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.

Senior Entrepreneurship Educator (Pitching)

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 (Early Builds)

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.

Senior Entrepreneurship Educator

Melissa Ran is a community leader in the technology startup sector, with extensive experience in entrepreneurship education and startup investment. She was most recently the Head of Community at AirTree, one of Australia’s largest venture capital funds that has invested in some of the nation’s biggest success stories like Canva, Pet Circle, Employment Hero and Linktree. Previously, Melissa was a Startup Program Manager at UNSW where she coached hundreds of startup businesses across industries and stages. Melissa is a moderator of Sydney Startups, Australia’s largest startup founder community with over 53K members and was recognised as a 40 under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australian in 2020.

Entrepreneurial Careers Educator

Micah is a dynamic addition to the Young Wisdom team, joining in 2024 to help design and manage new careers-focused skills-building programs for aspiring entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs alike. Drawing upon nearly a decade of experience as a growth leader, trusted product expert, and customer-centric program manager, Micah has orchestrated multimillion-dollar campaigns and spearheaded brand and market research initiatives working for industry leaders such as Adobe, Qualtrics, and Seven West Media. Micah’s fusion of corporate acumen with an entrepreneurial mindset positions her as an invaluable program manager, equipped to guide students toward realising their entrepreneurial career aspirations.

Entrepreneurship Educator (Design)

Carina Cunha only started with Young Wisdom Pty Ltd in April 2023 but has already made a significant impact with clients in both EdTech and professional services. She also serves as a design mentor to student-led startups at Monte Sant’ Angelo and recently helped 8 teams in the lead up to their Showcase event to prepare professional brand kits, expo signage, and sales collateral. While currently completing her studies in media and design, she also brings experience in tutoring; making her an asset to both our corporate and school clients.

Entrepreneurship Educator

Chriso Chindilas joined Young Wisdom in 2023 bringing a passion and knowledge of the Australian tech ecosystem with him. He has consulted for leading Australian startups including Kin Fertility and Sprintlaw equipping him with the strategic frameworks used to analyse startup business models. Across our workshops he combines these skills with experience in teaching debating and critical thinking classes to effectively engage students. As a Finance/Law student at Sydney University and a past Startmate fellow, his passion for the Australian startup industry helps inspire students in their entrepreneurial endeavours.