For more than 25 years, Lisa has worked alongside children, young people, families, and the organisations making decisions that affect their lives. But throughout her career, she kept seeing the same gap: children were often being talked about, without being given the opportunity to speak for themselves.
This experience became the foundation for Voice of the Child, a venture helping researchers, educators and organisations capture children’s views and turn them into insights that can inform funding, policy and research. After joining La Trobe LaunchPad with no previous business or entrepreneurial experience, Lisa Haythorpe took the leap from long-time advocate to founder.
We asked Lisa about her journey, what inspired Voice of the Child, and what she’s learned along the way.
An Introduction to Lisa
Tell us a little about yourself
I live off-grid on Dja Dja Wurrung land. For more than 25 years I've worked with children and young people, their families, and the organisations making decisions on their behalf. I advocate for diversity in all its forms and work to make sure people are heard and seen. I'm creative and an optimist – I look for the best in people and want everyone to have the chance to make good choices and access good outcomes.
Elevating Children’s Voices
What is Voice of a Child?
It’s about giving children and young people the opportunity to have their views heard – and turning that voice into funding, policy and research outcomes.
A researcher sits across from an eight-year-old in a hospital program built to help her. The child says nothing. There's no framework, no tool built for it – so the researcher does what everyone does. Asks the parent instead. Programs get evaluated, funding gets allocated, decisions get made – all without the child's voice in the room.
I've spent 25+ years watching that gap play out, where one wrong question doesn't just fail a child, it can retraumatise them or unravel a legal case. I built Voice of the Child because I got tired of watching children talked about instead of talked with.
I help researchers, educators and organisations capture children’s views through age-appropriate tools, trauma-informed practice, turning their insights into findings they can use.
The essence of an idea
What inspired you to start Voice of the Child?
From a young age I found myself in the position of understanding and advocating for a family member who couldn't easily advocate for herself – and I've carried that instinct through every role since. Each role came down to the same thing – seeing children other people had stopped trying to reach and building the trust to advocate for them.
When I moved into facilitation with MCRI, researchers were amazed at how naturally I could capture a child's voice. That's when I realised the real problem: most researchers and organisations simply don't know how to do it. Voice of the Child exists to close that gap.
Adapting to create change
What was the biggest change you made to your business during LaunchPad?
Starting it. LaunchPad gave me the confidence, tools and connections to take the leap – including opening a proper business account and moving my finances out of my personal one.
What inspired you to apply to LaunchPad?
I spent 25 years in the public sector across education and welfare, constantly being told my skill set was unique and essential, and encouraged to build something of my own around it. I had no business or entrepreneurial background, so I applied to LaunchPad simply to learn those skills – with fairly limited expectations of where it would take me.
Future first
What's next for Voice of the Child?
I'm still very much in start-up phase, focused on branding, networking and putting myself out there. Right now, that means understanding the pain points organisations face so I can build and market the right tools and products – and being willing to pivot as I learn more about what's needed.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about joining LaunchPad?
Be brave and go in as an open participant – expect to feel uncomfortable, accountable, and be ready to pivot. Founding something alone can be lonely, and self-doubt creeps in easily. LaunchPad pushes you to step into mentorship, take on new knowledge and actually use it, even when it's different to what you'd planned. It's always worth it.
Finding a voice
What are the 3 biggest misconceptions about being a founder?
- That you need money to start – you don't need money to have an idea.
- That calling yourself a founder means you've already succeeded – it doesn't.
- That founders have it figured out. Really, founders are entrepreneurs who keep growing through mistakes and challenges, and who often change direction along the way.
What's your go-to way to switch off after a busy day as a founder?
A walk with my dog through the bush – it clears my head and gets me present again. If something's still on my mind, I'll jot it down for the next day, but I try hard not to keep working once I'm home. I also journal, which has become a genuine tool for reflecting on what has and hasn't worked, and for planning what's next.
Lisa’s journey is a reminder that you don’t need to have it all figured out to start – you just need to be willing to take the first step, learn and adapt along the way.
Ready to take your own idea further? Join the waitlist for the next La Trobe LaunchPad intake and be the first to hear when applications open.
