In this inspiring conversation, Dr. Pandya shared her journey — from being a 12-year-old girl dreaming of space to becoming a leader in commercial space research. She talked about the power of representation, the “immigrant hard”work ethic, and how Taekwondo built her resilience.

She also reminded us that innovation in space isn’t always about high tech — it’s about resourceful thinking, and encouraged young people to seize the limitless opportunities technology now makes possible. 🌍✨

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did!

This episode of Changing the Game is sponsore by Visagio Australia and The Bakery

Let's uncover the authentic Carlos - from his beginnings in Peru to the driving forces behind his curiosity and ambition.

Join us as we explore his fascinating journey, hosted by Wilson Casado, FAIM – it's a conversation you won't want to miss!

With a unique background that spans both the corporate, not-for-profit and education sectors, Luke brings a different lens to school leadership, education and K-12 schools and hopes to impact education more broadly at a national level.

Luke is an innovative and thoughtful leader who is most at home influencing from the side with an uncanny ability to ask the right question at the right time.

​Traveler - 40 Countries and counting... Family + Caravaning + Runner + Basketball + Coffee + Entrepreneur + Shoes + Adelaide Crows

Having founded and operated startups, Chandra has a deep understanding of the needs of early and growth stage startup business and projects. His work on innovation projects with government, industry and tertiary education over the past decade makes him acutely aware of the challenges and the opportunities in driving innovation in large organisations and jurisdictions.

Chandra has previously led the Australian Energy Foundation’s social enterprise startup, Positive Charge, which delivered cost-effective community sustainability services to over 20 local governments in the East Coast of Australia – reducing emissions and empowering households and businesses to manage rising energy costs. 

Prior to joining Curtin, Chandra was the General Manager of Spacecubed, where he led business development and relationship management with key stakeholders including industry, government and academia. Over the six years in the role, he led the development and delivery of key startup and technology learning programs like Plus Eight and She Codes, delivered in partnership with industry.

Chandra also supports The Underground Collaborative, IDEA Academy, Hola Health and All Saints College in Board and Advisory capacities.

Raby Gueye is the founder and CEO of Teach For Senegal. Originally from Podor, Senegal. At the age of 8, Raby moved to the United States, and since then, she has maintained a strong commitment to social justice issues. At Arizona State University, Raby assisted with research on gender violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her role as an English teacher in underserved communities in India allowed her to collaborate with a diverse group of NGOs to help increase the literacy rate. In 2015, she was recruited by Teach For America to join a national corps of recent college graduates and professionals who commit to teaching in urban and rural public schools. As a teacher, Raby prioritized building strong relationships with her students and families to create an environment where all families feel welcomed and included. 

A 2019 Echoing Green Fellow, Raby has a bachelor’s in Global Studies and a master’s degree in Elementary Education from Arizona State University. Raby was also honored to be featured in Forbes 30 Under 30. She was also honored at the 2022 World Youth Forum by the president of Eygpt for her work at Teach For Senegal. 

Mihailo Bozic's path to becoming an entrepreneur was shaped by his unique interests and innate curiosity. While his peers indulged in gaming-related YouTube videos, Mihailo found himself drawn to TED Talks and other intellectually stimulating content. This divergence set him apart, but rather than feeling excluded, it acted as a natural filter that helped him form strong connections with like-minded friends from a young age. As he grew older, his entrepreneurial spirit started to take shape.

One of Mihailo's early ventures into entrepreneurship came when he was in year 10, making memes about Star Wars. Initially met with skepticism from his parents, they soon realized it was a legitimate source of income when the first payment arrived. Despite having success with his meme page, Mihailo's strict Serbian family expected him to pursue higher education. He chose Finance and Economics as his field of study at the University of Western Australia (UWA). During his time at UWA, he actively participated in various clubs and societies. However, he encountered a significant challenge - reaching out to first-year students who lacked access to Facebook, hindering their participation in events. Recognizing this problem, Mihailo saw an opportunity to create a solution.

Envited: The Birth and Launch of the Startup

In his final semester at university, Mihailo teamed up with Jordan, the co-founder of Envited, to address the problem he had identified. They began working together to create a platform that would enable better communication and engagement for all students, including those without access to mainstream social media platforms. Despite the challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mihailo saw potential in launching Envited, particularly in Perth, where the pandemic's impact was relatively mild. He believed that positioning Envited as the go-to choice for events once life returned to normal after lockdowns would give them an advantage.

In March 2021, Envited was launched, and the team's efforts started to gain recognition. Within a few months, they won a startup competition in May of the same year, marking a turning point for Mihailo and his team. This victory encouraged them to take their venture more seriously and provided validation for their idea. Leveraging their network and connections, they secured spaces at Spacecubed and WeWork to establish their operations. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing for Mihailo and his team. They faced the challenge of securing funding to further grow their startup.

Challenges and Success in Building Envited

Mihailo had initially believed that securing funding would be relatively easy, assuming that investors would eagerly support their innovative idea. However, he quickly learned that dealing with rejection was an inevitable part of the entrepreneurial journey. Out of the 60 investors he contacted, only one showed genuine interest in investing. This experience taught him the importance of building sustainable relationships over time. To manage the process effectively, Mihailo maintained a detailed spreadsheet to track interactions and reasons for disinterest, allowing them to refine their pitch and approach.

Persistence paid off for Mihailo and his team as they finally secured their first investment from Galileo Ventures after six months of building a strong relationship and showcasing their progress. Mihailo's youth proved to be an advantage in the eyes of investors, as they recognized the potential of early-stage startups led by young founders. According to him, three crucial characteristics for a CEO are the ability to recruit top talent, retain morale within the team, and manage finances effectively. These qualities were essential as Envited continued to grow and evolve.

Lessons and Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Mihailo's entrepreneurial journey taught him invaluable lessons...]]>Mihailo Bozic's Entrepreneurial Journey

Mihailo Bozic's path to becoming an entrepreneur was shaped by his unique interests and innate curiosity. While his peers indulged in gaming-related YouTube videos, Mihailo found himself drawn to TED Talks and other intellectually stimulating content. This divergence set him apart, but rather than feeling excluded, it acted as a natural filter that helped him form strong connections with like-minded friends from a young age. As he grew older, his entrepreneurial spirit started to take shape.

One of Mihailo's early ventures into entrepreneurship came when he was in year 10, making memes about Star Wars. Initially met with skepticism from his parents, they soon realized it was a legitimate source of income when the first payment arrived. Despite having success with his meme page, Mihailo's strict Serbian family expected him to pursue higher education. He chose Finance and Economics as his field of study at the University of Western Australia (UWA). During his time at UWA, he actively participated in various clubs and societies. However, he encountered a significant challenge - reaching out to first-year students who lacked access to Facebook, hindering their participation in events. Recognizing this problem, Mihailo saw an opportunity to create a solution.

Envited: The Birth and Launch of the Startup

In his final semester at university, Mihailo teamed up with Jordan, the co-founder of Envited, to address the problem he had identified. They began working together to create a platform that would enable better communication and engagement for all students, including those without access to mainstream social media platforms. Despite the challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mihailo saw potential in launching Envited, particularly in Perth, where the pandemic's impact was relatively mild. He believed that positioning Envited as the go-to choice for events once life returned to normal after lockdowns would give them an advantage.

In March 2021, Envited was launched, and the team's efforts started to gain recognition. Within a few months, they won a startup competition in May of the same year, marking a turning point for Mihailo and his team. This victory encouraged them to take their venture more seriously and provided validation for their idea. Leveraging their network and connections, they secured spaces at Spacecubed and WeWork to establish their operations. However, it wasn't all smooth sailing for Mihailo and his team. They faced the challenge of securing funding to further grow their startup.

Challenges and Success in Building Envited

Mihailo had initially believed that securing funding would be relatively easy, assuming that investors would eagerly support their innovative idea. However, he quickly learned that dealing with rejection was an inevitable part of the entrepreneurial journey. Out of the 60 investors he contacted, only one showed genuine interest in investing. This experience taught him the importance of building sustainable relationships over time. To manage the process effectively, Mihailo maintained a detailed spreadsheet to track interactions and reasons for disinterest, allowing them to refine their pitch and approach.

Persistence paid off for Mihailo and his team as they finally secured their first investment from Galileo Ventures after six months of building a strong relationship and showcasing their progress. Mihailo's youth proved to be an advantage in the eyes of investors, as they recognized the potential of early-stage startups led by young founders. According to him, three crucial characteristics for a CEO are the ability to recruit top talent, retain morale within the team, and manage finances effectively. These qualities were essential as Envited continued to grow and evolve.

Lessons and Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Mihailo's entrepreneurial journey taught him invaluable lessons that he shares with aspiring entrepreneurs. He emphasizes the importance of self-awareness in the fast-paced and challenging startup world. It can be stressful and demanding, and not everyone may be suited for the roller-coaster ride of entrepreneurship. However, Mihailo believes that resilience is a fundamental requirement for success in the startup world. He advises entrepreneurs to exhaust all options and resources before giving up, as it is better to let a startup die with the knowledge that you gave it your all.

For students contemplating entrepreneurship, Mihailo's advice is simple: "Just do it." He believes that there is no better time than the present, particularly when one has fewer familial responsibilities and financial obligations. Starting small and creating the simplest version of a product or service is key, and acquiring that first customer serves as a significant milestone. From there, the focus should be on scaling up step by step, acquiring more customers, and refining the offering based on user feedback and needs. Mihailo's journey with Envited demonstrates that perseverance, innovation, and determination can lead to success in the world of startups, even in the face of adversity.

Journey of Many Passions

Josh's early years were marked by a diverse range of interests. Initially studying musical theater and earning a Wappa certification in high school, he realized that this path wasn't for him. He then pursued business law and management studies at UWA while concurrently serving in the army reserve.

While on a ship, Josh had an epiphany that he needed to start his own business. He borrowed $50,000 and ventured into the food van industry. Unfortunately, the business faltered after just one hour of operation. Undeterred, he secured a job and later went on to successfully fund another company, which was eventually sold in 2020.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

Reflecting on his early life, Josh contemplates the origins of his entrepreneurial spirit. He acknowledges that starting a business is akin to building a house – filled with challenges, but ultimately rewarding. Although some aspects can be tedious, he thrives on the constant learning and adaptability required in entrepreneurship.

During his time with EO, Josh realised the value of connecting with fellow founders who face similar struggles. He learned the importance of not getting too emotionally attached to his business. These lessons proved vital when he sold his previous company, ultimately confirming it as a wise decision.

He also had an exciting participation in the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA). Despite being the only competitor in the initial phases, he made it to the international finals without even pitching his idea. This experience provided him with valuable insights and highlighted the need to foster entrepreneurial opportunities for Australian students.

Seizing an Opportunity

While still in the army reserve, Van Ross watched a drone show on Reddit during an exercise and realized its potential in Australia. He conducted extensive research, identified the logistics and costs involved, and after six months he had everything he needed to fund Drone Sky Shows. He believes that taking action is what differentiates those with great ideas from successful entrepreneurs.

Josh understands that innovation is not solely about creating new products but also about recognizing opportunities and bringing existing products to new markets. His venture into the drone industry exemplifies this approach, showcasing how he saw untapped potential and capitalized on it.

He firmly believes that the drone industry is on a rapid growth trajectory. Drones are already making an impact across various sectors, such as defense, medical supply delivery, mapping, and surveys. As the industry expands, competition increases, costs decrease, and ancillary support services like structural and legislation companies become vital.

Conclusion 

Josh Van Ross's journey to success in the drone industry showcases the power of resilience, adaptability, and seizing opportunities. From his failed food van venture to his flourishing drone show company, he exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit and the willingness to learn from both successes and failures. With his unwavering determination and passion for innovation, Josh continues to make strides in the rapidly evolving drone industry.

And if you enjoyed Josh’s talk and are excited to see more game changers, feel free to check out the Changing the Game podcast, either on YouTube or on your preferred platform.

She then went on to work in consulting and banking in Australia, which led her to develop a real interest in the idea of investing, particularly in private equity. Cath spent a significant part of her career studying and working outside of Australia, in locations such as London, New York, Latin America, France, and Singapore.

Cath's Approach to Investing

Cath is driven by her desire to invest in companies making a positive impact on society. As a GP at Antler, Cath is able to bring all of her experiences and passions to bear. She is part of a global, early-stage firm with 25 locations, focused on backing great founders building the deployment companies of tomorrow. Cath and Antler are seeking to make exceptional returns for their investors by investing across a diverse portfolio of opportunities that they can diligently evaluate over a period of months.

A diverse background in law, commerce, and finance, coupled with her interests in technology, innovation, and investing, presented her with many choices in her career. However, she believes that her curiosity and desire to learn and experience new things have led her to where she is today. Cath has always personally placed a lot of value on life experiences from different cultures, places, and people, which has impacted her career choices.

Curious and passionate 

Motivated by a desire for exploration and personal growth, Cath's journey has been influenced by various factors including her travels, exposure to the dot-com boom, and a drive to make a positive impact through investing. As a successful GP at Antler, she is able to combine these elements to help shape the future of the venture capital industry.

Her experiences have taught her the value of being adaptable and seizing opportunities, such as taking a position in a sovereign wealth fund focused on clean tech investing in Abu Dhabi. A consistent theme in her career has been a passion for investing in companies that have a positive impact on society.

Cath's success in the venture capital industry highlights the importance of pursuing one's passions and seeking out opportunities that align with personal values. She believes that the key to success in venture capital lies in identifying great founders who are building the deployment companies of the future. To this end, Cath focuses on early-stage investments in a diverse portfolio of opportunities that can be carefully evaluated over a period of months.

Throughout her career, Cath's interests have been wide-ranging, and she has faced the challenge of choosing between various opportunities. She studied commerce and law at university but was also considering a cadetship with the Reserve Bank or switching to Medicine. She decided to spend a year living in London after university and eventually found a job with a startup in the finance industry. She was one of the first ten hires and worked on various tasks, including marketing and strategy.

Cath's interest in different cultures and places has been a driving force throughout her career. She has lived and worked in various locations, such as New York, Spain, Latin America, and Abu Dhabi. Her fluency in Spanish also allowed her to explore the Latin American market during a time of economic growth...]]>Cath Rogers is a global leader in the venture capital industry, currently serving as a GP at Antler, a global early-stage venture capital firm that builds and invests in the defining technology companies of tomorrow. With a diverse background in law, commerce, finance, and private equity, Cath's journey to her current role has been one of passion and curiosity. Her interest in technology and innovation began early on in her career when she worked as one of the first hires for a b2b platform for construction in Europe during the dot-com boom. 

She then went on to work in consulting and banking in Australia, which led her to develop a real interest in the idea of investing, particularly in private equity. Cath spent a significant part of her career studying and working outside of Australia, in locations such as London, New York, Latin America, France, and Singapore.

Cath's Approach to Investing

Cath is driven by her desire to invest in companies making a positive impact on society. As a GP at Antler, Cath is able to bring all of her experiences and passions to bear. She is part of a global, early-stage firm with 25 locations, focused on backing great founders building the deployment companies of tomorrow. Cath and Antler are seeking to make exceptional returns for their investors by investing across a diverse portfolio of opportunities that they can diligently evaluate over a period of months.

A diverse background in law, commerce, and finance, coupled with her interests in technology, innovation, and investing, presented her with many choices in her career. However, she believes that her curiosity and desire to learn and experience new things have led her to where she is today. Cath has always personally placed a lot of value on life experiences from different cultures, places, and people, which has impacted her career choices.

Curious and passionate 

Motivated by a desire for exploration and personal growth, Cath's journey has been influenced by various factors including her travels, exposure to the dot-com boom, and a drive to make a positive impact through investing. As a successful GP at Antler, she is able to combine these elements to help shape the future of the venture capital industry.

Her experiences have taught her the value of being adaptable and seizing opportunities, such as taking a position in a sovereign wealth fund focused on clean tech investing in Abu Dhabi. A consistent theme in her career has been a passion for investing in companies that have a positive impact on society.

Cath's success in the venture capital industry highlights the importance of pursuing one's passions and seeking out opportunities that align with personal values. She believes that the key to success in venture capital lies in identifying great founders who are building the deployment companies of the future. To this end, Cath focuses on early-stage investments in a diverse portfolio of opportunities that can be carefully evaluated over a period of months.

Throughout her career, Cath's interests have been wide-ranging, and she has faced the challenge of choosing between various opportunities. She studied commerce and law at university but was also considering a cadetship with the Reserve Bank or switching to Medicine. She decided to spend a year living in London after university and eventually found a job with a startup in the finance industry. She was one of the first ten hires and worked on various tasks, including marketing and strategy.

Cath's interest in different cultures and places has been a driving force throughout her career. She has lived and worked in various locations, such as New York, Spain, Latin America, and Abu Dhabi. Her fluency in Spanish also allowed her to explore the Latin American market during a time of economic growth and IPO activity.

Conclusion

Cath Rogers' success story in the venture capital industry highlights the importance of 

following one's passions and seeking out opportunities that align with personal values. Her diverse experiences, including the dot-com boom and her travels around the world, have shaped her journey and taught her the value of being flexible and open to opportunities. 

With a focus on early-stage investments, Cath is helping to shape the future of the venture capital industry. Her story serves as an inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs and investors to find their own passions and strive to make a positive impact in the world.

And if you enjoyed Cath’s talk and are excited to see more game changers, feel free to check out the Changing the Game podcast, either on YouTube or on your preferred platform.

Idea Academy is intended for students aged 15 to 24 who want an alternative to traditional education. It offers both full-time and part-time options, and students can build professional networks, connect with workplaces, and develop skills to prepare for their next phase. Situated in the city, it is accessible to students from all walks of life.

A Challenging Process

The process of creating Idea Academy was challenging for Rebecca and Nicole. They had to pitch their idea persistently and even attended a pitching event just four days before Rebecca's childbirth. Nevertheless, their perseverance and passion for providing an unconventional educational option for young people have paid off. Idea Academy is a testament to their vision and hard work, and it is sure to make a positive impact on the lives of many young students in Australia.

Team Effort

Working with children and teenagers can be difficult, particularly when dealing with a volatile age group. Parents often feel apprehensive about entrusting their children to others, particularly when their children are struggling with school and life. However, working as a team can significantly improve the lives of these young people.

They have found that parents appreciated their ideas because they were part of a team effort. Instead of taking control and dictating what to do, the team collaborated with parents and engaged them in the process. This approach is similar to the primary school model, where parents are encouraged to participate in their child's education.

The team's approach involves enlisting parents as part of the plan and maintaining a broad network of connections to provide comprehensive strategies for the young person. The team meets the child where they're at and works with them, even if they can only make it to school sporadically. They find something for the student to engage with, and even small efforts can make a significant difference.

Parents have praised Idea Academy's approach, noting a positive change in their child's behavior. Students who once refused to attend school now show up every day. They meet them where they're at and work with them to keep them motivated and engaged. The Academy’s comprehensive strategy also includes having a reference point and a vast network of connections. This ensures that they can provide support and resources whenever the young person needs it.

Beyond the academic challenges

Assisting young people not only with their academic struggles but also with life challenges, they provide support and resources to help students cope with mental health, social issues, and family problems. With their comprehensive strategy, they can help young people overcome these challenges and realize their full potential.

In summary, Their approach is an excellent example of how involving parents in the process can make a significant difference in the lives of children and teenagers who are struggling with school and life in general. 

Parents are no longer hesitant to entrust their children to others, but instead, they are involved in the process, making it a team effort. A comprehensive strategy, a broad network of connections, and a focus on helping young people cope with life's challenges are all critical factors that contribute to their success. This approach is a positive step towards helping young people reach their full potential and lead...]]>Rebecca Loftus and Nicole Gazey have collaborated to establish Idea Academy, an unconventional educational choice for young students in Australia. With their diverse backgrounds in science, teaching, and counseling, they offer a unique outlook on education. They are devoted to assisting creative and entrepreneurial students, and their commitment to this is evident in the way they have designed the academy.

Idea Academy is intended for students aged 15 to 24 who want an alternative to traditional education. It offers both full-time and part-time options, and students can build professional networks, connect with workplaces, and develop skills to prepare for their next phase. Situated in the city, it is accessible to students from all walks of life.

A Challenging Process

The process of creating Idea Academy was challenging for Rebecca and Nicole. They had to pitch their idea persistently and even attended a pitching event just four days before Rebecca's childbirth. Nevertheless, their perseverance and passion for providing an unconventional educational option for young people have paid off. Idea Academy is a testament to their vision and hard work, and it is sure to make a positive impact on the lives of many young students in Australia.

Team Effort

Working with children and teenagers can be difficult, particularly when dealing with a volatile age group. Parents often feel apprehensive about entrusting their children to others, particularly when their children are struggling with school and life. However, working as a team can significantly improve the lives of these young people.

They have found that parents appreciated their ideas because they were part of a team effort. Instead of taking control and dictating what to do, the team collaborated with parents and engaged them in the process. This approach is similar to the primary school model, where parents are encouraged to participate in their child's education.

The team's approach involves enlisting parents as part of the plan and maintaining a broad network of connections to provide comprehensive strategies for the young person. The team meets the child where they're at and works with them, even if they can only make it to school sporadically. They find something for the student to engage with, and even small efforts can make a significant difference.

Parents have praised Idea Academy's approach, noting a positive change in their child's behavior. Students who once refused to attend school now show up every day. They meet them where they're at and work with them to keep them motivated and engaged. The Academy’s comprehensive strategy also includes having a reference point and a vast network of connections. This ensures that they can provide support and resources whenever the young person needs it.

Beyond the academic challenges

Assisting young people not only with their academic struggles but also with life challenges, they provide support and resources to help students cope with mental health, social issues, and family problems. With their comprehensive strategy, they can help young people overcome these challenges and realize their full potential.

In summary, Their approach is an excellent example of how involving parents in the process can make a significant difference in the lives of children and teenagers who are struggling with school and life in general. 

Parents are no longer hesitant to entrust their children to others, but instead, they are involved in the process, making it a team effort. A comprehensive strategy, a broad network of connections, and a focus on helping young people cope with life's challenges are all critical factors that contribute to their success. This approach is a positive step towards helping young people reach their full potential and lead fulfilling lives.

Conclusion

Rebecca and Nicole are inspiring examples of problem solvers and innovators in addressing the need for alternative education options for young people in Australia. Their passion and unique perspective, combined with their hard work and determination, have resulted in the creation of a school that offers students opportunities to develop their creative and entrepreneurial minds. 

Idea Academy is a testament to their vision, and it is sure to make a positive impact on the lives of many young students. As we reflect on their story, let us consider the persistent problems in our own lives and how we can approach them with the same spirit of problem-solving and innovation.

And if you enjoyed Nicole and Rebeca’s talk and are excited to see more game changers, feel free to check out the Changing the Game podcast, either on YouTube or on your preferred platform.

These passions include writing, podcasting, consulting for start-ups, blockchain, NGOs, all of which are tied to her love of problem solving and disruptive technological solutions that puts her in ever new and exciting projects.

Charlie’s trajectory was marked by her constant reliving of a moment that is somewhat rare for most entrepreneurs: The moment when you fall in love with a new idea. Which is what makes her such an amazing guest for today’s Changing the Game episode.

The Greatest Pleasure in Life

From a very early age, Charlie was the type of kid who would read lots of books and probe adults for logic gaps with question after question, that’s right, a nerd, but not like most of the nerds you saw at high school or maybe in the mirror.

She was the type of nerd that had a very clear talent, one that teachers didn’t seem to recognise at first.

“ A Writer?” they would say, “With those grades why settle for being a writer?”, and yet, it felt right for Charlie, so much so that she saw writing as the way to convince her sister to let her borrow her clothes through a five page contract.

This was when her mother told her she should be a lawyer, and now, a self-published author and a master of international law, Charlie is living proof that the greatest pleasure in life is to do what others say you cannot do.

A Founder In The Frontiers of Podcasting

Like most things in her life, Charlie’s entrepreneurial and podcasting journey began as the solution to a problem, namely being stuck in traffic with nothing good to listen on the radio.

The usual music radio was playing Rihanna’s “S&M”, not exactly what the children in the backseat ought to be listening, switching radios only proved equally disheartening as the alternative, TalkBack Radio was about a Cricketers wife losing pregnancy weight.

Something had to be done. And Charlie was going to take matters into her own hands.

So, after a quick search, she embarked on a journey that would eventually lead her to having her own online radio and podcast long before those were a thing.

This was not an easy journey by any means. From a technological standpoint, Charlie was too early, and circumstances soon began to poke holes at her business model, meaning she had to make too many compromises, ultimately leading to its end.

And yet, there is something of value to be taken from this “failure”, as she did at the time, which is having the fortitude to roll with the punches of having a business sink and going for something new.

The Wealth of Error

In many ways, having a business that didn’t work out was paradoxically essential for Charlie’s success, as her problem-solving mind was able to soon detect the patterns of those mistakes in other businesses, making her an excellent consultant.

Granted, the corporate world was not her natural habitat, but it did have something she needed at the time: money. And it was not long before she found something to be passionate about as a consultant.

She soon found out that helping founders tell their stories and raise funding was something she could really get behind, so much so that she began to undercharge for the sake of sticking with the founders she believed in.

Quokka Capital

Charlie’s newest project, Quokka Capital is an early-stage venture capital limited partnership created to provide start-ups in Perth with tax incentives in order to help them start off on the right foot and develop.

