better together. If you would like, feel free to pop in the chat wherever you are joining us from and if you happen to know the traditional place names feel free to add them as well.
Emma (03:33 - 04:06): My name's Emma Earley, I'm the Global Head of Programs at Remarkable and hosting our Ask Me Anything alongside me today is Chris Palin, our Program and Events Coordinator. A previous version of this deck actually said the Head of Fun, so maybe you can choose whichever title makes the most sense for you but if you can have a look in some of the other videos in Zoom I'll just point out a bunch of the other Remarkable team joining us today. We have the wonderful Kate Jenkins who is our Head of Community and Partnerships.
Emma (04:08 - 04:25): Liza Maclean, our Head of Technology Implementation. Our digital comms extraordinaire, Kirilly Conroy. Another extraordinaire, but on the operation side of town is Cinthya Zurita. Just clicking along who am I missing?
Emma (04:25 - 04:56): Our fearless leader and founder of Remarkable, Pete Horsley in his special holiday shirt today. And have I missed anyone Chris? But I can't say no, fantastic. So the two of us will be your main points of contact for those of you that do join us on the Launcher journey. So I want to start by saying that you belong here, all of you, the full you and I invite you to participate today, however works best for you.
Emma (04:56 - 05:26): It's lovely to see a lot of you with the camera on. Feel free to eat your lunch or whatever you need to do. Look after your kids, pets, whatever. Please participate in a way that works for you and I would like to acknowledge that we are committed to inclusive practices and experiences. But we won't get it right every time although we're doing our best at that. So please do share any feedback you have with us as we are all on a learning journey. Today we have two wonderful Auslan interpreters joining us, they are in the spotlight on Zoom.
Emma (05:26 - 05:58): And for those of you joining on the recording, hopefully you'll be able to view them there as well. And just a quick note on inclusive language, you may hear a blend of person first and identity first language today. So today we'll go through a little bit about Remarkable, some detail about the Launcher program and the support that you'll benefit from. The application process and how to make your application stand out and what makes for a good one. We'll share a couple of frequently asked questions and then we'll open the floor to you.
Emma (05:58 - 06:28): You're most welcome to add to the chat your question as we go, or you'll have an opportunity at the end you can come off mute and share your questions verbally whatever works for you. So welcome to Remarkable. How many of you just this week alone or even today have used speech to text? Yep I can see some hands up. What about typed on a keyboard?
Emma (06:29 - 06:55): I mean I'm doing it right now. And video with captions? You all just did it then actually, you experienced it on our Launcher hype reel. So all of these innovations you may or may not know have been designed for people with disability in mind but they're ones that we, everyone benefits from. So if we can design a more inclusive and accessible world, the whole world will benefit. But why does this matter for Remarkable?
Emma (06:55 - 08:00): So our mission is to accelerate disability tech innovators. And we do that through providing capital, networks and information and programming because we want to create a future that's accessible, equitable and inclusive for everyone. So 16% of the world's population live with disability and over one billion people need assistive technology though some stats are pushing that closer to two billion. But only 10% of them have access, and that's just not good enough. So if you would like to join us on that journey of improving those numbers, we hope that your incredible ideas and the work that you're doing already for your startup, can really improve the lives of people with disabilities. But it's not just a nice thing to do, you know. Exclusion of people with disability represents almost up to $2 trillion in missed GDP. So it is not only impact-driven, it is commercially viable for these innovations to get out there in the world. But a few of our remarkable pathways
Emma (08:00 - 08:34): So Launcher is why you're joining us today. So that's for ideas to early stage startups in an eight-week pre-accelerator program. We do also have our accelerator program for startups that are a little bit further along on the journey, we have that accelerator program for post-product post-revenue startups, with the exception of some medtech hardware due to the longer path to market. And our newer initiative is called Scaler and that's for Seed to Series A stage startups. And that's a co-investment initiative.
Emma (08:34 - 09:04): But that just sort of gives you an indication of the different pathways available at Remarkable. Okay, so a note about our impact. So today we have served 130 startups, and we're going to add up to 30 to that number with this next cohort of Launcher, which is really exciting. And of those Remarkable startups, they have created 773 jobs in the world and served over 820,000 customers, which is incredible.
Emma (09:05 - 09:34): And we're not shy from a hundred million dollars in capital that has been invested in these startups and that number is growing every sort of month and year really, and they export to 32 countries. Some of you may have experienced or may sometime in the future our global tech summits that Remarkable has hosted In the US and here, we've hosted three of them. You're in good company. All right, over to who is Launcher for?
Emma (09:37 - 10:12): So let's start with disability tech. Hopefully you are already familiar with the fact that Remarkable is about disability tech, but for you to be eligible for Launcher, your startup idea must benefit people with disability directly or indirectly. And the way we see disability at the moment is traversing disability Including neurodivergence, health and aging. I've got a couple of examples here to sort of paint a picture of what that could look like. These three incredible entrepreneurs on the screen here are from our Launcher 2024 alumni.
