Pete's December 2020 update
Hackathon, startup coaching, and nature
Hi there.
I advise founders to write monthly updates to keep people in the loop. I thought I’d experiment with doing the same. I don’t have a startup so I guess the product is me.
So, if you’re interested, this is my monthly update experiment. Subscribe here.
Highlights (December 2020)
Added the capability “hackathon facilitator”: I ran my first hackathon! A one-day virtual hackathon, at that, which was one heck of an intense experience for me and the participants. Massive thankyous to our amazing mentors who jumped at a last-minute request. Check out the highlight videos from the Hackathon Day and the Pitch Night.
Championed startups: gave pickles and snack bars as family Christmas presents.
Downtime! Spent the Christmas-New Years season at home. (It helps that we now live 10 minutes walk from this view.)
Highlights (rest of 2020)
Instead of going to the BLM march I opened my diary for less-privileged people to book me in for a chat and advice. I was super nervous but ended up making connections with some amazing people and felt like I was able to help them.
Filipa and I did a few guest pitch coaching sessions for NZ startups via Startup Dunedin. It’s fun, and I’ve been exposed to different industries and learning more about the differences between NZ and Aus. Also guest coached at Monash Generator, and guest mentored for school, uni and MBA entrepreneurship programs.
Taught another two semesters at University of Sydney Business School, guiding 120 Masters students to launch 24 startups around the world. I compared the stats of a COVID vs pre-COVID cohort and found a 40% drop in average revenue during lockdown (small sample size but still interesting). I was recognised for Teaching Excellence for both 2019 and 2020. Fun fact: with the “freelance” income from leadership coaching and teaching I have now earned back what I paid in MBA fees!
Requests
I want to connect a medtech founder with advisors and angel investors, for advice around market entry and raising capital. They’re developing a medication management / prescription info exchange to launch in Australia, Tanzania and Uganda. The founder is a doctor who knows the problem first-hand and has been developing a solution on the side (with a team).
Need a guest speaker? I’m keen to do more keynote-type things. Right now I have some ideas brewing about failure and creativity. But open to other themes and topics.
Got any old locks lying around? I’ve taken up lockpicking as a hobby, so I’m always on the lookout for more.
Coming up
2021.
Read / watch / listen
Read: Einstein’s first wife. Sounds like she was smarter than him, a collaborator on some of his most important research, and selfless to a fault.
Watch: If you haven’t yet discovered the joys of marble racing the Marble League 2020 (formerly “MarbleLympics) is a great place to start.
Listen: I recorded nature sounds and turned them into a podcast.
I hope you’re having some fun.
“Those who were most affected by the film released more Oxytocin and were then more generous. They felt more empathy.” — What Storytellers Can Learn from Neuroscience