Deakin Startups Podcast presented by Daizy Maan, and Co-Produced by Eleanor Harel & Diletta Legowo

In this episode we discuss student life & entrepreneurship with four members of SPARK Deakin’s community.

Fuzail Ahmed, is a Deakin alumni and entrepreneur with two fine jewellery businesses based in India and globally. He is a SPARK Deakin past ideation student in 2021.

Isabel Hamilton, Startup Ideation past student, and founder of Virgo Nightclub understands that clubs and bars are often designed without the adequate understanding of women’s safety. She is one of the winning pitches for the Startup Ideation T2, 2021 Showcase Event.

Lachlan Carboon was the winning pitch for the student stream of the 2021 Deakin Startup Competition with his startup MOBIT. MOBIT is an application for moderating phone usage that blocks distracting applications during class time, but retains access to useful features, allowing students to feel safe and able to reach their full potential in an academic setting.

Moderating the chat is Sehar Gupta, SPARK Deakin’s own Ideation Project Coordinator who helps manage the Startup Ideation WIL Program and helps the Deakin entrepreneurship community to flourish.

Find out more about their entrepreneur journey and how that connects to their student life.

To follow along with their journeys you can find each of your speakers at the following places:

Fuzail Ahmed: LinkedIn

Isabel Hamilton: LinkedIn, Virgo Nightclub

Lachlan Carboon: LinkedIn, MOBIT website

Sehar Gupta: LinkedIn

Join us for a chat with Rachel Whitworth, the Founder of Hello Good World. In this conversation, Rachel shares valuable insights for founders and budding entrepreneurs.

Hello Good World is an online marketplace for the conscious consumer. They take all the guess work and research out of your hands and host ethical, sustainable and cause-driven labels.

Rachel will be talking about:

• Hello Good World’s journey
• How she pushed her core vision
• Steps involved in creating an Ecommerce platform that is contributing to a better tomorrow

Want to know more about Rachel and Hello Good World? Learn more about Rachel and Hello Good World here https://hellogoodworld.com/ and their instagram https://www.instagram.com/hellogood.world/

This podcast is hosted by Deakin University’s entrepreneurship program, SPARK Deakin. It’s the place for founders to learn, grow and connect on their entrepreneurial journey. Connect with SPARK Deakin at www.spark.deakin.edu.au, Instagram @sparkdeakin or join our Facebook group if you’re from the Deakin community www.facebook.com/groups/spark.deakin

Join us for a chat with Jenny Le, Co-Founder of Bubble Tea Club – Australia’s leading DIY bubble tea brand. Jenny is also a Deakin alumnus.

In this conversation, Jenny shares valuable insights for founders and budding entrepreneurs.
Jenny will be talking about:

🧋 Starting a business in the middle of a pandemic
🧋 Transitioning from traditional work
🧋 Handling a fast and high growth startup
🧋 Lessons from the coal face (the nitty gritty!)

Within a week of losing their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pamela Yip and Jenny Le founded the Bubble Tea Club. Their journey started from an idea, ‘imagine if you could easily make bubble tea at home and it tasted as good as the shops without breaking the bank’, to becoming one of Australia’s top bubble tea brands.

Want to know more about Jenny and Bubble Tea Club? Learn more about Jenny and Bubble Tea Club here https://bubbleteaclub.com.au/pages/about-us.

This podcast is hosted by Deakin University’s entrepreneurship program SPARK Deakin. It’s the place for founders to learn, grow and connect on their entrepreneurial journey. Connect with SPARK Deakin and learn more about us here,  Instagram @sparkdeakin or join our Facebook group if you’re from the Deakin community www.facebook.com/groups/spark.deakin.

In this episode we’re chatting with Deakin Alumnus and Head of Labs and Startups at LUNA, Josh Sharma. Lawyer turned startup advocate, Josh is also a mentor for SPARK Deakin. In this conversation, Josh connects the dots from his time as a Deakin Uni student to how he came to be working in the startup ecosystem.

We find out:
• What is a startup lawyer and his experience as one
• LUNA Startup Studio, their community and how they help startups launch, grow and scale. They do this through their services including legal, accounting, operations, strategy, investments and their events + programs.
• Early mistakes that startups should avoid
• Key tips and advice for students and early stage entrepreneurs and how they can connect with the startup ecosystem early on and get involved and find relevant experience that helps them get a foot in the door
• Australian ecosystem resources he recommends

Want to learn more about Josh? Check out the Luna Startup Studio website, www.weareluna.co and their LinkedIn profile www.linkedin.com/company/lunastartupstudio/

This podcast is hosted by Deakin University’s entrepreneurship program SPARK Deakin. It’s the place for founders to learn, grow and connect on their entrepreneurial journey. Connect with SPARK Deakin at Instagram @sparkdeakin or join our Facebook group if you’re from the Deakin community www.facebook.com/groups/spark.deakin

We recognise the power of learning from the experiences of others just like us. That’s why we’re thrilled to have Deakin Alumni (Law/ Journalism) and Founder of Law in Colour,  Kim Koelmeyer join us for a chat this week. 

