As featured in Qantas Magazine: Why I built SpaceDraft
July 9, 2026
Introduction
SpaceDraft founder Lucy Cooke shares why she built a new category of software — and how a Hollywood film set sparked the idea. As featured in the July issue of Travel Insider, Qantas Magazine.
There's always a gap between what one person means and what another understands. That gap has fascinated me my entire career — and it's what SpaceDraft was built to close.
When Qantas Magazine asked me to explain what SpaceDraft is, I described it simply: a new category of software that helps organisations communicate complex, time-critical operations in a way that people can actually understand. What once took 100 pages to explain can now be experienced visually in under a minute.
The idea was born on a film set
The seed was planted when I was working in production on Hollywood film sets. We used toy cars and Barbie dolls on tables to choreograph stunts and logistics — because if someone wasn't in the room to see the 'play', they didn't know the plan. I looked everywhere for a tool that could do this digitally. It didn't exist. So I built it.
Growing on a shoestring
I'm a non-technical founder. What I am is a really good cook. I offered to make three meals a day, Monday to Friday, for a year, to pay two brilliant UWA software engineers to build my prototype. I promised to backpay their salary the moment I raised money. They're still with me today.
Our first paying customer was Curtin University in 2020. Today we're seeing 30 per cent month-on-month revenue growth, with clients including Iluka Resources, Greenroom Robotics, the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and the Cancer Council.
What's next
We're building what I call an army of space-time agents — AI personas like a writer and a sound composer who collaborate to transform compliance-heavy documentation into dynamic visual learning experiences. The goal is to handle enterprise demand at scale, turning tens of thousands of work instructions into SpaceDrafts. Visual clarity and creativity, serving everyone from field operators to emergency responders.
The mission hasn't changed since day one: people don't just need instructions. They need a visual explanation of the how and the why.
SpaceDraft was featured in the July 2026 edition of Qantas Travel Insider Magazine.
