Welcome to the 2021 Biomimicry Launchpad! Email us if you have any questions.

Week 1

Week 1 Contents

Meet the Team

What is the Biomimicry Launchpad?

Expectations, Resources, and What's Ahead

Everything you know is wrong

How business can change the world.

Essential Elements of Biomimicry: From Sustainable to Regenerative Business

Reconnect

Assignments

Final Deliverables: Due at the end of the Launchpad

This week we start the Biomimicry Launchpad! Throughout the program we will provide videos, resources, and assignments to help you learn how to bring a biomimicry idea to life. We also hope you learn how to look closely at ways that nature has already solved a variety of challenges, develop an appreciation for what healthy ecosystems provide, and understand sustainability goals and the impacts of material choices when designing a product. Please remember that we are all here to serve as a resource for you. Feel free to send us an email or Slack message any time that you have a question.

Please carefully review the information on this page, and let us know if you have any questions!

Meet the Team

Jared Yarnall-Schane

Jared brings his entrepreneurial background & startup coaching experience to the Biomimicry Institute to lead the Biomimicry Launchpad and Ray of Hope Prize programs, with a goal of commercializing more biomimicry innovations. Before joining the Institute, Jared developed and ran programs with Penn State University’s incubator and accelerator programs and was the Program Director of Thought For Food.
Jared has directly worked with hundreds of social impact startups from around the world. He was an initial founding member of GreenTowers (now known as BEEcosystem), and started a small food preservation company in rural Kenya (failed).
He has an Executive Certificate in Social Impact Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University. He lives in Bloomington, IN with his wife and Portuguese Water Dog, and enjoys backpacking and hiking most every weekend.

Michelle Graves

Michelle manages the Institute’s two entrepreneurship programs, Biomimicry Launchpad and the Ray of Hope Prize competition. Prior to joining the Institute, Michelle designed, marketed and led, expedition cruises to remote corners of the world as Director of Expedition Development for Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic. She has also worked as a naturalist guide in the temperate rainforests of Southeast Alaska and desert islands of the Gulf of California, Central America, and across the Indo-Pacific.
Introducing people to the natural world, helping them understand the interconnectedness of living systems, and inspiring them to value a healthy planet has been her lifelong passion. Living and working aboard boats for 15 years, she and her husband sailed their 38 ft. sailboat from the Pacific Northwest to New Zealand via California, Mexico, French Polynesia and Tonga.
Michelle holds a bachelor’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology, and a master’s degree in marine biology. She lives outside of Seattle with her husband and two dogs.

Launchpad Coaches

Lindsay James

Lindsay has dedicated her life to aligning economy and ecology for an abundant, beautiful future. She is an expert in the field of sustainability, specializing in biomimicry. In addition to serving on the faculty for Arizona State University’s Biomimicry Center, she has enjoyed working as a startup coach for The Biomimicry Institute’s accelerator programs. Growing up as a child of an entrepreneur, Lindsay retains keen insights into the startup world, which are augmented by her recent experience with Nucleário, a Brazilian start-up. Leveraging nature’s genius, Nucleário increases the efficiency of large-scale forest restoration by providing innovative products proven to reduce seedling maintenance.
Lindsay has a wealth of experience in corporate sustainability practices, including her decade-plus tenure with Interface, the global sustainability leader and the world's largest manufacturer of commercial carpet tile (NASDAQ: TILE). As Vice President of Restorative Enterprise, she served on the executive management team as the leader for the Interface Americas sustainability department, bringing in all three essential elements of biomimicry to enhance innovation. In addition to her time with Interface, Lindsay’s professional experience includes economic consulting with Analysis Group and environmental economics research with RTI International.
Lindsay earned her MS in Biomimicry from Arizona State University, and she graduated from the University of North Carolina with an MBA and a BA in both Economics and Biology. She serves as Board Chair for Foresight Design Initiative. Lindsay loves reading science fiction, spending time in nature, and exploring the world with her partner and two children.