Emma (10:12 - 10:46): So the cohort that was in February and March of this year. So Alexander is the founder of ReviMo, which is a robotic lift and transfer device that helps people with independent toileting and transfers. So life after Launcher for Alex looked like receiving $120,000 US investment in an accelerator program and he's going from strength to strength. So feel free to reach out to him on LinkedIn and find out more about ReviMo. In the center of this slide is the incredible Storm Menzies with ByStorm Beauty.
Emma (10:46 - 11:21): She's creating inclusive beauty and makeup accessories for everyone. And she's recently been through the I2N Accelerator in Newcastle in Australia. And excitingly on the right of the screen here, Seymour Events. So you may have seen on LinkedIn that Seymour Events launched on Product Hunt maybe one or two weeks ago their app for real-time live event captioning that audience members can access through their own device. So they were pre-product when they joined Launcher and towards the end of this year they've launched to market with their app.
Emma (11:23 - 11:47): On the screen here is our 7 Horizons of Possibility. Now these have been developed in conversation with people with disability and they do evolve over time. So in the application form we'll actually ask you to choose one of these seven that you feel your solution most aligns with and I'll just go through them quickly to give you a few examples of other disability tech startups.
Emma (11:48 - 12:21): We have Promoting Health and Wellbeing. Recreation and Inclusive Play and an example here is Big Karma, that develops video games and online experiences where the heroes are people with disabilities and they have to actually leverage their disability to sort of win the level or whatever it is. We have Communication and Sensory Augmentation and an example of that is CareWindow, which is the world's simplest video phone that even people with dementia can use. Another horizon is Enhancing Personal Mobility, Economic and Community Participation.
Emma (12:21 - 12:53): Education and Learning and Independent Living. And an example that I'll share is Umps Health, which is a wearable smart alarm device for independent living at home. So hopefully you can see some of these examples that may align with your innovations, but even better if they don't because disability tech really represents a diverse cross-section of innovation. Okay, so we've been through the disability tech side of things, but now the focus of Launcher is validation.
Emma (12:53 - 13:23): So this program is for people that are really committed to testing, experimenting, getting feedback to grow your idea. And that validation can be in the problem space, so for those of you that are in the really early ideas stage the focus will be on validating that problem space with your users. Then for those of you that may be a little bit further along, validating the solution or validating the product that you're building, but this really is focused on validation.
Emma (13:23 - 13:54): So it may not be the right fit If you're not willing to sort of get out there and have conversations and maybe send out a survey, interview people but have that curious experimental mindset to make sure that you're designing with and not for. And the start-up stage anywhere from idea to prototype to early revenue. There are some people that I've spoken with that are sort of feeling a little bit apprehensive about what if I'm too early stage?
Emma (13:54 - 14:25): Please apply. Ideas are welcome. If you are much more advanced and you're in market with revenue and you're unsure if you might be too advanced, again, please apply or feel free to reach out to me and we can have a conversation just to make sure you're going to get benefit from it. Global access. So really excitingly, all countries in the world are welcome to join Launcher, but I will acknowledge that it's probably best suited to any teams that can participate in Australian Eastern daylight time
Emma (14:25 - 15:07): Which is sort of Sydney or Gadigal time zone where we are Tuesdays 12 p.m. Australian Eastern daylight time which is where we are right now is when the sessions will be run live. So we will be recording them but that sort of real time interaction and implementation and networking with each other, It's going to be best suited for that but we're not excluding anyone that's outside of the time zone, but please do keep it in mind. Lived experience. We also get asked if you can participate if you don't have a disability yourself. So for participants behind the start-up, it's open to anyone with and without this disability. Over to you Chris.
Chris Palin (15:08 - 15:39): Awesome. Thanks Emma. So as Emma said, Launcher is our pre-accelerator. It's an eight-week part-time online pre-accelerator program for disability tech innovators. So what's included? So we have three main pillars. The first is our masterclasses led by experts to build your knowledge and skills. The second is one-on-one coaching to provide personalised guidance and keep you on track. And number three is networks and perks, which will connect you with a powerful community and give you access to tools and resources that will support your journey.
Chris (15:40 - 16:11): So from here, let's dive into each of these pillars starting with the masterclasses. So the backbone of our Launcher program is our weekly masterclasses. These are taught by experts who really know their stuff and are here to help you validate your start-up ideas. Each session will be live over Zoom and they'll run for approximately 60 minutes. The great thing here is if there's a session that you can't make there's no stress, everything will be recorded so you or a team member can catch up at a later time if that works for you.
Chris (16:11 - 16:43): On top of that, we've got a special treat. We'll have a few founder Q&As with some of our awesome Remarkable Alumni. These will be pre-recorded, so you can dive into their stories and advice whenever you like on the Remarkable Hub. It'll be a fantastic way to get a bit of inspiration and learn directly from those people who have been in your shoes before. Additionally, we'll also have some supplementary resources and templates that you'll be able to access on our platform once joining the program that'll also accompany our masterclasses and content. Now to run you through our current eight-week program journey.