Quokka operates off a government incentive that gives investors an exemption of tax for investments up to 250 million dollars per investment, a golden opportunity for a state like WA that they want to take...]]>Charlie Caruso’s background is less of a story about finding a passion and working on it and more of a constellation, where each passion shines on its own and leans into the others into a complex yet fascinating network.

These passions include writing, podcasting, consulting for start-ups, blockchain, NGOs, all of which are tied to her love of problem solving and disruptive technological solutions that puts her in ever new and exciting projects.

Charlie’s trajectory was marked by her constant reliving of a moment that is somewhat rare for most entrepreneurs: The moment when you fall in love with a new idea. Which is what makes her such an amazing guest for today’s Changing the Game episode.

The Greatest Pleasure in Life

From a very early age, Charlie was the type of kid who would read lots of books and probe adults for logic gaps with question after question, that’s right, a nerd, but not like most of the nerds you saw at high school or maybe in the mirror.

She was the type of nerd that had a very clear talent, one that teachers didn’t seem to recognise at first.

“ A Writer?” they would say, “With those grades why settle for being a writer?”, and yet, it felt right for Charlie, so much so that she saw writing as the way to convince her sister to let her borrow her clothes through a five page contract.

This was when her mother told her she should be a lawyer, and now, a self-published author and a master of international law, Charlie is living proof that the greatest pleasure in life is to do what others say you cannot do.

A Founder In The Frontiers of Podcasting

Like most things in her life, Charlie’s entrepreneurial and podcasting journey began as the solution to a problem, namely being stuck in traffic with nothing good to listen on the radio.

The usual music radio was playing Rihanna’s “S&M”, not exactly what the children in the backseat ought to be listening, switching radios only proved equally disheartening as the alternative, TalkBack Radio was about a Cricketers wife losing pregnancy weight.

Something had to be done. And Charlie was going to take matters into her own hands.

So, after a quick search, she embarked on a journey that would eventually lead her to having her own online radio and podcast long before those were a thing.

This was not an easy journey by any means. From a technological standpoint, Charlie was too early, and circumstances soon began to poke holes at her business model, meaning she had to make too many compromises, ultimately leading to its end.

And yet, there is something of value to be taken from this “failure”, as she did at the time, which is having the fortitude to roll with the punches of having a business sink and going for something new.

The Wealth of Error

In many ways, having a business that didn’t work out was paradoxically essential for Charlie’s success, as her problem-solving mind was able to soon detect the patterns of those mistakes in other businesses, making her an excellent consultant.

Granted, the corporate world was not her natural habitat, but it did have something she needed at the time: money. And it was not long before she found something to be passionate about as a consultant.

She soon found out that helping founders tell their stories and raise funding was something she could really get behind, so much so that she began to undercharge for the sake of sticking with the founders she believed in.

Quokka Capital

Charlie’s newest project, Quokka Capital is an early-stage venture capital limited partnership created to provide start-ups in Perth with tax incentives in order to help them start off on the right foot and develop.

Quokka operates off a government incentive that gives investors an exemption of tax for investments up to 250 million dollars per investment, a golden opportunity for a state like WA that they want to take advantage of.

This advantage is put to the benefits of founders who are front and centre in reaching their true potential and to expand from WA to the rest of the world.

As of the time of this writing, Quokka has just gotten into its first year, but know Charlie it will not be long before it becomes another of WA’s many success stories.

Conclusion

The one key term that we can get from Charlie Caruso’s story is “problem solving”, which ties directly to entrepreneurship and innovation to the point they can be compared to the sunlight that nurtures a flower.

Every invention, every business, every idea that changes the game is born out of a creative individual’s disposition to meet a need that up until that point had not been recognized, much less addressed.

So with Charlie’s enthusiasm for problem solving, let us get into our thought exercise for the day: What is a persistent problem in your life for which no one seems to have a decent answer? What would you do to solve it?

And if you enjoyed Charlie’s talk and are excited to see more game changers from WA, feel free to check out the changing the game podcast, either on YouTube or on your preferred platform.

What you don’t get from her bio is the “uncool” confession that Kylie also loves being a lawyer and that even while practicing law, she was trying to humanise client/firm relations in terms of making the exchange rewarding for both sides.

As we’ll see, this is a pattern for Kylie, one that she perpetrates with good humor and a genuine passion for seeing the founders she funds succeed.

And, as we get to know her, we’ll learn quite a bit about angel investing from her perspective.

The Women Behind Flying Fox

“I wasn’t looking for a female partner, I was looking for the best partner”, Kylie remarked about coming together with Rachel Newman for co-founding the Flying Fox, a sentiment that now extended to her yet undisclosed third partner who was confirmed to be a female.

Kylie made a point, however, to remark how women were still shamefully missing from decision making spaces, both in investing and beyond, and that unfortunately, companies like hers were still a minority in the market.

Her views on such matters are worth taking note, as they show what can happen when we let problematic thought patterns get in the way of good intentions.

This becomes clear in her comment on how investors would always hand her female founders to work with based on nothing but her gender, with the underlying premisse that she, as a woman, would only invest in other women.

Getting a woman’s profile on the table solely because they’re female is just as much of a mistake as not doing it for the same reason. Inclusivity is about different people working together in unison, not in enclosed bubbles.

Worms For The Economy (and the planet)

Being an angel investor, Kylie had the chance to work on several trailblazing projects, and though she refused to tell me her favorite one for professional reasons, we still got to hear about the startup that was turning worms into money for the environment.

The company was called “Go Terra”, and it had several contracts in Australia for waste management which they tended to by adding an organic factor into the process: Worms.

Nature’s little janitors are employed to have their fill of food and organic waste and wound up having so much food that they would eventually die of gluttony, but worry not, they had a happy and fitting end as the chubby ingredients in pet food products.

The founder for Goterra, Olympia Jager, eventually got the Australian of the Year Award for her company’s work, showing not only what founders are capable of, but also the potential of companies like Flying Fox, that help them get off the ground.

Sharing Is Caring

Something else that’s unique about Flying Fox is its policy regarding sharing their carry with founders, something so unique that it gets to the point of being mindblowing in terms of what it means for the sector.

The initiative arose out of Kylie and Rachel’s desire to walk the talk when it came to being “founder friendly", and to create an environment where founders could help each other while still being rewarded for their efforts.

Sure, most venture partnerships are based off founders mutually supporting each other because that’s just how it tends to work in early stage investments, but being a good lawyer, Kylie wanted their intent to be represented in their structure.

This makes Flying Fox the first company of its kind in Australia, one that hopefully starts a trend of less greedy investment partnerships and funds.

Helping Founders

The first thing an investor should bring to the table for their founder according to Kylie Frazer?

Cash.

Sure, you can be a great advisor...]]>Reading Kylie Frazer’s bio may get you a slew of interesting information, including her amazing work at Flying Fox, the venture capital agency she co-founded that helps Australian startups hit it big abroad and interest in bringing empathy to early stage investment.

What you don’t get from her bio is the “uncool” confession that Kylie also loves being a lawyer and that even while practicing law, she was trying to humanise client/firm relations in terms of making the exchange rewarding for both sides.

As we’ll see, this is a pattern for Kylie, one that she perpetrates with good humor and a genuine passion for seeing the founders she funds succeed.

And, as we get to know her, we’ll learn quite a bit about angel investing from her perspective.

The Women Behind Flying Fox

“I wasn’t looking for a female partner, I was looking for the best partner”, Kylie remarked about coming together with Rachel Newman for co-founding the Flying Fox, a sentiment that now extended to her yet undisclosed third partner who was confirmed to be a female.

Kylie made a point, however, to remark how women were still shamefully missing from decision making spaces, both in investing and beyond, and that unfortunately, companies like hers were still a minority in the market.

Her views on such matters are worth taking note, as they show what can happen when we let problematic thought patterns get in the way of good intentions.

This becomes clear in her comment on how investors would always hand her female founders to work with based on nothing but her gender, with the underlying premisse that she, as a woman, would only invest in other women.

Getting a woman’s profile on the table solely because they’re female is just as much of a mistake as not doing it for the same reason. Inclusivity is about different people working together in unison, not in enclosed bubbles.

Worms For The Economy (and the planet)

Being an angel investor, Kylie had the chance to work on several trailblazing projects, and though she refused to tell me her favorite one for professional reasons, we still got to hear about the startup that was turning worms into money for the environment.

The company was called “Go Terra”, and it had several contracts in Australia for waste management which they tended to by adding an organic factor into the process: Worms.

Nature’s little janitors are employed to have their fill of food and organic waste and wound up having so much food that they would eventually die of gluttony, but worry not, they had a happy and fitting end as the chubby ingredients in pet food products.

The founder for Goterra, Olympia Jager, eventually got the Australian of the Year Award for her company’s work, showing not only what founders are capable of, but also the potential of companies like Flying Fox, that help them get off the ground.

Sharing Is Caring

Something else that’s unique about Flying Fox is its policy regarding sharing their carry with founders, something so unique that it gets to the point of being mindblowing in terms of what it means for the sector.

The initiative arose out of Kylie and Rachel’s desire to walk the talk when it came to being “founder friendly", and to create an environment where founders could help each other while still being rewarded for their efforts.

Sure, most venture partnerships are based off founders mutually supporting each other because that’s just how it tends to work in early stage investments, but being a good lawyer, Kylie wanted their intent to be represented in their structure.

This makes Flying Fox the first company of its kind in Australia, one that hopefully starts a trend of less greedy investment partnerships and funds.

Helping Founders

The first thing an investor should bring to the table for their founder according to Kylie Frazer?

Cash.

Sure, you can be a great advisor for founders and bring in great intelligence, but a founder will only know where to put you in comparison to other investors if they know how much you’re bringing in.

Angels are also essential for downstream capital investment strategies, that is to say, helping founders find more long term regular investment, which may come from anywhere in the world and helping them access these investments.

A large part of fulfilling this task is related to aid founders in their decision making in order to position them for earning these investments from abroad through proper long term strategies.

Conclusion

It’s hard not to smile while chatting with Kylie, not just because of her upbeat and welcoming personality, but she speaks as someone that’s had years of experience in angel and early stage investing and constantly uses them to break the glass ceiling.

Kylie’s fun, but she’s also got both feet firmly in the earth while her eyes are set in the future, and both of these are essential characteristics of a good investor and driver of innovation.

And the best part? She does this for the sake of a more human investing landscape.

So, for today’s thought exercise, I'd like to propose the following question: How can you make your business or sector more empathetic? In what ways has it failed to be so?

And if you want to learn more about angel investing and early stage entrepreneurship, remember to check the other episodes of Changing the Game, as we have several interviews with members of Perth Angels and other groups.

Aprill is the COO and co-founder of Tractor Ventures, an initiative focused on providing technology start-ups from Australia and New Zealand with non-dilutive strategic funding in order to foster their growth.

Along with her business and life partner, Matt Allen, Aprill boasts an investment portfolio of over 50 companies and provides her process improvement expertise to the companies supported by Tractor ventures.

Fridays Off

Stepping out of the confines of her bio, Aprill tells us how she met her husband Matt while working for the Australian telecommunications company One.Tel in the late 90’s. She would eventually leave the company to become a solo consultant before joining Tractor full time.

Tractor has a “Fridays off” policy which Aprill uses to work on her art studio and can often be found painting on Fridays in between enjoying her weekend with her husband and two teenage sons.

Not having gone through any graduation in the field of technology beyond a computing certificate from the Computer Power Training Institute, which landed her the position in One.Tel from which she’d build the rest of her expertise through experience.

She also points out how much of what she’s learned from her current line of work came from absorbing the information that she was able to catch from observing her husband’s work as a start-up builder.

Aprill’s story is just another trail blazer open to divert from the beaten path of high school-> college -> career along with so many that we have seen on the podcast thus far. It bears repeating that there are many ways to educate a professional. College is just one of them.

Tractor Ventures

So, what’s with Tractor Ventures and “non-dilutive” funding solutions for tech businesses?

Aprill explains:

“We help tech founders who traditionally aren’t super attracted to venture capital, they may not have the same aspirations, they still have ambition but don’t necessarily want to go at that rocketship pace.”

And this is the centre of tractor ventures' entire identity, most ventures try to be rocketships, they tend to be very expensive to build and tend to involve a lot of risks. Sure, there might be a big pay off if they stick to landing, but they also explode just as often.

Now tractors have the distinct advantage of being cheaper, simpler, and easier to fix, a farmer can rely safely on his tractor with the certainty that it will in all likelihood, never explode.

What tractor ventures does is support “tractor” businesses with revenue-based finance within a non-dilutive model, that is a loan that goes back to the fund through a top line share of the monthly revenue.

Tractor Ventures still supports their tech companies with everything they need, much like angel investors would, not only about their gross charges, but also with useful connections through the Tractor Ventures “village” where founders can get in touch and cooperate.

The Story thus far

The story of tractor ventures goes back to the year of 2012 when Zero did their dual listing on an IPO on the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges which paved the way for Aprill and her husband to start a self-made superfund.

Since then Aprill has advised some of the most successful vanguard companies out there, with Flowork being a worthy mention on her part, along Mr.Yum and GoTerra, helping entrepreneurs manage talents at their disposal within the company.

As Aprill told me of all the companies she has worked with, I couldn’t help but notice a glitter of excitement in her eyes when talking about how these businesses have grown, this kind of passion that is quite common amongst angel investors.

Angel Investing: Facts and Myth

The first fact about angel investing is that it tends to be very high risk, and for...]]>2022 was a busy year and I was lucky enough to finish it off with a conversation with Aprill Allen.

Aprill is the COO and co-founder of Tractor Ventures, an initiative focused on providing technology start-ups from Australia and New Zealand with non-dilutive strategic funding in order to foster their growth.

Along with her business and life partner, Matt Allen, Aprill boasts an investment portfolio of over 50 companies and provides her process improvement expertise to the companies supported by Tractor ventures.

Fridays Off

Stepping out of the confines of her bio, Aprill tells us how she met her husband Matt while working for the Australian telecommunications company One.Tel in the late 90’s. She would eventually leave the company to become a solo consultant before joining Tractor full time.

Tractor has a “Fridays off” policy which Aprill uses to work on her art studio and can often be found painting on Fridays in between enjoying her weekend with her husband and two teenage sons.

Not having gone through any graduation in the field of technology beyond a computing certificate from the Computer Power Training Institute, which landed her the position in One.Tel from which she’d build the rest of her expertise through experience.

She also points out how much of what she’s learned from her current line of work came from absorbing the information that she was able to catch from observing her husband’s work as a start-up builder.

Aprill’s story is just another trail blazer open to divert from the beaten path of high school-> college -> career along with so many that we have seen on the podcast thus far. It bears repeating that there are many ways to educate a professional. College is just one of them.

Tractor Ventures

So, what’s with Tractor Ventures and “non-dilutive” funding solutions for tech businesses?

Aprill explains:

“We help tech founders who traditionally aren’t super attracted to venture capital, they may not have the same aspirations, they still have ambition but don’t necessarily want to go at that rocketship pace.”

And this is the centre of tractor ventures' entire identity, most ventures try to be rocketships, they tend to be very expensive to build and tend to involve a lot of risks. Sure, there might be a big pay off if they stick to landing, but they also explode just as often.

Now tractors have the distinct advantage of being cheaper, simpler, and easier to fix, a farmer can rely safely on his tractor with the certainty that it will in all likelihood, never explode.

What tractor ventures does is support “tractor” businesses with revenue-based finance within a non-dilutive model, that is a loan that goes back to the fund through a top line share of the monthly revenue.

Tractor Ventures still supports their tech companies with everything they need, much like angel investors would, not only about their gross charges, but also with useful connections through the Tractor Ventures “village” where founders can get in touch and cooperate.

The Story thus far

The story of tractor ventures goes back to the year of 2012 when Zero did their dual listing on an IPO on the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges which paved the way for Aprill and her husband to start a self-made superfund.

Since then Aprill has advised some of the most successful vanguard companies out there, with Flowork being a worthy mention on her part, along Mr.Yum and GoTerra, helping entrepreneurs manage talents at their disposal within the company.

As Aprill told me of all the companies she has worked with, I couldn’t help but notice a glitter of excitement in her eyes when talking about how these businesses have grown, this kind of passion that is quite common amongst angel investors.

Angel Investing: Facts and Myth

The first fact about angel investing is that it tends to be very high risk, and for Aprill and Matt, who were putting in family savings on their investments, while still having to manage things as a married couple.

At first, not coming from a start-up background herself, Aprill told me how she mostly relied on her husband’s experience and “good read of a team’s ability to execute”.

That being said, they are quite different in terms of “risk appetite”, with him being more of a risk taker, whereas Aprill “wouldn’t get upset with you if you described me as conservative”, even if Matt’s more adventurous disposition has rubbed off on her over the years.

Normally, their journey towards investing in a business would start, in Aprill’s words, with Matt getting excited with a new venture, then coming home to make a second pitch to her before they decided to go ahead with the loan.

These loans tend to be no bigger than 10 to 20 thousand dollars, somewhat modest in investing terms which dispels the myth that you have to be rich in order to be an investor, and which are normally balanced with other expenditures such as mortgage.

The Next Founder

When questioned about what she and Matt are looking for in their next founder, Aprill already had the answer at the tip of her tongue:

“We’re looking for tech-enabled businesses that are making a monthly recurring revenue of at least 15 grand, and that has a history of growth over the last months, and a healthy runway of 5 to 6 months.”

That being said, Aprill and Matt have not been making as much angel investments as in the past beyond “a couple of follow-on things”, with most of their investments being made on Side-Stage, a new fund set up by Matt and some partners which launched last year.

Female Participation in Investing

According to Aprill, women in the investing world have begun to become more aware of each other and are beginning to expand their networks to include other women, something that has come with a growing conscience of who they are within that space.

However, she points out how despite these advancements, the investing sector is still far away from being anything close to diverse, which is to be expected as the sources of these problems are structural and engraved in culture.

“It has to do with women not having senior roles” she explains “boardroom roles, seat level roles, anywhere near as man do”, which means that when these women get within Aprill’s age spectrum, they lack the money to even think about investing.

Fixing this issue is going to demand a restructuring of these systems through policy and government intervention, as women investors themselves can only go so far to remedy these injustices.

Conclusion

My talk with Aprill did a great service to angel investing by dispelling the traditional view we have of an investor (black suit, top hat, money bags falling out of their pockets), and brought it closer to home. Literally.

When you talk to Aprill Allen, you have the impression that, while she certainly is an interesting person, she’s also the type of person you could meet in your neighbourhood.

She discusses the risks of investment with her husband, worries about mortgage, all the while raising two teenage sons, a far cry from the “sharks” we hear so much about. That is, she’s living proof that anyone can become an investor.

With that in mind, it’s time for today’s thought exercise: if you were going to get into investing today, what field would you pick and why?

Also, don’t forget to check my website and YouTube channel for more conversations like the one you read above.

During his appointment by three Governors, his leadership increased lottery sales and profits by 50%. He also led the Blank Park Zoo to profitability from a $600,000 deficit while positioning it as the second largest attended attraction in the state. But his national insight on business, banking, gaming, TV production, marketing and PR led him to success in his professional career and to his passion for public speaking. Oh, and he’s also given away over $1 billion.

Recently, Terry headed the team that cracked the largest lottery fraud in US history. During the investigation, Terry oversaw day-to-day operations while considering longterm consequences, adapting quickly to change, and delivering on promises.

Before that, he started four successful entrepreneurial businesses, and has numerous national media appearances including ABC, NBC, HBO, CBS, 20/20, CNN, CNBC, USA Today and The New York Times; a movie host on Starz!; and appeared as a panel guest on the "Tonight Show".

He’s a disruptive innovator and entrepreneur with a drive for integrity and honesty. He’s worked in the trenches, survived new business trends and had success with generational changes. Terry’s keynotes are energetic, motivating and perfect for an early morning, lunch or after dinner presentation.

Terry Rich has authored two books: The $80 Billion Gamble and Dare to Dream, Dare to Act.

She takes pleasure in bringing people together and driving them towards genuine connections within the communities she creates, be them big or small.

With a description like that it would be natural to assume she helps businesses with community building with the end of creating harmonious work environments, but that is not where the surprises stop.

Today we are going to do a deep dive into Cheryl’s work at Aussie Angels, her journey towards becoming the amazing professional she is, and how she is changing the game for the Australian market today.

Check it out:

Real Connections

Cheryl finding her calling in helping people connect was a natural development from her natural inclinations as an extrovert.

Cheryl graduated in business with a major in marketing, but if you asked her, she’d tell you that the biggest takeaways from college were less about social media strategies and more about how to reach out and “work with difficult people”.

Soon after graduating and cutting her teeth as a team member at freelancer.com, she went on to found “StartCon”, where she got to put founders and investors in the same room for the very first time.

There was, however, a slight problem, a simple, yet nonetheless hard to solve issue where “If you put over one thousand people in the same room expecting them to make the right connections, that isn’t really going to work out.”

And so, Cheryl began to figure out how to facilitate these matches made in heaven by herself.

In doing so, she brought to the forefront of her brand a fact that is often neglected, especially when on the subject of investments: that they care about people and work with the same dynamics other human relationships work.

Angelic Investing

Cheryl’s way with people has been instrumental in her role as an angel investor, after all, Investments are all about people talking, sharing ideas and getting into ventures together.

And according to her that made all the difference in the world.

Now, she’s relatively new to angel investing, and some people have even (however timidly) pointed out that she was rather divergent from the mental picture most people have of an angel investor.

On the other hand, that hasn’t really stopped her from going into this space with everything she has, to the point where she could eventually own up to a portfolio of over ten companies.

Connections also played a large role in this aspect, as Cheryl was able to help her founders not only through financial support, but also in helping new start-ups reach out to other investors and manage their interpersonal relations on an in-house level.

At the end of the day, more than anything she learned in classes, it was Cheryl’s ability to see investing as a team effort and coordinate it as such that made her successful in what she does today.

Aussie Angels

Now, if you were paying attention to the intro for this episode of Changing the Game, you might remember me mentioning how Cheryl is the founder of Aussie Angels, an initiative which she described in the following words:

“Aussie Angels is a place where angels can co-invest in the most seamless and fun way possible.”

What sets this group apart from the rest is how it allows angels to follow other investors whom they like and share their own ventures. They can also join a syndicate without a minimum investment and work under a lead investor.

Lead investors are the people looking for new companies, making deals and explaining why they are investing in particular ventures and sharing it with their syndicate who can decide if they’ll join in or not.

It also makes the whole process of forming an angel syndicate that much easier and cheaper, which as someone undertaking that task right now, I can’t thank her enough.

Sophisticated Investor

A little-known fact about Australia is that...]]>Cheryl Mack is a connector.

She takes pleasure in bringing people together and driving them towards genuine connections within the communities she creates, be them big or small.

With a description like that it would be natural to assume she helps businesses with community building with the end of creating harmonious work environments, but that is not where the surprises stop.

Today we are going to do a deep dive into Cheryl’s work at Aussie Angels, her journey towards becoming the amazing professional she is, and how she is changing the game for the Australian market today.

Check it out:

Real Connections

Cheryl finding her calling in helping people connect was a natural development from her natural inclinations as an extrovert.

Cheryl graduated in business with a major in marketing, but if you asked her, she’d tell you that the biggest takeaways from college were less about social media strategies and more about how to reach out and “work with difficult people”.

Soon after graduating and cutting her teeth as a team member at freelancer.com, she went on to found “StartCon”, where she got to put founders and investors in the same room for the very first time.

There was, however, a slight problem, a simple, yet nonetheless hard to solve issue where “If you put over one thousand people in the same room expecting them to make the right connections, that isn’t really going to work out.”

And so, Cheryl began to figure out how to facilitate these matches made in heaven by herself.

In doing so, she brought to the forefront of her brand a fact that is often neglected, especially when on the subject of investments: that they care about people and work with the same dynamics other human relationships work.

Angelic Investing

Cheryl’s way with people has been instrumental in her role as an angel investor, after all, Investments are all about people talking, sharing ideas and getting into ventures together.

And according to her that made all the difference in the world.

Now, she’s relatively new to angel investing, and some people have even (however timidly) pointed out that she was rather divergent from the mental picture most people have of an angel investor.

On the other hand, that hasn’t really stopped her from going into this space with everything she has, to the point where she could eventually own up to a portfolio of over ten companies.

Connections also played a large role in this aspect, as Cheryl was able to help her founders not only through financial support, but also in helping new start-ups reach out to other investors and manage their interpersonal relations on an in-house level.

At the end of the day, more than anything she learned in classes, it was Cheryl’s ability to see investing as a team effort and coordinate it as such that made her successful in what she does today.

Aussie Angels

Now, if you were paying attention to the intro for this episode of Changing the Game, you might remember me mentioning how Cheryl is the founder of Aussie Angels, an initiative which she described in the following words:

“Aussie Angels is a place where angels can co-invest in the most seamless and fun way possible.”

What sets this group apart from the rest is how it allows angels to follow other investors whom they like and share their own ventures. They can also join a syndicate without a minimum investment and work under a lead investor.

Lead investors are the people looking for new companies, making deals and explaining why they are investing in particular ventures and sharing it with their syndicate who can decide if they’ll join in or not.

It also makes the whole process of forming an angel syndicate that much easier and cheaper, which as someone undertaking that task right now, I can’t thank her enough.

Sophisticated Investor

A little-known fact about Australia is that early-stage investment is extremely regulated, with aspirant angels and regular investors alike being required to hold certain amounts in assets and other prerequisites that make investment limited for the general public.