Jacques Chirazi

Jacques is the Director of the Basement and Blackstone Launchpad at University of California San Diego. Jacques manages the day-to-day operations of the Blackstone Launchpad and The Basement, including oversight, solicitation of grant funding, stewardship, marketing and educational workshops for all student entrepreneurship programs. Jacques previously worked as the Business Development Manager for the City of San Diego’s Economic Development Department. He was responsible for creating, implementing and supporting initiatives that supported emerging industry clusters (cleantech, artificial intelligence, genomics, and robotics) in San Diego. In addition, Jacques worked with the Biomimicry Institute as the Innovation and Commercialization Manager, helped design and launch the Biomimicry Launchpad and Ray of Hope Prize, an accelerator program designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs bring nature-inspired solutions to market. With a passion for learning about the natural world and an understanding of how nature could transform the corporate environment, Jacques brings this novel biomimicry approach to foster the next generation of sustainable entrepreneurs and their revolutionary businesses. Jacques advises a number of biomimicry startups such as; Aruga Technologies, Werewool, Helicoid Industries and Rainlons.
Jacques is aa Biomimicry Certified Professional and holds a Masters degree from Arizona State University's School of Life Sciences in Biomimicry, a Masters degree from University of California San Diego’s Graduate School of International Relations & Pacific Studies with an emphasis in International Environmental Policy and a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from San Diego State University’s School of Business Administration. He teaches sustainability, circular economy, design thinking, leadership and clean/climate tech courses to students at the University of California, San Diego Extension. Jacques lives in San Diego, enjoys spending time outdoor hiking, surfing and running through nearby trails with friends.

Rune Percy

Rune is on a journey to empower the next generation of leaders to create a beautiful future. About ten years ago, a chance to work on high-efficiency engine prototypes propelled me into a blend of mechanical engineering and social entrepreneurship that continues to this day. I've mentored, consulted, and coached startup founders and young leaders with University of Massachusetts, Denver University, and as an independent consultant.
Through this experience and a serendipitous opportunity to attend the World Summit for Nobel Peace Laureates as a Delegate in 2017, I discovered and began integrating biomimicry into my life. Last year, I began the MS Biomimicry program at Arizona State University and formally launched my consultancy, Nabla Strategies.
Currently, I live in Bend, Oregon with my partner and our dog. For rejuvenation, I enjoy cooking, cycling, trail running, snowboarding, and playing music.

What is the Biomimicry Launchpad?

We started the Biomimicry Launchpad in 2016 with the goal of creating more nature-inspired startups. In 2020 we pivoted the Launchpad as we realized that not every participant was interested in starting a new company. Now, we focus on building an entrepreneurial mindset, meaning we want to empower you to learn how to bring an idea to a reality.

To date we have worked with 54 teams, many of which have gone on to do some incredible things. Click on the logos below to see what some of the past Launchpad teams are up to, and how they make the world a better place.

Throughout the program you will learn how to interview key users and stakeholders, rapidly prototype your idea, and work better together as a team. Of course, you will also learn more about biomimicry and sustainability! The lessons you learn here will propel your growth as a professional, whether or not you decide to launch a company.

Expectations, Resources, and What's Ahead

Watch the video, and read the content below to learn about what to expect in the Launchpad, and what resources you will have access to over the next 11 weeks. We can't wait to take this journey with you!

Week 1 - Launchpad Introduction.mov

COVID-19 UPDATE

Most of the Launchpad content was created before the coronavirus pandemic forever changed the world. While the materials, lessons, and assignments are still relevant, please make sure that you practice safe social distancing and follow your local health guidelines.

The pandemic has shown us that we need a new paradigm of products, businesses, and services that are lean, resilient, and supportive of local ecosystems, not extractive. As you navigate the Launchpad, please consider how your work - whether as a student, designer, or entrepreneur - will help contribute to making a world that is safer for all species.

Pro Tip: Short on time? Click on the gear and change the playback speed to speed up the video.

Everything you know is wrong

Your goal in the Launchpad is to start finding answers to some of the big questions that you will be facing as a you work to bring your biomimicry idea to life. The best way to get answers to these questions is to talk to people - specifically people you identify as your potential customers. Don't worry, over the course of the program we will help you figure out who these people are and what questions to ask them. But it is important that every week, starting now, you talk to 5 people that you identify as potential customers, asking them questions about your startup. By doing this you will quickly find out that what you think you know is wrong... which means you are on the right track!

In addition to completing close to 50 customer discovery interviews, by the end of the Launchpad you will complete the following. These assignments are designed to help you further develop your idea, and will take you to the point where you decide if you want to launch a new startup!