In this chat, Kim shares with us her experience:

💡 Studying while juggling a side hustle
💡 Starting her own online platform, Law in Colour
💡 Volunteering

Want to learn more about Kim? Check out her instagram @lawincolour and website www.lawincolour.com.

In this episode we’re speaking with UX Specialist and creative problem solver, Dan Steen. In this conversation he shares some interesting insights on how you can start taking a user-centred approach to solve problems related to your startup, new exciting idea or your work. He also shares some free tools and resources to help kick-off your UX journey.

Dan is passionate about empowering teams and individuals to solve tough real-world problems. He utilises human centred design, in conjunction with storytelling and technology to make impactful outcomes for users and clients. He is also the co-founder of a startup called FireThrive. In short, he makes shiny things to improve experiences. Beyond this, he makes games, is designing a tiny house and loves to draw and paint.

Want to learn more about Dan? Check out his twitter @DanSteen and website www.dsteen.design/.

Please note: This episode was recorded previously, in the midst of Covid lockdown in Melbourne and some events and circumstances mentioned may have since changed.

In this episode we’re speaking to Isaac Jeffries, lead facilitator for SPARK Deakin’s Startup Ideation program. If you’re working in the social impact space, Isaac is your go-to person.

Isaac helps people use businesses to change lives by designing and building social enterprises, both in Australia and in the developing world.

He’s a consultant at The Difference Incubator where he is working with social entrepreneurs who are testing and scaling companies that are solving tough problems.

He also works at another organisation called Business for Development where he designs and builds impactful businesses in the developing world, which lifts families out of extreme poverty.

He has worked with over 451 enterprises and he does some work with us at SPARK Deakin.

He is the Lead Facilitator for SPARK Startup Ideation – a 12 week, work-integrated learning program for current students at Deakin University wanting to learn how to generate, test, develop and pitch new business ideas. Many students end up running a version of their startups after the program has concluded, and we receive consistently high feedback scores each semester.

Make sure to listen until the end of the chat as Isaac has an offer for all our listeners.

Want to learn more about Isaac?  Check out his blog at https: www.isaacjeffries.com.

In this episode we’re speaking to Investor Relations Strategist and Business Coach, Olga Hogan, about the Four Types of Founders. Olga introduces us to these founder-types using the DISC framework that facilitates the long-term resilience and perseverance required of a start-up founder. It can also be used by founders to better delegate their roles and responsibilities as well as give them a tool which enables better hires and find co-founders.

When on your entrepreneurial journey, you’re also experiencing a journey of self-discovery; a chance to get to know yourself and understand the way you interact with the world. One way to delve into this is through the DISC methodology and understanding your natural energy.

Before listening to the podcast, you may wish to undertake a quick DISC assessment (free and no sign-up required) on Olga’s website. It takes up to 10 minutes and it will help give you more context while listening to the podcast episode – www.investable.team/disc.

This episode  was recorded during our Podcast Launch Party & it has been shared unedited to allow you to share in the experience of the event. 

In this episode we’re speaking to Demi Kotsoris from The Millennial Crisis Podcast, a show for forward thinkers seeking change through career, culture & open-minded conversations. She is a workshop facilitator & Digital Consultant. She graduated from Deakin in 2016 with a degree in Business & Commerce. 

In this fun chat, Demi and Daizy discuss their shared experiences and learnings from their respective career paths and how they conquered some of the most challenging obstacles commonly faced by young people today. 

Want to learn more about Demi? Check out her Instagram @demikotsoris & podcast, The Millennial Crisis. 

Hello! Welcome to the Deakin Startups Podcast.

If you’re curious about startups and want to learn how to transform your dreams to reality, The Deakin Startups Podcast has got you covered. You’ll get to meet founders and innovators from our community and discover the in-and-outs, challenges and pro-tips from those who have been there before. Get to know your host Daizy Maan and what we’re all about in this intro episode of the series.

Many of these episodes are recorded with a live audience at our fortnightly startup chats. If you’d like to join, please subscribe to our newsletter by heading to our website https://spark.deakin.edu.au/ so you don’t miss out on the next one.

Looking forward to learning, growing, and creating together.

The Deakin Startups Podcast is hosted by Daizy Maan and co-produced by Diletta Legowo & Eleanor Harel at SPARK Deakin, Deakin University, a startup program that’s creating a thriving future built by entrepreneurs and innovators.

The background music in this episode, which you’ll get to hear regularly in future episodes, is by Menachem Engel