Chris (16:43 - 17:17): So we'll kick things off in week zero with a chance to meet the cohort. This will be all about introduction, setting the vibe and starting to build those important connections before we dive into the formal eight weeks. Noting that this week is actually optional, however, we definitely encourage it. It's great to meet the cohort. So then from week one, we'll dive straight into the mindset, understanding your customer or user and introduction to validation. It's a solid foundation for everything else that we'll cover across the next eight weeks.
Chris (17:17 - 17:55): Then in week two, you'll get a hands-on with our validation tool kit. So think experiments and tools to test out your ideas in a meaningful way. Week three will be all about accessible user feedback. So we'll show you how to connect with real users, especially in the disability space and make sure that you're designing solutions that truly work and are influenced through real feedback from users, particularly in your problem space. Then in week four, we'll focus on marketing and storytelling. We'll talk about how to craft your message and create inclusive digital comms so that your story really resonates with the right people and your target audience. As well as how to design your marketing to be inclusive in all facets, such as your website.
Chris (17:55 - 18:33): Just noting again that sessions will also run live on Zoom every Tuesday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Australia and Eastern daylight times. So moving into the second half of the program, things get more exciting and week five will dive into prototyping AI, this is where we'll help to start to bring some of your ideas to life. So we'll try and leverage some cutting edge tools and techniques and also understand how AI can have a strong place within rapid prototyping and this stage of startup development. Week six will focus on commercialisation, navigating the disability landscape. It's all about understanding how to position your product or solution to the market, whilst also staying true to the needs of the disability community.
Chris (18:34 - 19:41): Then in week seven we’ll shift gears, and so this is where it gets really fun. And we'll shift to pitching and storytelling. So this is where you'll refine how to present your vision in a way that truly resonates. So that might be to investors, partners or even potential users in the future. And then week eight will be all about looking ahead. We'll cover funding pathways, building and accessing an ecosystem of support and then what comes next for you as a founder and then your startup as a whole. And then finally we get to wrap everything up with a showcase. So this is kind of your moment to shine. It's an opportunity to deliver a small elevator pitch that shows off everything that you've worked on during the program. This will be optional but again it's really highly encouraged and you definitely get a lot out of it. And then as with the first half, all sessions will also run on Zoom on Tuesdays. Alrighty, on to coaching. So one of the best parts of the Launcher program is that each startup will be matched with a dedicated one-on-one coach for the full eight weeks.
Chris (19:41 - 20:21): So we take a lot of care in making these matches, and we base them on your stage, the expertise and experience that you need and even your location to make sure that we're getting the best fit for a coach. Your coach will be there to help you and take what you learn in the masterclasses and I'll help you actually put that into practice and start leveraging that. They'll also help keep you accountable, help you stay on track and they're pretty much there to help you make sure that you're moving towards your goals. These will be weekly 60-minute sessions and the timings flexible. So you'll work out and reach out to your coach directly and so this is really an awesome opportunity to get personalized guidance throughout our program.
Chris (20:21 - 20:44): Alrighty, networking and perks. So, there will be a variety of times for networking throughout the program. We kick things off in week zero as I said, with a Meet the Cohort call. It's a really nice way to break the ice, get to know each other and start building those connections. Then in week four we'll have a Cohort Catch up call to share some progress and keep those relationships growing.
Chris (20:44 - 21:17): You'll also have the opportunity to get introduced to our +N Inclusive Innovation Network, which spans across Australia and New Zealand, India, Hong Kong, Canada, Kenya and more. It's an incredible community that's all about advancing inclusive innovation. And then we'll also stay connected throughout the program using the Remarkable Slack workspace. This is where you can share updates, ask questions and support one another throughout the program. You'll also be invited to Remarkable community events and that's where you'll be able to meet even more incredible people within our network and the disability tech space.
Chris (21:18 - 21:45): And then of course there's also partner perks, so exclusive credits and discounts and tools and services that you can use to help your startup and so they're there to help give you a boost and make the journey a little bit easier to start off with. Okay, so what makes Launcher unique and what sets us apart from other programs out there? Firstly, our focus is on validating your startup. We're all about testing and experimenting and getting feedback directly from your target audience.
Chris (21:46 - 22:23): So whether it's your problem space, your solution or your products, we're really going to help you dig deep to figure out what works and what doesn't. Beyond that, and I think this is really important, our program isn't just about what you're building, It's also about who you're becoming. So we'll help you develop both the entrepreneurial mindset and also the practical skills that you'll need to grow both yourself and your startup going forward. Another big part of what makes Launcher special is our really strong focus on accessibility. So we make sure that the program's accessible for all participants and support you in embedding accessibility into your startup from day one.
Chris (22:24 - 22:46): And finally, the benefits don't stop at the end of week eight. So by participating in our program, you're actually joining the Remarkable network, and so this is a powerful network that will connect you to both the broader startup ecosystem as well as the disability sector. So this is really important as these connections might be able to open up doors long after our program's finished.
Chris (22:46 - 23:18): Moving on to program accessibility. So we want everyone to feel welcome and supported in Launcher and that's why our programs are designed to be as accessible and inclusive as possible and this is something that we're constantly working towards throughout all our programs. So we work really hard to create a safe and supportive space where everyone can thrive. So before the program begins, we'll connect with anyone who has specific accessibility needs or anyone that raises these within the application form to make sure that everything's in place so that you can fully participate in the way that best suits you.