I asked Cheryl, at the risk of making her uncomfortable, what was her first check-size was to gauge what a new investor could expect to spend in the land down under.

Luckily, she was rather understanding and told me, without hesitation, that her first investment as an angel was 10 thousand dollars for two different start-ups.

She made it very clear, however, that this was under half the minimum amount most founders were willing to take, which made it hard for her to begin investing, which is 25 thousand dollars.

On the other hand, having less than that doesn’t mean you’re locked out of angel investing if you are regarded as having a higher value as an investor, it all depends on the needs of the founders.

Conclusion

Cheryl Mack perfectly demonstrates through her story and expertise that before even mentioning anything remotely technical about business, it must first be understood in a human light.

Human relations are at the basis of any conjoined effort, and if neglected, no other aspect of an enterprise can work the way it was supposed to, a fact that can easily become buried under the talk of deadlines, bottom lines and other lines of such.

So, for our mental exercise for today, I’d like you to take a look at your current work relations, are there any tensions getting in the way? Or better yet, is there any way you can make the people you get along with feel like they can rely on you?

Describing her background is a little hard since there seems to be very little she hasn’t done.

Esther has several qualifications in fields from IT to law, having worked in the boards and committees of several universities, and having received a ministerial appointment for reforming the TAIFF.

However, what brings Esther to this episode of changing the game is less her extensive list of titles and achievements, and more the story of how she came to add “entrepreneur” to her already prolific resume.

This story, unfortunately, starts with her having to go through a rather traumatic event:

Agile 8

Esther describes herself as a mother who’s had her vision transformed by a series of traumatic experiences, and came to find an answer in technology for the issues that contributed to her tribulations.

Agile 8, is the result of this broadening of vision, a company that combines AI with enhanced virtual reality to empower health professionals with something akin to x-ray vision, allowing them to work smarter, faster, and safer.

Her story is the perfect example of how the hardest blows life deals us often prepare us with the strength to change the game.

“How?” you may ask? By making the commitment of not allowing what happened to us to happen to others.

Empathy can make an innovator out of anyone.

Sight Lost

So, what was the traumatic experience that lead to the founding of Agile 8?

Well, let us begin by saying that Esther’s son was a perfectly healthy boy who began to develop some sight issues.

As any mother would, Esther took him to a doctor, the first doctor, who was not aware of the gravity of the illness affecting her son’s eyes, a mistake shared by the second doctor, a mistake which the third doctor affirmed could have been corrected had it been identified earlier.

This was how, while still a child, Esther’s otherwise perfectly healthy son lost his sight permanently.

Vision Gained

Esther went through what might be a mother’s worst nightmare, to see her son suffer for the rest of his life due to an issue that could have been avoided were it not for a series of problems that impeded the ability of health professionals to operate at their best capacity.

Firstly there was the knowledge gap that existed between doctors, as neither of the first two specialists, Esther visited had the same knowledge as the last one, which inevitably lead to the delay in treatment that cost her son’s sight.

This is when she realised that the ability of frontline doctors to accurately diagnose an issue as soon as possible not only could have helped her son but could effectively be the difference between life and death for thousands of people.

But where this kind of suffering can enclose many of us in our own struggles, her background as a health professional and entrepreneur allowed Esther to see herself as part of a much larger problem. A problem she could give her best to solve.

What is Innovation?

And this is exactly how she defined innovation: problem-solving.

To be more specific, Esther defined innovation as problem-solving using through tackling it from different perspectives, that is, to find and try all possible solutions for solving that problem in the most efficient way.

This process starts with a deeper renewal and transformation of your mind. Where other parents could be “wallowing in sorrow and blaming the doctors who didn’t get it right”, Esther took a completely different route.

She saw the severe pressure frontline doctors endured and decided that instead of adding to that the weight of her sorrow, she was going to make their jobs and lives easier through the implementation of...]]>As the first half of 2022 closes, a new page in Changing the Game starts as I share a table with a guest for the first time, a moment I had the pleasure of sharing with the amazing Esther Oh.

Describing her background is a little hard since there seems to be very little she hasn’t done.

Esther has several qualifications in fields from IT to law, having worked in the boards and committees of several universities, and having received a ministerial appointment for reforming the TAIFF.

However, what brings Esther to this episode of changing the game is less her extensive list of titles and achievements, and more the story of how she came to add “entrepreneur” to her already prolific resume.

This story, unfortunately, starts with her having to go through a rather traumatic event:

Agile 8

Esther describes herself as a mother who’s had her vision transformed by a series of traumatic experiences, and came to find an answer in technology for the issues that contributed to her tribulations.

Agile 8, is the result of this broadening of vision, a company that combines AI with enhanced virtual reality to empower health professionals with something akin to x-ray vision, allowing them to work smarter, faster, and safer.

Her story is the perfect example of how the hardest blows life deals us often prepare us with the strength to change the game.

“How?” you may ask? By making the commitment of not allowing what happened to us to happen to others.

Empathy can make an innovator out of anyone.

Sight Lost

So, what was the traumatic experience that lead to the founding of Agile 8?

Well, let us begin by saying that Esther’s son was a perfectly healthy boy who began to develop some sight issues.

As any mother would, Esther took him to a doctor, the first doctor, who was not aware of the gravity of the illness affecting her son’s eyes, a mistake shared by the second doctor, a mistake which the third doctor affirmed could have been corrected had it been identified earlier.

This was how, while still a child, Esther’s otherwise perfectly healthy son lost his sight permanently.

Vision Gained

Esther went through what might be a mother’s worst nightmare, to see her son suffer for the rest of his life due to an issue that could have been avoided were it not for a series of problems that impeded the ability of health professionals to operate at their best capacity.

Firstly there was the knowledge gap that existed between doctors, as neither of the first two specialists, Esther visited had the same knowledge as the last one, which inevitably lead to the delay in treatment that cost her son’s sight.

This is when she realised that the ability of frontline doctors to accurately diagnose an issue as soon as possible not only could have helped her son but could effectively be the difference between life and death for thousands of people.

But where this kind of suffering can enclose many of us in our own struggles, her background as a health professional and entrepreneur allowed Esther to see herself as part of a much larger problem. A problem she could give her best to solve.

What is Innovation?

And this is exactly how she defined innovation: problem-solving.

To be more specific, Esther defined innovation as problem-solving using through tackling it from different perspectives, that is, to find and try all possible solutions for solving that problem in the most efficient way.

This process starts with a deeper renewal and transformation of your mind. Where other parents could be “wallowing in sorrow and blaming the doctors who didn’t get it right”, Esther took a completely different route.

She saw the severe pressure frontline doctors endured and decided that instead of adding to that the weight of her sorrow, she was going to make their jobs and lives easier through the implementation of technology.

Conclusion

At the end of our talk, the single most important lesson Esther Oh had taught was this: that suffering can enable you to make the world a better place. At the center of our life’s most traumatic experiences are problems that we could help to solve.

When Esther had to watch her son become gradually blind due to a misdiagnosis, she was able to identify the core issues that lead to this tragic turn of events and decided that she could do something about it. And then, she went and did it.

I want you to think about the worst day of your life. I know that is a very uncomfortable request, maybe even an offensive one. But! At the core of that experience may lie the secret to a better world.

The strength to turn the worst experience in your life into a source of good is within you, and today, I invite you to find it.

Ten years later he was inaugurating his very first food truck, which would come to be the staple of another future business, but not before he got his hands on a license to work as a helicopter pilot, transporting goods from land to yachts in the Mediterranean.

Coming to Australia in 2012, Royce started his new food company, setting up shops in metropolises across the world before going back to his original passion for aviation

Driven by this passion, Royce started his new company, Monarch, which along with his trajectory, was the main topic of a conversation we had on the “Changing The Game” podcast, but just in case you’re in a hurry, here are some of the highlights:

A Bet, A license, An Opportunity

So, how does a person become a helicopter pilot? What are the requirements? That’s exactly what Royce was discussing with his father, who believed that colorblind people could not get a pilot’s license.

It just so happened that Royce had watched a show called Jeopardy that debunked this assertion, so he, as a colorblind young man, decided to strike a bet that if he could pass the eye exam, his father would have to pay for the course.

And, given everything that I’ve disclosed in the introduction to this article, I think you can guess who won that bet in the end.

At first, Royce didn’t think much would come out of this license, but when he was living in the Mediterranean and applying as a deck hand at a mega yacht, it just so happened that he caught ear that they were needing a pilot.

So, remember, no skill gained goes to waste.

Monarch

Royce’s experience as a pilot made it so that when he came to Australia in 2012, he brought along an idea for a software that would allow pilots across the world to automate their pricing.

The goal is now to take this price automation system and transfer it to usual places people go to in order to survey flight options, thus widening the customer pool for charter flights.

Royce does, remark that charter flights, in general, tend to be more expensive, but that the price tag more than made up for in comfort, speed and security. Not having to trudge through a crowded airport and bump shoulders with strangers is worth a couple of hundred dollars.

In effect, what Monarch does is make the experience of private flights, which is still seen as exclusive to the rich and famous, more accessible, and despite the increase in the overall passage price, cheaper when you look at the value gained.

The Future of Private Flights

Effectively, Monarch is another step forward in an industry-wide movement to make charter, or private, flying more accessible to the general public, while also ensuring that pilots can not only cover all operating costs but make a decent profit.

The idea itself is quite fascinating, a world where private flights are not the privilege of the rich and famous, but just another option anyone can opt for while paying a fair price is a real change in the game.

An example given by Royce was a pilot who got paid to take a client and three of his family members from Sydney to the Gold Coast, with the full rate, and still got to transport 12 backpackers on the way back for $135 per seat.

The clients got to fly comfortably on a private plane for a fraction of what one would expect. The pilot managed to cover all expenses on the first flight and got a good deal of extra income on the way back.

Monarch’s system would only make such operations easier by calculating the price of such ventures based on available seats, fuel, distance and so on. Such an innovation could easily change the way we think about commercial flying.

The Plotted...]]>Royce Crown is what you could call the quintessential entrepreneur, starting his first business at nine when he decided to sell lemonade to the other kids on his street.

Ten years later he was inaugurating his very first food truck, which would come to be the staple of another future business, but not before he got his hands on a license to work as a helicopter pilot, transporting goods from land to yachts in the Mediterranean.

Coming to Australia in 2012, Royce started his new food company, setting up shops in metropolises across the world before going back to his original passion for aviation

Driven by this passion, Royce started his new company, Monarch, which along with his trajectory, was the main topic of a conversation we had on the “Changing The Game” podcast, but just in case you’re in a hurry, here are some of the highlights:

A Bet, A license, An Opportunity

So, how does a person become a helicopter pilot? What are the requirements? That’s exactly what Royce was discussing with his father, who believed that colorblind people could not get a pilot’s license.

It just so happened that Royce had watched a show called Jeopardy that debunked this assertion, so he, as a colorblind young man, decided to strike a bet that if he could pass the eye exam, his father would have to pay for the course.

And, given everything that I’ve disclosed in the introduction to this article, I think you can guess who won that bet in the end.

At first, Royce didn’t think much would come out of this license, but when he was living in the Mediterranean and applying as a deck hand at a mega yacht, it just so happened that he caught ear that they were needing a pilot.

So, remember, no skill gained goes to waste.

Monarch

Royce’s experience as a pilot made it so that when he came to Australia in 2012, he brought along an idea for a software that would allow pilots across the world to automate their pricing.

The goal is now to take this price automation system and transfer it to usual places people go to in order to survey flight options, thus widening the customer pool for charter flights.

Royce does, remark that charter flights, in general, tend to be more expensive, but that the price tag more than made up for in comfort, speed and security. Not having to trudge through a crowded airport and bump shoulders with strangers is worth a couple of hundred dollars.

In effect, what Monarch does is make the experience of private flights, which is still seen as exclusive to the rich and famous, more accessible, and despite the increase in the overall passage price, cheaper when you look at the value gained.

The Future of Private Flights

Effectively, Monarch is another step forward in an industry-wide movement to make charter, or private, flying more accessible to the general public, while also ensuring that pilots can not only cover all operating costs but make a decent profit.

The idea itself is quite fascinating, a world where private flights are not the privilege of the rich and famous, but just another option anyone can opt for while paying a fair price is a real change in the game.

An example given by Royce was a pilot who got paid to take a client and three of his family members from Sydney to the Gold Coast, with the full rate, and still got to transport 12 backpackers on the way back for $135 per seat.

The clients got to fly comfortably on a private plane for a fraction of what one would expect. The pilot managed to cover all expenses on the first flight and got a good deal of extra income on the way back.

Monarch’s system would only make such operations easier by calculating the price of such ventures based on available seats, fuel, distance and so on. Such an innovation could easily change the way we think about commercial flying.

The Plotted Course

Speaking about the future of his enterprise, Royce expressed quite a bit of enthusiasm:

“Australia is a great place for testing a new concept, especially for us. Most major cities are an hour away from each other, so under that aspect you have a good range of aircraft for our particular model.”

However, if Australia provided its fair share of opportunities for Monarch, it also brought along its load of challenges as well, with Royce highlighting his company’s difficulty in finding good funding.

He reports being able to raise a certain amount of money through angel groups, but breaking through a conservative investment landscape that is more focused on social good companies has taken over the Australian market.

There’s also the challenge of selling an entirely new concept, which most innovation-focused businesses run into eventually. When it comes to investing, a new idea can take off or crash and burn right on top of you, so most people are comprehensively thorough.

Conclusion

Thinking about how Royce came to where he is at the moment, it’s hard not to recall the butterfly effect, where a small dislocation in the air caused by the insect’s wings can lead to a hurricane.

Likewise, a simple discussion over the dinner table with his father made Royce not only a pilot but a pioneer in the aviation industry that can completely change how we see private flights.

So, as is customary for these articles, I would like to leave you with the following thought exercise: Try to trace back your butterfly moment. That one thing that kickstarted your journey into where it is today.

It might seem like a silly thing, but entrepreneurial life is full of hardship, and being able to nail down the very first moments of your story gives that heroic mental narrative that makes everything worth it.

]]>aac4ef34-dad9-400f-888a-7db68629bd4fWed, 16 Feb 2022 09:00:00 +110031:14falsefull2332Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Greg RiebeIf you own a technology start-up in Australia, you may have heard the name Greg Riebe, and if you haven’t, you’ll be glad to be doing so right now.

Greg is the winner of the 2020 Australia’s Angel Investor of the year, largely due to his talent for mixing enabling technology with highly scalable business models that are the perfect dream of most investors.

He was the head behind Perth’s first ever technology incubator, managed funds for investing in technology start-ups and has co-founded many successful tech companies himself and today he works advising entrepreneurs on how to become investment ready.

And, while doing all of the above and much more, he still found the time to be on the Changing the Game show to talk about how his work has been leading the charge for innovation in Australia and beyond.

First Investment

Before he could become the investment titan he is today, Greg was (according to his own words), a “propeller head, a geek” that is, a highly specialised software engineer that worked at SGIO during the early 2000s.

From this position he was moved to manager, getting his first taste for innovation and advisement before leaving SGIO for a non-for-profit which was able to get a license from the Australian Government to run an investment fund for IOT startups.

That was the birth of the very first tech incubator in Perth that we mentioned, which according to Greg also acted as an accelerator, providing capital for new businesses while simultaneously nurturing their growth.

While working in that investment fund, Greg found that his passion was to enable other people’s dreams, to “that little glint in their eyes” become a true flame. Ultimately, that is what made him an angel investor, and such a good one at that.

Is Investment for The Rich?

Now, much like private flights, which we discussed in the last episode, people tend to look at investment as an activity that is exclusive to people who are already rich to begin with, a thought that Greg immediately shot down.

He explained that there are many levels that there are plenty of low-cost investments to be made, especially in stock exchange, and that it all comes down to having the knowledge necessary to “identify, filter, select, structure and manage an investment.”

You also have to take your “appetite” into consideration, or how much you are expecting to earn out of an investment, and what risks you are willing to take to see that investment through.

There is also the option of seeking out managed funds who will look after your investments for you and make all of these decisions under a more specialised context, not to mention the benefit of it being much less time time-consuming.

So, if you were thinking about investing and felt like you had neither the knowledge nor wealth to do it, know that there are options for all wallets and levels of experience, not to mention plenty of risk-free (and often free in general) ways of learning.

What is Angel Investing?

At this point we have thrown the term “Angel Investor” quite a lot, but what does it actually mean?

Greg explains that Angel Investors are a collective, or individual that “applies their time, their own money and their knowledge to participate in a venture”, often in the early development stages, sometimes before they even hit the market.

Angel investors will then look at such companies through their network and identify those that represent a real opportunity, and then reach out to collaborate with these promising starting companies to help them grow.

What differentiates Angel Investing from your usual Investment is that you are not only providing financial funds to a business, you are holding classes to teach them necessary skills, or even providing specialised services to nurture that venture’s growth.

Now, this process is not always smooth, and Greg himself described it as “a...]]>If you own a technology start-up in Australia, you may have heard the name Greg Riebe, and if you haven’t, you’ll be glad to be doing so right now.

Greg is the winner of the 2020 Australia’s Angel Investor of the year, largely due to his talent for mixing enabling technology with highly scalable business models that are the perfect dream of most investors.

He was the head behind Perth’s first ever technology incubator, managed funds for investing in technology start-ups and has co-founded many successful tech companies himself and today he works advising entrepreneurs on how to become investment ready.

And, while doing all of the above and much more, he still found the time to be on the Changing the Game show to talk about how his work has been leading the charge for innovation in Australia and beyond.

First Investment

Before he could become the investment titan he is today, Greg was (according to his own words), a “propeller head, a geek” that is, a highly specialised software engineer that worked at SGIO during the early 2000s.

From this position he was moved to manager, getting his first taste for innovation and advisement before leaving SGIO for a non-for-profit which was able to get a license from the Australian Government to run an investment fund for IOT startups.

That was the birth of the very first tech incubator in Perth that we mentioned, which according to Greg also acted as an accelerator, providing capital for new businesses while simultaneously nurturing their growth.

While working in that investment fund, Greg found that his passion was to enable other people’s dreams, to “that little glint in their eyes” become a true flame. Ultimately, that is what made him an angel investor, and such a good one at that.

Is Investment for The Rich?

Now, much like private flights, which we discussed in the last episode, people tend to look at investment as an activity that is exclusive to people who are already rich to begin with, a thought that Greg immediately shot down.

He explained that there are many levels that there are plenty of low-cost investments to be made, especially in stock exchange, and that it all comes down to having the knowledge necessary to “identify, filter, select, structure and manage an investment.”

You also have to take your “appetite” into consideration, or how much you are expecting to earn out of an investment, and what risks you are willing to take to see that investment through.

There is also the option of seeking out managed funds who will look after your investments for you and make all of these decisions under a more specialised context, not to mention the benefit of it being much less time time-consuming.

So, if you were thinking about investing and felt like you had neither the knowledge nor wealth to do it, know that there are options for all wallets and levels of experience, not to mention plenty of risk-free (and often free in general) ways of learning.

What is Angel Investing?

At this point we have thrown the term “Angel Investor” quite a lot, but what does it actually mean?

Greg explains that Angel Investors are a collective, or individual that “applies their time, their own money and their knowledge to participate in a venture”, often in the early development stages, sometimes before they even hit the market.

Angel investors will then look at such companies through their network and identify those that represent a real opportunity, and then reach out to collaborate with these promising starting companies to help them grow.

What differentiates Angel Investing from your usual Investment is that you are not only providing financial funds to a business, you are holding classes to teach them necessary skills, or even providing specialised services to nurture that venture’s growth.

Now, this process is not always smooth, and Greg himself described it as “a bit of a rollercoaster”, but he remarks how in these ups and downs, it’s always the quality of the team itself that sees the company through.

At the end of the day, Angel Investors are always investing in people.

Choosing an Investment

A veteran investor like Greg is bound to have some good advice for both people looking for opportunities to invest their money and entrepreneurs that are looking for an angel investor to call their own.

So naturally I had to interrogate him on what were the criteria he used when picking prospects, and his answer, however simple, provides incredibly useful insight:

“I invest in what I understand.”

You may have notice that Greg’s work is majorly focused on tech, and that is not by accident, as his entire background is on software engineering and computers, which means that he has the tools to judge any proposition made by a tech startup.

The same goes for most investors, but Greg also made it clear that you also have the option of leaning on someone else’s knowledge, which is where the idea of investment collectives like Angel groups actually came from.

This, what is known as “Syndicalisation” and it teaches us an important lesson: Investing, and business in general, is all about people.

You could have the most promising enterprise with all the funding in the world, but if there’s no trust between the investor and the CEO, if the team can’t work together without furniture being thrown, the venture is doomed to fail.

On the other hand, if the relationship network between all parties is solid, and built on genuine affinity and unity of purpose, there’s very little that a venture can’t do.

Conclusion

What I loved the most about my conversation with Greg Riebe is that while giving out priceless advice, it also managed to bring some much-needed humanisation to the topic of investments.

Too often investing in a business is seen as just throwing money at a series of letters and numbers expecting to get something return, but in effect, what we are doing is giving someone’s dream a chance.

So, for today’s thought exercise, I would like to hear about the big investment that changed your life. It doesn’t have to be money related. Tell me about that one time someone invested their time, attention, or knowledge on you, and what came out of it.

]]>f0687029-aa7d-4022-bfb6-d32072dc5107Wed, 09 Feb 2022 09:00:00 +110038:40falsefull2222Greg’s extensive experience in corporates, SMEs and start- ups, has helped him hone a unique set of skills that recognises where enabling technologies combined with highly- scalable business models can result in fundable high performance operating businesses. With over 20 years experience in most facets of the emerging technology sector, Greg ran what was the first technology incubator in Perth, managed a fund investing in technology start-ups, has been a co-founder of a number technology businesses and more recently as an adviser to founders on how to become investment ready, how to get scale, create and capture value and how to position their ventures to harvest returns for shareholders, investors or stakeholders. In 2020, Greg was recognised as the Australian Angel Investor of the Year and was awarded the 2020 WA Pearcey Entrepreneur Award.Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Dan JovevskiOn the last season of changing the game, we covered the pressing issue of gender diversity and the journey of women who have defied the forces arrayed against them to carve a piece of the cake for themselves.

Now, As the second season of our podcast begins, we are going to be talking about how new ideas from forward-thinking individuals around the world are transforming society before our very eyes.

And what better way to kick things than by interviewing the founder of WeMoney?

So that’s exactly what I did, and you can check out some of the highlights from our conversation below:

Between The Briefcase and The Tool Box

Every entrepreneur has a story, and Dan’s started his by talking about her mother, an immigrant who had to raise her children while coming from a very disadvantaged socio-economical background, without having the simple advantage of speaking English.

By watching his mother do everything she could in order to raise him and his siblings, Dan learned a valuable lesson: If you want to make it in this world, you have to hustle.

On the other side, however, Dan’s father made the options at the table very clear from the start, you either pick up a briefcase, or a tool box. Dan chose neither. He had decided that controlling your own destiny was a far better way of living life.

He started to work on the things he truly loved, a plan that hasn’t really changed since he first took it on.

The Trouble Student

According to Dan himself, he was never the model student, or at least not for the most of his time as a student, mostly because he “didn’t have the attention span to be interested in the formal education system”.

He even recalled how most of his grades would always be either “Satisfactory” (as it was written at the time), or that dreaded “BE” for “below expectations, which would get one of his teachers to taunt him by saying he would “never amount to anything”.

Now, most people would be rightfully angry at such a declaration, especially for someone who was supposed to make sure that didn’t happen, yet Dan decided to take that a step further and graduate at the top of his class out of sheer spite.

As it turns out, a grudge makes for terrific fuel for people’s ambition, and not only did Dan prove his teacher wrong by becoming the best student in his class, he actually scored a spot on a US University to make revenge that much sweeter.

The fact that he had actually come to like the academic process came later as a nice bonus for his dedication.

We At WeMoney

If you were to search up Dan’s LinkedIn page and read his Bio, as I do with every guest, instead of the usual three-paragraph description, you would only find the words “Dan from WeMoney”. So, what is WeMoney?

In order to understand what any business is about, we need to know the problem it intends to solve, and on this matter, Dan started out by saying that his startup is “a social and economical wellness company.”

He then went on to explain how we have all had a bad experience related to money at one point in our lives, and the main reason for that is that most people, and especially newer generations, think about their finances on a very short-term basis.

Combine that with the overwhelming complexity of our current financial system, which has us making all sorts of complicated decisions based on concepts it don’t fully understand, and it’s no wonder we have a rocky relationship with money.

In order to solve this issue, WeMoney offers an automatisation of personal finance, to put it on “autopilot”, not only in order to avoid future headaches, but also to make it work for you and generate further income.

Something that they call “self-driving money”.

Talking Money

Okay, so that is WeMoney’s mission. But what does it actually do?

Firstly, it allows...]]>On the last season of changing the game, we covered the pressing issue of gender diversity and the journey of women who have defied the forces arrayed against them to carve a piece of the cake for themselves.

Now, As the second season of our podcast begins, we are going to be talking about how new ideas from forward-thinking individuals around the world are transforming society before our very eyes.

And what better way to kick things than by interviewing the founder of WeMoney?

So that’s exactly what I did, and you can check out some of the highlights from our conversation below:

Between The Briefcase and The Tool Box

Every entrepreneur has a story, and Dan’s started his by talking about her mother, an immigrant who had to raise her children while coming from a very disadvantaged socio-economical background, without having the simple advantage of speaking English.

