What are you working on?
MyMarketingMate is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) web application that supports owners and managers to plan great marketing, despite their marketing knowledge or experience. There are so many amazing businesses and startups with exciting offerings that solve big problems and fulfill their audiences’ needs. But so often they are being held back from achieving their best by their marketing, whether it be a lack of marketing, inconsistency, or poor choices and wasted money. We believe that great marketing can be achieved by anyone. The key is to start with a smart plan that sets out the best strategies and tactics for engaging well with your own specific audiences. Our software guides and supports users to achieve this.

Why is innovation important to you?
Innovation enables positive change and growth as we learn more and adapt to our evolving world and our lives in it. It gives us permission to think creatively, to ask more questions and to strive for better options. Innovation is having a positive impact on more people, animals and the environment in so many meaningful ways every year. It gives me great optimism for the future.

What drives you to make a difference?
I think back to when I was working one-on-one with people, whether it be in government, the private sector, not-for-profits or small business. I remember the stress and frustration they were feeling around their marketing and communications, and how that lifted and was replaced with a new energy and motivation once they had more control with a good marketing plan in place and were starting to see some results. I’ve always worked in areas of social change, so you can imagine the flow on effect to others that better marketing helped achieve, and it’s so satisfying to know I contributed to that in some way.

Do you have any advice for getting more women into the innovation ecosystem?
I heard someone talk recently about the power of giving other women ‘permission’ to step up into innovation and entrepreneurship simply by letting them see others doing it. So the more we tell our stories – about both the challenges and progress – the more chance we are giving permission to the quiet watchers in the room or behind a screen, who may then decide to take their first step in that direction too. Let’s keep sharing!

Give us your shameless plug!
I’m really proud to have been a finalist this year in the national accelerator program SheStarts, and to have gained so much from the experience despite not being part of the final cohort. The women I connected with at the bootcamp have remained close friends and professional contacts, and are integral members of my tribe on what can be a lonely journey as an entrepreneur working from home. I’m also proud of how persistent I am in continuing to learn and push forward with MyMarketingMate, and not let the tough times get me down (for long, anyway!).