speakers

learn from the experts

We’re delighted to showcase some of the expert speakers who you’ll be learning from at this years’ Startup September.

Taking you through topics like social media, finance, marketing, business setup, and more, you’ll learn from experts in every area.

So whether you just have a business idea, you’re about to start, or you’ve had a business for a while and you want to brush up on your skills, join us from wherever you are in the NT!

Aneka Truman

Aneka Truman is a fashion designer and sewing educator. As the owner of Made to Sew, Aneka teaches sewing, dressmaking and tailoring classes online and in-person; across the globe.

Aneka trained at London College of Fashion. After working in the fashion industry Aneka launched Made to Sew, with the aim to teach professional sewing techniques, inspiring students to create well-made garments that fit. Aneka is passionate about educating; Made to Sew has a successful YouTube channel with over 400,000 subscribers.

As well as sewing classes, Made to Sew offer a range of classic, fashion focused dressmaking patterns, and a subscription support network ‘the Made to Sew Academy’, where Aneka runs fortnightly Live Stream events.

Aneka’s online success has led to regular contributions in sewing publications, teaching sewing classes for the Australian Sewing Guild and speaking at conferences on the use of social media and video. Over the past 3 years Aneka has educated sewing machine retailers at the Bernina University conference in the USA; on ‘The Power of Video’ and ‘YouTube Tips and Tricks’.

Jacqueline Cowan

Hello, I’m Jacqui. My career has spanned a variety of fields.

I began in Retail and Event Coordination, then ventured into Financial Services, Customer Service, Hospitality, and now Radio, gaining a wealth of experience along the way.

I’m a radio announcer with ARN in Darwin, where I bring engaging stories to the airwaves.

I also host the Cancer Culture Podcast, exploring the personal journeys of those navigating their battles with cancer.

Fueled by a passion for creating memorable experiences, I earned a Diploma in Events Management from TAFE Queensland Brisbane.

This passion continued with my recent graduation from the Australian School of Radio, where I refined my broadcasting skills.

In addition to my radio career, I’m a Market Coordinator and the proud owner of Lil J’s Vintage Markets and Lil J’s Vintage. My love for vintage items, particularly Ralph Lauren and Disco Music, adds a unique flair to my ventures.

With a commitment to making a positive impact and a strong entrepreneurial spirit, I view each challenge as an opportunity for growth, both personally and professionally.

Andrew Billsborrow

Andrew, is the Director of Practical Risk Solutions based in the Northern Territory.

Andrew is a health and safety professional with 15+ years of experience in Risk Management and Compliance Solutions across various industries and sectors, encompassing local and state government, and private enterprises.

Andrew has extensive knowledge, qualifications and strengths, honed through hands-on experience.

Brendan Pringle

An Investigative Professional with 15+years of experience in workplace and incident investigations across various industries and sectors, encompassing local and state government, national insurance companies, and private enterprises, Brendan has a vast portfolio of experience, qualifications and strengths.

Tessa Pringle

Tessa, is the Office Manager of Practical Risk Solutions. She has over 15 years of experience in office management, compliance and business development within trade union environments, including extensive work with registered organisations, private enterprise and not for profits.

Tessa brings a wealth of expertise, qualifications, and management proficiency to Practical Risk Solutions.

Laura Martinez-Oliveras

With more than 15 years of experience working in the public and private sectors, Laura is passionate about technology, innovation and developing startups.

Laura has been fortunate to engage with founders and operators of successful startups in Silicon Valley as part of her Executive MBA program. She has also worked with Australian startups with their idea validation, customer validation, business planning, Pitch Deck development, and more, using the Lean Startup approach.

Laura’s biggest advice is… validate your startup idea before building anything!

Michelle Taylor

Michelle Taylor is a former critical-care nurse turned psychologist and leadership coach. Author of Transformational Nurse Identities.

As a corporate trainer, she has run workshops at all levels of government. Michelle helps clinical team leaders to get the best performance from themselves and their teams. As a former ICU nurse and business owner she knows about stress and has authored an online program that has a prescriptive approach for anyone who cares sometimes a little too much for what they do (business owners, health workers, driven leaders) and feels stressed and burnout. Or wants to prevent it.

Dr Rajeev Sharma

Dr Rajeev Sharma is an active researcher and senior academic at the Faculty of Arts and Society of Charles Darwin University (CDU). Dr Sharma has more than 40 years of teaching experience. He has taught in many institutions and countries, including Australia, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Papua New Guinea.

