Reflections as the Chief Student Entrepreneur: How to Ventures
Written by Jack Feng, 2024 Chief Student Entrepreneur
As I wrap up my term as the Chief Student Entrepreneur, I can’t help but feel a mixture of pride, gratitude, and nostalgia. I’ve been fortunate enough to work alongside so many incredible people, shape meaningful programs, and watch as our UQ community came together to create, innovate, and hustle. Let me take you through some of the highlights.
Anti-stagnance - Venturing
Before we start, definitions. What’s Venturing in our ecosystem? Here is my take:
- It’s for everyone!
- You get to define your process, goals and figure things out.
- With that power, and yes it’s cheeky, my definition of Venturing: empowered and capable of flourishing wherever you want to take your life.
My highlight of the Venturing came from working with our programs, Curiosity, Validate, hackathons, Hustle and more. It was cool to be helpful to those actively engaging with the programs. But most importantly, it was inspiring to see those with an idea, a mission, and a passion step out of their comfort zone. The beauty of Venturing in the UQ Ventures ecosystem is it helps you make incremental progress towards the goals that you will define for yourself. Hats off to the hustlers, you inspire me!
One of the most memorable moments was when a team in the Validate program managed to convince a local business to support their crazy idea, on the spot, as I challenged them. Most projects get stuck at this stage.
“Call them?” I said. Knowing very well how much my voice shook when I made my first interview call. Then, without hesitation, they picked up the phone right here in front of me, empathetic in their questions and approach. Acquiring their first supporter. Impressive!
I’m sharing this to highlight the beauty of what you can achieve with a defined mission, a supportive community, and a place where you can step out of your comfort zone to learn and Venture. As I was told from the first day: It’s about empowering individuals, building capabilities, and seeing their confidence grow.
Anti-selfishness - Selfless
Selflessness is at the core of our entrepreneurial community. Our ecosystem thrives because of the generosity of mentors, facilitators, and ambassadors from student founders to seasoned entrepreneurs and even world-class CEOs like Luke Anear—who are generous with their time and expertise to support and uplift others.
It’s a privilege to access experienced intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs from all walks of life to share their own stories of struggle and resilience with our students.
In our Hustle program, we had Luke Anear, CEO of SafetyCulture, coaching a group of incredible students working on ambitious projects. Despite leading a billion-dollar company, Luke is generous enough to share his time with our community, sharing his insights with humility and care. “Commitment gets you started, consistency gets you where you need to be.” At its core, Venturing is about people, and when we give back selflessly, we create an environment where we can all thrive.
If you read up to this point and are considering the Chief Student Entrepreneur role, do it! And thank you in advance for inspiring others on the journey, and thank you for paying it forward, keeping our community strong and impactful.
Anti-isolation - collaboration
Collaboration, when done right, is not about filling a quota of diverse skills or checking a box for partnerships. It’s about creating environments where we can leverage our different experiences. It builds skills that go beyond the traditional leadership stuff, it teaches one about how to communicate across disciplines, adapt to different working styles, and build meaningful networks.
Amazing examples from this year:
- CAPHIA x UQ Ventures Public Health Hackathon - it was a privilege to be on the judging panel and see the diversity of ideas from the range of participants from medicine, health, technology, policy, and research. Leading meaningful change regardless of their background.
- UQIES, a group of incredibly passionate individuals creating an ecosystem of change-makers. It’s inspiring to see the power of collaboration playing out in real-time. It’s not hard to see why they can achieve incredible year-on-year growth in member engagement and massive success on events such as Weekend of Startups and University Bonfire consistently.
I’ve learnt this year that the true power of collaboration lies in our willingness to lean into tensions between our differences, listen deeply, and adjust our perspectives. It’s not about seeking comfort; it’s about finding value in the differences and making them work.
Gratitude
I want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has been part of this incredible journey. To the mentors and facilitators for your support and knowledge - we would not be here without you. To the unsung heroes supporting the ecosystem, you are legends! To the participants, thank you for the inspiration and your passion.
This is your chance to lead.
The Chief Student Entrepreneur role is about more than just running events or managing programs; it’s about creating real impact and building a legacy that will last long after you’ve graduated. What you do need is a willingness to learn, a passion for connecting people, and the drive to build something bigger than yourself.
I’ve learned skills this year that I know will stick with me forever—leadership, project management, public speaking, resilience, and so much more. And the best part? You get to meet and work with so many incredible people along the way. If you’re thinking about applying, go for it.
One more thank you.
To everyone who has supported, collaborated, and engaged with me this year—thank you. I am incredibly grateful for the friendships, the lessons, and the countless memories we’ve created together. Venture your way!