YLab Global

Name

YLab Global

Legal name

YLab Enterprise Ltd

Website

https://ylab.global

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Co-Design Consulting Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Mentoring, Coaching, Alumni Networking & Peer Support Platforms (EDAFAMAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Global HR, Mobility & Cross-Cultural People Ops Training (EDABAIAL)

Keywords

• Youth co-design consulting
• Service design strategy
• Youth engagement services
• Social enterprise consulting
• Human-centered design facilitation

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting and Co-design Services: YLab generates revenue through fee-for-service consulting engagements where government agencies, not-for-profits, and other organizations contract YLab to lead co-design projects with young people. Projects are typically scoped engagements with defined deliverables.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

YLab Global is a social enterprise that provides co-design, strategy, and youth engagement consulting services. It employs young people as paid Associates to work alongside government agencies, not-for-profits, and educational institutions in designing services, strategies, campaigns, and policies. Deliverables include facilitated workshops, research and insights, prototype development, and capability-building training for client staff.

Product overview

YLab Global is a social enterprise offering a portfolio of co-design and youth engagement consulting services, not a traditional software product company. The core offering consists of six integrated service areas: Youth Co-Design Services, Strategy & Service Design, Youth-Led Creative Services, Workshop & Event Facilitation, Research & Insights, and Learning Design. These services are delivered through various programs and initiatives including Deadly Democracy, Co-designing a Plan for Victoria, VicHealth Co-Design Training, COVID-19 Vaccination Toolkit, Good News Melton, and the Future of Work Insights Paper. YLab employs young people as Associates in meaningful, paid positions to lead design work across health, employment, education, First Nations, and government sectors. The company does not offer a software platform but rather provides human-centered consulting and facilitation services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Youth Co-Design Services
• Strategy & Service Design
• Youth-Led Creative Services
• Workshop & Event Facilitation
• Research & Insights
• Learning Design
• COVID-19 Vaccination Toolkit