He is a Life Member and Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) and a Certified Practicing Marketer (CPM).

Dr Sharma has researched and published in many international journals. He has also presented research papers at International Conferences in London, Lyon, Rome, Freiburg, Cape Town, Bali, Amsterdam, Prague, New Delhi, and Las Vegas.

His current area of research is related to the ‘use of Social Media’ in disaster management.

As a long-standing member of the Darwin community, Dr Sharma has been closely involved with a range of social and professional organisations in Australia and the Northern Territory, including the Multicultural Advisory Council of NT; Consumer Affairs Council, Indian Cultural Society, Mens Shed, Athletics Australia, and the Australian Marketing Institute

Dr. Sharma has successfully supervised 7 Ph.D. and DBA candidates to completion in various Business and Marketing topics. He is currently supervising 2 doctoral students enrolled at CDU.

Steven Roberts

Steven Roberts is the CEO and Chief Security Officer of One IT Services, based in the Northern Territory.

Originally from the UK, Steven has been living and working in the NT for over twenty years and has built a business that provides ICT services to business throughout the NT.

Steven has experienced many cyber-security incidents and investigations throughout his career. Together with his engineering background and more recent experiences in cyber governance and risk management, Steven is able to deliver a cyber-conversation without the confusion, and turn fear of the unknown into a tool for preparation.

Dante St James

Dante St James is the Director of Innovation and Investment at Darwin Innovation Hub, providing strategic support for the Start NT program and leading public workshops and industry events.

With a diverse background in health, telecoms, digital media, and entrepreneurship, Dante brings a wealth of experience to drive innovation and growth initiatives.

Barbara Clifford

Barbara Clifford (The Time Tamer) is a co-founder of The Hinwood Institute. She is the lead trainer and coach in Time Management and a recognized leader in Stress Management. She is a highly experienced coach, international speaker, columnist, facilitator and accredited mediator.

Barbara equips busy business leaders to make courageous decisions in pressure situations for the long-term benefit of their business, team and personal wellbeing. Giving them a sense of order; taking them from Chaos to Calm and transforming their stress into a source of strength. She has spent over 20 years working in stressful, time precious industries such as film, hospitality and marketing with addition experience in event/project management, sales and business administration.

Barbara is passionate about the latest developments in digital solutions to help business leaders improve their productivity and efficiency. She lives in the desert of Alice Springs, Australia working with people around the world.

Stuart Reid

Stuart Reid is the sole resident practising Registered Liquidator and Trustee in Bankruptcy in the Northern Territory.

Stuart has 30 years experience and a successful track record in assisting business owners, directors, lenders and financiers, when a business experiences financial distress.

In addition to traditional insolvency administrations, Stuart has considerable experience assisting both Territory and Commonwealth Governments through managing the turnarounds of failing Associations and Indigenous Corporations that provide essential services to communities.

Professional Qualifications:

Registered Liquidator
Registered Trustee
Fellow, CPA Australia
Fellow, Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association

Dominic McCormack

Dominic arrived at Port Keats Mission (now Wadeye), NT, from Queensland in January 1974 as a 2-year old, and was quickly immersed in the local culture of the Murrinhpatha language group, particularly the Kardu Diminin traditional land-owning clan group. As a result, he later became an accredited interpreter in the Murrinhpatha language and has strong ties to the Thamarrurr Region. Aside from a few years interstate, Dominic has lived and worked in Darwin since 1987. He has a wife and two children, and his father and siblings also call Darwin home.

Admitted as a lawyer in the NT in 1994, Dominic has a keen eye for detail, patience and determination. He works to develop an excellent rapport with all clients who then seek him out for his commercial and business development experience, and his unique cross-cultural skills.

Dominic’s work as a lawyer has focussed on commercial advice, corporate structuring and property matters, including leasing on Aboriginal land. Specifically, this includes:

Commercial – sale and purchase of businesses; shareholder and JV agreements; contractual document review and advice;

Corporate – advice on setting up companies and trusts, including JV companies; advice on constitutions; governance.

Property – securing of tenure via leasing in commercial, retail, pastoral and residential contexts; Aboriginal land leasing and licensing under s19, Land Rights Act.

Leanna Whyte

Leanna is the gal behind Whyte Space Social, a boutique marketing agency that specialises in social media content creation and strategy.

