S1W6: Connecting

This week has been a week of connecting for me on a professional and social level through multiple means.

Through my election as the Wade representative to the MCRC and appointment to the Treasury I’ve started in earnest to set up a few social initiatives to help bring both the people of Wade together and also the MCR and Wade together. To do this I’ve thrown out to Wade a few events and initiatives which will be put on both during and later in the semester on the suggestion of a few of the Waders like:

• a “Wade SleepIn” in the building where we can stay the night in hammocks and sleeping bags just watching movies, drinking and just otherwise catching up.
• A “Wadecation” after semester for everyone to get together and do the same thing but in a more relaxed environment away from all the work
• “Wade Talks” where we talk through tricky and controversial subjects in a safe and moderated type environment through shared conversation which judgement is suspended

This typically isn’t my kind of gig — organising events can be fun but it’s also a lot of work and I’m still trying to navigate my way around the place and figure out where I stand and how things operate in the College and in Wade. Saying that I’ve had a lot of help and in particular with the Treasury role which I’ve never had before I’m getting a lot of coaching, support and advice from the Vice Chair both on the mechanics of using things like Xero but also how to navigate the personalities and corridors of power within Ormond.

This is absolutely invaluable — knowing who and how to talk to the right people at the right time is sometimes crucial to your chances of success and building a coalition for any future activities you’d like to do. Being the first time Wade has done anything, and that the MCR has grown from 20 to 90 graduates in the space of a few short years means there’s always going to be something you need help with. So yeah, it’ll be fun and interesting to start fitting in all the admin that comes with a role like this both in keeping records up to date on accounting software like Xero but also approving budgets, forecasting and just general risk management as well.

These aren’t typically the kinds of things I run towards but will hopefully be a good exposure for me into areas that I need growth in. I wanted to get some more experience in this area earlier in the year and I’m really fortunate that it’s pretty much fallen on my lap to be able to do something like this.

This week I’ve also been ‘on show’ to host events like the Wade Open House event which is open to both undergrads and grads on separate nights. Part of my role is to help promote the event prior to it happening but on the day its pretty much to meet and greet and make people feel comfortable whilst they can ask questions both about the course and the facilities. That’s always nice and easy for me to do but it wasn’t particularly well facilitated by those hosting and I think it would have been better I think with more structure around it to introduce the space and people first rather than just letting people flounder around.

Throughout the week I’ve also been asked to join in an ‘advisory/board’ type role in two startups (one commercial, the other social enterprise) being run by one of the Wader’s. That was a total honour, it took me totally by surprise but I’m really happy to help where I can. The commercial venture M-Time (http://metime.today/) provides ‘mumcierge’ services to new mothers and was born out of 3DS at the start of the year and got plenty of traction in a very short period of time. This aligns perfectly well with my previous experience in selling to new parents with Rozibaby so it’s a natural fit in many ways — selling online to new parents is kind of my gig.

The other social venture ‘The Thread’ is trying to bring entrepreneurial, problem solving and critical thinking skills through workshops to rural kids who generally don’t have these types of programs available to them in the same way urban kids do. This flicks my switches as I’m super interested in entrepreneurial education and I believe kids are the best place to start teaching these types of skills. I have no real prior experience here though just a really deep interest in education in this space and I believe in the opportunities and potential of many disadvantaged communities.

These roles appeal to me because they’re in areas of interest but also not much of a time commitment being advisory/board roles, I don’t necessarily have to be jumping into the nitty gritty unless I have to.

I’ve also been in discussions with Val my mate from Relectrify about doing an internship with him over the semester. Relectrify has some terrific tech and results in the battery tech and storage space and are an alumnus of the MAP program. I’ve been following them for quite a while and have a lot of admiration for the deep thinking, enthusiasm and expertise Val brings to the space. Over several conversations we’ve talked about what we both want from doing something like an internship and where it could possibly lead to in terms of a future position if the quality of work and enjoyment is there.

This is very much a leap into an unknown and unfamiliar space for me. Deep, highly technical work in an science space when I have not touched anything science for almost 15 years is a massive stretch. I don’t even have even a basic understanding of chemistry anymore and this worries me a little regardless of whether I’m in a bus. dev role. I feel much more comfortable when I know what exactly it is I’m talking about — where things sit in terms of market, who’s competing in this space and the general trends in the industry.

This renewable battery storage space is so large and vast, and the tech so nascent and unproven, with a few big conservative global players playing it that it’s very hard to figure out what direction it’s going to take. I’m truly flattered that I’ve been tasked to provide insight into a very important set of questions for Relectrify and they trust me with that type of research and decision-making. The rigour with which they’d like me to do that with as well will also be a whole new level of documentation and process for me which is another stretch as well having not come from a consulting background.

I want to be able to help in that space with Relectrify and accepted an internship opportunity starting next week because I can see the opportunity there and the team that is built at Relectrify (not withstanding its future funding which is in the final stages). This truly is the first time where I feel very much out of my depth and in a team where I feel like I’m the dumbest person in the room. I’m not sure I’ve ever been in that position before and there’s a part of me that questions whether I can truly deliver what’s required in the short time frames provided.