Where are they now – Michelle Melbourne

2024 is the 10th anniversary for CBRIN and the innovative ecosystem. To celebrate, we sat down with Michelle Melbourne, a enterprise software veteran, board & governance advisory, non executive director, and coach and asked about her journey, her advice on entrepreneurship, the challenges she’s overcome and all the wins along the way.

What are your big wins/challenges since we last spoke?

Since we last spoke I have completed my credentials as a Certified Organisational Coach, fulfilling a long-awaited career goal. I already have an undergraduate Science degree in Psychology from the ANU and was enroute to start a Masters degree in Organisational Psychology back in 1991 but a Sliding Doors moment prevented that plan from happening when I took a summer job working for a technology startup. This ‘summer job’ working in that the cutting edge of enterprise software lasted for 33 years! So now, this new qualification helps me to give back to the industry that has been so good to me, and at the same time fulfills my nerdy passion for organisational psychology around building a winning culture, team, leadership and performance.

What are you currently working on/towards?

I am coaching a range of technical Founders of scale up technology companies to be great leaders. This is a service that I wished I had access to back in the day. It is very important for technical founders to have someone in their court who has walked in their shoes – someone who isn’t their business partner, who isn’t their life partner, or their investor, or their Chair, or their staff member. I am someone who is in their court, someone they can trust to debrief with, to kick ideas around with, to complain to, to strategise and problem solve with, and to blow off steam with. I absolutely love being That Person.

How has being part of the innovative community helped you achieve your goals?

I know first hand that Australian technology is and can be the best in the world. I have been actively involved in promoting and advancing the innovation community in Australia to the rest of the world for something like 25 years: Being a passionate advocate to state and federal governments to implement useful industry development and export policies and to remove or reform unhelpful policies. Through this work and work inside the Tier One supply chains and the VC and angel investor community, I have learnt so much and met many great people doing incredible things to put Australian technology companies on the map. Seeing the outcomes from a dynamic and supportive innovation ecosystem really lights me up.

What advice would you give to yourself 5 years ago?

• Ask for help!
• Find a coach who has walked in my shoes before me.
• Don’t think I need to know how to solve all my own problems (because there are many folks around these days who can and will help you)
• Your business plan really needs some panel beating from a trusted and dispassionate advisor
• Be a part of a community like CBRIN. It is the forum that creates so many ‘collision points’ with so many people will create many opportunities for you.

I have loved being part of the CBRIN innovation community – since its inception – and I congratulate all of the many people who have contributed a little bit here and there through to all those folks who have shown up every day to make it happen. It takes a village.

Thank you Chelle for sharing your journey and updating us on what’s been happening and huge congratulations to all your achievements!

Continue celebrating at the 2024 Innovation Showcase! Meet Chelle and connect with other female founders, entrepreneurs and innovators!

Register now!