Chris (23:19 - 23:41): Our sessions are also as I've said designed for online attendance and they'll be recorded in case you can't make it live. So if you have any other questions about accessibility or you need any other help with the program application process, don't hesitate to reach out. So you'll be able to email us at any time at hello@remarkable.org. So we're here to help.
Chris (23:41 - 24:23): Now we'll run through some key dates. So super exciting, applications are currently open so you're able to apply now until the 21st of January. Applications will be open, so they'll close on the 21st of January. Then it's quite a quick turnaround, so offers will be sent out from the 22nd of January onwards. Onboarding will then begin early February with the program starting around mid Feb and then finally wrapping up with the showcase and program ending on the 8th of April 2025. I'll pass it back to Emma, and she can help run us through some of that application process.
Emma (24:25 - 25:26): Thanks Chris. So what are the stages? So first of all visit our website if you haven't already at remarkable.org/launcher. So there is a frequently asked questions page there with all of the details, maybe even more than what will be shared with you today. And maybe worthy of calling out as some applications other applications do require it but you don't need to record a pitch video or submit a slide deck to apply for Launcher. So we've tried to keep it as simple as possible with an application form. So on that FAQs page you can actually download the questions as a Word or Google Doc format so you can sort of draft it before you head to the Airtable form to plug in your answers If that is easier for you. But please do bear in mind that 5pm January 21st 2025 in Australia and eastern daylight time Is the deadline to submit your application
Emma (25:27 - 26:11): So what happens then. Once we receive your application, our wonderful Cinthya, Senior Ops Manager has created an AI screening tool to check for eligibility and then Chris and I will also double check to make sure that that has accurately determined your eligibility. So you'll get an email notification of whether your application is eligible or not within a week or two of submitting it. And just bear in mind that from next week we'll be breaking for holidays, so there will be a period of no communications from us until we come back from the 6th of January. But you should get a notification after you submit that says your application has been submitted.
Emma (26:11 - 27:10): After that first screening for eligibility, the Remarkable staff team will go through and review in great detail all of your fantastic applications. We do unfortunately have the very difficult job, very exciting but very difficult, of choosing up to 30 start-ups. And just because your start-up may not be within that 30, doesn't mean it's not an incredible, remarkable innovation and absolutely doesn't mean you shouldn't work on it. It just means that we're selecting a cohort based on a number of factors and we can only take up to 30 on this occasion. So please ensure you're checking your email inbox in January as from the 22nd of January offers will be sent and then two days later on the 24th of January, we'll be asking those that have been sent offers to formally accept or decline their place in the program
Emma (27:11 - 28:37): So how might you craft a successful application? Well first and foremost please read the application questions. That is a very great start to make sure you understand the types of questions that we're asking and you can prepare your responses. Be clear and concise and use plain language. Don't assume that we know everything just because we're in the disability space and we get to hear and read and experience lots of different start-ups. Don't assume that we know everything about all of the text so please keep the language simple and plain. We also ask you for a sort of one sentence, so a one-liner of your start-up and we've shared a format that can work but you can use your own. That's also in the descriptive text in the application form so you don't need to sort of write this down now and remember it, but we help target audience achieve whatever the benefit is through this unique solution. Demonstrate your understanding of the problem and target audience. That's one of the key application questions in there and let us know that you are committed to validation through gaining feedback, testing and experimenting. But most of all, share your passion! You know, we're doing this because we want to make an impact in a world and we've seen a need and we're excited to build and connect and create a better world for everyone. So share your passion with us
and why you'd really like to be part of Remarkable Launcher program
Emma (28:37 - 29:58): Okay, we're at the end of us speaking at you, but a couple of frequently asked questions that we get a lot is how much time is needed to participate. So because there is weekly one-on-one coaching, some of the programming plus the time to implement, we suggest that at least five hours a week across the eight weeks is required to participate. Now look, I get it a lot of you will have full-time jobs, you may be caring for a child, a family member, a four-legged family member or whatever you have in life. Whether it is health-related fatigue, whatever it is. We acknowledge that, but we also acknowledge that adding on top of that a few hours a week can be a short period throughout the year, but of higher capacity required. So have a think about whether you're able to commit that time, because we want to make sure that people that are part of Launcher are able to participate. We'll also support you through it. We don't want it to be this sort of scary hustle culture which in certain parts of the startup world that can be an assumption. At Remarkable, we don't believe in sort of hustle and working all hours at all costs but we do acknowledge that adding on sort of five hours a week for a couple of months can be higher than normal capacity and sometimes stress.
