“As a female, single mother, solo startup entrepreneur, the odds are against you on so many levels,” Helen Baker says. But Helen isn’t one to let the odds stop her.

Determined to provide opportunities for young people to thrive, Helen founded Xolvit, a crowdsourcing app for student innovation. Xolvit helps socially responsible companies to solve social problems – and connect with their future workforce.

Working in partnership with Swinburne Innovation Studio (SIS), Helen was able to secure critical financial support to build the Xolvit app, as well as engage 60 Swinburne students to develop a go-to market strategy. 

Xolvit’s partnership with SIS

Financial support

Funding from SIS covered Xolvit's proof of concept development, as well as tech costs.

Student interns

A team of 60 Work Integrated Learning students created Xolvit’s go-to-market strategy.

Talent acquisition

Xolvit hired a Swinburne student intern to join their team full-time.

Support through funding

“It’s not easy in a startup,” Helen says. Which is why funding can make all the difference between having an idea and bringing it into reality.  

Xolvit was always an ambitious project: an app where companies could post innovation challenges to students – all aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals – and students could respond with video pitches of their solutions. 

When Helen first sought quotes to build the app, the prices were unaffordable. So, she learned to code and program Xolvit herself.  

Thanks to her partnership with Swinburne Innovation Studio, Helen was able to take Xolvit to another level. She received funding to support Xolvit’s proof of concept and cover critical tech costs. Now, the app is launched and integrated into subjects across multiple universities. 

The power of students

Xolvit – an app dedicated to championing student innovation – has provided students with the chance to contribute to the platform’s development.

Through her partnership with Swinburne Innovation Studio, Helen was able to work with a team of 60 Swinburne Work Integrated Learning (WIL) students. WIL is a powerful, hands-on opportunity for Swinburne students to gain experience in their chosen industry.

For Xolvit, the WIL student team delivered a major project: the app’s go-to-market strategy, aka a plan to launch with impact.

Not only did the students work on an integral aspect of Xolvit’s business, they also influenced talent acquisition. One of the students from the team is now a full-time Xolvit team member.

Ready to innovate?

If you have any questions, need more information, or want to know how we can turn your big idea into a real thing, email us at innovationstudio@swinburne.edu.au

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