Innovation Cluster

06/10/2026

It’s been 10 years since AgriStart and Innovation Cluster was first conceived, and what a decade it has been 🎉

Over the years, we’ve watched our programs grow, evolve and create impact across communities, businesses and regions.
Our kids have grown up.
Our LinkedIn profile photos have had a couple of updates too and a few more grey hairs.

And somewhere in all of that, a genuine community has grown around us.

The last 10 years have flown by in a blur with 35 programs, 190 workshops, over 45 events, supported over 500 businesses … with lots of banners ordered and hundreds of questionable Canva designs along the way.
We’ve delivered innovation workshops in regional towns from Esperance to Kununurra, staged major events in Perth and supported the agtech sector across Australia.

Our core team of 5 have survived many ups and downs as a small business, including relocating from Perth to Busselton almost 8 years ago, quick adjustments to our delivery model during Covid and always staying focused on quality support and connections for our clients.

We’re incredibly proud to see the impact our programs continue to build, and partnerships have been a huge part of that journey.

Our recent research with Edith Cowan University and Connected Futures reinforced something we’ve always believed: what makes programs meaningful isn’t just the content.
It’s small groups.
It’s mentoring that continues beyond the program.
And it’s an ecosystem that connects people on purpose, not by chance - creating value that lasts well beyond the program itself.

To everyone who has been a client, part of our program cohorts, partnered with us, mentored someone, shared your expertise, opened a door, made an introduction, given feedback, encouraged an idea or generously given your time — thank you.

Looking back through 10 years of photos, you may even spy yourself in a few of them.

Innovation Cluster has had two rebrands — with the latest one feeling like a pretty fitting 10-year anniversary gift.

17/09/2026

11/09/2026

HARVEST is heading to Esperance - and there are two chances to catch us!

Wednesday 23 September - North Mallee VRT Field Walk
➡️ EZI are bringing the SPAA VRT Project to the North Mallee, hosted by NMFIG, with our HARVEST 2026 cohort joining for the day. Variable rate technology where it matters, in the paddock: how growers identify variability and put inputs where they'll pay off.

Thursday 24 September - Business Brekkie Bites
➡️ The cohort joins Esperance CCI and EZI Group Esperance Zone Innovation for breakfast. Hear directly from the founders turning new agtech ideas into practical, commercial solutions on farm.
📅 Thursday 24 September, 7:30–9:00am
📍 Comfort Inn Bay of Isles, 32 The Esplanade, Esperance
🎟 RSVP here: https://www.esperancecci.com.au/events/esperance-zone-innovation-ezi-business-brekkie-bites

If you're in Esperance, please come and join us.

HARVEST is supported by Grains Research and Development Corporation; Department of Energy and Economic Diversification through the Innovation Pathways Program, funded by the New Industries and Innovation Fund; Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development, Wrays | Intellectual Property, Radium Capital, and EZI Group Esperance Zone Innovation

09/09/2026

This is what co-designing a program with industry actually looks like 👀✨

Workshop 2 of Future Founders: Emerging Ag Industries ran on Monday, and the people in the room weren't just facilitators. Gary Rogers from Margaret River H**p Co. and Iggy Van from H**p Squared Pty. Ltd. joined the cohort to talk through the challenges they've put forward, not as case studies, but as problems they're living with right now.

Chris Blake and Bronwyn Blake from Vasse Valley H**p Farm have also opened up their business's challenges to the cohort. Thank you, Chris & Bron!

That context matters. Our five Future Founders aren't solving hypotheticals. Between them they'll be tackling five real challenges facing the industrial h**p industry, spanning how you build a market for something people think they already understand, how you get an emerging supply chain working, how you shift a regulatory setting that isn't as fixed as it looks, and what Australia could learn from how it's being done overseas 🌎

Real problems, from real businesses, handed to young people who'll spend the next three months working on them, with Gary and Iggy on hand as challenge mentors.

This is the bit we think makes the difference. An emerging industry doesn't need young people who've read about it. It needs young people who've sat with its actual problems.

Next up: a South West industry immersion tour in October, and a showcase at West Tech Fest in December.

Future Founders: Emerging Ag Industries is proudly supported by AgriFutures Australia.

08/09/2026

One week to go! Last call for tickets 🙌

The 2026 HARVEST Agtech Innovation Showcase Lunch is on Wednesday 16 September at Burswood on Swan, and final tickets are available now.

This one isn't a pitch night. Over a relaxed three-course lunch, the founders of the HARVEST Agtech Accelerator Program rotate around the tables, so you get to talk with each of them one-to-one about what they're building, how the program is going, and where they're headed next.

We're also joined by AusAgritech President Rob Hulme as keynote speaker, sharing his take on where WA agtech sits in the national and global picture after 30+ years in global agribusiness.