Emma (29:58 - 31:34): Another question that we get is do all team members need to come to all sessions. So simple answer is no but we do ask that at least one member of your team
is able to participate in each of the masterclasses or at the very least make sure you are taking part in the recording as well. And similarly at least one person in your team needs to be able to attend those coaching sessions. As Chris mentioned earlier, the Meet the Cohort and Cohort Catch up calls in week zero and week four are optional but highly recommended. And another question is does everyone need to participate in the Launcher Showcase? Again, the simple answer is no. It's optional participation for you to do your sort of 60 to 90 second elevator pitch but we really recommend it. The last cohort I spoke with a couple of founders who were feeling really nervous and weren't sure maybe had a little bit of that imposter syndrome, and were a little bit scared and we supported them through it. And every single one of those people were so glad that they did. It's a great opportunity to work towards a milestone. To help refine your ideas and then because it's online and we're recording it, you get a really lovely digital asset that you can then utilise to share with customers, users, friends, family. Maybe even investors if that's the stage you're at. I think that's it. So over to you wonderful people who have joined us today. No question is too small, too big. Okay someone from Fingerprints Learning Collective, feel free to come off mute.
Speaker 1 (31:35 - 31:48): Hi, thank you so much for this information session. So I have two questions. One is do we get any kind of financial support as part of this program? And then I'll go to the next after you answer.
Emma (31:48 - 32:09): Thank you. So Launcher doesn't come with funding, but it is free to participate and part of the sort of knowledge and support is how we you can help fund your startup. So one of the sessions we'll be talking about how you can, whether it's through bootstrapping, whether it's through grants, whether it's through investment and other funding pathways. But the program itself doesn't provide funding to participants
Speaker 1 (32:11 - 32:20): Great. If I have specific questions about where my venture is right now, would it be possible to set up a one-on-one appointment to see if you know I'm a right fit for this program?
Emma (32:21 - 32:30): Yes, absolutely. Feel free to send us an email. We'll have the contact details here. You can reach out to me directly as well, happy to have a chat.
Speaker 1 (32:30 - 32:37): Thank you so much and my name is Windia. Forgot to change it's my venture name that's showing up with Fingerprints Learning but my name is Windia.
Emma (32:37 - 32:45): Great logo. Sort of two fingerprints in a red love heart for those… Lovely. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (32:45 - 33:01): Thank you. Oh sorry before I go on mute, when I came in so I got a little confused with the India time I came in when you were showing the slide on the eight-week program journey. Would it be possible to share the slides before that did I miss too much?
Emma (33:02 - 33:21): Yes of course so for this recording we will be doing a human-generated transcript and captions and the aim is for tomorrow or Thursday, Australian Eastern Daytime for it to be on the Remarkable website. So all of this information will be available in the next day or two.
Speaker 1 (33:22 - 33:24): Oh thank you so much.
Emma (33:27 - 33:29): Any other questions? Lindsay
Lindsay (33:31 - 34:03): Hello. So you have other programs in addition to Launcher and Launcher is seed stage. My product is live. It's a website. So it's already live but I haven't done a lot of the other stuff. I haven't tested it. I have not tested it appropriately. I've probably shown it to 50 people but I haven't done the other stuff. Anyway, so is there a summary of what the other programs are? Or how can I assess which of your programs I could fit into?
Emma (34:05 - 35:01): First of all, it sounds like you would be a great fit for Launcher. Especially if you mention you haven't done all of the other things because you can be validating. Maybe you've already validated the problem space but maybe the solution and product validation is a better fit for you. You can go to the Remarkable website and click on the Accelerator page that will have a little bit more information. But I mentioned before so we try to optimise for post product post revenue startups for Accelerator with the exception of medtech hardware due to the longer path to market. So you may very well be in the middle of those two but that doesn't stop you If you would find benefit from being part of Launcher as well. But you know, happy to have a chat after this but I also encourage you based on the sort of two sentences you shared then Lindsay, it does sound like Launcher could be a good fit for you depending on what support you need. Nicola.
Nicola (35:02 - 35:33): Just following on from that same question I feel like I'm in that space between two maybe as well. So I have an app that was launched in January this year. So it's already a product available. In terms of validation, I'm an academic. It's been validated as an effective tool for screening. So it's been, and we did user experience validation and research and stuff so I feel like maybe I might be on the cusp of that next stage. But I also wanted to ask like you mentioned if, it's you know, disability tech or to support lives of people with disability? Mine is a screening app to identify brain-based visual issues. So it's helping children with brain-based visual issues because it's identifying them. So without it, they're not getting identified. So is that like does that come into the, you know, does that class as being what you're working with?
Emma (35:54 - 36:01): Absolutely. Screening diagnostic tools absolutely come within the areas that we love to support. Yeah.
Nicola (36:01 - 36:10): Oh, thank you and will you yeah, I think maybe more information on the next If I could yeah, is that on your website I could look at information on the next Is it the accelerator?
Emma (36:10 - 37:12): Correct. remarkable.org/accelerator or you can just navigate from the homepage. Bear in mind though that we've just wrapped up this year’s accelerator cohort and the 2025 accelerator cohort will start around August of next year. So it might be a while between drinks, shall we say. So have a think about whether, I guess it also depends on the areas you need support. For some people that programming is really what's the most beneficial.
