BY sharing the success of innovative Western Australian companies more businesses will be encouraged to succeed, says Western Australian of the Year and co-founder of one of WA’s most innovative companies, Fiona Wood.
BY sharing the success of innovative Western Australian companies more businesses will be encouraged to succeed, says Western Australian of the Year and co-founder of one of WA’s most innovative companies, Fiona Wood.
Dr Wood is one of four WA business identities presenting at the Top Exporters Panel Luncheon today, June 10 – an event highlighting the annual WA Top Exporters and Industry Awards.
Speaking ahead of the lunch, the co-founder of Clinical Cell Culture (C3) told WA Business News that while there were pockets of innovation in WA, more could be made of that if WA’s more innovative business’ successes were shared.
“Rather than think, oh I can’t do that because that’s not been done before, if we actually say well let’s think about how we actually can do this in a different way,” she said.
Dr Wood said there were pockets of Western Australians who were driving innovation and many of them would be in attendance at the lunch.
However, she said she would be speaking to the converted on the day and it was important to spread the word.
“We should actually share that with others and say well hang on, yeah but does it have to be this hard?” Dr Wood said.
“By building that sort of feeling that there is this good and solid way forward we will encourage those coming behind us.”
Dr Wood said C3 was founded on a good solid idea that had been made to work through the implementation of basic science at the bedside.
C3 is the commercial arm of a tissue-engineering project that emerged from WA’s public hospital system.
With its innovative spray-on skin product that was thrust into the international spotlight after the Bali bombings in 2002, C3 has grown rapidly.
It raised more than $7 million from investors to float on the Australian Stock Exchange, boasts distribution contracts throughout the world and has offices in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
“There are an awful lot of amazing ideas and great stuff out there but you have to make it work for people,” Dr Wood said.
“That is what we have been doing for years because we treat patients, we heal the wounded and we have demonstrated we can reduce the amount of time spent in hospital and we can reduce the scar outcome in a significant number of people.
“You have the idea, you make the idea work and then expand on that and take it beyond your own sphere of influence as you move into a global arena.”
Dr Wood said more had to be done to encourage people to broaden their thinking.
She said that would not only foster successful businesses but drive and build a more innovative society.
However, Dr Wood said in order to first foster innovative thinking in society people had to be encouraged to not only recognise difference but facilitate it.
“It’s a sort of a mindset where you can actually innovate and you are encouraged to do so,” she said.
Dr Wood said sharing the success of other companies helped but education was the key.
“It starts really with education and that feeling that it is an exciting and a positive thing to have ideas,” she said
“The days of rote learning and spoon feeding are fading and [that is] good because we don’t want to dull the senses, we want to explore the imagination. Kids need the confidence to have the courage and conviction to actually articulate those ideas rather than be afraid that they may sound silly.”
