Presenter: Chad Renando
Organisation: Fire Station 101

How can innovation hubs, investors, government, small business, startups and corporates work together?

Why do some regions with fewer resources thrive while others with more struggle?

Chad Renando — Community Manager at Fire Station 101 who’s also working with the Office of the Chief Entrepreneur to measure the Queensland innovation ecosystem in real-time — will reflect on Hwang and Horowitt’s The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley.

Chad will share insights from his PhD research and professional experience that align with the ‘seven rules of the rainforest’: break rules and dream; open doors and listen; trust and be trusted; experiment and iterate together; seek fairness, not advantage; err, fail, and persist; and pay it forward.

About the Presenter

As the inaugural Community Manager for Ipswich City Council’s award-winning Fire Station 101, Chad Renando has supported the growth of Australia’s first fully-council backed innovation hub to over 150 entrepreneur and startup members in the first 12 months.

In his role with the Office of the Queensland Chief Entrepreneur, Chad is measuring the innovation ecosystem across the State.

Chad integrates his PhD research and work on ecosystem measurement to define the role that innovation plays in building community resilience, particularly in regional areas.

His passion comes out of practical experience, seeing disruption’s negative and positive impacts through managing global manufacturing companies and Australian digital agencies over the past 25 years.

Missed a webinar? You’ll find recordings of previous webinars on the Innovate Queensland YouTube channel.