I never thought a degree in information technology and a career in entrepreneurship would lead
to producing hand sanitizer during a global emergency.
[Music]
As a leader in the ICT industry, my work is about helping people turn their dreams and
ideas into reality.
Hi my name is James.
I founded two online tech businesses and a distillery which is on the lands of the Kombumerri
people of the Yugembeh language region in Southeast Queensland.
Each day my job can look very different.
Some days I'm giving advice to tech startups - sharing what I've learned from over 20 years
in the industry.
Other days, I'm working with the Griffith University ICT Industry Advisory Board, supporting
the next generation of technicians, programmers and entrepreneurs.
Being an entrepreneur is both challenging and rewarding.
It's a thrill to build something solving real-world problems.
Information communication technology, or ICT for short, is a broad industry that supports
many different types of jobs.
From programming and computer science to security, entertainment and artificial intelligence,
entrepreneurship is a skill set that helps people take ideas and converts them into commercial,
social or community enterprises.
My work sits within the field of business, but entrepreneurship can also cross over into
other areas; such as the arts, science, technology and humanities.
In my particular field, technology has created exciting new opportunities for entrepreneurs
to innovate and create value.
For example, the rise of the internet and mobile technologies has created entirely new
industries - such as e-commerce and app development.
[Music] Recently the introduction of artificial intelligence like Chat GPT has created waves
in a lot of industries.
As we all grapple with how the world will change as a result of it, the skill set required
to pivot ideas in different directions is fundamental to entrepreneurship.
And in our case, what looked like a disaster turned into a great opportunity to help our
local community.
And eventually this helped us in return, launching our own product: A distillery called Wildflower
Gin that combines my hobby of beekeeping with my passion for entrepreneurship.
I'll come back to the bees shortly.
After years of planning - and unforeseen to us - we finally launched a week before the
Covid-19 lockdowns were announced.
At the time we were devastated; thinking that we had to put the business on hold.
Then I got a call from my dad who couldn't get any hand sanitizer.
And with that came an opportunity to help.
We had a distillery - just the thing needed to produce sanitizer - before we'd even opened
to the public.
[Music] Sanitizer is made by mixing ethanol and glycerol.
The process of making Ethanol starts with fermenting a source of sugar and yeast.
The mixture is then left to ferment, during which time the yeast consumes the sugars and
produces ethanol and carbon dioxide.
The fermented liquid - called a wash - is then heated and distilled, to vaporize the
ethanol which is collected and condensed back into a liquid so that it can be combined with
a gel substance to make hand sanitizer
A career in entrepreneurship requires some hard work and a sense of fortitude.
With most days spent solving problems that at times can feel overwhelming, because the
challenges and opportunities are often unforeseen.
Now, back to the bees.
[Music] These are amazing creatures and I love the beekeeping part of my job.
Bees are important pollinators, and are essential for the health and productivity of many crops
and plants that help support the local ecosystem, and contribute to the health of the environment,
[Music] Being an entrepreneur requires that you can see the opportunities rather than
the threats.
And then be able to communicate your ideas to inspire others to get them to either join
your team, invest in your project, or to help you with your idea.
My advice for anyone wanting to be an entrepreneur would be to: Stay curious.
Find mentors to help guide you.
Gain experience quickly.
And never lose sight in your own self-belief.
Sometimes I get asked 'Well what happens if you don't succeed?'
And to be honest, it's something I rarely think about.
Failures are just part of the journey to get to where you want to be.
As an entrepreneur, the ultimate question for me is how to use new technologies to improve
the lives of others and to see the obstacles as opportunities.
[Music]