📅 Wednesday 16 September, 11:30am – 3pm
📍 Burswood on Swan, 1 Camfield Dr, Burswood
🎟️ $50, including three-course lunch and drinks

Registrations close tomorrow, Wednesday 9 September, so book now before they're gone: https://events.humanitix.com/2026-harvest-agtech-innovation-showcase

HARVEST is supported by Grains Research and Development Corporation; Department of Energy and Economic Diversification through the Innovation Pathways Program, funded by the New Industries and Innovation Fund; Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development, Wrays | Intellectual Property, Radium Capital, and EZI Group Esperance Zone Innovation

02/09/2026

"Your job as a founder is not to do everything yourself."

That was Paula Taylor to our Connected Futures Hub 2026 cohort today, opening a session called Turning Ambition into Opportunity: Building the relationships, credibility and momentum that unlock capital, partnerships and growth ✨

Paula is Founder & CEO of Sovereign Green Compute. Before that she co-founded West Tech Fest and built First Nations X, creating entrepreneurship and investment pathways for First Nations founders. Her own path started in the arts, fundraising in London, which she'd be the first to say is not the obvious route into data centres and renewables!

Her point to the room: every business reaches a stage where working harder isn't enough. What moves you forward is the right people saying yes, an investor, a partner, a grant panel, a customer who becomes an advocate. And those relationships are almost always built years before you need them.

So the founders worked on the practical side of that. What advantage they already hold that's hard to replicate. Which kind of capital actually suits the problem they're solving, because equity isn't the only option. What proof earns the next yes. And how to make an ask specific enough that someone can act on it.

Each founder was tasked with naming one proof, one person and one ask within the next 90 days. Thank you Paula for a generous morning and afternoon of one-on-ones with each of the cohort members, and for being so open about the years of showing up before there was a deal 🎉🙌

The Connected Futures Hub is supported by the Department of Energy and Economic Diversification through the Innovation Pathways Program, funded by the New Industries and Innovation Fund, and partners West Tech Fest and Wrays | Intellectual Property.

11/08/2026

WA's longest running agtech event is back for 2026, returning with a fresh new format! 🌿🚜

This year, the HARVEST Agtech Innovation Showcase pitch event has evolved into an interactive roundtable lunch, where startup founders rotate between tables telling the story of their innovation, giving guests the opportunity to connect one-on-one, explore the challenges they're solving, discover their technologies, and discuss opportunities for collaboration.

This event is designed for growers, researchers, investors, industry professionals and innovation partners, and offers a relaxed environment to connect with the people shaping the future of agtech.

➡️ Date: Wednesday 16 September 2026
➡️ Location: Burswood on Swan, Burswood
➡️ Time: 12pm – 3pm
➡️ Tickets: $50, including a three course lunch and drinks

BOOK HERE: https://events.humanitix.com/2026-harvest-agtech-innovation-showcase

HARVEST is proudly supported by Grains Research and Development Corporation, Department of Energy and Economic Diversification through the Innovation Pathways Program, funded by the New Industries and Innovation Fund, Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development, Wrays | Intellectual Property, Radium Capital, and EZI Group Esperance Zone Innovation.

11/08/2026

Straight to the paddock 🌱

HARVEST 2026 cohort member Himel Nahreen Khaleque (Mastermind Biotechnology) and AgriSpace Manager Stephanie Kirchhofer were both at the Riverine Plains In Season Update last week, with Steph presenting on investing in innovation in the ag industry.

A full day of grower-focused content: on-farm trial site visit showcasing pre-emergent herbicides with Premier Ag Consultancy Group, Rainstick seed technology, soil biology and barley variety trials followed by presentations, panel, and conversations.

This is where agtech gets pressure-tested: in front of the growers who'll actually use it.

Thanks Riverine Plains Inc for a great day 👏

06/08/2026

On Monday our HARVEST 2026 cohort gathered at Wrays for a masterclass on strategic partnerships - four speakers, one theme: know what you're bringing to the table before you sit down at it 🙌

Michael Pasquale (Wrays) on IP: don't protect everything, protect what makes you valuable. Get early IP guidance so you know what makes you unique before you talk to potential partners.

Gary Lang (GRDC Western Panel Chair) on growers: stop chasing step change. WA went from an 18 to a 27 million tonne crop on a stack of 1% improvements. Be part of the 1%. Start with the problem, not the tech.

Andrew Mostyn (The Craig Mostyn Group) on partnering with agricorporates: if your solution adds cost, prove the saving. Personal contacts open doors, cold calls don't. Take the time to network at industry events and develop the required personal contacts so you don't have to cold call. Always remember that yours isn't the only solution in the room.

Boaz Kogon (Milne AgriGroup) on risk: remember that asking for "only" one trial shed might be 100,000 chickens in the food chain so is still a big commitment from a partner to trial your product and puts their operation at risk. Map a realistic path up, small trials with smaller operators or university labs, then scale.

Thanks to Wrays for hosting, and to Michael, Gary, Andrew and Boaz for giving our founders such realistic guidance! 🎉

HARVEST is proudly supported by Grains Research and Development Corporation, Department of Energy and Economic Diversification through the Innovation Pathways Program, funded by the New Industries and Innovation Fund, Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development, Wrays | Intellectual Property, Radium Capital, and EZI Group Esperance Zone Innovation.