Migrapreneur Stories by Catalysr

Momentum is gaining for social enterprise all across the world. In this episode, we are having a chat with Arianna Watson. Arianna came to Australia from Italy in 2020 just before the pandemic began. Passionate about social enterprise, she along with her co-founder started Think Enough. In this episode, we discuss what it is like to start a social enterprise as a migrant in Australia, what was Arianna's journey like, and some lessons she learned along the way.

In this podcast, we have interviewed Taofiq Huq. Toafiq is the founder and CEO of Spiral Blue. Spiral Blue is developing onboard processing hardware for Earth observation satellites. In this podcast, we are discussing how Toafiq built a successful startup in the space sector, what are some of the challenges that #migrapreneur face, and why an accelerator program can help your startup succeed faster.

Devan moved to Australia with his parents when he was 11 years old. Devan has done it all from being a pilot to a full stack developer to a serial entrepreneur! In this podcast, we ask Devan what it is like to start multiple businesses in Australia and some of the things startup founders should keep in mind in the early days of the startup journey. Moreover, Devan has been a part of Catalysr Accelerate program in 2018 and currently is a mentor to startups in Catalysr's pre-acceleator program.

In this episode we have interview our very own operations manager Marlowe Mackenzie. Marlowe has been a part of the Australian startup ecosystem for over 7 years now and has mentored hundreds of migrant entrepreneurs aka #migrapreneurs. In this interview, we have asked Marlowe questions about the Australian startup ecosystem, some of the mistakes early-stage founders make, and how to look for mentors when you are new to a startup ecosystem.

Start Taking Action or “There’s a lot of people who will tell you you can’t do stuff, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it.” For our final episode this season, we are joined by Catalysr CEO and co-founder Usman Iftikhar. Usman shares the story of Catalysr, and how his own struggle to find work as a skilled migrant led to him starting his own business - one that helps other people unleash their potential. He also gives us a glimpse into how he is democratising space with his new startup, and how people can prepare themselves for the future of work. Bio: Usman is the co-founder and CEO at Catalysr. He was named Commonwealth Young Person of the Year 2018, AMP Tomorrow Maker 2018 and Westpac Social Fellow 2019 and for his work to create a better future for us all through Catalysr. He is the Australian Lead for G20 Young Entrepreneur Alliance, Associate Consultant for Foundation for Young Australians YLab, and Global Solutions Fellow from Singularity University. Usman is also the co-founder of startup Space is Easy, a platform making space more accessible for everyone.