During his time working on a major program of transformation for the wellbeing experts at New Horizons, Ryan spearheaded Project Wonder, an initiative that would become one of his greatest professional achievements, and see him named a Social Entrepreneur of the Year nominee.
Facing strong headwinds due to widespread industry reform and the subsequent threat of new entrants to the market, New Horizons tasked Ryan with investigating new and alternative revenue streams to secure the organisation’s financial independence, whilst increasing its capacity and competency to adapt, innovate and transform its business and service delivery models.
Following an in-depth review of the sector, the changing market forces, the evolving political landscape, the needs and aspirations of people with disability, and the emerging role of technology in health care, Ryan pitched the idea of creating a ‘centre of gravity’ for social innovation to the Board of New Horizons.
The concept centred on an establishing an innovation lab in Sydney, designing an incubator and accelerator program and recruiting start-ups and scale-ups seeking investment and support to scale their businesses. This strategy offered New Horizons an opportunity to invest in and collaborate with the very businesses that one day might otherwise have been competitors, whilst positioning the organisation as a thought-leader, innovator and influencer.
Ryan’s pitch was successful in securing an initial investment of $1.75M for a pilot in 2018-2019. The Lab was launched by then-Minister for Innovation, Matt Kean, who praised the initiative as “a major step in the right direction, an outstanding initiative that goes right to the heart of so many of the issues and problems facing all Australians.”
During the twelve-month pilot, Unboxd incubated nine social-impact start-ups and scale-ups. Alumni included Homecare Heroes, Soldier.ly, Secure Nest, Peepsride, Claimright, Swaarm and Conpago.
Unboxd was developed for, and is the property of, New Horizons.
