Fesitval of Ambitious Ideas

In 2014, twelve speakers each had 5 minutes to speak about their entrepreneurial spirit and extraordinary achievements; this was Lighthouse's first Festival of Ambitious Ideas (FAI). The concept of short, sharp presentations isn't new, but our approach is. Each of our events is themed and focuses on the human story behind the business, community leader, academic or artist.

The quarterly event is about bringing together people whose paths would not normally cross. There have been many shared stories, experiences, and lessons that have resulted in partnerships, investments, and support networks. For us its about exposing people to the things they are not aware of or ever considered relevant to what they do.

Our themes to date include the Art of Everyday, Female Innovators, Interesting People doing interesting things, Future Cities, Lessons from the future, Social Innovation, the Art of the Ordinary and the 100 Year Life. These events also resulted in some important partnerships for Lighthouse.

Austrade Masterclass

In 2018, The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) approached us to run a Masterclass for National Export Award finalists based on our FAI format. We defined the theme, identified speakers to address the theme 'Innovation Begins with......', coordinated nominated government speakers and worked with them to address the theme, managed the run sheet, and coordinated requirements with the venue and audio-visual suppliers. The event was so successful that we were asked to run it again for the 2019 national finalists. Our theme that year was 'Expect the unexpected' where speakers explored their often-unplanned paths into successfully exporting.

ACT Export Awards and the Festival of Ambitious Export Ideas

Then COVID struck and the national awards became a low-key virtual event in 2020. We were however approach by the Canberra Business Chamber to develop a program based on FAI to encourage ACT exporters to both share their stories and enter the awards. We have now partnered with Chamber for three years to deliver a range of programs that had to be flexible enough to deal with the vagaries of COVID but still generate significant interest within the exporting and broader ACT region communities. To date we have delivered the following:

• 2020 – Twenty-five interviews and articles with local emerging or current exporters, facilitated 3 workshops that addressed challenges and opportunities identified by the exporters themselves, and prepared a communications plan addressing on creating momentum around exporting given no face-to-face event would take place.
• 2021 - Twenty-five interviews and articles with local emerging or current exporters, developed and delivered Festival of Ambitious Export Ideas (FAEI) 'The Export Playbook', developed a communication strategy to support the Chamber's activities and facilitate applicants as required.
• 2022 – facilitated a panel discussion on financing for export, delivered a hybrid FAEI which included a participant discussion with speakers around "Growing your export business, the amazing opportunities of random and mistakes that work". We again assisted exporters with their applications.

eCommerce Accelerator

In 2022, we also took the opportunity to create and deliver an eCommerce Accelerator; a program for small businesses with international ambitions. It was aimed at those looking to grow their business by expanding into new markets using ecommerce and digital strategies.

This program was developed for those who are already selling successfully online in Australia; may be starting to get some interest from international customers online; and think there would be a market for their product/service internationally.

The 6-week Accelerator program will provide participants with:

• Criteria for assessing export readiness
• An overview of the resources and support available to companies looking to export.
• Strategies, tips, trends, and lessons learned on how to prepare so that as restrictions ease, they are in the best position to move ahead with their growth plans.
• Guidance on developing a 'global vision' and choosing the right international market for their company.
• Lessons learned from companies already exporting to help them avoid costly mistakes.
• Mentoring to help them develop an export plan with clear milestones.
• Access to knowledge and culture in countries they are looking to expand to and how best to tailor their marketing to these markets.
• An understanding of the funding they need to scale their business, expand into new markets, and issues associated with trading in foreign currencies.
• Opportunities to connect and develop networks with peers, advisers, mentors, and experts that can assist them in with their growth plans