By watching his mother do everything she could in order to raise him and his siblings, Dan learned a valuable lesson: If you want to make it in this world, you have to hustle.

On the other side, however, Dan’s father made the options at the table very clear from the start, you either pick up a briefcase, or a tool box. Dan chose neither. He had decided that controlling your own destiny was a far better way of living life.

He started to work on the things he truly loved, a plan that hasn’t really changed since he first took it on.

The Trouble Student

According to Dan himself, he was never the model student, or at least not for the most of his time as a student, mostly because he “didn’t have the attention span to be interested in the formal education system”.

He even recalled how most of his grades would always be either “Satisfactory” (as it was written at the time), or that dreaded “BE” for “below expectations, which would get one of his teachers to taunt him by saying he would “never amount to anything”.

Now, most people would be rightfully angry at such a declaration, especially for someone who was supposed to make sure that didn’t happen, yet Dan decided to take that a step further and graduate at the top of his class out of sheer spite.

As it turns out, a grudge makes for terrific fuel for people’s ambition, and not only did Dan prove his teacher wrong by becoming the best student in his class, he actually scored a spot on a US University to make revenge that much sweeter.

The fact that he had actually come to like the academic process came later as a nice bonus for his dedication.

We At WeMoney

If you were to search up Dan’s LinkedIn page and read his Bio, as I do with every guest, instead of the usual three-paragraph description, you would only find the words “Dan from WeMoney”. So, what is WeMoney?

In order to understand what any business is about, we need to know the problem it intends to solve, and on this matter, Dan started out by saying that his startup is “a social and economical wellness company.”

He then went on to explain how we have all had a bad experience related to money at one point in our lives, and the main reason for that is that most people, and especially newer generations, think about their finances on a very short-term basis.

Combine that with the overwhelming complexity of our current financial system, which has us making all sorts of complicated decisions based on concepts it don’t fully understand, and it’s no wonder we have a rocky relationship with money.

In order to solve this issue, WeMoney offers an automatisation of personal finance, to put it on “autopilot”, not only in order to avoid future headaches, but also to make it work for you and generate further income.

Something that they call “self-driving money”.

Talking Money

Okay, so that is WeMoney’s mission. But what does it actually do?

Firstly, it allows you to connect over 230 accounts to their platform and have a unified view of all your financial assets, including a monitor track of your credit health that lets you know your credit score and gives you tips on how to improve it and use it.

Secondly, it provides you a community. Have you ever noticed how there’s this unspoken rule that you are not supposed to talk about money with friends and family? How are you supposed to understand finances without talking about it?

Well, with WeMoney you can actually get in contact with people, watch how they are applying their funds and where, learn from them and ask questions in order to better manage your wages.

Lastly, it takes away all the friction of getting the best possible deal and outcome of investments and transactions. That means getting the best home loan and figuring out when to consolidate your superannuation will no longer be a frustrating process of trial and error.

Conclusion

Dan Jovevski could not have been a better guest to kick off season two of Changing the Game, not only because his story hits so close to home for me, as we both take after the extraordinary women who raised us.

Dan is a perfect example of how businesses are grown out of people noticing a necessity and tending to it, not just for their own benefit, but for others as well in providing both a powerful financial tool and a source of education that is sure to change the game.

Now comes the part where I leave you with the first creative exercise of our new season: What is a great need that you have identified in society, and what kind of innovation could you bring to the table in order to solve it?

]]>7ad9b629-068a-4a91-ad6b-34b0714f47c8Wed, 02 Feb 2022 09:00:00 +110035:49falsefull2112Dan Jovevski has a deep background in financial services and technology over the last 12 years in the consumer credit space. Prior FinTech founder with an exit (built and sold SwitchMyLoan.com.au to ASX listed Pioneer Credit). A lot of problems I saw in the consumer space with credit have bothered Dan, so he got sick and tired of waiting for someone to solve it, so he created WeMoney.Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Monique Mattos VimercatiNot only is Monique Mattos the proud mother of three kids while also being a managing partner and coworker of mine at Visagio, she is also living proof that the two of these things can be perfectly balanced in a single person.

Her main passion is the development of people, and she points to the success of others as the main source of happiness in her life, a drive that comes in handy as Monique advocates for greater inclusion and diversity in her sector.

She is also a fellow Brazilian, which gave us plenty of common ground to discuss all of the topics above in the Changing The Game podcast, where we managed to dig up a series of magnificent insights for people looking to make a real difference in the world.

Jobs For Women, Jobs for Men

When discussing the influences that led Monique to become an engineer, she mentioned how one of the main factors towards her decision was her own father, who worked as a logistics manager in a multinational company even though he was not graduated.

Monique greatly admired her father for this and would often stop and listen whenever he talked about his work at home, and when the time to choose her career, there was no sense of “manly” or “girly” professions in her mind.

From this, we can get an important lesson, which is this: Heroes remove barriers that separate the possible and impossible. It’s also not hard to see that when Monique set out to become an example for other women, there was a part of her father in this as well.

That barrier women face in the field of engineering would only start to become clear when she got into college, where the ratio between women and men in the Industrial engineering course was unbalanced to the point where there were eight men for every woman.

The Only Woman In the Room

Monique describes her trajectory to her prominent position within Visagio as one filled with its bumps and obstacles, the major of which, according to herself, was the bump of being a woman in a male dominated industry like STEM.

“ Throughout my career, I can think of many examples where I was the only woman in the room, sometimes in a room with thirty people.” She recalled, but it was to such moments that Monique attributed her drive to change the game for women in STEM.

She sought to bring the perspective of being the only woman in the room into meetings, projects, deliverables, wherever it could be brought into the forefront for everyone’s attention. A difficult process, but one that proved to be rewarding in the end.

This trait Monique shares with many of the extraordinary women who I’ve interviewed: That she was able to use her adversities to establish herself as an example, blazing the trail for future generations of women in her field.

The Consultant

As is very common in Brazil, Monique partook in many different internships while in college, going through companies such as Michelin (which she didn’t like all that much, and Shell, which provided more of a corporate work environment.

Monique liked working at Shell well enough, but she started wanting to do more, which is when she caught wind of this Company called Visagio which was founded by five engineers and had strong ties to her university.

She applied and got a position there.

While working at Visagio, Monique started getting into consulting and how she could apply everything she had learned at her course while still living the dynamic work life with several clients and projects which she so desired.

Minority

If Monique was a minority at her university course, this was not about to change at work either, and in every company she worked for, be it as an intern or consultant, she would only see men in decision-making positions when looking up.

Monique’s drive to change this scenario came less of a desire to see herself o any other woman in a position of power within the company,...]]>Not only is Monique Mattos the proud mother of three kids while also being a managing partner and coworker of mine at Visagio, she is also living proof that the two of these things can be perfectly balanced in a single person.

Her main passion is the development of people, and she points to the success of others as the main source of happiness in her life, a drive that comes in handy as Monique advocates for greater inclusion and diversity in her sector.

She is also a fellow Brazilian, which gave us plenty of common ground to discuss all of the topics above in the Changing The Game podcast, where we managed to dig up a series of magnificent insights for people looking to make a real difference in the world.

Jobs For Women, Jobs for Men

When discussing the influences that led Monique to become an engineer, she mentioned how one of the main factors towards her decision was her own father, who worked as a logistics manager in a multinational company even though he was not graduated.

Monique greatly admired her father for this and would often stop and listen whenever he talked about his work at home, and when the time to choose her career, there was no sense of “manly” or “girly” professions in her mind.

From this, we can get an important lesson, which is this: Heroes remove barriers that separate the possible and impossible. It’s also not hard to see that when Monique set out to become an example for other women, there was a part of her father in this as well.

That barrier women face in the field of engineering would only start to become clear when she got into college, where the ratio between women and men in the Industrial engineering course was unbalanced to the point where there were eight men for every woman.

The Only Woman In the Room

Monique describes her trajectory to her prominent position within Visagio as one filled with its bumps and obstacles, the major of which, according to herself, was the bump of being a woman in a male dominated industry like STEM.

“ Throughout my career, I can think of many examples where I was the only woman in the room, sometimes in a room with thirty people.” She recalled, but it was to such moments that Monique attributed her drive to change the game for women in STEM.

She sought to bring the perspective of being the only woman in the room into meetings, projects, deliverables, wherever it could be brought into the forefront for everyone’s attention. A difficult process, but one that proved to be rewarding in the end.

This trait Monique shares with many of the extraordinary women who I’ve interviewed: That she was able to use her adversities to establish herself as an example, blazing the trail for future generations of women in her field.

The Consultant

As is very common in Brazil, Monique partook in many different internships while in college, going through companies such as Michelin (which she didn’t like all that much, and Shell, which provided more of a corporate work environment.

Monique liked working at Shell well enough, but she started wanting to do more, which is when she caught wind of this Company called Visagio which was founded by five engineers and had strong ties to her university.

She applied and got a position there.

While working at Visagio, Monique started getting into consulting and how she could apply everything she had learned at her course while still living the dynamic work life with several clients and projects which she so desired.

Minority

If Monique was a minority at her university course, this was not about to change at work either, and in every company she worked for, be it as an intern or consultant, she would only see men in decision-making positions when looking up.

Monique’s drive to change this scenario came less of a desire to see herself o any other woman in a position of power within the company, and more out of the desire to open the gates for all the women that were going to graduate after her and look for jobs in their field.

Coming to Australia

During her journey in Visagio, Monique decided to come to Australia, pursuing an international experience that could further complement her career. And a project had just come up.

Her husband (or boyfriend at the time) already had some experience that would make the transition easier, and at the first opportunity, the two of them took the plunge together and moved down under.

From a financial standpoint this was a smooth transition, as she was an accomplished professional with a job waiting for her in Australia, but the social and emotional aspect of this change was much worse. After all, she did not know anyone.

Her husband, on the other hand, had it harder on both ends as he had to start from scratch on his new home, but Monique makes a point to highlight how the both of them were only able to work it out because they were partners through the whole process.

Monique used this for an example as to how changing the game is not about setting up a competition between the genders, but rather a cooperation where all parties work together towards a common goal that is better for everyone.

Conclusion

There are many takeaways from my conversation with Monique Mattos which someone with a hunger for change and a fire in the eye for justice and inclusion will be able to pick up from her story.

I’ve learned from Monique that opening a path, when there isn’t one already there, is not only good for the advancement of our own goals, but for the uplifting of anyone that shares in our struggle.

But, maybe more importantly, I’ve learned about the importance of having a role model. Monique had her father, I had my own mother, what about you? Who is the one person you look up to most?

That will be your thought exercise for today.

]]>8c2cc5a8-4e11-4d62-a902-86f3d6d35095Fri, 17 Sep 2021 09:00:00 +110040:48falsefull117171Monique is the living example that combining a challenging and successful career with a very intense personal life is possible! She is the mother of 3 kids under the age of 5, including a set of twins, and is one of the Managing Partners at Visagio - a global consulting company. Engineer by background, she was born in Brazil and joined the company as an Intern, becoming a partner only 4 years later, as a recognition for being a top performer. She is extremely passionate about developing people, and her happiness comes from seeing the success of others. Is an advocate for diversion and inclusion in Australian workplaces, and knows there is a lot more that can be done in this space.Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Grace MugabeIn the aftermath of the 2009 financial crisis, Grace Mugabe walked out of a well-paid position in the mining sector and rewired her skills towards financial literacy, management and business development.

She did so with a single mission in mind: To help underrepresented communities and businesses to improve their financial potential and infrastructure, leveling societies playing field and bringing opportunity to women and minorities.

You can only imagine how much of a privilege it was to talk with such an accomplished woman and open a window into the perspective of someone that is working hard to change the game from its very basis.

Here’s a bit of how that conversation went:

Background

The daughter of a Zimbabwean man with a South African woman, grace moved to Australia when she was eighteen after having lived in both Africa and America for most of her life.

Upon reaching the land down under, she was told by acquaintances that she would only be able to land a job at cleaning and age care, a statement she quickly proved to be wrong by landing a position at a call center and an accounting course at university.

One day, while Grace was working on her call center job, she noticed her company had posted an ad for an accounting position, though the job demanded a certain level of experience that as a student, she simply didn’t have.

That, however, did not stop her from marching up to her superiors and informing them they had an accounting graduate within their ranks, not too long after, the role of graduate accountant was created, and Grace was putting her talents to work.

She credited this achievement to her parents, who taught her from the very start that she could do and be whatever she wanted in life, an educational style that proves its worth in Grace’s story.

Before she could create opportunities for entire communities, she was creating them for herself through her sheer confidence in herself.

“I’m already different, why not go the extra mile?”

Moving On From Mining

Grace’s work in the mining industry was more than just paper pushing, and she often had to travel to the sites of mining projects, certainly not easy work, but she recalled enjoying it quite a lot, even if it created a major issue in her routine.

Grace volunteered at the multicultural women’s health center, and after work she would always have to rush over to the clinic, a game of back and forth that was draining her energy and making her feel as if she was living two separate lives.

The time to choose between the safety of her corporate position and her passion for helping those of a simillar background to her own was coming, luckily her mind was already set.

In her off-hours, Grace started formulating her “corporate escape plan”, to leave her safe (however unfulfilling) position to bring her skills to the service of those that, like her in the past, had to build a future in Australia.

Grace would work on this plan every day, starting from when she woke up at three am, until she would have to leave for her day job, and little by little the business known as “Financially Empowered” began to take form.

Financially Empowered

Financially Empowered is a social purpose business that equips women and minorities with the knowledge to, upscale their enterprises and provides them with the financial know-how to operate their companies in the Australian financial system.

She also operates a special program dedicated to those who have just immigrated to Australia called “many matters for migrants, which is focused on teaching them how the Australian financial system operates.

Grace mentions that the greatest challenge she has in the program is instructing clients that come from a social context that is entirely different from Australia in a way that is actually useful to them

“ For example, you...]]>In the aftermath of the 2009 financial crisis, Grace Mugabe walked out of a well-paid position in the mining sector and rewired her skills towards financial literacy, management and business development.

She did so with a single mission in mind: To help underrepresented communities and businesses to improve their financial potential and infrastructure, leveling societies playing field and bringing opportunity to women and minorities.

You can only imagine how much of a privilege it was to talk with such an accomplished woman and open a window into the perspective of someone that is working hard to change the game from its very basis.

Here’s a bit of how that conversation went:

Background

The daughter of a Zimbabwean man with a South African woman, grace moved to Australia when she was eighteen after having lived in both Africa and America for most of her life.

Upon reaching the land down under, she was told by acquaintances that she would only be able to land a job at cleaning and age care, a statement she quickly proved to be wrong by landing a position at a call center and an accounting course at university.

One day, while Grace was working on her call center job, she noticed her company had posted an ad for an accounting position, though the job demanded a certain level of experience that as a student, she simply didn’t have.

That, however, did not stop her from marching up to her superiors and informing them they had an accounting graduate within their ranks, not too long after, the role of graduate accountant was created, and Grace was putting her talents to work.

She credited this achievement to her parents, who taught her from the very start that she could do and be whatever she wanted in life, an educational style that proves its worth in Grace’s story.

Before she could create opportunities for entire communities, she was creating them for herself through her sheer confidence in herself.

“I’m already different, why not go the extra mile?”

Moving On From Mining

Grace’s work in the mining industry was more than just paper pushing, and she often had to travel to the sites of mining projects, certainly not easy work, but she recalled enjoying it quite a lot, even if it created a major issue in her routine.

Grace volunteered at the multicultural women’s health center, and after work she would always have to rush over to the clinic, a game of back and forth that was draining her energy and making her feel as if she was living two separate lives.

The time to choose between the safety of her corporate position and her passion for helping those of a simillar background to her own was coming, luckily her mind was already set.

In her off-hours, Grace started formulating her “corporate escape plan”, to leave her safe (however unfulfilling) position to bring her skills to the service of those that, like her in the past, had to build a future in Australia.

Grace would work on this plan every day, starting from when she woke up at three am, until she would have to leave for her day job, and little by little the business known as “Financially Empowered” began to take form.

Financially Empowered

Financially Empowered is a social purpose business that equips women and minorities with the knowledge to, upscale their enterprises and provides them with the financial know-how to operate their companies in the Australian financial system.

She also operates a special program dedicated to those who have just immigrated to Australia called “many matters for migrants, which is focused on teaching them how the Australian financial system operates.

Grace mentions that the greatest challenge she has in the program is instructing clients that come from a social context that is entirely different from Australia in a way that is actually useful to them

“ For example, you might have a refugee who has to live from day to day worrying about whether they will live till tomorrow, and they get to Australia, and it’s like ‘here’s some superannuation that you can access.’”

Cases such as this are worked by providing the migrant with someone they can trust to instruct them about how the Australian economy works in a friendly way and will speak “to them and not at them, throwing around all these big financial terms”.

Dealing With Fear

It’s hard to speak with Grace and not be impressed at her confidence, and wonder how she could have done everything she did without being paralyzed by the fear of failing, especially when you consider some of the challenges she had to go through.

These challenges don’t include only starting her own business from scratch on her off time while dealing with the responsibilities of being an accountant in the mining sector, but also social challenges that come with being an African woman in Australia.

I asked her about this, to which she responded that while yes, she did have to deal with a certain amount of prejudice that had to be overcome, not to mention inner obstacles like the infamous “imposter syndrome”.

In overcoming such hardships, Grace highlights the importance of having a support network comprising friends and family around you that is there to remind you of why you picked the path you’re on.

She also mentioned making a list of all the things she had accomplished after moments of self-doubt, which helped to overcome imposter syndrome.

Conclusion

In my talk with Grace Mugabe, the one thing that shone through everything she said was her courage and determination, not only to accomplish her goals despite what other people may say, but the courage to be herself.

It was through this courage that she sought the things for which she nurtured true passion, to create opportunities where others could not see them, the kind of courage that truly changes the game.

This is the kind of courage that you would like my readers to have to leave this article, so for today’s mental exercise, I want to ask you a very simple question: “how would things change, if you decided to speak out? What opportunities could be created?

]]>9151ced9-f1cc-425a-8fe0-4e7807024712Wed, 25 Aug 2021 09:00:00 +110034:31falsefull1616Grace Mugabe CPA, GAICD is an award-winning money management expert and speaker who specializes in narrowing the financial wealth and information divide that acutely impacts women and minorities. In the years following the 2008 financial crisis, Grace walked away from a lucrative financial role in the mining sector to reroute her skills around financial literacy, management and business development to help improve the earning potential and financial infrastructure of businesses and communities led by underrepresented women and minorities.Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Jill TangWhen she’s not starting another successful business, or supporting communities across Australia, Jill Tang likes to spend her time advocating for the inclusion of women in STEM fields through her start-up “Ladies Who Tech”.

Through this wonderful business, she has helped over thirty thousand women in eleven cities across the world to see new possibilities in their future, changing the game for women in the industry and making history one dream at a time.

Jill’s amazing work has been reported by Forbes China, The Guardian, BBC and many other media’s across the world, making her simply too cool not to interview in the changing the game podcast.

Here’s a quick recap of how that went:

Returning Home as a Stranger

We often see the products of one’s journey before learning what it took to get there. In Jill’s case, it all started when she moved from Shanghai to Melborn, Australia where she graduated in finance accounting.

Upon returning to China after graduating, Jill experienced a “reverse culture shock”, as she could not find people who shared in the identity shift that came with her overseas experience, after all there was no structure supporting this community.

Which is when she decided to create one. Thus began Jill’s entrepreneurial journey, which would be marked by businesses focusing in building and sustaining communities, including her third startup: Women who tech.

Having difficulties in fitting in after a long term international experience is something that I know too well as a Brazilian that has work overseas for most of my life, and seeing Jill taking this situation and turning it into positive change is more than inspiring.

And because she had the courage and skill to do that, those that came to the same situation after her will not have to go through the same isolation.

Chinese Women and STEM

Now, as those of you that listen to the podcast regularly (as you should) already know, women in STEM is a subject which I am particularly interested in, so I could not pass the opportunity to ask Jill about this in a Chinese context.

She replied that despite the fact that the gender wage gap is a universal issue inside and outside of STEM, China was doing better than many other countries.

“Chinese people are very tech-savvy, so I think its more about unconscious bias, which means yes, there is a gender gap for STEM in China as well but when it comes to digital equality, we are doing quite well. We have a good foundation to come from.”

While explaining this to me, Jill describes how the greatest challenge for Chinese women in STEM is changing society’s views on the subject, including that of women themselves, which is why “Ladies Who Tech” was created.

Ladies Who Tech

Naturally, our conversation gravitated towards Jill’s business, Ladies Who is a Tech, as I was really curious to find out what kind of work they performed in making women and girls feel included in the field.

“Our mission is very simple”, she replied, “To close the gender gap, and most importantly to promote gender diversity and inclusion in the STEM industry.”

The challenge, she explained, was achieving this end, which demands contribution from all the involved parties, including individual companies, the government and the communities around the women that want to create a space for themselves in the field.

In order to achieve this goal, Women Who Tech provide consultations to companies seeking to increase diversity in the work place, while also helping women within companies to structure a support community.

They have also developed a gender diversity and inclusion app where companies can place their employment branding and job offers exclusively to women and make a focused effort to hire them.

A Chinese Woman In Australia

Now, as someone that came from overseas to...]]>When she’s not starting another successful business, or supporting communities across Australia, Jill Tang likes to spend her time advocating for the inclusion of women in STEM fields through her start-up “Ladies Who Tech”.

Through this wonderful business, she has helped over thirty thousand women in eleven cities across the world to see new possibilities in their future, changing the game for women in the industry and making history one dream at a time.

Jill’s amazing work has been reported by Forbes China, The Guardian, BBC and many other media’s across the world, making her simply too cool not to interview in the changing the game podcast.

Here’s a quick recap of how that went:

Returning Home as a Stranger

We often see the products of one’s journey before learning what it took to get there. In Jill’s case, it all started when she moved from Shanghai to Melborn, Australia where she graduated in finance accounting.

Upon returning to China after graduating, Jill experienced a “reverse culture shock”, as she could not find people who shared in the identity shift that came with her overseas experience, after all there was no structure supporting this community.

Which is when she decided to create one. Thus began Jill’s entrepreneurial journey, which would be marked by businesses focusing in building and sustaining communities, including her third startup: Women who tech.

Having difficulties in fitting in after a long term international experience is something that I know too well as a Brazilian that has work overseas for most of my life, and seeing Jill taking this situation and turning it into positive change is more than inspiring.

And because she had the courage and skill to do that, those that came to the same situation after her will not have to go through the same isolation.

Chinese Women and STEM

Now, as those of you that listen to the podcast regularly (as you should) already know, women in STEM is a subject which I am particularly interested in, so I could not pass the opportunity to ask Jill about this in a Chinese context.

She replied that despite the fact that the gender wage gap is a universal issue inside and outside of STEM, China was doing better than many other countries.

“Chinese people are very tech-savvy, so I think its more about unconscious bias, which means yes, there is a gender gap for STEM in China as well but when it comes to digital equality, we are doing quite well. We have a good foundation to come from.”

While explaining this to me, Jill describes how the greatest challenge for Chinese women in STEM is changing society’s views on the subject, including that of women themselves, which is why “Ladies Who Tech” was created.

Ladies Who Tech

Naturally, our conversation gravitated towards Jill’s business, Ladies Who is a Tech, as I was really curious to find out what kind of work they performed in making women and girls feel included in the field.

“Our mission is very simple”, she replied, “To close the gender gap, and most importantly to promote gender diversity and inclusion in the STEM industry.”

The challenge, she explained, was achieving this end, which demands contribution from all the involved parties, including individual companies, the government and the communities around the women that want to create a space for themselves in the field.

In order to achieve this goal, Women Who Tech provide consultations to companies seeking to increase diversity in the work place, while also helping women within companies to structure a support community.

They have also developed a gender diversity and inclusion app where companies can place their employment branding and job offers exclusively to women and make a focused effort to hire them.

A Chinese Woman In Australia

Now, as someone that came from overseas to study in Australia, it’s not hard to imagine Jill had to face quite a few barriers in her journey towards accomplishment, which, as she explains, went from something as simple as language to the innermost sense of loneliness.

Jill recalled that overcoming these barriers was only possible because she was able to rely on an entire community of which she took part, the idea that whenever she would fall, there would be a support net to catch her.

However, she also warns that while having a group of people with whom you share an identity and story is important, you still need to prepare for being pushed out of you comfort zone, as she was in her first days studying here.

Because, in truth, Jill did not like Australia all that much at first, and were it not for her “tiger mom” telling her to do whatever it took to overcome adversity, maybe I never would have met her.

As someone who knows what it’s like to be raised by an amazing woman, and to overcome a severe language barrier after moving overseas, I could not help but relate.

Conclusion

The main lesson that comes out of my wonderful conversation with Jill Tang has to be the importance of tackling the tremendous mission of changing the game with the aid and support of the people around you.

Not just because having people who care for you around greatly increases your quality of life along with your chances of success, but because they too, as individuals who share in your identity with all its pros and cons, stand to gain from your work.

So, for today’s mental exercise, I want you to think seriously and clearly about who are the people inside your community and you can coordinate this community to become a force of change in the world.