For other people it's that one-on-one coaching and that accountability that is most beneficial. For others, it's being part of a cohort and just not feeling like you're doing this alone at home behind your laptop and feeling that sense of community and camaraderie. And for other people it's that sort of network access, so you don't need to want all of the things. These are just the things that we provide to support you but you can participate however benefits you most
Nicola (37:13 - 37:18): It would have been brilliant this time last year but I think i’ll benefit from it, so thank you.
Emma (37:24 - 37:27): I'm sorry, I forgot your name. It wasn't Wendy from Fingerprints?
Speaker 1 (37:28 - 37:58): Vineya Vineya. So if we were to apply for this I mean I'm also listening to the other questions. I've also been working on my startup now for a year and a half but this is going to be a specific product that I'm going to start. So in that case if we were to apply for this, would we also be considered if we applied for the Accelerator or do you kind of, if we go through this program would we lose out on being part of the Accelerator program again?
Emma (37:58 - 39:18): Absolutely not. So anyone is welcome to apply for Accelerator. We do have some Launcher alumni that do apply for Accelerator. We'd love to be able to see that journey. It's not necessarily so straightforward of if you get into Launcher that's sort of a fast track to the next accelerator program. It really does depend on stages and needs. But you can absolutely do Launcher and still then apply for the next Accelerator. Or not do Launcher and still apply for Accelerator. Nothing stops you there. Fiona, there's a question in the chat. On average how many applications do you receive from the Launcher program? So this will be our third Launcher cohort and maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I had a look in our Airtable yesterday and I believe there were 56 or 58 applications for the previous cohort. Does that sort of feel about right Chris or Cinthya? Thank you. Memory is serving me well today. We do already have a bunch of applications that have come through. But you don't get a preference if you apply earlier or sort of just before the deadline. But we'd love to see some more before we break for Christmas. That'd be great. Riana.
Riana (39:19 - 39:44): Hi I'm not sure if you can hear me? (unintelligible) Do we get like inside into the US market as well if that was what they would want to go as well?
Emma (39:46 - 40:17): Short answer is yes. (Asked to repeat question by Auslan interpreter) So the question was around the Accelerator has two cohorts, one which is US and the other which is global for all countries that are not US. So for Launcher, do we have information and sort of access to US markets or knowledge and how to sort of expand? Does that summarise the question properly Riana? Great, thank you.
Emma (40:17 - 40:53): So yes, definitely. We are most connected in Australia and have the greatest understanding and network of the Australian disability space and funding schemes. But we also will cover US based funding schemes and actually, I don't know if I've confirmed it with you Liza, but Liza will be sharing her insights in one of the sessions as a facilitator. So we mostly cover Australia and the US but there are some mentions of other markets as well. And if we don't have the information we can also connect you with either resources or people that can then help you in those spaces as well.
Emma (41:00 - 41:02): Any other questions? Go for it, Enya.
Enya (41:04 - 41:19): Sorry. So you said it you know If in that case right now my venture was focused on India, but I would of course like to expand it to international markets. Would that be a good fit? (Emma gestures yes) Ok great thank you.
Emma (41:20 - 41:55): The other thing I realised we didn't mention in this. But it's in one of our frequently asked questions on the website is for Launcher, your business can be an idea that's not registered as a business in whichever country. It can be for profit and it can be not for profit. I will acknowledge though that for Accelerator, that is for registered businesses that operate in the for profit space. But Launcher is open to all. Simon in the chat.
Emma (41:55 - 42:59): What are the selection criteria and their weightings? That's a great question. We don't necessarily formally weight one field over the other. We try to look holistically at your application, as well as all of the applications that come through. We're no experts and we're certainly not fortune tellers. So we're not here to say whether we believe one particular venture might be more quote-unquote successful than another. It's whether you answer a question of understanding the problem faced by your user. Whether you’re committed to validation. Does your solution Is it sort of technology enabled and has the potential to scale. Are you actually able to participate in the program. Why do you want to be part of Launcher. What support do you have. So I wouldn't say we don't have a rigid sort of weighting of one question over the other, but we look at the whole application as well as the whole cohort to get up to 30 start-ups participating. Lindsay.
Lindsay (43:00 - 43:31): Um when you when you started this and you showed us some of the previous successful people in your cohort, there was makeup, there was a lift chair thing. Those are physical products. Mine is a technical product. Which is very specific to the disability community but it's also a SaaS product. blah blah blah Okay do you have that kind of experience or those kind of mentors?
Emma (43:31 - 44:02): Absolutely and in fact, oh is this right Cinthya? Last Launcher cohort majority were software? Yeah, so we definitely do have mentors with expertise in software whether that's B2B SaaS or B2C. There were actually quite a lot of apps in last year's Launcher compared to some of the other types of the other business models for this year but software, hardware, combination all welcome.
Emma (44:02 - 44:58): And we definitely have the support for them. Oh Pete in the chat has typed in here about 60% of startups supported through Remarkable so far since we started have been software. There we go. Another question in the chat. Riana. My start-up is currently nameless, is that okay? Absolutely nothing set in stone. You can do something creative. Chris in our testing of the application portal his start-up was called Chris's Emporium of Wonder. So feel free to have that. Ideally don't put test start-up or, you know because if other people do that it's a bit harder to filter but you can just put your name or anything that is sort of relevant to your start-up. We won't hold you to that. So I missed any other questions in the chat. Riana. Go for it.
