UNSW has become fertile ground for sprouting fresh ideas and innovation. Indeed, through the comprehensive entrepreneurial offering available at UNSW Founders, UNSW has graduated more founders than any other university, with a further 98 graduates going on to attract VC funding.
So, what does the path from student to startup founder actually look like? During O Week, we caught up with three UNSW founders, Alinta Furnell (Co-founder and COO of Synbiote), Holly Richards (Founder of Club Melon), and Jason Yu (Co-founder and CEO of VidUp AI).
Tell us your elevator pitch?
Holly: “More than one billion women on the planet are considered ‘plus size.’ We provide women size sixteen or above with a radically adjustable sports bra which they can customise to their perfect fit.”
Jason: “We believe creating videos should not be hard. We transform your script into a video in under 1min, allowing you to create quality content in less time.”
Alinta: “Biopharmaceuticals are essential to our everyday life. These are really hard to produce, and develop. It’s a time consuming process. We are creating an automated process to make these products safer and faster to market.”
What made you decide to be a founder?
Jason: “It started back in high school. One of my friends created a tool that could convert Reddit posts into videos for YouTube. That’s where VidUp was born. It was just a cool idea with a bit of validation in the market.”
Alinta: “I never really thought I’d be a founder. I didn’t even know what a startup was! Entrepreneurship was a way to make my research into a real product. We were 100% green. We knew we had this idea, and knew how the science worked. Then we saw the UNSW Founders program and thought, hey maybe we could make this a real thing!”
Holly: “I’d always wanted to start my own business but didn’t know if I could, or what I would do. In the midst of COVID, I lost all my freelance work as a journalist. Lo and behold, I got a newsletter from AGSM, there was a mention of the New Wave program to test an idea. We won the pitch competition, and over the next year and a half, progressed to PFC and New Wave US Bootcamp.”
When did you realise you had a real business opportunity?
Holly: “I always thought this was a business, but I was scared of my own bias. It was actually in the first week of New Wave, when we surveyed possible customers, and in 24 hours we had 600 respondents. We were hoping to get to 100 after a week. To have such a ferocious response from fellow plus size women in Australia, I realised this was not just me - there were thousands - indeed, one billion women in the same situation.”
“I wouldn’t be here without my mentors, all through UNSW. Alex Smart, my mentor through New Wave US Bootcamp, helped me see that I need to sell the vision - the movement, not just a specific product. I’ve started to tailor my pitch to speak about the breadth and width of the problem I’m solving.”
Jason: “We found people don’t want to spend all this time putting effort into creating a video. They wanted to get their message out there.”
“For a lot of startups, it’s OK to be lost for a while, and keep searching for the solution to your problem.”
“I’m from a technical background, but through the PFC program and 10x, I’ve developed as a business founder. As a founder, you need to wear so many hats. It’s inevitable you will make mistakes along the way, but it’s important you learn from those mistakes.”
Alinta: “How did I realise being a founder was a valid and viable career option? This came from meeting other people, taking every opportunity I could to learn about other people’s founder journeys, and getting involved in the ecosystem.”
What was your experience of launching a startup while studying? How did you manage your workload?
Jason: “I went on an interesting journey. It was the start of last year when I got into startups. I’ll be honest, it was pretty tough! It took a lot of time and commitment. Through this experience, I grew a lot as a person, and became a lot more organised. It pushed me to be better.”
“Later on, I was accepted into the 10x program. I decided to take a leave of absence from uni and see where VidUp would take me. What I’ve learned is that it’s OK to go on a path that isn’t traditional. There’s no rush to finish your degree. There really isn’t that much pressure unless you put that pressure on yourself.”
Holly: “It was no joke, doing an Executive MBA, trying to work and starting my own business. Being a founder is much like doing a uni degree. You’re actually paying to get something off the ground. I was essentially doing two full time degrees. It's a lot, but also the best thing ever. If it is for you, and you’ve discovered it, you’ll never ever look back.”
Alinta: I’ve just graduated. I was mainly starting up Synbiote during my thesis year. I actually found it quite manageable. I had a supportive supervisor and lab group, who gave me a project I could do after hours."
"My philosophy is that uni so much more than the classes you attend. It’s really a time for you to make connections, have fun. Being able to be part of UNSW Founders, and the clubs and socs, is really what made uni."
What would you say to your younger self when you were first starting out?
Holly: “The only thing standing in your way is usually you. The journey of starting a business, if you’ve got a great idea and you’ve validated it correctly, is about trust - trust in your team and yourself. A lot of the work is in your personal growth. I needed to ask for help. To trust, hire and delegate. It took me a long time to work that out.”
Jason: “As a technical founder, it’s very easy to fall in love with your product. What’s crucial is to not go for the solution before the problem. It’s such a classic mistake. Sometimes it’s hard to see this without outside mentorship to give you that perspective.”
“Don’t set sky high expectations. It’s very easy to set these massive expectations and then when you don’t make it, be super down on yourself. Be realistic. When you make those goals, be happy, really embrace the moment.”
Alinta: “To learn more about strength coaching. If you have a weakness, you shouldn’t be targeting them. You should be using your strengths to mitigate what weaknesses you have.”
“As a founder, I went through a lot of turmoil in the early days. I’m not really an ideas person. What I realised is that maybe I don't need to be that person. Maybe I can find someone who is an ideas person, and I can complement them. Once I realised that I can hone in on what I’m good at, what’s energising for me, it was a very liberating moment.”
What were your biggest challenges that led to the most personal growth as founders?
Jason: “Really understanding the importance of the user in this journey. It’s not about your solution. It’s about the customer’s problem.”
“Realising the mistakes we made was humbling. By reflecting and learning from those mistakes, we were accountable to ourselves. Everyone here as a founder will look in the mirror and ask themselves, ‘Am I doing this the right way?’ This is usually a sign that you need to change. Growing is hard but it’s worth it.”
Holly: “Lockdown was tough for me. I had to pivot my strategy in terms of how I was going to get this product made. It was humbling to realise that I couldn’t do all of this by myself. One of the reasons I wanted to become a founder was to have complete autonomy. In order to do this, you need other people! Reaching out, finding these people, and trusting them to have as much care and consideration for my product as I do. That tested me.”
“Listen to your gut. You know your company better than anyone else. It’s necessary to run your own race.”
What processes did you undertake and who did you seek help from to determine whether your product/company needed IP protection? What are the general indicators to signal IP protection is needed?
Holly: “It’s really important to look into what you can and cannot protect. It’s about building your brand, creating something that could be sold down the line, and more attractive to investors and customers. Ask people who have been there before.”
How do you find and approach a co-founder?
Alinta: “When finding a co-founder, the most important thing is finding someone you actually get along with. You need people to fall back on. Find people you like talking to, you like spending time with, like working with. You can always learn new skills. Finding people you like spending time with is much harder to find.”
Jason: “I have four co-founders. I looked for passion in people. Make sure they want to do this. It’s difficult to force someone to be passionate about something you’re passionate about. Try and see if they have a genuine interest in it, and go from there. Don’t bias yourself into thinking that everyone is going to love your startup, and everyone wants to join. Be reasonable.”
Holly: “I’m a solo founder. I started Club Melon with a bunch of gals helping me. The solo founder path is a very difficult one in many ways. It’s also great if your product and personality allow for it. If you’re going to be a solo founder, you’re going to cop a lot of rubbish. Just do what feels right. You know the business better than anyone else. Not every business needs a co-founder.”
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