We are an Innovator & Entrepreneur community of practice that operates by the belief that “Innovation is the by-product of Imagination”. We work with public and private sector partners, development agencies, business support organisations, venture capitalists, mentors and other stakeholders to provide the tools and resources required for helping you turn your imagination into commercially sustainable innovation.
Our Vision:
To be recognised globally for world class innovation output.
Our Approach:
We encourage imagination and utilise a combination of ICT and the Lean Start-Up model to Ideate, Accelerate, Incubate and Fund Innovation and Entrepreneurship. We provide Skills and Leadership Training as well as complementary resources and relevant mentorship to help mitigate against the challenges associated with start up enterprise. We believe in the fail fast, fail cheap approach and view each failure as a critical learning experience for all involved.
Our Model:
We utilise a 3-step system to graduate your idea from a concept into a sustainable commercial venture. At each level, we set objective and measurable performance targets to justify continuing investment into any project.
Selection: Our only requirements for considering your project are your attitude and a well thought out idea. We identify ideas through participation in our workshops as well as direct proposals from Individuals and businesses and work with you to evaluate your concept utilising the lean business canvas approach. The results of the lean business canvas should make it clear to all involved, if an idea is ready to be worked on or requires additional refining. In either case, we provide feedback so that the next steps are adequately well-defined. Graduation from this phase is contingent on a working prototype that meets or exceeds the requirements coming out of the Lean Canvas.
Development: Once an idea is selected, we set about creating a project plan and establishing the resources required for its commercial development and sustainability. All parties contractually commit to providing the required resources and work begins on developing a prototype. No financial commitment is required from the Ideator and all intellectual property rights remain in their possession. Depending on the scale of the project, Orbit may however take an equity position in the venture as a way to cover its investment. Graduation from this phase is contingent on the development of a Minimum Viable Product and the achievement of specific customer acquisition and sales targets. No project will advance beyond this phase without demonstrating commercial potential and graduation to the next phase requires business incorporation.
Commercialisation: At this stage, your business will be fully formed and operational and can qualify for cash funding from Orbit or one of our VC partners. You will be offered an operating space within the Orbit Innovation Hub or at one of our POD facilities, set specific growth targets and required to maintain regular reporting on your progress. Mentorship becomes most critical at this stage and you will have access to a system of support most relevant to the specific needs of your enterprise. Graduation from this phase will result in a financially stable enterprise capable of independent operation. Orbit will however remain committed to ongoing support and graduate companies are expected to contribute to our alumni programme.