Quantifiable outcome

• 50 cents of every dollar goes directly to employing and training young people
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Foundation for Young Australians (FYA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 March 2024FYA created YLab in 2016 and provided incubation and support as parent organization. YLab spun out to become independent in 2024 while remaining a wholly-owned subsidiary. FYA continues as a partner with new collaboration opportunities emerging.
• Australian Electoral Commission (AEC)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to create Deadly Democracy initiative empowering First Nations young leaders across Australia. YLab provided co-design methodology while AEC provided funding and civic education objectives. Local Indigenous organizations co-delivered the program.
• Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) VictoriaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple projects including Plan for Victoria (co-designing 30-year state planning with young people) and Good News Melton (youth-led digital storytelling platform). DTP funded YLab to employ and train young people as Youth Ambassadors.
• VicHealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFive tailored workshops delivered November 2023 to February 2024 building VicHealth staff capability in co-design practices with young people. Training equipped staff with tools and confidence for youth engagement.
• State Library VictoriacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCapability building workshop for public library staff on co-design, persona mapping and community engagement. YLab Associate cohort provided coaching support during initial phases of library co-design engagements.
• OrygencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner12-month co-design project addressing youth mental health access in Melbourne's North West. 15 diverse young people with lived experience of mental ill health employed as Associates. Three prototypes developed including Passport to me, Community Friendship Bench and Innovation in Peer Support Practices.
• Wyndham Tech SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Australian Computer Society to co-design and facilitate Data For Good Hackathon. Student hackathon developed to promote STEM integration and social cohesion following COVID-19 lockdowns.
• Plan InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth Futures Online Project connecting young women from Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia. YLab delivered co-design workshops using language translation tools to facilitate cross-border engagement.
• Learning Creates AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with PwC to empower young people to shape their own learning experiences. 19 young people aged 15-21 recruited and trained as Community Associates to co-design solutions and test prototypes in schools across Australia.
• Brimbank City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Brimpact creating Youth Employment Taskforce to combat youth unemployment. 77 young people co-designed inclusive employment practices. Resulted in 24 job outcomes and eight business prototypes.
• Shark Island ProductionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLife After The Oasis documentary sequel tackling youth homelessness and unemployment. YLab employed 10 young people with lived experience to co-design and deliver school initiatives.
• RMIT UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Today Design to create You, Me & Money tool helping young people navigate financial relationships. YLab facilitated workshops with young people from different backgrounds to develop the solution.
• Wollotuka Institute, University of NewcastlecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmbedding YLab practice within Wollotuka to center First Nations students' lived experience. 342 hours of paid employment for Wollotuka young people. 12 prototypes developed responding to career aspiration challenges.
• Our WatchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreating safer, more respectful workplaces for young people through research and interviews with diverse young people aged 15-24. Developed actionable recommendations on physical/psychological safety, gender equality and respect.
• Dolly's DreamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-designing solutions for mental ill-health and suicide in Katherine communities. Partnership with Y Northern Territory to develop three prototype initiatives with potential to scale to other rural communities.
• Women VictoriacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIdeally grants and mentoring program supporting young Victorians to promote gender equality. YLab co-designed and delivered capacity building workshops plus disbursed $8,000 grants to young participants.
• NRL Cowboys HouseminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLocal Indigenous organization in Townsville hosting Deadly Democracy workshops and offering wrap-around support for First Nations young participants.
• GarnduwaminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLocal Indigenous organization hosting Deadly Democracy workshops and providing community connections for First Nations engagement in Broome.
• Umeewarra Radio 89.1 FMminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLocal Indigenous media organization in Port Augusta hosting workshops and supporting Deadly Democracy delivery.
• Blak Wattle Coaching and ConsultancyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCaroline Kell's consultancy partnered with YLab to develop the next evolution of YLab's First Nations Practice through decolonized approaches over 12 months.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ThinkPlace: Australian design and innovation consultancy that delivers human-centered design, co-design and strategy services to government, nonprofit and corporate clients. Directly comparable to YLab in offering co-design methodology and serving institutional buyers across policy and service-design challenges.
• The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI): Australian social innovation organisation partnering with government, philanthropy and communities to design and test new approaches to social challenges. Comparable to YLab in its mission-driven systems-change consulting and human-centered design practice.
• Meld Studios: Australian co-design and service-design consultancy working with government, universities and community organisations on inclusive design and systems change. Comparable to YLab in its co-design methodology, public-sector client base and focus on lived-experience engagement.
• Paper Giant: Australian design and innovation consultancy delivering co-design, strategy and experience design for government, nonprofit and commercial clients. Comparable to YLab in offering co-design-led consulting, and notably connected through shared board leadership (Ernez Dhondy is GM at Paper Giant and on YLab's board).
• Portable: Australian strategy and design consultancy that partners with public, nonprofit and corporate clients on service design, transformation and research. Comparable to YLab in delivering co-design, research and capability-building services to government and institutional clients.

Emerging players

• Today Design: Australian design studio that partnered with YLab and RMIT to co-design the You, Me & Money financial-literacy tool. Comparable as a niche design consultancy working on co-design projects with social-impact briefs.

Broad incumbents

• Foundation for Young Australians: YLab's parent nonprofit, focused on youth employment, education and civic participation across Australia. Comparable in mission and youth-engagement focus, and remains a key partner as YLab transitions to independence.
• Centre for Public Impact: International nonprofit working with governments to improve public services through co-design and capability building. Comparable to YLab in its government-focused co-design consulting and emphasis on authentic citizen engagement.
• The Y (YMCA Victoria): Large Australian youth and community organisation delivering programs across recreation, education, health and employment. Comparable to YLab in its youth-focused mission and connected through shared board leadership (Kevin Kapeke is a board director at The Y Victoria).
• Centre for Multicultural Youth: Established Australian organisation supporting multicultural young people through research, policy and youth-led programs. Comparable to YLab in its focus on youth engagement and culturally diverse communities, and connected through shared board leadership (Ikram Mahamed, Kevin Kapeke and Shailja Sharma are linked to CMY).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ylabglobal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about YLab Global