Deakin Startups Podcast SPARK Deakin

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

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 student life.

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 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, the 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 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

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 how they can connect with the startup ecosystem early on and be involved and get 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 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

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 https://www.instagram.com/lawincolour/ and website https://www.lawincolour.com/.

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

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.

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/.

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