Thinking Bigger: Inside the Venture Makers Innovation Challenge
The Everyday Product Reinvention Challenge
The Venture Makers Innovation Challenge is a fast-paced, one-day challenge designed to push students beyond traditional thinking. It brings students together from different disciplines like design, engineering, business, and science.
Through collaboration, mentoring, rapid ideation, and pitching, participants are encouraged to think bigger and to move from simple solutions to systems that can exist and function in the real world.
When I said yes to participating, I didn’t expect the day to move so quickly. It challenged the way I think, how I collaborate, and how I take on feedback in fast-paced environments.
First Stop: Factory of the Future
We kicked off the day with a tour of the Factory of the Future, led by Stakk Studio. In just 15 minutes, we were introduced to several advanced pieces of technology that are already shaping industries.
The space showed how digital and physical production are becoming deeply connected. One part I was really intrigued by was the AI-powered simulators in AR/VR systems. The robotic dog equipped with LiDAR and acoustic sensing was also of interest.
Stakk Studio introduced the core idea: “Combining the tangible and intangible together. Moving from everyday products to a platform”
Brad Twynham forewarned everyone who had attended before to throw out previous thinking and start fresh. It was a challenge to move from small thinking to big thinking.
Collaboration Under Pressure
I was placed in a team of five, taking on the role of CMO. Usually, in team projects, I take on a leadership role but this time I chose to take a step back and experience the challenge from a different position. I contributed by helping shape the problem and guiding the presentation.
My team came from a mix of disciplines, mostly engineering and industrial design. While I come from Creative Industries.
Our Head of R&D brought strong research and AI-driven insights, while our CTO helped shape the technical feasibility of the idea. The Chief Evangelist focused on the behavioural and social impacts of public transport.
Throughout the process, there were moments where creative directions differed, particularly in how we approached the final presentation. This challenged me to adapt, step back when needed, and focus on supporting the team in delivering a cohesive outcome.
I realised quickly that group collaboration was vital for this challenge. The weight of the challenge on our CEO made collaboration difficult at times, and it required some direction from the rest of us to bring the conversation back on track. Our mentor was good at this and pushed us to think deeper.
Good ideas don’t come from just one person. They come when thoughts become aligned.
Defining the Problem
After deciding our roles, we received our product: the Opal card. Another team had the same object, which made differentiation even more important.
At first, we struggled. We kept jumping straight into solutions instead of clearly defining the problem. One quote from Brad that stuck with me was:
The longer we spend thinking about the problem, the closer we are to finding the solution
We spent a significant amount of time trying to align on the core issue, which set us back. Even after deciding on the direction, we kept circling back and re-questioning it as we moved forward.
The problem we identified was integration. But every step toward a solution seemed to bring us back to refining the same problem.
We weren’t stuck because we lacked ideas. We were stuck because we hadn’t fully agreed on the problem
Our Idea
Our platform aimed to create a system that allows public transport to be global and frictionless.
Instead of needing to tap on and off, users could be automatically identified when boarding transport. The goal was to remove barriers, especially for the elderly and those struggling with accessibility, and to create a seamless experience.
We proposed a “blank” card that could sit anywhere on the user and still identify them. Initially, this idea was like an air-tag style system, which I questioned. To me, introducing another physical object still created friction. It was essentially replacing one card with another.
Pitching and Learning
By the time presentations came around, we had divided tasks based on our strengths.
Everyone responded well to feedback during pitching practice. Our mentor, Mike, guided us on delivery, and I also contributed feedback on how the information could be structured more clearly.
Of course, everyone adapted the script in their own way, making it easier to present confidently and authentically. Our pitch went well. We communicated the core idea clearly but there were some parts where we could have added more depth.
Watching other teams was one of the most valuable parts of the day. Some used storytelling, others used skits. The strongest pitches all had one thing in common. Clarity and confidence.
Reflecting
Looking back on the experience, it taught me more than just innovation frameworks.
It reinforced the importance of clear problem definition and showed how critical team dynamics and leadership under pressure really are. While the challenge focussed on transforming a product into a platform, it also highlighted the need for ideas to be grounded in reality.
This experience also made me reflect on my own role in teams. While stepping back was valuable, I realised that I work best when I take on a leadership role and help guide direction.
Overall, the challenge pushed me out of my comfort zone and changed how I approached problem-solving.
Angelina Poson
Participated in 2026
Venture Makers Innovation Challenge