Executive Summary - One page summary about your team and innovation. Template will be provided.
Elevator Pitch - 1-minute, recorded pitch about your team and innovation. This will be showcased virtually to the biomimicry network!
Pitch Deck - Short presentation deck that highlights your customers, unique value, and biomimicry solution.

How business can change the world.

At the Biomimicry Institute we believe that businesses and social entrepreneurs can, and should, make the world a better place. By using the power of business to scale innovative, sustainable technologies, social entrepreneurs are able to efficiently and effectively tackle some of the major challenges we are facing today.

The good news is that this is the direction the world is heading. Companies big and small are recognizing how their operations can positively or negatively impact people and the environment. A new generation is entering the workforce and demanding their companies to move away from the extractive practices they used in the past.

GET INSPIRED

Watch the video about past Launchpad team Nucleário to see what a social enterprise looks like in action, and watch Ray Anderson's TED Talk about the business logic of sustainability. The Biomimicry Launchpad is funded by the Ray C. Anderson Foundation with the goal of sparking more businesses that integrate sustainability as part of their core business practices. You are part of a movement that is redefining the positive impact businesses can have on our planet!

Essential Elements of Biomimicry: From Sustainable to Regenerative Business

Any innovation can copy nature. As nature-inspired designers and potential entrepreneurs, we encourage you to mimic the deeper principles found in nature, to facilitate both sustainability and innovation. As changemakers, you can use biomimicry thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset to effect real systemic change.

The practice of biomimicry consists of three interconnected essential elements—emulate, ethos and reconnect.

Emulate
- Emulate is the most familiar element, representing the design and innovation aspect of biomimicry. This element refers to the forms, functions, systems, interactions and processes found in nature that have been “mimicked” in a given product or technology.
Ethos
- The ethos element refers to the deeper underlying ethics of biomimicry. Asking questions such as: “What are the sustainability goals for your company and product?” and “How is your innovation more sustainable than alternatives?” helps reveal a startup’s ethos. This element also asks how compatible an innovation or business is with all surrounding living systems. Does it promote ecological diversity? Is it safe? Are more things healthy and alive because of it? It’s this explicit commitment to creating designs that are well-adapted to our ecosystems that sets biomimicry apart.
Reconnect
- Finally, the reconnect element reminds us that we are an integral part of nature. This aspect of biomimicry encourages inventors and entrepreneurs to think about how their personal connection to nature informs their work. It also asks “How could your design, directly or indirectly, help other people connect more fully to nature?”

Reconnect

We encourage you to take a little time each week to explore nature wherever you are, whether it's a city park, a hiking trail, a botanical garden or houseplants in your kitchen! We'll share one activity or reminder per week, in hopes that this inspires you to reflect, and remember that you, your designs, and your startup can help others connect more fully to nature, and to other humans. In Week 1, go to a 'nature spot' and stay for at least five minutes, simply observing nature. Try to notice at least one detail (using any of your senses!) that you haven't noticed before.

In the Launchpad we will frequently talk about the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These 17 goals are great examples of societal challenges, but they are not solvable by any one solution. Instead, it takes many different stakeholders, including businesses, governments, and NGOs to make the breakthroughs the world needs to see. Together, we will work on discovering the specific problem and people you are solving for, and the value you provide to them and to the world.

Assignments

1-on-1 coaching call
Talk to 5 potential customers (remember to take notes about your conversations!)
Watch the Week 1 Videos and come prepared to discuss your thoughts & questions
Create a 5 slide presentation about your project, and upload the file to your Drive folder. Include the following information, to the best of your ability:
- - Problem you are addressing
  - Information about your customer and/or user
  - Your solution & biomimicry
  - What you have worked on to date
  - Your biggest challenges

Final Deliverables: Due at the end of the Launchpad

DRAFT VERSIONS of each of the following 3 deliverables are due on November 19, 2021.

FINAL DELIVERABLES are due on December 8, 2021.

Executive Summary - One page summary about your team and innovation. Template will be provided.
Elevator Pitch - 1-minute, recorded pitch about your team and innovation. This will be showcased virtually to the biomimicry network!
Pitch Deck - Short presentation deck that highlights your customers, unique value, and biomimicry solution.

Page updated

Report abuse