Riana (44:58 - 44:59): I'm sorry, I have one more.
Emma (45:00 - 45:02): Don’t apologise. I love it, that's why we're here.
Riana (45:03 - 45:19): So my idea is in the medtech area and would there be like advice and people who will be able to provide advice on like the IP, the TGA approval process and that kind of aspect of it? And potentially FDA as well.
Emma (45:20 - 45:53): In case not everyone could make out the audio, the question was around advice on Intellectual Property, TGA or FDA approval. We might lightly refer to it in the masterclasses, that would probably be something more aligned to a medtech coach that we might match you with that has expertise and can support you in that. But that's not necessarily one of the sort of general full cohort programming elements. But we absolutely can support you with what might be needed there.
Riana (45:53 - 45:54): Thank you.
Emma (45:59 - 46:41): And Cinthya has popped in the chat here a link to the startups webpage or the landing page on our website with an example of a software startup. And you can go to our website and click on the startups page to see all of the Accelerator startups and Scaler startups that have come through. You can also actually, so we're doing a blog for this, I wonder, sorry to put you on the spot Kirilly, I wonder if we might link to last year's cohort in that blog so people can get an idea of the list of the last cohort of Launcher startups if that would be helpful for some of you.
Emma (46:49 - 46:50): Any other questions?
Lindsay (46:56 - 47:17): I think I looked at your website and there's something that says Join the community. And I think it said you have to be in Australia. Which I'm not. Is it a virtual community? Do you have to be in Australia to join the community that you offer?
Emma (47:19 - 47:57): Someone else on Remarkable correct me if this is wrong, but the Join the community content block is about joining the newsletter. But you might have navigated to our user feedback community page. So Liza is actually leading and growing a user feedback community. So that some of our startups including some of you in the Launcher program might be connected with people with lived experience of disability. And for the purposes of that user feedback community specifically, anyone joining that needs to be based in Australia. But any other aspect about sort of community engagement, newsletter sign up, is globally. Does that answer this Liza?
Liza (47:58 - 48:37): Yeah, yeah, that's it and that's just at the moment because we've just started this year. It's around sort of being really confident that we're meeting privacy and data security requirements for people that are located in Australia. We want to expand that in the future but we want to make sure that we are meeting the right privacy legislation for collecting personal and health information in other jurisdictions as well. So our next market will obviously be looking at the US market, that we have with our affiliation with CPARF in the US but we've just started in Australia at the moment. But startups from outside of Australia participating in Launcher we're hoping to be able to still try and connect you as well.
Emma (48:38 - 49:11): Thanks Liza. And Kirilly has just posted a link In the chat as well so you can see a list of the 2024 Launcher cohort as well and be inspired by them. Any other questions in the chat or people coming off mute maybe? I'll throw it to the Remarkable team. Do you receive any common questions that we haven't quite covered here?
Pete (49:13 - 49:55): This one just there from Simon asking about mental health related and if I understand your comment in there correctly, just asking do we consider mental health as disability. And it's a really kind of interesting and a tricky area. I will admit that it’s really one of the things that we really pride ourselves on is having the right people with the right expertise that can help startups. And mental health has been one that we haven't had as many experts in our community that they've been able to field that, so I'd say that it's a little bit on the edge but perhaps something that we can have a discussion with you Simon about that.
Emma (49:59 - 50:11): Thanks Pete. Charity in the chat. I'm wondering if Launcher offers networking with software developers. If we know about the problem and have an idea about the solution, but don't have the technology. Is this something that Launcher can help with?
Emma (50:12 - 51:11): Oh good and interesting question. I would say maybe. That's a partial yes. So to the extent that there may be other software developers within this cohort and then within our wider Remarkable community for any sort of online or in-person events that we facilitate, the answer would be yes. Whether it's a specific software developers meet up, there's nothing sort of on the calendar plans for that right now but you know we're also about trying to create experiences for our program participants and alumni that are valuable and connect people and support you for whatever your next stage of growth is. So short answer is no not specifically, but longer answer is If they're within the cohort you'll have opportunities to network there. As well as within the wider Remarkable network, which all participants will be part of.
Emma (51:15 - 51:26): Simon I think has a follow up to that question. If our startup focuses on helping children with mental health issues, would we be eligible to apply? Maybe Pete you can continue the response for that one.
Pete (51:26 - 52:24): Yeah I'd give that again a bit of a maybe Simon, would probably have to have a chat with you and understand what's the specific nature of it. And what are you also looking for Remarkable to help with as well. We have had a couple that are somewhat in the disability, mental health, education space like The Care Co a couple of years ago and so we specifically looked at who in our community was going to be best to support that startup. So we'd probably have to have a conversation around that I think Simon. I don't want to over promise that we've got everyone that actually is an expert in the mental health space because it really is a very complex space. And it takes a lot of sensitivity to kind of develop something in that mental health space and I just wouldn't want to over promise that and not steer you down the wrong path so maybe let's have a conversation about that one.
