Founder, Entrepreneur In Residence

Shahe is the founder and director of Young Wisdom Pty Ltd, working with schools to create innovation and entrepreneurship upskilling programs, and Metamorph Marketing, a communications consultancy he launched in 2012. He first registered Young Wisdom in 2007 while in high school at North Sydney Boys, where he was school captain. He has additionally worked at Deloitte, UNSW Founders and Western Sydney University, the latter two in startup programming and education roles. Through his businesses and jobs, he has worked with hundreds of leaders in early-stage startups, small businesses, enterprises, and educational institutions. He is passionate about ensuring the next generation is fully-supported as they explore entrepreneurial careers and ventures.

General Manager

James Smith has worked with Young Wisdom Pty Ltd on occasion since 2015, bringing his highly engaging and entertaining coaching style to students of public speaking across a range of startup, university and corporate innovation clients. Equally comfortable working with students, academics, professionals and executives, James brings perspectives informed by his 10+ years as a founder, coach and adjudicator running the leading debating and public speaking education company for NSW school students between 2010 and 2019.

Senior Entrepreneurship Educator

Georgia is a first class honours psychology graduate from Macquarie University, where she conducted her thesis on predictive factors in the client-therapist fit. Her startup, Welv, leverages research insights to connect clients with the right psychologists, aiming to improve mental health treatment outcomes based on novel research she is conducting in partnership with the university. She has run a successful music tutoring studio over the past decade working with over 80 students on piano, violin and guitar. With a background in psychology, graphic design, business, and web-app development, she is passionate about empowering students to bring innovative solutions to life.

Senior Entrepreneurship Educator

Nadia is an ethical AI advocate and founder of ThatsMyFace, a technology consultancy specialising in privacy and identity preservation. She is also the director of Dadalearn, a North Shore-based private tutoring company, and has been an educator and private tutor for over 12 years. With a background in AI policy research and startup leadership, Nadia is a member of the Content Authenticity Initiative—a global alliance led by Adobe and Microsoft dedicated to digital provenance and media integrity. She has appeared on ABC’s Q&A, TEDx, Women’s Agenda, and IEEE Spectrum as a leading voice for responsible technology.

Senior Entrepreneurship Educator

Tash is a passionate startup coach, founder, and educator. After a decade working globally for the Australian Government, she now heads up her own startup, Lockpick Learning, using a love of video gaming to help students get ahead. She has been a startup coach at the University of New South Wales and is a coach and mentor for the Startmate community. Outside of startups, Tash is a musician and fitness instructor.

Specialist Entrepreneurship Educator

Charmilla brings more than 30 years of experience across entrepreneurship, retail, brand development, e-commerce, product development and digital innovation. She started her first small business at age 10 and began working in retail at 14, later building an international career in communications, beauty and cosmetics. She has created and launched brands, developed physical and digital products, built ecommerce businesses and contributed to technology platforms from early-stage concept through to delivery.

Entrepreneurship Educator

Eraga is the Founder of Akili Sono, a medical technology startup developing artificial intelligence products for diagnostic ultrasound. Currently studying Exercise and Sports Science at Macquarie University, he is also a Founder-in-Residence at the Macquarie University Incubator. He combines his passion for healthcare, human performance, technology and innovation to solve real-world problems. Eraga has worked with startup founders, clinicians, researchers and investors through a range of entrepreneurship and innovation programs across Australia. His work has been recognised by the Australian Society of Lifestyle Medicine, where he received a Student Leadership Award for his contribution to health promotion and innovation. Eraga enjoys helping students develop an entrepreneurial mindset, build confidence in their ideas, and discover how innovation can create positive change in their communities and the wider world.

Entrepreneurship Educator

Billa is a versatile entrepreneur with a track record of launching and scaling ventures. After building and selling his stake in a successful clothing business, he now leads a marketing agency specializing in offline growth strategy. Billa’s expertise lies at the intersection of technology and marketing, focusing on the critical early stages of business development. As an experienced educator, facilitator, and public speaker, he is passionate about teaching young founders how to bridge the gap between a creative idea and a market-ready reality.

Entrepreneurship Educator

Annabelle is the owner of Custom Cafe, a small, lively cafe in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. She has her Bachelor of Arts from UNSW, where she studied social media, communications and philosophy. She takes her passions for critical thinking, building relationships and years of customer service experience into her own entrepreneurship. She enjoys being able to offer students opportunities that she would’ve dreamed of during school. She is passionate about sharing skills, anecdotes and advice for young entrepreneurial minds.

Sid is a previous founder and investor who has spent his career at the earliest stages of building. He began in payments and account management at Mastercard before founding Anova, a financial education startup for Gen-Z, teaching himself product and marketing from scratch. That founder experience helped him break into his first VC-backed startup, Earlywork, before moving into venture capital as a Scouting Manager at Antler, a day-zero firm, where he interviewed and worked with hundreds of founders, formed investment theses, and advised pre-seed and portfolio companies. Alongside his work he has hosted events for early-stage founders through Impact Circle, and writes on the realities of building in the unknown and carving out a career in the AI era. He is passionate about helping young people back themselves, learn faster than they think they can, and turn raw ideas into ventures worth pursuing.