]]>554b65e2-e9fc-4280-90e6-9e346fe96897Wed, 18 Aug 2021 09:00:00 +110034:49falsefull1515Jill Tang is a serial entrepreneur, community builder and Women in STEM advocate. She is the co-founder of Ladies Who Tech, a social enterprise focusing on changing the status quo and promotes gender diversity and inclusion in STEM industry through offering digital upskilling education, career opportunities and community network. It connects more than 30,000+ members across all social media in greater China and now has presence in 11 cities including Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Forbes China, the Guardian, BBC, TechNode, Paper, CGTN and CNN also reported her work. Jill is the finalist for 2016 Australia China Young Alumni of the year and top 100 Gen T in China by Asia Tatler in 2019. In 2020, Jill was awarded ’Social Impact Award’ at AmCham Future Leaders of the Year Award. She holds Bachelor of Commerce from Latrobe University, Master of Applied Finance from Monash University and MBA from Melbourne Business School.Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Lisa ShreeveLisa Shreeve has had the drive and adventuring spirit you would expect from a woman that has lived and worked all over the world, and after many years of wondering she eventually decided to apply these qualities for the benefit of the iconic Busselton Jetty.

I was through her passion and leadership skills that the locals from near Jetty were able to organize themselves to save the town’s most iconic landmark after it was struck by the fury of the Alby Cyclone.

Now, In the midst of a global pandemic, she leads this passionate community through the non-profit “Busselton Jetty Inc”, in its journey of reinvention in order to overcome not only the health crisis, but also an extremely competitive tourism industry.

Tourism And The Virus

Lisa started out by describing her work in Busselton Jetty as “a dream come true”, largely attributing this positive experience to how the local inhabitants stick together as a community to operate and maintain the Jetty.

Unfortunately, as the world shut down in the wake of the current health crisis, one of the industries that was the most directly hit was tourism and Busselton as a town was amongst the most affected by this change.

“We’ve seen the decline in tourism from the international visitors not being able to come”, Lisa would explain, “We had 44% International visitation from Singapore, all of Asia, China and UK are really big money for the Jetty and of course they are not here.”

Since Busselton is a tourism town, this represented a major threat to the livelihood of most of its inhabitants as their plans for the whole year were flipped on their heads, and many had seen their financial security suddenly threatened.

And it gets worse, according to Lisa herself, “We are about two and a half million dollars down since COVID started and compared to where we would be if there was no pandemic and 40% of our staff have resigned or had to be stood down.”

From Crisis, Innovation

The scenario for a tourism town like Busselton in the current global stage could not be more grim, and yet with every crisis comes also the need for innovation, and Lisa has been hard at work to ensure her town answers this call.

According to Lisa, the town began to feel the effects of the pandemic around 2020 of last year when fewer and fewer visitors began to appear, and shortly after the state of pandemic was declared, so was a 55-day lockdown.

The very first thing the Jetty’s staff decided to do was coordinate, to sit together and say: “what can we do?”.

Together, the Jetty team formulated a strategy based on new needs from the community that were beginning to arise with the lockdown, and they made plans for the creation of new and alternative activities that they could do while things didn’t come back to normal.

In about two weeks, they had developed fourteen different virtual tours, their marine science team started an educational workshop for those that were doing homeschool, and they promoted several physicals on the Jetty like running, home workouts and dancing.

Another amazing idea that arose out of this meeting were the filmed Jetty tours, including history tours recorded on the train with the driver explaining the Jetty’s history, which raked in 50 thousand views from around the world.

Their activities were not only focused on keeping the Jetty working as a tourism business either, and the staff unde Lisa’s direction also helped in the delivery of medicine to the retired population of Busselton, planting trees and even walking people’s dogs and much more.

When unexpected hardship struck her little piece of the world, Lisa and her team were able to think fast and make the most out of what was for all intents and purposes a hard time for all the world, but also for themselves on a completely different level.

Regional Development

Now, I’ve been living in Western Australia for...]]>Lisa Shreeve has had the drive and adventuring spirit you would expect from a woman that has lived and worked all over the world, and after many years of wondering she eventually decided to apply these qualities for the benefit of the iconic Busselton Jetty.

I was through her passion and leadership skills that the locals from near Jetty were able to organize themselves to save the town’s most iconic landmark after it was struck by the fury of the Alby Cyclone.

Now, In the midst of a global pandemic, she leads this passionate community through the non-profit “Busselton Jetty Inc”, in its journey of reinvention in order to overcome not only the health crisis, but also an extremely competitive tourism industry.

Tourism And The Virus

Lisa started out by describing her work in Busselton Jetty as “a dream come true”, largely attributing this positive experience to how the local inhabitants stick together as a community to operate and maintain the Jetty.

Unfortunately, as the world shut down in the wake of the current health crisis, one of the industries that was the most directly hit was tourism and Busselton as a town was amongst the most affected by this change.

“We’ve seen the decline in tourism from the international visitors not being able to come”, Lisa would explain, “We had 44% International visitation from Singapore, all of Asia, China and UK are really big money for the Jetty and of course they are not here.”

Since Busselton is a tourism town, this represented a major threat to the livelihood of most of its inhabitants as their plans for the whole year were flipped on their heads, and many had seen their financial security suddenly threatened.

And it gets worse, according to Lisa herself, “We are about two and a half million dollars down since COVID started and compared to where we would be if there was no pandemic and 40% of our staff have resigned or had to be stood down.”

From Crisis, Innovation

The scenario for a tourism town like Busselton in the current global stage could not be more grim, and yet with every crisis comes also the need for innovation, and Lisa has been hard at work to ensure her town answers this call.

According to Lisa, the town began to feel the effects of the pandemic around 2020 of last year when fewer and fewer visitors began to appear, and shortly after the state of pandemic was declared, so was a 55-day lockdown.

The very first thing the Jetty’s staff decided to do was coordinate, to sit together and say: “what can we do?”.

Together, the Jetty team formulated a strategy based on new needs from the community that were beginning to arise with the lockdown, and they made plans for the creation of new and alternative activities that they could do while things didn’t come back to normal.

In about two weeks, they had developed fourteen different virtual tours, their marine science team started an educational workshop for those that were doing homeschool, and they promoted several physicals on the Jetty like running, home workouts and dancing.

Another amazing idea that arose out of this meeting were the filmed Jetty tours, including history tours recorded on the train with the driver explaining the Jetty’s history, which raked in 50 thousand views from around the world.

Their activities were not only focused on keeping the Jetty working as a tourism business either, and the staff unde Lisa’s direction also helped in the delivery of medicine to the retired population of Busselton, planting trees and even walking people’s dogs and much more.

When unexpected hardship struck her little piece of the world, Lisa and her team were able to think fast and make the most out of what was for all intents and purposes a hard time for all the world, but also for themselves on a completely different level.

Regional Development

Now, I’ve been living in Western Australia for about thirteen years now, (a comparatively short time if one accounts to my age.), and something very particular to this region is how beyond the state capital of Perth there are not many large cities and towns.

This can represent a series of inequalities when it comes to access to services and infrastructure, so I had to ask Lisa what her view on this issue were, given her background on regional development.

“A lot of people do think they can only have a career in the city” she thoughtfully replied “ and that is untrue, especially now with the internet and the knowledge of being able to move out of city areas.”

Beyond technological advancement, she also mentioned that “it would be great if certain government departments would decentralize the parliament, which might help with some of those career aspirations too.”

Despite this social challenge, Lisa expressed optimism for regional areas as their situation has been steadily improving to the point where the day when this is no longer an issue is not that far.

Conclusion

If one particular virtue shines the brightest in my interview with Lisa Sheeve, it would have to be her ability to adapt in the face of great change, a virtue that has been the make or break factor for most businesses around the world during these troubled times we live in.

It was though this ability that she and her crew at the Busselton Jetty were able to avoid disaster time and time again, not just for the tourism attraction, but for the whole town in which it stands.

So, if you are on your journey to change the game and facing hard times yourself, there are some questions I want you to make: What can I do to flip this situation on it’s head? What resources are at my disposal, and to what needs can I provide in the pandemic?

]]>a98a4dcd-50e1-4fdb-bdc7-9e0e30c4a4b0Wed, 21 Jul 2021 09:00:00 +110036:27falsefull114141Lisa Shreeve has been lucky enough to work all around the world and now call Busselton home. As the CEO of the Busselton Jetty, Lisa is proud to work with a community of passionate locals who saved the Busselton Jetty after Cyclone Alby and continue to volunteer their time to the town’s heritage icon – that is Busselton Jetty Inc, the not for profit organisation that runs the businesses on the Jetty and contributes 25% of its ticket sales to its sustainability. In today’s competitive world and especially post COVID, the Busselton Jetty has to keep reinventing itself to continue to attract tourists. Lisa started at the Jetty in January 2015 and with the Board of Management, BJI has ambitious plans to grow and develop tourism to attract over 1 million visitors per year.Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Elizabeth KnightElizabeth Knight is an entrepreneur with a big dream to transform our education system and how we prepare young people for their futures here in WA.

She is the founder of Purposeful, a ed-tech startup helping students to find their place in the world, through their self-exploration and purpose-discovery programs.

During her time at university, she is fortunate to have led Bloom, a youth-led incubator that acts as the catalyst for early stage founders to begin their entrepreneurial journey in WA. 

She is a Fogarty Scholar, a TEDx presenter, Plus 8 accelerator participant and in 2019 received the Boston Consulting Group Scholarship for Australia & New Zealand.

Get in touch with Elizabeth.

]]>Elizabeth Knight is an entrepreneur with a big dream to transform our education system and how we prepare young people for their futures here in WA.

She is the founder of Purposeful, a ed-tech startup helping students to find their place in the world, through their self-exploration and purpose-discovery programs.

During her time at university, she is fortunate to have led Bloom, a youth-led incubator that acts as the catalyst for early stage founders to begin their entrepreneurial journey in WA. 

She is a Fogarty Scholar, a TEDx presenter, Plus 8 accelerator participant and in 2019 received the Boston Consulting Group Scholarship for Australia & New Zealand.

Get in touch with Elizabeth.

]]>e3b01f86-7648-4046-8cda-5bdb47586b4fWed, 14 Jul 2021 09:00:00 +110038:07falsefull113131Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Dinia MongeToday’s episode of Changing the game was special not only because it was my first ever international interview, but also because I got to talk to Dinia Monge, Co-Founder of Ola Igualdad and a long-time friend of mine.

Ola Igualdad is a consultancy firm created with the sole mission of promoting gender equality in different organizations, while aiding them in achieving greater efficiency and effectiveness with their work.

On a more personal level, Dinia is moved by a strong desire to change the game for women around the world that stems from her own experience with the wall of prejudice that keeps women from ascending to high positions within the corporate world.

From Imbalance, A Spark

“Five years ago, something happened”, Dinia began to explain while talking about her trajectory and how she found herself at a point in her life where it was getting difficult to balance her family life with a job that demanded bi-monthly international flights.

She recalls trying to negotiate this routine with her boss at first, who despite being very comprehensive could only do so much, eventually Dinia began to question herself on whether her current occupation was “close to her heart”.

The answer was no, and in what she called an unusually irrational decision, she quit her job in order to find a greater balance between personal and professional.

For all intents and purposes, this was leap of faith, a jump that combined the exhilarating freedom of freeing oneself from a burden combined with the spine tingling fear that comes with the lack of a safety net.

 And much like any other leap of faith, Dinia was bound to land at an important conclusion that revealed her true motivation.

“I wanted to help other women get that balance. Why couldn’t you really pursue a professional life and also be at comfort with yourself and how you are dealing with time management around family.”

This motivation would eventually lead her into contacting the delicate threads of gender equality in organizations in general and collaborate in the founding of “Ola Igualdad”.

Woman Engineer

Going back on our conversation a bit, some of the more long-term members of my audience may know that one of the biggest focuses of interest at Changing the game is the extremely important subject of women in STEM.

Thus, learning that Dinia originally graduated in engineering and how extraordinary this is in terms of what it means for the struggle for a more equitable society, I just had to ask what her motivation was to choose that field.

“I love math” she responded.

This love of math, combined with being “generally unaware of all the possibilities that math implies” led her to choose between becoming an engineer or an economist, until a certain prominent figure told her:

“If you’d like for your opinions to be heard, don’t become an economist”

And out of a desire to see her work produce solid, measurable outcomes, she became an engineer.

Now, if Dinia was able to make such a big difference in the world without being initially aware of all the paths opened for her by her inclination towards numbers, imagine what young girls today can do if they receive access to this information?

Life In Brazil

At first, what made Dinia choose Brazil, my home country, as her destination after graduating from college instead of somewhere like the US or Australia was a general fascination for the Portuguese language.

Even if her first contact with the inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro was a little frightening at first.

This initial fright came more from the unexpected variance in regional dialects in Brazil, but once that barrier was overcome, Dinia tells that she quickly became a Brazilian at heart, fully immersing herself in the culture and...]]>Today’s episode of Changing the game was special not only because it was my first ever international interview, but also because I got to talk to Dinia Monge, Co-Founder of Ola Igualdad and a long-time friend of mine.

Ola Igualdad is a consultancy firm created with the sole mission of promoting gender equality in different organizations, while aiding them in achieving greater efficiency and effectiveness with their work.

On a more personal level, Dinia is moved by a strong desire to change the game for women around the world that stems from her own experience with the wall of prejudice that keeps women from ascending to high positions within the corporate world.

From Imbalance, A Spark

“Five years ago, something happened”, Dinia began to explain while talking about her trajectory and how she found herself at a point in her life where it was getting difficult to balance her family life with a job that demanded bi-monthly international flights.

She recalls trying to negotiate this routine with her boss at first, who despite being very comprehensive could only do so much, eventually Dinia began to question herself on whether her current occupation was “close to her heart”.

The answer was no, and in what she called an unusually irrational decision, she quit her job in order to find a greater balance between personal and professional.

For all intents and purposes, this was leap of faith, a jump that combined the exhilarating freedom of freeing oneself from a burden combined with the spine tingling fear that comes with the lack of a safety net.

 And much like any other leap of faith, Dinia was bound to land at an important conclusion that revealed her true motivation.

“I wanted to help other women get that balance. Why couldn’t you really pursue a professional life and also be at comfort with yourself and how you are dealing with time management around family.”

This motivation would eventually lead her into contacting the delicate threads of gender equality in organizations in general and collaborate in the founding of “Ola Igualdad”.

Woman Engineer

Going back on our conversation a bit, some of the more long-term members of my audience may know that one of the biggest focuses of interest at Changing the game is the extremely important subject of women in STEM.

Thus, learning that Dinia originally graduated in engineering and how extraordinary this is in terms of what it means for the struggle for a more equitable society, I just had to ask what her motivation was to choose that field.

“I love math” she responded.

This love of math, combined with being “generally unaware of all the possibilities that math implies” led her to choose between becoming an engineer or an economist, until a certain prominent figure told her:

“If you’d like for your opinions to be heard, don’t become an economist”

And out of a desire to see her work produce solid, measurable outcomes, she became an engineer.

Now, if Dinia was able to make such a big difference in the world without being initially aware of all the paths opened for her by her inclination towards numbers, imagine what young girls today can do if they receive access to this information?

Life In Brazil

At first, what made Dinia choose Brazil, my home country, as her destination after graduating from college instead of somewhere like the US or Australia was a general fascination for the Portuguese language.

Even if her first contact with the inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro was a little frightening at first.

This initial fright came more from the unexpected variance in regional dialects in Brazil, but once that barrier was overcome, Dinia tells that she quickly became a Brazilian at heart, fully immersing herself in the culture and history.

There was also what she described as the liberating feeling of a clean slate that comes with going to a place where nobody knows you which gives you the freedom to carve out an entirely new identity for yourself.

Such a feeling came with the price of an initial isolation from some of the cultural differences between Brazil and Costa Rica, combined with an uncomfortable distance from her family

In choosing the road less traveled, Dinia got to have absolutely unique experiences in relation to her colleagues, which in turn equipped her to bring in unique perspectives to her line of work.

Ola Igualdad

Dinia co-founded ola igualdad with a team of United Nations certified consultants and it plays an extremely important role in working alongside organizations of all kinds in order to find the gender gaps within their processes and operations and addressing them.

The first step in this adressing process, she explains, is spreading awareness as “most of these gender gaps are caused by gender bias”, which are unconscious and a part of human psychology, though that by itself is no excuse.

She also explains that because of its inherent relation with the human psyche, this bias can only be eliminated on a long term process, which in turn generates the need for short-term bypasses which are then built with the organization.

It should really go without saying how essential her work is ias it manages to fight inequality from both the individual and introspective front, as well as the collective structural one, both of which are often a great source of suffering and inequality in the world.

Conclusion

A remarkable and adventurous woman, Dinia Monge is someone that never failed to take risks in order to learn, be it in choosing to study and live in Brazil, quitting her job to find balance or taking the charge in the fight for equality.

In all of these steps along her journey Dinia was always able to subtract some unique perspective or valuable insight which she has employed in her quest to make the world a better place for women.

So, with this in mind, it is time for me to ask you: What would you consider to be some of the most valuable experiences in your life? And how can you use them to change the game for yourself and the people around you?

]]>d32c91b0-d77d-474e-962f-b8f5150502a3Wed, 16 Jun 2021 09:00:00 +110039:49falsefull112121Dinia is a Gender Equality Advisor, passionate about teaching and implementing mechanisms that allow conciliating personal, work, and family balance. She has experience in Strategic Consulting, Revenue Management, and Customer Service in Fortune 500 Companies. She is certified as Gender Equality Advisor by UNPD (Panama), MSc in Business Administration at Instituto COPPEAD (UFRJ-Brazil), Industrial Engineer at Universidad de Costa Rica (Costa Rica).Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Paula RogersHaving Paula Rogers on for the Changing the Game podcast felt like an adventure in many ways as she was the very first guest with whom I had no prior contact before the recording of the episode.

This means that as we learn about her story from when first graduated from the university of Dublin up into the point where she became the WA state director of CEDA, you and I both are going to be hearing it for the first time.

As you can imagine this is quite a privilege, so as we learn about all the ways in which Paula is changing the game, I hope you are just as delighted in the conversation as I was.

The Gift Of Adversity

Anyone that has gone through college will know that feeling of being pushed out the door into the ever revolving storm that is the world with all the strife and turmoil that it contains.

For Paula, it was no different, except for the fact that Ireland was going through a huge recession at the time she graduated which put a shadow of doubt over her transition from student to professional.

Yet as it tends to be, it was the adversities she faced that forged her path as the fear of never actually getting a job brought her to the bustling London where she got to kick-start her career.

The very first thing Paula and I got to talk about we already have a great nugget of wisdom:

‘Don’t judge your future for where you are today’.

When you set out to change the game in any scale, you will always be met with the challenges of your beginning circumstances. For Paula that was economic recession, for you, it can be the global pandemic we are going through right now.

But it’s essential that you take these obstacles head on as they will provide you with the strength you’ll need to truly change things for the better.

Life is Unpredictable

Still on the subject of the beginning of her career, Paula talked about how she got into social studies with the goal of becoming a social worker in the future, which is quite a ways away from her current enterprises a director of economic development.

That is a very common theme amongst my guests as so often they come out of college with a certificate in hands and no idea of what they are going to do.

Paula was no different in this regard having “no idea” about what she wanted to do when going into college and only a faint clue as to the path she wanted to pursue afterwards which had nothing to do with her current career

Thinking back on when the choice was upon her, Paula said that she would have chosen to go for marketing for a college degree, but that she was glad for the experiences provided in the “university of life.”

All of that is to say the simple truth that life in unpredictable and when you first put your feet on the road there is really no telling where you are going to end up. The Paula from college thought that she was going to be a social worker in 2021.

And yet she looks at the great career she has today knowing that despite being unexpected, the path she took was far from wrong.

Being an Immigrant in Western Australia

Just like me, Paula also came to the region of Perth in Western Australia and found it hard not to fall in love with this beautiful place, yet she faced many challenges that were absent from my experience as an immigrant.

She recalled that her first experience living in Australia was back in the early nineties when she worked at Jeans West that was pioneering customer care at the time, but as soon as she could get a “proper job”, she started working at The West Australian.

There she made the connections that would lend her a job as a managing director at the publication when she moved back in with her family in 2002, later giving her the opportunity to publish her own...]]>Having Paula Rogers on for the Changing the Game podcast felt like an adventure in many ways as she was the very first guest with whom I had no prior contact before the recording of the episode.

This means that as we learn about her story from when first graduated from the university of Dublin up into the point where she became the WA state director of CEDA, you and I both are going to be hearing it for the first time.

As you can imagine this is quite a privilege, so as we learn about all the ways in which Paula is changing the game, I hope you are just as delighted in the conversation as I was.

The Gift Of Adversity

Anyone that has gone through college will know that feeling of being pushed out the door into the ever revolving storm that is the world with all the strife and turmoil that it contains.

For Paula, it was no different, except for the fact that Ireland was going through a huge recession at the time she graduated which put a shadow of doubt over her transition from student to professional.

Yet as it tends to be, it was the adversities she faced that forged her path as the fear of never actually getting a job brought her to the bustling London where she got to kick-start her career.

The very first thing Paula and I got to talk about we already have a great nugget of wisdom:

‘Don’t judge your future for where you are today’.

When you set out to change the game in any scale, you will always be met with the challenges of your beginning circumstances. For Paula that was economic recession, for you, it can be the global pandemic we are going through right now.

But it’s essential that you take these obstacles head on as they will provide you with the strength you’ll need to truly change things for the better.

Life is Unpredictable

Still on the subject of the beginning of her career, Paula talked about how she got into social studies with the goal of becoming a social worker in the future, which is quite a ways away from her current enterprises a director of economic development.

That is a very common theme amongst my guests as so often they come out of college with a certificate in hands and no idea of what they are going to do.

Paula was no different in this regard having “no idea” about what she wanted to do when going into college and only a faint clue as to the path she wanted to pursue afterwards which had nothing to do with her current career

Thinking back on when the choice was upon her, Paula said that she would have chosen to go for marketing for a college degree, but that she was glad for the experiences provided in the “university of life.”

All of that is to say the simple truth that life in unpredictable and when you first put your feet on the road there is really no telling where you are going to end up. The Paula from college thought that she was going to be a social worker in 2021.

And yet she looks at the great career she has today knowing that despite being unexpected, the path she took was far from wrong.

Being an Immigrant in Western Australia

Just like me, Paula also came to the region of Perth in Western Australia and found it hard not to fall in love with this beautiful place, yet she faced many challenges that were absent from my experience as an immigrant.

She recalled that her first experience living in Australia was back in the early nineties when she worked at Jeans West that was pioneering customer care at the time, but as soon as she could get a “proper job”, she started working at The West Australian.

There she made the connections that would lend her a job as a managing director at the publication when she moved back in with her family in 2002, later giving her the opportunity to publish her own books.

Paula’s first and second experiences in Perth were vastly different as she recalls: “There was no internet, petrol stations were only open at certain days on the weekend and I felt really isolated then.”

Her second time living in Perth on the other hand was much more positive as she could count on the grounding force of having her family with her and getting to watch her son “blossom and grow” made her years here better.

When we find ourselves in face of a challenge it is a very natural reaction to believe you have to face it alone, but too often you find that to be a lie as your loved ones will give you not just the means but a reason as well.

The Woman In The Big Chair

Being the state director of CEDA is no small feat. I believe that goes without saying as it is a position that comes with a lot of responsibility and demands no small of competence.

Add to that the challenges that women everywhere have to face nowadays and you can begin to grasp how big of an accomplishment it is for Paula to be where she is today, which was exactly what my next question to her was about.

About the challenges of being a woman on an executive position, she had the following to say:

“Ceda had five state directors, two of which were man and three women and by the end of my term there was only one man.”

So often in this show we hear about women having to fight with tooth and nail for a space within companies and organizations and here we can actually see this struggle starting to bear fruit.

Conclusion

If we were to draw a single point from everything Paula and I got to discuss it would have to be about overcoming the challenges that present themselves along our life path.

After all if Paula Rogers reached the incredible heights she is on today that would be because of her ability to take the adversities of life in stride and prosper through, the anxiety of recession and the isolation of coming to new lands.

All of these things became possible through her courage, which is the overcoming rather than the absence of fear. Which finally brings us to our creative exercise for today.

I want you to think about what is the biggest challenge that stands between you and changing the game and what you can do to overcome it.

]]>41cc278b-be03-456b-986f-af101e72956bWed, 09 Jun 2021 09:00:00 +110033:53falsefull111111Paula Rogers Paula Rogers has over 20 years’ experience in management, sales, marketing and business development in other roles such as Publisher and CEO, General Manager, Professional Services BD, Communications and Marketing Manager. She has significant expertise in economic development, stakeholder engagement, communications both traditional and digital, events development, management and execution including sales and marketing initiatives and fundraising. Until July 2020, Paula was the State Director of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and developed a program supporting and promoting the social, environmental, and economic development of the State and Australia. She now runs her own consulting business Paula Rogers Consulting and some executive search appointments with a global firm, Stanton Chase. Paula is also a board director on three boards, North Metro Health Services (NMHS), Barking Gecko Theatre and Edith Cowan College. She has completed the AICD Company Director course and was selected to be a part of the 2017 Director Pipeline Program and graduated from the ELIAS Leadership program with the Centre for Social Impact in 2019. With a B.Soc.Sci. from University College Dublin (UCD) Ireland. Paula has strong connections in the public, private and community sectors. She understands the key economic drivers for WA and is a passionate advocate for Perth and WA and in making a difference to our world and WA.Changing the game with Wilson Casado - Katie McDonaldA property journalist with the WA business news, Katie Mcdonald has earned several awards going as far as receiving the best culture and arts report at he WA state media awards two years in a row.

