Welcoming Fresh Faces to the Inspire9 Team!
We are delighted to welcome three new team members to the Inspire9 family!
Introducing Ren Butler, Bianca Pavez and Dan Remy to our growing team!
These fresh faces join us at an exciting time for the Inspire9 community, and we are thrilled to have such amazing individuals come together to bring new energy and expertise to our direction for 2018.
All three of these stellar talents will be bringing their community building experience and passion for startups and entrepreneurship to the fore to continue our growth as a sustainable and connected community.
We asked each of them a few ‘Quick Q’s’ to get to know them and find out what they’re most excited about for the year ahead. We hope you get a chance to meet them all in person at our Richmond and Footscray spaces.
Introducing Dan Remy:
What are you most excited about coming on board at Inspire9?
Getting to talk to passionate people everyday who have turned ideas into businesses!
What do you love the most about the startup world and entrepreneurship?
The drive and resilience from everyone involved. Also an industry which acknowledges and celebrates mistakes and vulnerability.
The best advice you’ve received…
Natural wine, feeling fine! (If you drink natural wine, you don’t get hangovers!)
Who do you most admire and why?
Cliché but my parents. They rule!
What’s your secret superpower(s)?
Being able to tell if you if a wine is natural or conventional wine…
Tell us about something else you’re working on/hustling outside the walls of Inspire9…
At the moment my main focus will be on Inspire9. In my spare time, I enjoy mindfulness (Vedic meditation), learning about Venture Capitalists and emerging businesses and attempting to drink and find as many natural wine as possible.
If you had 5 minutes to teach someone something new, what would you teach?
I would be able to teach you how to sabre a bottle of champagne.
What are you reading/watching/listening to at the moment?
I’m reading “Leaders Eat Last” — Simon Sinek and Noblerot Issue 15. I’m listening to The 20-Min VC and I’m watching re-runs of The Office (UK) and Seinfeld and Simpsons Season 1–7.
Introducing Bianca Pavez:
What are you most excited about coming on board at Inspire9?
I’m super pumped to be joining the inspiring community that is Inspire9! The team are also all legends so I feel lucky to work with them!
I’m most excited about facilitating connections and collaboration between awesome creatives in design, tech and social impact. Meeting everyone, hearing their stories, and being involved in incredible events and meetups we have coming up.
What do you love the most about the startup world and entrepreneurship?
I love the passion, enthusiasm and bustling fast start up environment — Entrepreneurs have such drive and resilience it’s so inspiring to be a part of, the excitement is contagious. The startup world is exhilarating and comes with the most rewarding opportunities — I really love it!
The best advice you’ve received…
‘Don’t chase the money, chase your passion.’ This has lead me to live a fulfilling meaningful life doing what I love.
Who do you most admire and why?
I am a huge fan of Tony Robbins, I admire how he empowers and energises people with great enthusiasm in everything he does.
What’s your secret superpower(s)?
I having copious amounts of energy and enthusiasm and the ability to bring invisible positive vibes to the room.
Tell us about something else you’re working on/hustling outside the walls of Inspire9…
I am a very busy Bee! I also work as a community manager helping build community and brand awareness for TwoSpace — they provide restaurants closed in the day as coworking spaces to freelancers.
I also have started my own digital marketing + design agency — Bee Creative Design — It will be officially launching soon, watch this space!
If you had 5 minutes to teach someone something new, what would you teach?
How to do a simple breathing meditation for relaxation
What are you reading/watching/listening to at the moment?
Reading — Start with Why by Simon Sinek.
I’m listening to Laneway Festival Playlist on Spotify & also the Note to Self Podcast hosted by Manoush Zomorodi that focuses on the impacts that technology has on everyday life
Watching — The Crown on Netflix (addicted!)
Introducing Ren Butler:
What are you most excited about coming on board at Inspire9?
Meeting all the members as well as catching up with the ones I already know on a regular basis. Inspire9 has always been central to my personal startup journey and what the community in Melbourne means. It’s exciting to join the team at this point in time. A lot has happened in the world of coworking as well as the startup community growing by leaps and bounds the past few years. As part of the Inspire9 team I’ll have a chance to bring together even more brilliant, creative, daring people to make great ideas happen!
What do you love the most about the startup world and entrepreneurship?
Well you can sort of start to tell from the above gushing. I love being around people who are excited to create; tech, business, artistic expression…you name it. Entrepreneurship to me is about creating the kind of world you want to be a part of rather than passively experiencing life. Because I’m in love with the process and ecosystem that it takes to create great outcomes, I embrace the chaos and challenge as much as the wins. You can’t do daring things without an amazing, resilient, understanding community. Cultivating that is what gets me out of bed in the morning.
The best advice you’ve received…
“Try to do something yourself, figure it out, and give it a go at least three times. If you really can’t do it, ask for help and get it done.” My mum taught me that from a very young age. Don’t be helpless but don’t be headstrong either. There’s no value in being too proud to ask for help.
I think that’s a really central tenant to getting the most out of your coworking community. Get to know people around you as much as possible so when it comes time to ask for help you can ask the right person efficiently. Also, people will know you for your diverse skills and interests and ask you for help. It’s a great feeling knowing you helped somebody, even in a little way.
Who do you most admire and why?
Anyone who follows their creative impulses and finds emotional solace in the outcome. Sure, making a living from your art or passion is great but not always necessary. Some startup founders can also fall into this category as they’re driven to creatively solve their customers’ problem and if they hit that nail on the head, the value created can be lucrative.
Pretty much anyone who has a go at something that both scares and excites them with no regrets.
What’s your secret superpower(s)?
My secret superpower is the ability to get laser focused and hyper efficient in high pressure situations. I’ve had about three careers in my lifetime and many of them included some fairly hectic stuff. When the going gets tough, you need to tune out all the noise and focus on just what matters. I bring a small element of that into my daily priorities and find it very helpful.
Oh, and also helping people find a whisky they love plus a great conversation to go with it. ;)
Tell us about something else you’re working on/hustling outside the walls of Inspire9…
My side baby is a thing called The Whisky Social. In a nutshell whisky is more complex than wine. It’s kind of freak’n amazing when you start to learn about it. There’s a lot to learn. But above all, it’s a fantastic way to bring interesting people together for deep conversations. The Whisky Social is on a mission to make learning about whisky accessible in an open, inclusive, welcoming setting.
If you had 5 minutes to teach someone something new, what would you teach?
How to identify and diffuse negative emotions. It’s not that difficult to do but it does take practice. A lot of meditation and situational awareness training takes this concept much deeper. However, you don’t have to go to a yoga retreat to become calm and centred. The more we are self aware of our thoughts and emotions we are the more we are able to be fully present in our work and with the people whom we surround ourselves.
What are you reading/watching/listening to at the moment?
I just finished listening to the audiobook version of Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (at Nate’s suggestion) and it’s phenomenal. Highly recommend it!
I’m also slowly working my way through a classic version of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. I love to balance out my mostly non-fiction writing with timeless classics that remind me of the core truths of literature and human nature.
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To meet our new team members or for more information on what we’re working on at Inspire9, visit the Dream Factory at 90 Maribyrnong St, Foostcray and visit our original coworking space at Level 1, 41 Stewart Street, Richmond. We’re currently offering a one-week free trial at both locations for a limited time. You can book your free trial here.