Emma (52:26 - 52:30): Thanks Pete.
Lindsay (52:31 - 52:50): Do you have data on what percentage of those that have been in various Remarkable cohorts, how many of the entrepreneurs that you've served either have a disability or have someone in their family that has a disability?
Emma (52:51 - 53:03): We definitely do have that data but I don't know it off the top of my head. I don't know if Pete or Cinthya you've looked at that recently? So let's test our systems in real time
Pete (53:03 - 53:10): We're just having a look right now as we speak. So give me two seconds and I'll come back to you on that one but we do have that data.
Emma (53:10 - 55:17): And I will also point out in the application form because we've tried to make the first piece of information you give us as simple as possible, for anyone that may have applied last year, it's a different and simpler process. But in the first application form we will also be asking the primary contact who'll be completing this form to share any information that you might know about any team members participating If they have any disability, if there are any accessibility requirements and any assistive tech that you or they use. But for those that do come through to the program, every individual participant will have an onboarding form to share individual information. So I acknowledge that not everyone may be comfortable speaking on someone else's behalf. The reason we've asked that is to try to sort of simplify the process for you up front and to give us the information we need. So that we can make sure we're setting up the program as accessibly as we can. Or identifying where we may not be able to. And for example, you know, we're working really hard on improving accessibility but fully accessible for everyone is not necessarily where we are at right now. But certainly we're trying to get as close as we can. So an example that I'll give is the Remarkable Hub is accessible in a lot of ways, but it's not at this moment fully screen reader accessible. So we're certainly working towards that. And that's why we're asking these questions up front so we can have additional questions with those particular startups to make sure we understand accessibility requirements. And can meet them and manage expectations. And we also ask gender, country and other bits of demographical data in the application form as well. Because we do like to track it. We do want to have a diverse cohort. We have a diverse team. And that can be diversity of neurotypes, diversity of genders, ethnicities, countries, lived experience. So we really value that.
Emma (55:18 - 55:30): I might do one last awkward silence to allow anyone else to share a question. Pete, do you want to come off mute and share that?
Pete (55:32 - 55:56): Yes, so just look at our dashboards around that so of the 315 founders and 130 startups we've supported, 91 have direct experience of living with disability themselves. And we don't yet have the data on someone that has a close family member. That would obviously be a little bit more than the 91 that’s there.
Emma (55:59 - 55:59): Thanks, Pete
Pete (56:00 - 56:02): Yes, Lindsay
Lindsay (56:02 - 56:24): Is there like non-profits, support non-profits, B Corp, support B Corp. Is there any community of disabled entrepreneurs or disability entrepreneurs we can all connect to and support each other?
Pete (56:25 - 57:04): Yeah, it's a really good question and so if you listen to our Remarkable Insights blog, we've just had an episode I think two episodes ago. And I can't remember the exact acronym but it's women, entrepreneurs, disability network I think it is it might be. So Anja Christoffersen has helped to launch that one. And there are I believe there are kind of a couple similar to that around. So definitely something that we want to encourage more and more of as well. But um yeah, definitely check out our Remarkable Insights podcast as well as it shows the way that disabilities driving innovation has done for decades.
Emma (57:06 - 57:21): I think that's an Australian based one but you can connect globally. We can also have a look to see, I don't know if I'm making assumptions here but judging by your puffer jacket and maybe it's a little bit darker, are you in the northern hemisphere, Lindsay? Because I'm in a t-shirt and I'm really, really hot in Sydney here.
Lindsay (57:22 - 57:35): Yeah, I’m at Ski Spectacular by Move United, which is the biggest adaptive snow sport event in the U.S.
Pete (57:34 - 57:35): Where are you?
Lindsay (57:35 - 57:40): Breckenridge Colorado. And it's negative 2 degree Celsius here.
Emma (57:42 - 59:34): So yeah, we can definitely chat. So Molly my counterpart for the Accelerator in the U.S. So she’s definitely much more connected with the North American ecosystems there, but we'll try to make sure that we can connect everyone with a little bit more local connections as well as any online global things. Okay, looking at the time now I hope you've found some of that information to be helpful even just seeing or knowing that there are so many other people out there who've joined you today and are willing to come on this journey alongside you. Some of the Remarkable team here who can help support you through that. And I hope that anyone that is feeling any sense of ‘oh, I don't know if I'm the right fit’ or ‘I don't know if I'm ready’, please just give it a go, apply now. So our website remarkable.org/launcher is where you can find more of the program information, frequently asked questions, including the downloadable application questions as well as where to submit your application. So 21st of January 2025 at 5 p.m. Australian eastern daylight time is when applications close. I so look forward to reading all of your wonderful applications with your impactful innovations. And if this is not the right fit for you I hope that you will stay in touch with us, whether that's on our socials, our newsletter, listening to our podcast or just sort of being a part of supporting each other and really cultivating an incredible disability technology ecosystem. Have a great rest of the day and if you need us our details are on the website to contact us. Thank you so much for being here and we'll speak soon. Bye everyone.