Coming from an Irish background, Katie recalls that according to her family storytelling is a national past-time, one that she indulged while being as young as three years old when she would fill her notebooks with “random ramblings”.

I’ve never been an avid reader. Much prefering audio books and podcasts. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to talk to this extremely talented young woman about her work, life and mission as she changes the writing and journalism game by winning it.

Natural Inclinations

Originally Katie got into UWA on the psychology course with the objective of pairing marketing and psychology “to understand what makes people tick”, which she assured me was much less evil than it actually sounds like.

Yet as she progressed in her studies Katie began to “miss English” a feeling that soon drew her to more and more “broadening classes” related to communication and writing until she eventually decided to shift her area of studies completely.

Katie defends this decision as one of the best she ever took, highlighting interaction with amazing writers in her classes expanded her horizons and brought to her broader understanding of who she was.

Indeed, often when we must decide on a road it is perfectly reasonable to simply ask yourself “what do I want to do?”, in fact a lot of the time your heart will already be telling you and its always a good idea to listen.

Why? Because understanding what benefits a career offers is not enough, you need to love what you are doing, without that passion there is no changing the game.

The Multiplicity of Stories

As I revealed in our talk and here on this article as well, I’ve never been much of a reader, yet to this Katie keenly replied that stories come in a variety of forms like movies, podcasts and audiobooks which she incentivised me to try out.

Indeed, there is quite a lot of truth to that as those seeking to change the game soon find themselves with an ever-increasing demand for education on a multitude of subjects and must find whatever way they can to fulfill this demand.

And that includes audiobooks as well, which have been my way of covering several important titles in very little time (even if my wife claims that’s cheating).

So if you are not much of a reader try going to the theater or to a museum, listen to poetry sessions and podcasts, gain as much culture as you can from as many places as possible.

The world is full of lessons for those willing to listen.

The WA State Media Award

When Talking about her many accomplishments, Katie humbly attributes the praise she has received to her editor David Turnock who “nurtured her journalism skills” as the award came very early on in her career.

Her “best art and culture report” award on the other hand came from her investigation onto the funding for different Australian artistic groups which revealed that despite the fact that WA did not receive its fair share, it still managed to punch above its own weight.

By doing such important work within a business publication, she captures the attention of business readers who are often the ones making decisions within companies and turning it towards the central role of the arts within society.

In bringing the importance of the arts into the public eye, Katie reenacts that same broadening of vision that she experienced in college, though on an even larger scale, and she does so in a way that helps not only appreciators of art but its producers as well.

After all, if the arts are seen not only for their benefits on an individual level but also for their potential as an investment opportunity, more artists may see their...]]>A property journalist with the WA business news, Katie Mcdonald has earned several awards going as far as receiving the best culture and arts report at he WA state media awards two years in a row.

Coming from an Irish background, Katie recalls that according to her family storytelling is a national past-time, one that she indulged while being as young as three years old when she would fill her notebooks with “random ramblings”.

I’ve never been an avid reader. Much prefering audio books and podcasts. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to talk to this extremely talented young woman about her work, life and mission as she changes the writing and journalism game by winning it.

Natural Inclinations

Originally Katie got into UWA on the psychology course with the objective of pairing marketing and psychology “to understand what makes people tick”, which she assured me was much less evil than it actually sounds like.

Yet as she progressed in her studies Katie began to “miss English” a feeling that soon drew her to more and more “broadening classes” related to communication and writing until she eventually decided to shift her area of studies completely.

Katie defends this decision as one of the best she ever took, highlighting interaction with amazing writers in her classes expanded her horizons and brought to her broader understanding of who she was.

Indeed, often when we must decide on a road it is perfectly reasonable to simply ask yourself “what do I want to do?”, in fact a lot of the time your heart will already be telling you and its always a good idea to listen.

Why? Because understanding what benefits a career offers is not enough, you need to love what you are doing, without that passion there is no changing the game.

The Multiplicity of Stories

As I revealed in our talk and here on this article as well, I’ve never been much of a reader, yet to this Katie keenly replied that stories come in a variety of forms like movies, podcasts and audiobooks which she incentivised me to try out.

Indeed, there is quite a lot of truth to that as those seeking to change the game soon find themselves with an ever-increasing demand for education on a multitude of subjects and must find whatever way they can to fulfill this demand.

And that includes audiobooks as well, which have been my way of covering several important titles in very little time (even if my wife claims that’s cheating).

So if you are not much of a reader try going to the theater or to a museum, listen to poetry sessions and podcasts, gain as much culture as you can from as many places as possible.

The world is full of lessons for those willing to listen.

The WA State Media Award

When Talking about her many accomplishments, Katie humbly attributes the praise she has received to her editor David Turnock who “nurtured her journalism skills” as the award came very early on in her career.

Her “best art and culture report” award on the other hand came from her investigation onto the funding for different Australian artistic groups which revealed that despite the fact that WA did not receive its fair share, it still managed to punch above its own weight.

By doing such important work within a business publication, she captures the attention of business readers who are often the ones making decisions within companies and turning it towards the central role of the arts within society.

In bringing the importance of the arts into the public eye, Katie reenacts that same broadening of vision that she experienced in college, though on an even larger scale, and she does so in a way that helps not only appreciators of art but its producers as well.

After all, if the arts are seen not only for their benefits on an individual level but also for their potential as an investment opportunity, more artists may see their talents properly rewarded.

Art and Business

Eventually our conversation got into the realm of relations between art and business which in itself can be seen as the relation between art and everything else, as Katie herself points out “art is in more places than we realise”.

To illustrate this she used something most people today are quite familiar with, a little obscure company called Netflix.

When we watch a netflix series we are actually watching the combination of several different art forms from the music that makes the score, to the writing of the scripts and the very aesthetic of the scenes.

Which serves to show any artistically inclined member of my audience that art does not limit your options for a future, but rather it can take you wherever you want so long as you find new ways to employ your talents.

Hardship

Being young, intelligent and well accomplished Katie may sometimes give off the image of someone with an absolutely perfect life, yet she is the first to remember us that life is always full of challenges.

For her this comes in the form of a general lack of acknowledgement for the journalistic profession, but also in the shear load of work she had to take on going from art and culture into property.

There was also the challenge of going into an industry that like so many (too many) others was dominated by men, which meant that along with her usual work to bring information to the general public, she also had to fight for her own space.

That is to say, there is no success that does not come with its own fair share of struggle, and that is something we must keep in mind as we try to exact change upon the world, that this change will come at the price of monumental effort.

Conclusion

Katie McDonald is truly an extraordinary person that has managed to reach great height simply by pursuing her interests and using the talents and interests she naturally developed for the benefit of society as whole.

If our conversation leaves any lasting impression on you, let it be this: If you want to change this world for the better and pursue the things you love, the very first thing you need to do is become aware at the tools at your disposal.

Which leads us to our thought exercise for today: Think about the ways in which you would like to change the game, translate that into concrete goals and then think about what skills and talents are at your disposal for fufilling those goals.

]]>a9f3e3e5-f1c2-4701-8b93-c3482aae7641Fri, 28 May 2021 09:00:00 +110032:18falsefull110101Katie is the property journalist at WA Business News. Katie started with the company in 2016, shortly after completing a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Western Australia. Katie left Business News in 2018 for a stint in copywriting before returning to the editorial team last year. During her professional career, Katie has received several awards for her writing, including a few honors at the MEAA's State Media Awards and being named a national finalist for the Association for Data-driven Marketing and Advertising's Young Creative of the Year in 2019.Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Yola BakkerYola Bakker is a “Creative for Change”, employing her talents across several industries in projects like PODscape and Take2 4you, through which she seeks to bring in new diverse perspectives from the ground up.

The daughter of an Indonesian immigrant, Yola grew up in Darwin where she would develop the artistic talents that she uses today in the promotion of diverse perspectives deeply rooted in intersectionality.

She was also kind enough to accept being a guest in the Changing the Game Podcast where we got to discuss not only her background but also her multifaceted work in the promotion of diversity and intersectionality.

The Extra Mile

My talk with Yola started with her reminiscing about her childhood in Darwin, and like so many guests admirably do, recognising the privilege she had growing up in an environment with access to good education and living standards.

However, she also takes a critical stance in her education that mostly taught her to “read and write”, while her critical thinking abilities were developed not in the classroom, but through Yola’s creative pursuits.

Studying classical ballet and traditional Indonesian dance, she learned from a very young age about the power that movement and words had to stir peoples emotions and the immense potential it had as a driver of change.

There is certainly something to be said about the role schools play in the development of critical thinking capabilities of younger generations.

There are some modern schools that recognise this role and foment creative activities for the development of critical thinking, but sadly they’re still a minority just like the students with the foresight that Yola had.

The Resource industry

Being such an artistic individual, it would be hard to imagine Yola working in the resource industry of all places. Yet that is exactly where she is. And she is the first women employed by the wester mine worker’s alliance.

She explains that her current goal within the field is to re-unionise a series of 20 mining sites where companies have been given free rein to operate as they please, sometimes ignoring proper compensation and safety protocols.

So my first question was inevitably what an artist would do working for a union, to which she answered:

“I recognised that it was really important for diverse individuals to strategically place themselves in industries or in spaces where they wouldn’t normally find themselves, there in lies the problem at the moment.”

The problem to which Yola refers is the fact that on a national or even global scale, “we’re siloed into working in fragments where you belong in this industry, this is your expertise.”, a problem she hoped to address through “crosspolination”.

Yola knew that she could bring something different into the resource industry space, so she went for it, going out of her comfort zone in order to create the change she wanted to see in the world.

From her current position she uses her talents to share stories that change the way the public tends to see unions, what they stand for and demonstrate that there are interests in both sides of the fence (workers and companies) that are conducive to a common cause.

The First Woman In the Alliance

My second question had to do with Yola’s experience as the first woman hired by Western Mine Worker’s Alliance and she responded by recalling their initial conversations which entailed the issue of representation.

“There are 40% of women in all minesites now and lots of sites are looking to heavily increase that and are actively doing so. So it was important a woman that members were...]]>Yola Bakker is a “Creative for Change”, employing her talents across several industries in projects like PODscape and Take2 4you, through which she seeks to bring in new diverse perspectives from the ground up.

The daughter of an Indonesian immigrant, Yola grew up in Darwin where she would develop the artistic talents that she uses today in the promotion of diverse perspectives deeply rooted in intersectionality.

She was also kind enough to accept being a guest in the Changing the Game Podcast where we got to discuss not only her background but also her multifaceted work in the promotion of diversity and intersectionality.

The Extra Mile

My talk with Yola started with her reminiscing about her childhood in Darwin, and like so many guests admirably do, recognising the privilege she had growing up in an environment with access to good education and living standards.

However, she also takes a critical stance in her education that mostly taught her to “read and write”, while her critical thinking abilities were developed not in the classroom, but through Yola’s creative pursuits.

Studying classical ballet and traditional Indonesian dance, she learned from a very young age about the power that movement and words had to stir peoples emotions and the immense potential it had as a driver of change.

There is certainly something to be said about the role schools play in the development of critical thinking capabilities of younger generations.

There are some modern schools that recognise this role and foment creative activities for the development of critical thinking, but sadly they’re still a minority just like the students with the foresight that Yola had.

The Resource industry

Being such an artistic individual, it would be hard to imagine Yola working in the resource industry of all places. Yet that is exactly where she is. And she is the first women employed by the wester mine worker’s alliance.

She explains that her current goal within the field is to re-unionise a series of 20 mining sites where companies have been given free rein to operate as they please, sometimes ignoring proper compensation and safety protocols.

So my first question was inevitably what an artist would do working for a union, to which she answered:

“I recognised that it was really important for diverse individuals to strategically place themselves in industries or in spaces where they wouldn’t normally find themselves, there in lies the problem at the moment.”

The problem to which Yola refers is the fact that on a national or even global scale, “we’re siloed into working in fragments where you belong in this industry, this is your expertise.”, a problem she hoped to address through “crosspolination”.

Yola knew that she could bring something different into the resource industry space, so she went for it, going out of her comfort zone in order to create the change she wanted to see in the world.

From her current position she uses her talents to share stories that change the way the public tends to see unions, what they stand for and demonstrate that there are interests in both sides of the fence (workers and companies) that are conducive to a common cause.

The First Woman In the Alliance

My second question had to do with Yola’s experience as the first woman hired by Western Mine Worker’s Alliance and she responded by recalling their initial conversations which entailed the issue of representation.

“There are 40% of women in all minesites now and lots of sites are looking to heavily increase that and are actively doing so. So it was important a woman that members were able to access, and also I think women bring a different perspective and energy.”

Yet she also told me that in a sense her work was not all that different in helping women deconstruct certain behaviors and ideas imposed upon them by the patriarchy and helping them shift their perspectives.

Yola does this by fomenting the same creative exercises that have given her the possibility of questioning the status quo around her, by enabling these female workers to express themselves through art she teaches them to speak their minds.

Intersectionality

Another important aspect of Yola’s work involves creating within marginalised groups a deeper sense of feeling comfortable in one’s own skin while not feeling obligated to accept certain stereotypes and norms of society.

She then spoke of how she has been trying to pass on these values to her children so that they understand the relations between individual and institution, and how they don’t have to accept the rules presented to them.

One of the ways in which she does this is by exposing them to her work as much as possible so they can see how their mother stepped away from the game she was dealt and not only created her own path, but opened a new one for other women as well.

This last concept, as you may imagine, being essential for those looking to change the game.

Being able to look at the unfair rules being imposed upon you and say “I’m not playing” is not only a phenomenal exercise in individuality but also an invitation for others that have been similarly wronged to do the same.

The more people say “I’m not playing”, the more will the game be forced to change.

Conclusion

It would be fair to say that Yola Bakker has one of the strongest personalities I’ve ever seen. She has the same strength that is shared by most visionaries.

That is the strength to go off the beaten path, to ask the inconvenient questions that most people would censor themselves from even formulating in their heads and finally, the strength to refuse conformity which is so needed today.

With this strong and courageous spirit in mind, I want to propose a new mental exercise: What are the unfair rules with which you and those that share in your identity are expected to go along? What can you do to reject them?

]]>1bdf86d5-48cf-430b-acf1-03bb6448764fWed, 26 May 2021 09:00:00 +110039:57falsefull1991Yola Bakker is a creative spirit for change that traverses an incredibly diverse array of intersectionality. Pursuing her calling as a professional artist at the Jakarta Institute of Arts early in her career cemented her commitment to creative process and more importantly her resilience to pressures of superficial conformity, tokenism and the conventional thinking/methodologies that support the status quo for un-holistic practice.Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Jemma GreeneJemma Greene has been working with the government as the executive director for innovation within the south metropolitan health for the last five years, a career driven forward solely by her firm passion for change.

She brings this passion into concrete reality through the application of entrepreneurial leadership turned towards the embracing of creativity and collaboration within the sector, an honorable work for which she received the 2019 Public Sector Leadership Award.

All of these things make Jemma the ideal guest for the Changing the Game, an invitation which she graciously accepted, giving us the opportunity to share with you some unique insights on her line of work.

Starting out

Now, most teenagers do not dream of becoming a part of the government as they grow up, and Jemma, who pictured herself as a future actress at the time, was no exception.

Fate, however had other, greater plans for her which first would see her working at retail “for a number of years”, where she learned “how to learn business, how to understand rosters, and how to manage people”, all skills which would come to great use as time went by.

When working in these stores, Jemma discovered that she actually quite liked the administration environment, and learned the skill set which would bring her the success she has seen since the start of her current career.

Which brings us to our first take-away:

If you want to change the game, it’s very likely that you have some high hopes for what you expect to accomplish, which is great, but it can lead to frustration if you don’t immediately take off towards the path you have set out.

But, changing the game is not about where you are at the moment, but rather, your willingness to put in the daily effort that slowly builds the version of the world, and of yourself that is closer to your goal.

Insistence

Unfortunately things were not always a bed of roses for Jemma as she advanced her career, and like so many women (too many), she had to hear some absurd comments about not being able to join the leadership program because she was pregnant.

Her response was to prove them wrong, not just with words, but taking up leadership roles within human resources in various industries, all the while raising her children.

And, as she took these roles, she also made sure to work towards achieving diversity and equality from where she stood, so that other women would have a better experience than she had.

This goes to show that when someone makes an inappropriate comment in a work environment, the best thing we can do is challenge it, but not just challenge the comment itself, challenge the very worldview behind it.

For Jemma that was challenging the idea that women can’t take up a leadership roles while having children, but it can be any warped view of reality that still has roots within culture. You are likely thinking about examples from your life right now.

Faking It Till you Make It

Let’s go back to one of our previous takeaways, more specifically the one about putting in daily effort, and how you need to have a constructive mentality throughout this trajectory, a mentality that Jemma summarized in a brilliant way:

“Fake it Till You Make it”

Because, sure, you may not be this confident high ranking government official, but the first step to becoming one, is acting as that ideal future version of yourself in the present, making it a reality.

But also, don’t have this unreasonable expectation about being confident all the time and never doubting yourself, even Jemma talks about how some days are tougher than others:

“I have imposter syndrome, especially when I moved into the innovation space, I was the first chief innovation officer in the local government in Western Australia, my boss wanted to give me...]]>Jemma Greene has been working with the government as the executive director for innovation within the south metropolitan health for the last five years, a career driven forward solely by her firm passion for change.

She brings this passion into concrete reality through the application of entrepreneurial leadership turned towards the embracing of creativity and collaboration within the sector, an honorable work for which she received the 2019 Public Sector Leadership Award.

All of these things make Jemma the ideal guest for the Changing the Game, an invitation which she graciously accepted, giving us the opportunity to share with you some unique insights on her line of work.

Starting out

Now, most teenagers do not dream of becoming a part of the government as they grow up, and Jemma, who pictured herself as a future actress at the time, was no exception.

Fate, however had other, greater plans for her which first would see her working at retail “for a number of years”, where she learned “how to learn business, how to understand rosters, and how to manage people”, all skills which would come to great use as time went by.

When working in these stores, Jemma discovered that she actually quite liked the administration environment, and learned the skill set which would bring her the success she has seen since the start of her current career.

Which brings us to our first take-away:

If you want to change the game, it’s very likely that you have some high hopes for what you expect to accomplish, which is great, but it can lead to frustration if you don’t immediately take off towards the path you have set out.

But, changing the game is not about where you are at the moment, but rather, your willingness to put in the daily effort that slowly builds the version of the world, and of yourself that is closer to your goal.

Insistence

Unfortunately things were not always a bed of roses for Jemma as she advanced her career, and like so many women (too many), she had to hear some absurd comments about not being able to join the leadership program because she was pregnant.

Her response was to prove them wrong, not just with words, but taking up leadership roles within human resources in various industries, all the while raising her children.

And, as she took these roles, she also made sure to work towards achieving diversity and equality from where she stood, so that other women would have a better experience than she had.

This goes to show that when someone makes an inappropriate comment in a work environment, the best thing we can do is challenge it, but not just challenge the comment itself, challenge the very worldview behind it.

For Jemma that was challenging the idea that women can’t take up a leadership roles while having children, but it can be any warped view of reality that still has roots within culture. You are likely thinking about examples from your life right now.

Faking It Till you Make It

Let’s go back to one of our previous takeaways, more specifically the one about putting in daily effort, and how you need to have a constructive mentality throughout this trajectory, a mentality that Jemma summarized in a brilliant way:

“Fake it Till You Make it”

Because, sure, you may not be this confident high ranking government official, but the first step to becoming one, is acting as that ideal future version of yourself in the present, making it a reality.

But also, don’t have this unreasonable expectation about being confident all the time and never doubting yourself, even Jemma talks about how some days are tougher than others:

“I have imposter syndrome, especially when I moved into the innovation space, I was the first chief innovation officer in the local government in Western Australia, my boss wanted to give me a position description with lightbulb on it.”

Feeling unworthy before your achievements is a normal human emotion, and one that keeps us humble in the face of our most prideful moments, but it’s important to keep in mind that success only steals you if you let it.

So, fake it till you make it, and when you make it, understand that you bought the present with each past step.

Innovation

Finally, our conversation got into the central subject of Jemma’s work as an executive director for innovation, which according to her involves “building the capability of staff and people to have the confidence to bring their ideas forward.”

Here’s why I think that’s brilliant: When you’ve started working at a company, have you ever had ideas about how to make its operations better for everyone but shied away from saying anything because you were lower in rank?

Jemma is working to change the game into a state where that wouldn’t happen.

A point I always try to hammer home on the podcast is that one of the reasons why diversity is such a wonderful thing is because it turns the work environment into a space where different ideas from different people can get together.

So, to create a space where anyone at anytime can present a solution for the betterment of the company as a whole not only capitalises on the best part of diversity, but it actually makes it more attractive as a value.

Conclusion

Changing the game is important, it’s necessary, and is also very hard. The world is always looking for reasons to stay just the way it is and it will resist anyone that dares to tell it otherwise.

And yet, we must dare, even if our task is monumental. So, how can we handle the huge challenge that presents itself when we decide to be agents of change? Maybe Confucius was onto something when he said:

“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”

Jemma Greene knew this, and now so do you.

Therefore, I want you to depart from this article with the following mental exercise: What is your small stone? That is, what is the small way in which you can start changing the game?

Think about it until you find the answer, and when you find it, keep at it, and you will see the world around you transform.

]]>6ee276a9-9630-46b8-b2bf-8116adc87037Wed, 05 May 2021 09:00:00 +110031:49falsefull1881Jemma Greene is the Executive Director Transformation with South Metropolitan Health Services (SMHS). Based at Fiona Stanley Hospital, she is responsible for providing executive leadership across innovation, research & development, informatics and organisational development. Prior to joining SMHS, Jemma was the Chief Innovation Officer within Local Government. She has a passion for driving change that adds value within a Government context, which she demonstrates in the application of intrapreneur leadership that embraces creativity and collaboration. Jemma was a finalist in the 2020 Telstra Business Women’s Award for Public Sector & Academia and winner of the Public Sector Leadership Award through the Perth Business Women’s Alliance in 2019. Her career prior to working in government innovation, included almost 15 years in generalist Human Resources and Business Improvement leadership roles across the private sector. Jemma’s strong advocacy for innovation capability building across Government and her ability to collaborate with external partners has seen her invited to speak nationally and internationally on the subject. She has co-designed and co-delivered civic innovation masterclasses around Australia in partnership with a Harvard Professor and is a co-founder of the Switch Innovation Program delivered through Curtin University Graduate Business School. Jemma is an Advisory Board Member for Western Australia Leaders, an Healthcare Advisory Panel member with Enterprise Ireland, and represents Australia on the Global Innovation Management Institute’s International Innovation Think Tank Group.Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Pia TurcinovOriginally a corporate lawyer, Pia Turcinov today is a portfolio career manager, holding several positions connected through the common focus of innovation, technology and diversification.

Pia’s career evolved from legal advisor, to company director, innovation advisor, and finally to diversity advocate, a position at which she dedicates herself to changing the game by following her main principle of “navigating life with curiosity.

Having her on for a talk on Changing the Game Podcast was actually one of our first live interactions, yet we hit pretty strong by talking about her trajectory, values and mission.

Switching Paths

A daughter of first generation immigrants from Austria, Pia was raised in Australia to reap the benefits of this land of opportunity down under. Opportunities which she took to start her career as a corporate lawyer.

Or rather, she settled for law after missing med school by just three points, a second choice Pia described as odd due to her being “pathologically shy”, but one that she took out of admiration “for the TV shows with the power suits”.

That is not to say, however that she did not enjoy her time in legal practice, which she describes as exciting, but at the same time “one dimensional”, for someone that was very creative at heart. Which would later make her leave law to take over the family business.

Some may find her decision to leave such a stable area like law to be strange, but often in life we find ourselves having to choose between security and fulfillment, and it takes no small amount of courage to choose the latter as Pia did.

It also takes no amount of smarts to be as successful as she is after making such a decision.

A Portfolio Career

Pia attributes this risk taking aspect of her personality to how her parents raised her in a “pure working class” way, valuing tenacity, hard work and knowing how to calculate the worst possible outcome then taking the plunge anyway.

This is what led her to do what she does today, propagating the idea of “portfolio career”, which she describes as “not having to be anchored to one particular activity, or one particular source of income.”

From a practical standpoint, this career model is excellent as it doesn’t tie you down to a single stream that will ruin your life if it ever dries up. There is also a personal benefit in that it makes you immune to a very common modern anxiety: The fear of failure.

After all, when you have several things going on, it will not be the end of the world if one of them doesn’t work, and you will have the inner and outer tools to replace it at will.

Overcoming Shyness

For those of you that may know about my personal background, I’ve had get over crippling shyness myself, and hearing Pia talk about her having similar issues to the point of being “pathological” really made me relate to her.

Like myself too, she had to go out of her way to escape her comfort zone, something that she largely credits to law school which pushed her into public speaking situations, but also to her role as the step manager for the starlight children’s foundation.

This particular role involved a couple of relatively uncomfortable activities for introverts, including being the very face of the organization, leading the business aspect of the enterprise and giving a speech in front of a thousand people at a sponsor dinner.

After, saying yes and having a panic attack at home, she gave the speech, and to every scary situation from there on she would do the same thing until it came naturally.

Saying yes to things that make you scared is not easy, but it’s a necessary for our personal growth since often saying no tends to lead to worse consequences than fear, not just in the form of lost opportunities, but also of personal stagnation.

