Employee to Entrepreneur

Chapter 2Collecting the dots

‘The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life.’

Plato

In the past 10 years, I’ve worked across the public sector, at a big four consulting firm and at an investment bank, and I’ve founded a web startup. I completed a master’s degree in accounting, got a certificate in journalism, earned project management and agile certifications, and completed a number of online courses on topics such as venture capital, design thinking, growth hacking and even stand-up comedy. I founded and ran a heavy metal nightclub, a corporate innovation consultancy and a children’s entrepreneurship program. I published three books, hosted two podcasts and developed a software platform.

I rode a motorcycle, tried my hand at mixed martial arts, Brazilian jiu jitsu, boxing and, in Thailand, Muay Thai. I learned how to surf in Bali, poorly. I played guitar in an eighties glam metal tribute band, zebra-print pants and all — good luck finding the photos! . I jumped out of a plane at 15 000 feet, white water rafted in Indonesia, learned how to skateboard, took a Circus Trapeze class and gave Acroyoga a shot, braved the standup comedy stage, competed in a half marathon and a sprint triathlon and finished in the top 5 per cent of a Spartan Race in Melbourne.

I went to two World Cups (Germany 2006 and Brazil 2014 – I won’t share which I thought was ...