Before starting her business, Leanna lived and worked in Darwin for over 5 years managing social media for some of the Northern Territory’s biggest names in events and tourism, including NT Major Events Company and Crocosaurus Cove.

Find Leanna at whytespacesocial.com.au or at @whytespacesocial on Instagram.

Ali Dhirani

Ali embodies the essence of compassionate entrepreneurship, steering his path with empathy and vision.

Central to his impactful journey is a consultancy firm dedicated to nurturing and empowering migrant communities, a heartfelt endeavor that stands as a beacon of support and guidance.

Alongside this, his creation of a removalist and cleaning company, designed as a social enterprise, provides invaluable opportunities for women and humanitarian entrants, fostering a culture of inclusivity and empowerment.

These ventures reflect not only Ali’s entrepreneurial acumen but also his deep commitment to social change and the uplifting of marginalized voices. Through his consultancy and social enterprise initiatives, Ali is igniting a ripple of transformation that resonates far beyond business, embracing a profound ethos of compassion, equality, and collective progress.

Andrea Smith

Andrea Smith is a seasoned HR and Industrial Relations professional with over 20 years of experience, leading organizations through complex workforce challenges and strategic transformations.

As CEO of Darwin HR/IR Services, she has built a boutique consulting firm specializing in HR, Industrial Relations, Business Strategy, Leadership, and Management. Her career includes significant roles with multinational corporations like PACT Group and DSM, where she handled mergers, large-scale negotiations, and organizational development initiatives.

Before founding Darwin HR/IR Services, Andrea was the Workplace Relations Manager at the Chamber of Commerce Northern Territory, leading teams in resolving complex industrial disputes. She also serves as Director of Lankurna Pty Ltd, an Indigenous-owned corporation focused on empowering Indigenous entrepreneurs.

Andrea holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resources Management, underscoring her commitment to excellence in HR and strategic leadership.

Graeme Sawyer

Graeme Sawyer is the Managing Director of eNTITy1 Pty Ltd.

He is an educator, wildlife researcher, multimedia developer and a former Lord Mayor of Darwin. He is a passionate advocate for the Top End and it’s biodiversity.

He has worked as a computer professional for over 30 years, including 10 years as an education adviser and has over 20 years Business and e-Business experience. He was the Lord Mayor of Darwin for 4 years and has worked on a number of major federal initiatives in that time.

He has extensive business and management experience as well as policy and governance. He was involved with the development of the QANTM Multimedia Centre in Darwin as a part of the federal strategy to help Australia to move into the Information Age.

Clem Lallement

Clem is passionate about helping businesses grow and evolve in today’s digital world. She loves to see people and businesses succeed and enjoy the journey!

Over the last 10 years, she has supported businesses locally and internationally, helping them to make the most of the digital tools available to them to boost productivity and profitability.

She is a firm believer that the most important thing is to have fun in your business!

Ricky Borg

Ricky Borg is a dedicated professional committed to empowering businesses in the Northern Territory.

As Senior Small Business Champion with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade, he works closely with local businesses and not-for-profit organizations to understand their needs and develop tailored pathways to business support programs. He collaborates with government departments, industry groups, and peak bodies to ensure his clients access the right support services to helping build capability and capacity.

Ricky is focused on helping businesses navigate challenges and achieve success. His expertise and commitment make him a valuable resource for businesses looking to grow and thrive in the Territory.

Bernadette Zamora

With a background and experience in financial management, retail management, and customer service, Bernadette is well-versed in assisting organisations with sales and marketing activities, including optimised used of CRM systems and financial reporting.

Currently serving as Busniess Enterprise Centre’s Iindespensible Operations Manager, Bernadette has led national retail chain operations support systems, through scrupulous analysis and productivity enhancements, enabling implementation of merchandising ideas to achieve optimal sales targets.

Grant Whan

Born and raised in Central Australia, Grant began his own journey as a business owner while still a teenager, commencing his own tour business and providing tour options not being offered at the time.

Grant is a tourism specialist with over 35 years tourism experience in the NT, including 22 years in commercial business management. This has included management of his own tour operation, RFDS Visitor Centre, School of the Air Visitor Centre and the Hermannsburg Heritage Precinct.

Now an experienced Business Mentor, Grant has been employed in business advisory and industry development roles Since 2010, which has included roles with Tourism NT, as well as the Department of Industry, Tourism & Trade. He commenced his employment with the Business Enterprise Centre NT as a Business Mentor in 2016, servicing the Central Australian region.