In essence, saying no to a fear can mean...]]>Originally a corporate lawyer, Pia Turcinov today is a portfolio career manager, holding several positions connected through the common focus of innovation, technology and diversification.

Pia’s career evolved from legal advisor, to company director, innovation advisor, and finally to diversity advocate, a position at which she dedicates herself to changing the game by following her main principle of “navigating life with curiosity.

Having her on for a talk on Changing the Game Podcast was actually one of our first live interactions, yet we hit pretty strong by talking about her trajectory, values and mission.

Switching Paths

A daughter of first generation immigrants from Austria, Pia was raised in Australia to reap the benefits of this land of opportunity down under. Opportunities which she took to start her career as a corporate lawyer.

Or rather, she settled for law after missing med school by just three points, a second choice Pia described as odd due to her being “pathologically shy”, but one that she took out of admiration “for the TV shows with the power suits”.

That is not to say, however that she did not enjoy her time in legal practice, which she describes as exciting, but at the same time “one dimensional”, for someone that was very creative at heart. Which would later make her leave law to take over the family business.

Some may find her decision to leave such a stable area like law to be strange, but often in life we find ourselves having to choose between security and fulfillment, and it takes no small amount of courage to choose the latter as Pia did.

It also takes no amount of smarts to be as successful as she is after making such a decision.

A Portfolio Career

Pia attributes this risk taking aspect of her personality to how her parents raised her in a “pure working class” way, valuing tenacity, hard work and knowing how to calculate the worst possible outcome then taking the plunge anyway.

This is what led her to do what she does today, propagating the idea of “portfolio career”, which she describes as “not having to be anchored to one particular activity, or one particular source of income.”

From a practical standpoint, this career model is excellent as it doesn’t tie you down to a single stream that will ruin your life if it ever dries up. There is also a personal benefit in that it makes you immune to a very common modern anxiety: The fear of failure.

After all, when you have several things going on, it will not be the end of the world if one of them doesn’t work, and you will have the inner and outer tools to replace it at will.

Overcoming Shyness

For those of you that may know about my personal background, I’ve had get over crippling shyness myself, and hearing Pia talk about her having similar issues to the point of being “pathological” really made me relate to her.

Like myself too, she had to go out of her way to escape her comfort zone, something that she largely credits to law school which pushed her into public speaking situations, but also to her role as the step manager for the starlight children’s foundation.

This particular role involved a couple of relatively uncomfortable activities for introverts, including being the very face of the organization, leading the business aspect of the enterprise and giving a speech in front of a thousand people at a sponsor dinner.

After, saying yes and having a panic attack at home, she gave the speech, and to every scary situation from there on she would do the same thing until it came naturally.

Saying yes to things that make you scared is not easy, but it’s a necessary for our personal growth since often saying no tends to lead to worse consequences than fear, not just in the form of lost opportunities, but also of personal stagnation.

In essence, saying no to a fear can mean sticking to it forever.

Promoting Diversity

As of late Pia has also been dedicating herself to the promotion of diversity, specifically gender diversity through the inclusion of women in technology, a passion she claims to have started with her being raised by a fierce strong woman herself.

“She really believed that anything is possible and nothing should hold you back”, she recalls with a smile and explains that she came from a generation where women didn’t have many choices for their future.

Yet, through her mother’s fierceness, and her fathers unyielding support she came to realise that if there were barriers that came with being a woman, she could overcome them through hard work.

This support and motivation from her parents is what made it possible for her to pull through in a male dominated area like law. Now she seeks to pass on the lessons that she learned from her parents, using her voice to uplift the surrounding women.

Another strong motivation for Pia is the fact that, being the mother of three daughters, she feels responsible for preparing the next generation of trailblazing women.

The Next Step

Talking about the promotion of equality within the technology market, I found it was the perfect opportunity to address some of the obstacles we are facing on the field to get more women in STEM, and what would be the next step to overcome them.

Pia summarized her answer with “keep doing it”, that is keep pushing STEM subjects in the education of young women, but also keep teaching them about finding self-worth, how to articulate with confidence and how to develop the necessary skill sets.

She also points to the need of teaching these things at a much younger age, as so many girls (too many) still reach their teens saying that they are not good at anything.

The efforts being made to include women in STEM fields have already yielded good results, but they can be even better, which is why we need to crank it up to eleven now and deepen our dedication to the women of the future.

Conclusion

What impressed me the most about Pia Turcinov was her courage and ingenious approach to life, her way of operating with full certainty that obstacles and limits are two completely separate things.

Having the courage to face challenges head first, to put yourself out of your comfort zone, to grow, is essential both for yourself and for anyone that may follow in your footsteps in the future. There is no changing the game without changing yourself.

So, for this closing reflection, I want you to think about the things that keep you from pursuing your game changing ideas, if they are valid or not, and then come up with plans of how to overcome them.

]]>e7dd578e-8a9b-43bf-afd4-4ded50f983bbWed, 14 Apr 2021 09:00:00 +110032:13falsefull1771Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Shivani GopalShivani Gopal is the founder and CEO of Remarkable Women a company born out of her desire to empower women by helping them establish financial independence in order to live a more free and happy life.

She describes her main ambition in the mantra “forever strive towards your ever striving potential”, which brings into reality by constantly pushing not only the outer status quo, but her own internal one as well.

As an Australian woman, Shivani has seen some of the best and worst that the country has to offer, and we are really lucky to have her share some of her stories with us on the Changing the Game Podcast.

The Fight for Financial Independence

Shivani starts out by talking about how she learned the value of financial independence in quite a hard way when she was younger, all because she did as so many young women do and started dating a boy she knew.

“[having a boyfriend] is a big social no no, and our families got together and decided that we should be married.”

Surprisingly enough, Shivani’s views on arranged marriage were a lot more neutral than one may expect nowadays, according to her “it was not the worst thing in the world”, as within her culture forced marriages were quite common, (and it was her boyfriend after all).

That being said, she explains that “it wasn’t something I was ready for at that time”, and being only 16, she simply didn’t know what she was in for, and more, that her ambitions to challenge the status quo remained the same.

The result? She was quite simply, and quite deeply, unhappy.

But the silver lining would come, and it came when she was crying with a friend on the phone about not being able to divorce, when that friend made her realize that the fact she could support herself away from her husband was her gateway into freedom.

Spreading the message

It is often through our own hardships that we tend to find the most valuable lessons, pain is, after all, the greatest teacher, which makes spreading the lessons we have learned through pain so that others don’t have to experience it one of the greatest acts of empathy.

And this is exactly what Shivani did after fighting for a divorce, she went on to act so that as many women as possible could find their way out of dangerous or unhappy relationships through financial independence as she did.

Not only that, she made it her mission to tell these women that they could be more than just wives and mothers, that the entire world was there for them, that it was okay to have dreams and aspirations about the future.

That is, she made those women aware of a universal right that they’ve had since the beginning, the right to live life on their own terms.

Ambition

In many ways I saw my own mother’s story in Shivani’s, as both were forced to marry early and live frustrated lives due to the pressures of a culture that wouldn’t allow them to separate.

At the same time, I also saw in her a little bit of myself in that unsatisfaction with a status quo I did not choose, nor want to participate, so I just had to ask her where this ambition to change the game come from. Here’s what she had to say:

“Ambition comes from looking at my parents and unpacking their history” she explains and adds that it grows from a sense of responsibility for the privileges that she received in being able to have an Australian education, and the opportunities that came with it.

There is something quite important about what Shivani said here that is the unspoken truth about changing the game: If you are even considering changing it, consider that it is because you climbed high enough to even consider that as a possibility.

It takes a great...]]>Shivani Gopal is the founder and CEO of Remarkable Women a company born out of her desire to empower women by helping them establish financial independence in order to live a more free and happy life.

She describes her main ambition in the mantra “forever strive towards your ever striving potential”, which brings into reality by constantly pushing not only the outer status quo, but her own internal one as well.

As an Australian woman, Shivani has seen some of the best and worst that the country has to offer, and we are really lucky to have her share some of her stories with us on the Changing the Game Podcast.

The Fight for Financial Independence

Shivani starts out by talking about how she learned the value of financial independence in quite a hard way when she was younger, all because she did as so many young women do and started dating a boy she knew.

“[having a boyfriend] is a big social no no, and our families got together and decided that we should be married.”

Surprisingly enough, Shivani’s views on arranged marriage were a lot more neutral than one may expect nowadays, according to her “it was not the worst thing in the world”, as within her culture forced marriages were quite common, (and it was her boyfriend after all).

That being said, she explains that “it wasn’t something I was ready for at that time”, and being only 16, she simply didn’t know what she was in for, and more, that her ambitions to challenge the status quo remained the same.

The result? She was quite simply, and quite deeply, unhappy.

But the silver lining would come, and it came when she was crying with a friend on the phone about not being able to divorce, when that friend made her realize that the fact she could support herself away from her husband was her gateway into freedom.

Spreading the message

It is often through our own hardships that we tend to find the most valuable lessons, pain is, after all, the greatest teacher, which makes spreading the lessons we have learned through pain so that others don’t have to experience it one of the greatest acts of empathy.

And this is exactly what Shivani did after fighting for a divorce, she went on to act so that as many women as possible could find their way out of dangerous or unhappy relationships through financial independence as she did.

Not only that, she made it her mission to tell these women that they could be more than just wives and mothers, that the entire world was there for them, that it was okay to have dreams and aspirations about the future.

That is, she made those women aware of a universal right that they’ve had since the beginning, the right to live life on their own terms.

Ambition

In many ways I saw my own mother’s story in Shivani’s, as both were forced to marry early and live frustrated lives due to the pressures of a culture that wouldn’t allow them to separate.

At the same time, I also saw in her a little bit of myself in that unsatisfaction with a status quo I did not choose, nor want to participate, so I just had to ask her where this ambition to change the game come from. Here’s what she had to say:

“Ambition comes from looking at my parents and unpacking their history” she explains and adds that it grows from a sense of responsibility for the privileges that she received in being able to have an Australian education, and the opportunities that came with it.

There is something quite important about what Shivani said here that is the unspoken truth about changing the game: If you are even considering changing it, consider that it is because you climbed high enough to even consider that as a possibility.

It takes a great deal of honesty and responsibility to recognise this privilege, and we must be very wise with the steps to take to enacting change because of it.

On the other hand, you also want to change the game because you or people near you are being harmed by the way it is played right now, because you are seeing things from a point of disadvantage.

Education and Freedom

Eventually our conversation got into the topic of Shivani’s work with Remarkable Women, “accelerating the path towards equality for women around the world.”

This empowerment process occurs through three pathways:

• Personal: Within the sphere of their personal lives and relationships.
• Professional: In helping these women accelerate their careers and succeed in the job market.
• Financial: In helping them make money so that they can be financially independent and able to build a wealth of their own.

According to her, “If you can get that trifecta right, then you’ve given someone the absolute foundations to success, what you do with it is your call”, Remarkable Women therefore helps women find mentors that orient women within these three categories towards a better life.

Conclusion

The main lesson that we can draw from my talk with Shivani is that if you have a clear goal, no matter how big and a full conscience of what you are capable of accomplishing there is not going to be a single human force that can stop you.

Not that something like that would be easy of course, this certainty of action takes a lot of cultivation and a good deal of struggle to form within us, but once we have it, nothing can take it from us.

So, in order to start this process of confidence in your ability to change the game, I would like to close yet another article with an exercise in imagination: What is the wildest, most unhinged and radical way in which you could change the game?

Think about that, and then think about what aspects of your life have to improve, before you can make your vision a reality.

]]>ebf0ebae-c8ed-4141-a58d-0a5e2764a87cSat, 20 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +110032:59falsefull1661Shivani is the CEO of The Remarkable Women. Her passion for empowering women comes from a personal place, crediting her financial independence as a life raft for being able to leave an early adult marriage. “Money is critical in life for the choices it affords you” says Shivani. It gave her a first hand understanding of the importance of personal, professional and financial independence for women - which she now fuels into the work she does at The Remarkable Woman every day. Shivani has gone on to win the Top 50 Small Business Leaders award and has quickly become recognised as a feminist thought leader for women, helping them navigate their careers, businesses and financial success.Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Jodi Rybicki and Alison WelshThis episode of the Changing the Game Podcast has a little twist I hope you all enjoy.

Instead of the usual one-on-one interview, this time around I’m going to be chatting with Jodi Rybicki and Alison Welsh.

Both of these amazing women have a career in education, with Alison starting out in the field of child care management while Jodi was in the academic sphere giving lectures in universities (teaching the big kids).

The two of them eventually got together with the mission of completely changing the game by founding Frog Ponds, a business dedicated to “making sourcing simple”.

As you can imagine, they were a blast to talk to, so here are some of the great takeaways I got from our chat.

Working Together

Right off the bat it was easy to see how the two of them got to cofound a company as there is a clear yin-yang dynamic between the two where each fills in for the other in different areas.

This became even clearer as they told the story of how they met by applying for the same job where “Jodie was the one qualified to do it and the one who was persuasive was Alison”.

From there on their partnership only solidified as they leaned on each other’s strong suits to achieve success at work, with Jodie teaching Alison to take notes, while she wrote the emails.

Their relationship is a great example of why I try to hammer the point of diversity home every time. As humans, we all have things at which we are lacking and things at which we excell that come from a combination of our personalities, our identity and our background.

So, by giving different groups of people a sit on the chair, and incentivizing them to work together, we can combine their strengths in a way that would otherwise be unlikely, all the while promoting equality.

The Call to Entrepreneurship

Every entrepreneur has a why, be it tied to personal experiences, a generally creative lifestyle or just a wish to escape the salary worker’s life.

For Jodi and Alison this call came in the form of “an absolute desire to change the space that we were in”, for as they explain, both were at a point of extreme unsatisfaction for the sales process between schools and suppliers.

Where schools work with short budgets and hardly have enough time to look through every email, while suppliers that are actually trying to bring quality products into schools find themselves having trouble contacting them.

This is actually a pretty common start for a new business and a good one at that.

Identifying an aspect of your work or consumer life that you are not satisfied with gives you an idea of the needs that the market is not seeing to, and then you can model your business around tending to these needs.

Planning Ahead

Now, Alison and Jodi were not about to just quit their jobs and start a business out of the blue, taking an enterprise off the ground takes time and they were very aware of that, so they did the smart thing:

“There was an overlap, so we stayed with the company as long as we could, we knew we were going to get a redundancy, so that sort of helped, and then we just poured all our soul, sweat and tears into starting it.”

With Jodi managing the finances and Alison bringing in new ideas, they slowly developed it until they could leave their old jobs to manage FrogPonds full time.

The journey, as they confirmed was full of the inner and outer struggles that come with starting a new business, and yet both claimed with a smile that they would do it all over again.

They reveal the secret to enduring such things a little later by talking about how passionate they are to be solving this issue for both schools and suppliers and how that makes both their lives and the world a little...]]>This episode of the Changing the Game Podcast has a little twist I hope you all enjoy.

Instead of the usual one-on-one interview, this time around I’m going to be chatting with Jodi Rybicki and Alison Welsh.

Both of these amazing women have a career in education, with Alison starting out in the field of child care management while Jodi was in the academic sphere giving lectures in universities (teaching the big kids).

The two of them eventually got together with the mission of completely changing the game by founding Frog Ponds, a business dedicated to “making sourcing simple”.

As you can imagine, they were a blast to talk to, so here are some of the great takeaways I got from our chat.

Working Together

Right off the bat it was easy to see how the two of them got to cofound a company as there is a clear yin-yang dynamic between the two where each fills in for the other in different areas.

This became even clearer as they told the story of how they met by applying for the same job where “Jodie was the one qualified to do it and the one who was persuasive was Alison”.

From there on their partnership only solidified as they leaned on each other’s strong suits to achieve success at work, with Jodie teaching Alison to take notes, while she wrote the emails.

Their relationship is a great example of why I try to hammer the point of diversity home every time. As humans, we all have things at which we are lacking and things at which we excell that come from a combination of our personalities, our identity and our background.

So, by giving different groups of people a sit on the chair, and incentivizing them to work together, we can combine their strengths in a way that would otherwise be unlikely, all the while promoting equality.

The Call to Entrepreneurship

Every entrepreneur has a why, be it tied to personal experiences, a generally creative lifestyle or just a wish to escape the salary worker’s life.

For Jodi and Alison this call came in the form of “an absolute desire to change the space that we were in”, for as they explain, both were at a point of extreme unsatisfaction for the sales process between schools and suppliers.

Where schools work with short budgets and hardly have enough time to look through every email, while suppliers that are actually trying to bring quality products into schools find themselves having trouble contacting them.

This is actually a pretty common start for a new business and a good one at that.

Identifying an aspect of your work or consumer life that you are not satisfied with gives you an idea of the needs that the market is not seeing to, and then you can model your business around tending to these needs.

Planning Ahead

Now, Alison and Jodi were not about to just quit their jobs and start a business out of the blue, taking an enterprise off the ground takes time and they were very aware of that, so they did the smart thing:

“There was an overlap, so we stayed with the company as long as we could, we knew we were going to get a redundancy, so that sort of helped, and then we just poured all our soul, sweat and tears into starting it.”

With Jodi managing the finances and Alison bringing in new ideas, they slowly developed it until they could leave their old jobs to manage FrogPonds full time.

The journey, as they confirmed was full of the inner and outer struggles that come with starting a new business, and yet both claimed with a smile that they would do it all over again.

They reveal the secret to enduring such things a little later by talking about how passionate they are to be solving this issue for both schools and suppliers and how that makes both their lives and the world a little better.

Off The Beaten Path

Despite the fact that the world is filled with start-ups, quitting your day job to have an entrepreneurial adventure is not exactly the norm, and if one actually tries to do that, they’ll find that many people will seek to discourage them.

Both Alison and Jodi went through that as well since at the beginning stages of Frog Ponds there were many instances of people calling them “ambitious” (in the negative sense of the word), for what they were trying to do.

And here too we find a valuable lesson in that, when you are trying to change the game, you can be sure to expect some level of opposition from people that either want to keep the status quo, or are simply intimidated by what you’re doing.

These people will voice their opinions, whether they were asked to do so or not, and if you hope to succeed, you can’t allow yourself to be phased by them.

The Perfect Pitch

Recently, our dynamic duo got the opportunity to speak with a state minister during a small company event, and being honestly impressed and curious as to how that happened I asked them what one could do to get this big of a shot. Their answer was wonderfully simple:

“You ask”

No 4-D chess, no elaborate strategy, just and email with “honest intent and good purpose”, explaining why the state minister might be interested to show up and how their company could contribute to education.

So often are we paralyzed by fear, not of some catastrophic consequence of what we did, but just of being rejected, hearing that terrible “no” that won’t really subtract anything from our lives.

Therefore, sometimes, if we want to get that big break, is just ask.

Conclusion

Jodi Rybicki and Alison Welsh make for one hell of a team, and not just as interview guests, but as forces for change that saw a problem and worked together to solve it, no matter what obstacle opposed them.

There is a valuable lesson about relying on other people here. As human beings we are at our best when we work together to combine our strengths, it’s what we do as a species.

So, for our closing reflection, I’d like you to ask yourself what are your core strengths and shortcomings, and how you can use your talents to help others, versus what kind of person could compensate your flaws.

]]>5fb14ffa-0619-4254-9a17-5d002aaa4f07Fri, 19 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +110031:46falsefull1551Alison began her career in teaching before diverting to child care management, professional learning and sales. She is known for her creativity and has utilised this to design learning experiences that provoke critical thinking and the authentic use of technology. Her experience as a business development manger led to the creation of Frogponds when she saw solutions for both sides of the procurement process. Nothing is more important to Alison that the happiness and success of those around her. Jodie is a highly qualified and experienced educator with a passion for details. Her extensive career spans early learning through to university lecturing and beyond. As a professional learning consultant she designed and facilitated workshops and coaching programs to support teachers integrating digital technologies in the classroom. She co-created Frogponds to help drive equality and integrity in education. Jodie brings a wealth of experience not only in education but across business and technology after time in account management and procurement. Those that know Jodie appreciate her ability to express deep sentiment with a single facial expression.Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Tracie ClarkI could probably make an entirely separate article from this one just to list Tracie Clark’s accomplishments, she’s an entrepreneur who’s had two extremely successful businesses, a board member and advisor, an investment professional and so much more.

Born in Perth and raised in New Zealand, Tracie started out her career in accounting, though always making her own investments here and there, and as it tends to happen, her side hustle became her main gig and the way she found to completely change the game.

Today Tracie is self-employed and provides financial advice to several enterprises, all the while being the vice chair of Perth Angels, a committee member for the WA Cancer Council, all of which made her a blast to have on the Changing the Game Podcast

Unusual Places, Familiar Faces

Going back to the start of her career Tacie recalled that her interest in economics began when she was young, when she would visit her auntie who, despite the fact they lived in a small rural community, would take the time to teach her about the stock market.

Now, if the idea of someone learning about the stock market in farm in New Zealand is not interesting by itself, we also have an element that has been present on the podcast since day one, which is the role of outside influences.

As we grow up we don’t really know that much about the world, which is why any conversation with more experienced people tend to have a huge influence on the path we pick far ahead.

So, whenever we are talking to younger people, or from the position of someone senior, it’s always a good idea to take into account the ripple our words may produce in their life.

The Turning Point

Fast forwarding to the end of Tracie’s period in accounting, I asked her about what the trigger for this switch in her career path, which she attributed to a “unfortunate situation” where an offer to become a partner of her company was pulled due to her being pregnant.

The reason given by the company for pulling the offer, according to Tracie, was that they “weren’t sure if she could cope” with being a partner and a mother, well, it turns out she could, as she then went on to found her first business when her daughter was just six weeks old.

So, not only was she doing the same job “with the added stresses of owning your own business”, but she did it while looking after her new born, and managed to make quite a life for herself.

Sometimes you will knock on a door and it won’t open, and that’s okay, but other times it will be slammed in your face for unfair reasons, and if that happens, being able to prove the people slammed it wrong like Tracie did can be not only beneficial, but quite satisfactory.

Choosing An Investment

In case you’re unfamilar, Perth Angels is a community of business people that prospects up and coming enterprises to invest in, and Tracie, as you already know, is part of their board with myself, so I asked her what were her parameters for choosing these businesses.

Firstly, she listed market values such as whether they have a product which customers would be interested in, if there is a market for it, if the customers are willing to pay for what is being sold and so on.

Then, she listed a much more human factor: The team. That is, if they are personally invested in the business, if they have a good notion of the market and how to run a business, and if they are aware of the missing skills that need to be filled.

Burnout

Despite the fact that Tracie already has seventeen successful investments under her belt, there have also been two companies that didn’t pull through despite angelic intervention, and according her, one of them fell primarily because of “founder burnout”.

In other words, the companies founder was adding more responsabilities to an already exhausting role, straining...]]>I could probably make an entirely separate article from this one just to list Tracie Clark’s accomplishments, she’s an entrepreneur who’s had two extremely successful businesses, a board member and advisor, an investment professional and so much more.

Born in Perth and raised in New Zealand, Tracie started out her career in accounting, though always making her own investments here and there, and as it tends to happen, her side hustle became her main gig and the way she found to completely change the game.

Today Tracie is self-employed and provides financial advice to several enterprises, all the while being the vice chair of Perth Angels, a committee member for the WA Cancer Council, all of which made her a blast to have on the Changing the Game Podcast

Unusual Places, Familiar Faces

Going back to the start of her career Tacie recalled that her interest in economics began when she was young, when she would visit her auntie who, despite the fact they lived in a small rural community, would take the time to teach her about the stock market.

Now, if the idea of someone learning about the stock market in farm in New Zealand is not interesting by itself, we also have an element that has been present on the podcast since day one, which is the role of outside influences.

As we grow up we don’t really know that much about the world, which is why any conversation with more experienced people tend to have a huge influence on the path we pick far ahead.

So, whenever we are talking to younger people, or from the position of someone senior, it’s always a good idea to take into account the ripple our words may produce in their life.

The Turning Point

Fast forwarding to the end of Tracie’s period in accounting, I asked her about what the trigger for this switch in her career path, which she attributed to a “unfortunate situation” where an offer to become a partner of her company was pulled due to her being pregnant.

The reason given by the company for pulling the offer, according to Tracie, was that they “weren’t sure if she could cope” with being a partner and a mother, well, it turns out she could, as she then went on to found her first business when her daughter was just six weeks old.

So, not only was she doing the same job “with the added stresses of owning your own business”, but she did it while looking after her new born, and managed to make quite a life for herself.

Sometimes you will knock on a door and it won’t open, and that’s okay, but other times it will be slammed in your face for unfair reasons, and if that happens, being able to prove the people slammed it wrong like Tracie did can be not only beneficial, but quite satisfactory.

Choosing An Investment

In case you’re unfamilar, Perth Angels is a community of business people that prospects up and coming enterprises to invest in, and Tracie, as you already know, is part of their board with myself, so I asked her what were her parameters for choosing these businesses.

Firstly, she listed market values such as whether they have a product which customers would be interested in, if there is a market for it, if the customers are willing to pay for what is being sold and so on.

Then, she listed a much more human factor: The team. That is, if they are personally invested in the business, if they have a good notion of the market and how to run a business, and if they are aware of the missing skills that need to be filled.

Burnout

Despite the fact that Tracie already has seventeen successful investments under her belt, there have also been two companies that didn’t pull through despite angelic intervention, and according her, one of them fell primarily because of “founder burnout”.

In other words, the companies founder was adding more responsabilities to an already exhausting role, straining herself beyond the point of productivity, by trying to do too much, she was doing too little.

This burnout, mixed with the fact that some of the capital investments made by the company didn’t have the expected return, which made the angels work towards a position where it could be sold, though at a lower price than the ideal.

Diversity in Entrepreneurship

Within Perth Angels, Tracie is also a part of Scale Investing, a group solely dedicated to investing in enterprises founded and led by women, and she tells me that “over 50% of my investment portfolio is female founders”.

Not only that, as she explains, Perth Angels made a point to evenly divide their investiments for last year in 50/50 between men and women. Something I am also very proud of.

Tracie also had a suggestion for any young women that are looking to change the game themselves and become business owners, saying that:

“There are so many resources out there now, some really good accelerator programs, incubators where you can go and apply to get some ideas, financial support as well, some government grants which are supporting female businesses.”

So, her main advice is that if you are a young girl with a business idea you’d like to develop, her main advice is that you take advantage of all the resources that are at your disposal, from workshops, to grants, to seminars and so on.

Conclusion

When it comes to changing the game there are many ways to go about it, you can help entire groups of people through activism, individual people through charity, or you can help businesses through investing as Tracie does.

What makes this particular way to change the game so important is that it gives you a bit of both spheres, you are helping the individual by empowering them to build a space for themselves, and you are helping the group by giving them a welcoming place in the market.

]]>f40a8197-e34c-49fb-a244-263168ee0736Wed, 17 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +110025:59falsefull1441Tracie is an entrepreneur, board member, adviser and investment professional with extensive experience in business strategy, investment management, financial services and company accounting. She has founded two successful financial services businesses and has a passion for supporting and mentoring future entrepreneurs – Vice chair of Perth Angels and member of Scale investors she is an active Angel investor, and has provided support and advice to numerous start-ups from inception to exit.Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Courtney BarronCourtney Barron is a senior executive in the Western Australia Executive Council, having worked with the Premiere in the cabinet. She is also a global supporter and advocate for women especially in relation to employment, housing and healthcare.

As someone that has been developing a good friendship with Courtney, it was a pleasure to have her over for the Changing The Game Podcast, where we got to talk about her work, and her role in promoting the welfare of women in Australia.

A Long Climb

Despite the high ladders that Courtney has come to climb, working with the WA premiere, she talks about much humbler beginnings, being raised by a single mom and living in public housing.

“So there was poverty and mental health… It was a challenging upbringing.”

Yet this didn’t stop Courtney from dreaming big, and pursuing a career on “either law or government”, which lead her to study the intricacies of law and politics, getting straight into the WA state government from there.

Even then, however, she explains that her true passion lies in working with non-profit organizations and that this aspect of her life represents her major focus point today.

Feeling Privileged

Now, even though Courtney is open about the challenges she’s had to face growing up, I always found it interesting how she also tends to describe herself as being privileged.

When I pointed out this contradiction to her, she responded that this was due to her story “not being work hard to get to where you want, but rather, work hard and have privilege, so more opportunities will present themselves.”

After all, she was born a white, able-bodied, cisgendered woman who had access to education, which granted her a head start to turn her situation over, a head start that a lot of other people simply didn’t have.

This is something that we all could think about on some level, that even though no one in the world is a stranger to hardship, some of us are simply more privileged, be it because of our appearance, the functionality of our bodies and minds, or just our social standing.

Courtney also points out how this mindset can also positively affect your life, as focusing on your privileges instead of your hardships enables you to lift others up, and understand that you have come to such a position through resilience.

Trailblazer

Now, being a woman and working for the Premiere of Western Australia, Courtney also had a ton of stories to share about going into spaces and being “the only female in the room, or the only person under forty.”

One of such stories was about a certain meeting she attended with emergency services personnel, and being the only woman in a meeting with five much older men, was interrupted by someone on a CEO level who commented on her top.

As you can imagine, this comment wouldn’t have happened if it were a man giving the presentation, and though Courtney was able to shut the unnecessary remark down, there needs to be a conversation about why it happened.

The Importance of Not Being Angry

Even though Courtney herself has been a victim of such forms of sexism, she highlights the importance of not having “a chip on your shoulder” about these situations, as wrong as they may be.

That doesn’t mean in any way that you are not supposed to call people out when they engage in any form of discrimination, but rather that being angry about being the only woman at the table won’t lead to any positive change.

You can even go ahead and question people on their reasoning behind non-inclusive behavior, in fact that is a great way to drive home the message that what they did is not appropriate, but doing it out of anger won’t really lead anywhere.

And sure, getting as many women on the table as possible also helps, even if women can be just as sexist as men,...]]>Courtney Barron is a senior executive in the Western Australia Executive Council, having worked with the Premiere in the cabinet. She is also a global supporter and advocate for women especially in relation to employment, housing and healthcare.

As someone that has been developing a good friendship with Courtney, it was a pleasure to have her over for the Changing The Game Podcast, where we got to talk about her work, and her role in promoting the welfare of women in Australia.

A Long Climb

Despite the high ladders that Courtney has come to climb, working with the WA premiere, she talks about much humbler beginnings, being raised by a single mom and living in public housing.

“So there was poverty and mental health… It was a challenging upbringing.”

Yet this didn’t stop Courtney from dreaming big, and pursuing a career on “either law or government”, which lead her to study the intricacies of law and politics, getting straight into the WA state government from there.

Even then, however, she explains that her true passion lies in working with non-profit organizations and that this aspect of her life represents her major focus point today.

Feeling Privileged

Now, even though Courtney is open about the challenges she’s had to face growing up, I always found it interesting how she also tends to describe herself as being privileged.

When I pointed out this contradiction to her, she responded that this was due to her story “not being work hard to get to where you want, but rather, work hard and have privilege, so more opportunities will present themselves.”

After all, she was born a white, able-bodied, cisgendered woman who had access to education, which granted her a head start to turn her situation over, a head start that a lot of other people simply didn’t have.

This is something that we all could think about on some level, that even though no one in the world is a stranger to hardship, some of us are simply more privileged, be it because of our appearance, the functionality of our bodies and minds, or just our social standing.

Courtney also points out how this mindset can also positively affect your life, as focusing on your privileges instead of your hardships enables you to lift others up, and understand that you have come to such a position through resilience.

Trailblazer

Now, being a woman and working for the Premiere of Western Australia, Courtney also had a ton of stories to share about going into spaces and being “the only female in the room, or the only person under forty.”

One of such stories was about a certain meeting she attended with emergency services personnel, and being the only woman in a meeting with five much older men, was interrupted by someone on a CEO level who commented on her top.

As you can imagine, this comment wouldn’t have happened if it were a man giving the presentation, and though Courtney was able to shut the unnecessary remark down, there needs to be a conversation about why it happened.

The Importance of Not Being Angry

Even though Courtney herself has been a victim of such forms of sexism, she highlights the importance of not having “a chip on your shoulder” about these situations, as wrong as they may be.

That doesn’t mean in any way that you are not supposed to call people out when they engage in any form of discrimination, but rather that being angry about being the only woman at the table won’t lead to any positive change.

You can even go ahead and question people on their reasoning behind non-inclusive behavior, in fact that is a great way to drive home the message that what they did is not appropriate, but doing it out of anger won’t really lead anywhere.

And sure, getting as many women on the table as possible also helps, even if women can be just as sexist as men, (if not more), sometimes.

The Role Of An Ally

In my line of work I’ve often come upon situations where women were being treated unfairly in the workplace, and I’ve always felt that, since I’m in a position of authority within the company, I had to speak up and do something about it.

But Courtney argued that despite one’s best intentions, this may not be the best thing to do for the person that was the target of discrimination as “Where is the line between advocating for someone and talking over them?”

In saying this, she actually makes a good point, after all, if you just pick up someone’s cause and use your privilege to advocate for them, you can end up excluding the offended party from the conversation.

Sometimes, therefore, it is better to sit back and let the person who was discriminated against speak first, but at the same time, you need to recognise it when there is an opportunity to help.

When confronted with a similar situation, Courtney suggests that before anything else, you consult the victim and ask her what you can do to empower them, putting the initiative in their hands.

Conclusion

My talk with Courtney was eye-opening in many ways, not only by showing the mechanics of privilege that makes life so easy for some of us and so hard for others, but it was also enlightening in terms of showing how we can use our privilege.

Because, whether we like it or not, we always hold some sort of unfair advantage over others that enables us to take a higher standing in society, and have opportunities open up for us that are unthinkable for those that were not so lucky.

So, for our closing reflection, I’d like to propose you a simple chalenge: Take a look at your own life and try to identify all the ways in which you are privileged, be it the color of your skin, your financial situation, your physical and mental faculties.

Then, I want you to think about all the ways in which you can use these privileges to uplift the people around you and take a step further towards changing the game.

]]>fb3c7271-1079-4714-a0fb-26796979736cTue, 16 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +110030:11falsefull1331Courtney Barron is a Senior Executive in the Western Australian Government. Over the past 12 years Courtney has undertaken a range of legal and policy roles in Government, and in her current position as Director of Executive Government Services at the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, she is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Cabinet, its sub-Committees and Executive Council. With lived experience of the welfare and public housing system, Courtney is a vocal advocate for women, in particular in relation to employment, housing and health. She pursues these passions through mentoring and board work. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts (honours) from the University of Western Australia, and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice.Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Kate KirwinKate Kirwin is the founder of “She Codes;”, and a passionate advocate for the inclusion of women in STEM whom I’ve had the pleasure to interview recently on the Changing The Game Podcast.

The West, recently described Kate’s mission as follows: “Kate Kirwin likes to imagine a world where young girls aspire to be programmers in the same way they might dream of being ballerinas”.

With this in mind we had an incredibly productive talk about inclusion, equality and the challenges she has faced while working to make her vision a reality and change the game.

Closed Doors

“We’re really trying to explore those stereotypes about women in technology”, Kate states as she reminisces about She Codes’s upcoming six years birthday, and the cultural barriers that women face in STEM.

Kate doesn’t really have a technological background, something that she attributes to the fact that it was never really posed to her as an option, a problem that seems to be widespread across the globe.

In general, STEM fields, (that being science, technology, engineering and mathematics) are rarely portrayed as places for women, or somewhere women can flourish, which keeps young girls from even considering such areas for their future.

That is, of course, when people don’t just flat out say that these career paths are not for women, because they are not “safe”, a fallacy that She Codes has dedicated itself to debunk.

The Importance of An Invitation

The absence of women in STEM fields is something I was able to notice for myself as it has always been hard to find women candidates, and no wonder as only 26.7%, of all workers in this market are female.

When I asked what we could do to change this reality, Kate mentioned the importance of making that invitation to young girls as so many of them are told no by counselors, by their parents and so many people that shut that door for them.

So holding that door open for these women, and helping them make a foothold in STEM, is one of the best ways to change things, and the main concern of She Codes.

Discovering Tech As a Woman

Kate attests to the importance of this invitation herself, as she recalls how her background was in events and that she only awoke to her interest in technology while working on an event called Space Keep in Perth, Australia.

“I didn’t know any of that, I knew events, and I just got really curious. Do I find out what our members are doing, how do I find out what the startups are doing, how do I speak the same language as them”

So, she did what most people do at an event and attended as many panels as she could, but at tech events she started to feel uncomfortable at how the environment was not welcoming to her “as a woman or as a beginner”.

From there on she started to participate on more and more groups to learn coding, until she was approached with an invitation start a community dedicated to helping women to get into codeing.

Changing The Numbers Game

Today, She Codes has...]]>Kate Kirwin is the founder of “She Codes;”, and a passionate advocate for the inclusion of women in STEM whom I’ve had the pleasure to interview recently on the Changing The Game Podcast.

The West, recently described Kate’s mission as follows: “Kate Kirwin likes to imagine a world where young girls aspire to be programmers in the same way they might dream of being ballerinas”.

With this in mind we had an incredibly productive talk about inclusion, equality and the challenges she has faced while working to make her vision a reality and change the game.

Closed Doors

“We’re really trying to explore those stereotypes about women in technology”, Kate states as she reminisces about She Codes’s upcoming six years birthday, and the cultural barriers that women face in STEM.

Kate doesn’t really have a technological background, something that she attributes to the fact that it was never really posed to her as an option, a problem that seems to be widespread across the globe.

In general, STEM fields, (that being science, technology, engineering and mathematics) are rarely portrayed as places for women, or somewhere women can flourish, which keeps young girls from even considering such areas for their future.

That is, of course, when people don’t just flat out say that these career paths are not for women, because they are not “safe”, a fallacy that She Codes has dedicated itself to debunk.

The Importance of An Invitation

The absence of women in STEM fields is something I was able to notice for myself as it has always been hard to find women candidates, and no wonder as only 26.7%, of all workers in this market are female.

When I asked what we could do to change this reality, Kate mentioned the importance of making that invitation to young girls as so many of them are told no by counselors, by their parents and so many people that shut that door for them.

So holding that door open for these women, and helping them make a foothold in STEM, is one of the best ways to change things, and the main concern of She Codes.

Discovering Tech As a Woman

Kate attests to the importance of this invitation herself, as she recalls how her background was in events and that she only awoke to her interest in technology while working on an event called Space Keep in Perth, Australia.

“I didn’t know any of that, I knew events, and I just got really curious. Do I find out what our members are doing, how do I find out what the startups are doing, how do I speak the same language as them”

So, she did what most people do at an event and attended as many panels as she could, but at tech events she started to feel uncomfortable at how the environment was not welcoming to her “as a woman or as a beginner”.

From there on she started to participate on more and more groups to learn coding, until she was approached with an invitation start a community dedicated to helping women to get into codeing.

Changing The Numbers Game

Today, She Codes has helped over 4000 young women insert themselves in the coding microcosm along six years of female exclusive coding workshops, and Kate stated that they even had people who had a STEM background seeking them out.

“There was this one event where I was standing in line to talk with the speaker and the girl behind me was like ‘oh wait I know you, you’re Kate from SheCodes’”

After Kate had confirmed it was indeed her, the girl explained how she had gone through their program and was now working on robotics, and how that “Yes, you can do this”, was a turning point in her life.

A Bright Future Ahead

Under the light of the upcoming sixth anniversary for She Codes, Kate speaks about the future of She Codes with great enthusiasm, speaking about new programs to be launched in Port Headland and all the other regions that She Codes was able to touch.

She also spoke about how Covid has pushed the organisation to embrace online seminaries to a greater extent, which has students a lot more comfortable during workshops and increased the range of She Codes.

Lastly there was the mention of She Codes’ major long term goal which is the insertion of over one hundred thousand women on the technology field by 2025 across Australia, as she says this, she remarks “only 96 thousand to go!”.

This is a wonderful mindset to have, especially if you are looking to change the game in a big way, you need to dream big, after all dreaming small or big takes the same amount of effort, the only variance is in the results.

A Worthy Challenge

As you hear about Kate’s goal, you may be wondering why one hundred thousand specifically. why not five hundred thousand or a million, if we have to dream big in order to change the game.

Kate explains that this is due to a study that came out which states that Australia needs two hundred thousand people in the tech industry across the country to remain globally competitive in the field.

The main goal for She Codes, therefore, is to ensure that at least half of these needed job entries to be filled by women, which according to her “still wouldn’t be 50/50 diversity”, but it would be a really good place to start.

Conclusion

When we talk about changing the game, that is to say, changing the world in ways that make life a more free and beneficial experience for a greater number of people, our one guiding factor the trajectory that has gotten us this far.

Kate Kirwin was moved by the sensation of being unwelcome as a woman in technology directed events and situations, and instead of being turned away from it, she took it upon herself to create a space where her and other women wouldn’t fell like that again.

This is an important lesson to take away from my talk with her, we change the game by looking at what we don’t like about the way it is played, and if everyone starts doing that, it will always change for the better.

]]>fb755626-52fe-4f6b-97c8-a547dca8fcf5Mon, 15 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +110027:18falsefull1221Kate is a passionate advocate for women in STEM and the innovation ecosystem. Founder of She Codes, she has led the steep growth of the project since 2015. Thanks to her work, more than 4500 women have learnt to code through free programs. With a regional upbringing, she strongly believes in empowering women from the world’s remotest regions, providing opportunities for women from as far north as Port Hedland and Karratha, and east as far as Brisbane. Kate has also contributed to the growth of the startup ecosystem and Spacecubed, and since 2014 has played a pivotal role in building community and coordinating other programs including Plus Eight, Startup Weekend and Meshpoints. She is also an Activator for SheEO, personally committed to funding female founded startups. Kate was awarded the West Australian Rising Star award, was a runner up for the 2019 and 2020 Seven News Young Achiever Awards, and recently Kate made to the 2021 40under40 Award Winner list.Changing The Game with Wilson Casado - Suzanne WaldronNominated for Western Australian of the year, Suzanne Waldron has a great list of achievements under her belt, being an ambassador for RUOK?, leader of the TedxPerth team, a behavioral change facilitator and a twice published author.

All of these titles arose out of Suzanne’s interest in how humanity can build the best possible existence for itself within the reality presented to us, and she engages in this wonderful interest in working with leaders from around the world in embedding healthy relationships.

There could have been no better option for our first guest on Changing The Game, where she shared incredible stories surrounding her life’s work.

The Game of Life

“Well, first we need to know what the game is and what are we changing”, Suzanne starts.

Life is, in many ways, a game, and we are all trying to play it to the best of our abilities, and the mere fact that we are playing it is a privilege.

For Suzanne, this game started out rather roughly, and she describes the first seventeen years of her life as “Traumatic”, having grown in a foster home, her first aspiration was simply to be safe.

Now, knowing Suzanne as a friend, and generally a really positive and caring person, I was curious about what was that pivotal moment in her life.

“I’m thinking, has anything changed?”, Suzanne replied, after all there is a constancy throughout her history, she has always remained herself, it was her role, her relationships, her emotions that changed, not her.

So, she emphatically concludes that there was no “key moment”, but rather a mix of the natural flow of life, the kindness of strangers that saw something in her that she couldn’t see herself, and her own constant self development.

Equity

So, with the idea that Suzanne’s current success came as a result of the impact that others had in her life, we can look at her efforts in ensuring equal opportunity for all, and ask what role can we play in other people’s stories.

“First, we need to think of what access is, and where it doesn’t apply”

As an example, she points at herself, a white woman with all physical and mental faculties, that has access to clean water, healthcare, education, and housing, and how there is a plethora of places where people are not so lucky.

This accessibility to resources, doesn’t just affect our quality of life, but also our ability to solve problems, for example, a village without access to water is going to have a hard time growing crops.

The fact is, we don’t all get the same starting point, and those that find themselves with the short end of the stick need help from those in a better position to get a chance at bettering their lives.

Education vs Access

When it comes to education as a motor for change, we find ourselves in a complicated place, after all, as Suzanne points out, “you can be educated and still not have access to something”.

In other words, you can be extremely resourceful, have a degree and a mind for problem-solving, but if you still have no access to basic resources, you will still be unable to come up with solutions for your immediate situation.

There is also the issue of cultural access, as you can be well-educated, but still be held back due to social alienation because of your gender, your religion, your ethnicity, or any other aspect of your identity that falls outside cultural hegemony.

So, although education gives us internal resources, it still cannot change our external conditions that might put themselves in front of our efforts for better living standards.

Change From Within

So, within this game that involves every member of society where some get more to play with than others, we can look at our governments as being a...]]>Nominated for Western Australian of the year, Suzanne Waldron has a great list of achievements under her belt, being an ambassador for RUOK?, leader of the TedxPerth team, a behavioral change facilitator and a twice published author.

All of these titles arose out of Suzanne’s interest in how humanity can build the best possible existence for itself within the reality presented to us, and she engages in this wonderful interest in working with leaders from around the world in embedding healthy relationships.

There could have been no better option for our first guest on Changing The Game, where she shared incredible stories surrounding her life’s work.

The Game of Life

“Well, first we need to know what the game is and what are we changing”, Suzanne starts.

Life is, in many ways, a game, and we are all trying to play it to the best of our abilities, and the mere fact that we are playing it is a privilege.

For Suzanne, this game started out rather roughly, and she describes the first seventeen years of her life as “Traumatic”, having grown in a foster home, her first aspiration was simply to be safe.

Now, knowing Suzanne as a friend, and generally a really positive and caring person, I was curious about what was that pivotal moment in her life.

“I’m thinking, has anything changed?”, Suzanne replied, after all there is a constancy throughout her history, she has always remained herself, it was her role, her relationships, her emotions that changed, not her.

So, she emphatically concludes that there was no “key moment”, but rather a mix of the natural flow of life, the kindness of strangers that saw something in her that she couldn’t see herself, and her own constant self development.

Equity

So, with the idea that Suzanne’s current success came as a result of the impact that others had in her life, we can look at her efforts in ensuring equal opportunity for all, and ask what role can we play in other people’s stories.

“First, we need to think of what access is, and where it doesn’t apply”

As an example, she points at herself, a white woman with all physical and mental faculties, that has access to clean water, healthcare, education, and housing, and how there is a plethora of places where people are not so lucky.

This accessibility to resources, doesn’t just affect our quality of life, but also our ability to solve problems, for example, a village without access to water is going to have a hard time growing crops.

The fact is, we don’t all get the same starting point, and those that find themselves with the short end of the stick need help from those in a better position to get a chance at bettering their lives.

Education vs Access

When it comes to education as a motor for change, we find ourselves in a complicated place, after all, as Suzanne points out, “you can be educated and still not have access to something”.

In other words, you can be extremely resourceful, have a degree and a mind for problem-solving, but if you still have no access to basic resources, you will still be unable to come up with solutions for your immediate situation.

There is also the issue of cultural access, as you can be well-educated, but still be held back due to social alienation because of your gender, your religion, your ethnicity, or any other aspect of your identity that falls outside cultural hegemony.

So, although education gives us internal resources, it still cannot change our external conditions that might put themselves in front of our efforts for better living standards.

Change From Within

So, within this game that involves every member of society where some get more to play with than others, we can look at our governments as being a major piece in the board.

The first step for it to incorporate this central role is acknowledging this unequal reality and compromising to address it, for people in decision-making positions to recognize this state of affairs.

Then we can start talking about concrete action in the form of inclusive policies, resource redistribution, and accessibility efforts, but the very first step is the individual acknowledgement of what is not available to others.

A Measured Response

One of the ways in which these issues have been addressed was regarding gender equality where the solution of dividing every position of the workforce in 50/50 for men and women has often been defended.

Suzanne then argued that “The 50/50 bit doesn’t mean anything to me, it could be 40/60 or whatever”, but that quotas actually are important as quantifying something does lead to progress.

The idea is that by implementing quotas, we can move into the position where they no longer are necessary, and that a more equal view of workplace positions is seen as something natural.

In essence, quotas are positive in the sense that they bypass bias, create a precise measurement for equity, and creates new opportunities, which is why they should be implemented until they are no longer necessary.

Conclusion

If we are to take anything out of this wonderful interview with Suzanne Waldron let it be a lesson on the necessity of reflecting how privileged we truly are and the need to break out of this spot of comfort to raise other people up.

After all, when it comes to inventiveness, talent, and potential, the human race is a never-ending treasure pool, and the only thing that holds it back is how unequally and resources and opportunities distributed.

So, I would like to leave you, my dear reader (or listener) with the following question: What are your privileges? And what can you do to raise another into a better place and completely change the game for them?

]]>904dd9c3-53de-4672-9751-af38d82454a9Fri, 12 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +110029:04falsefull1111Suzanne Waldron is a behavioural change facilitator, interviewer and curator. Working globally with influential leaders, her focus is on embedding healthy relationships within ethical systems. For business, community and culture. She's an active ambassador for RUOK?, Nakuru Hope, and leads the TEDxPerth team. A twice published author, Suzanne has also been nominated for Western Australian of the Year 2016.Launch of the Changing The Game showChanging The Game is going live on Wednesday, the 10th of March.

I have had the privilege of already interviewing Suzanne Waldron, Kate Kirwin, Courtney Barron and Tracie Clark and can't wait to share their incredible stories with you.

Join me and some incredible people on the 10th of March at 9am, as we launch the Changing The Game show officially.

]]>Changing The Game is going live on Wednesday, the 10th of March.

I have had the privilege of already interviewing Suzanne Waldron, Kate Kirwin, Courtney Barron and Tracie Clark and can't wait to share their incredible stories with you.

Join me and some incredible people on the 10th of March at 9am, as we launch the Changing The Game show officially.

]]>6b5238df-2675-4909-8115-153a0352956bWed, 10 Mar 2021 09:00:00 +110059:21falsefullChanging The Game is going live on Wednesday, the 10th of March. I have had the privilege of already interviewing Suzanne Waldron, Kate Kirwin, Courtney Barron and Tracie Clark and can't wait to share their incredible stories with you. Join me and some incredible people on the 10th of March at 9am, as we launch the Changing The Game show officially.Changing The Game - IntroductionIntroduction to Changing The Game:

Discussing the importance of innovation and diversity for transforming and creating a new reality, and how education is the key. We will deep dive in successes and failures that all listeners can learn from.

]]>Introduction to Changing The Game:

Discussing the importance of innovation and diversity for transforming and creating a new reality, and how education is the key. We will deep dive in successes and failures that all listeners can learn from.

]]>528c1a9d-8864-4554-986f-fc07b9b35b0bTue, 22 Dec 2020 09:00:00 +110001:13falsetrailer