Catie McHugh
The power of difference: How everyone can be a better team player
Being a “team player” is a pretty standard requirement in most employment, hence its inclusion on seemingly every generic job posting since the beginning of time. While most people can exist as part of a team and perform their duties, some seem to gel just that little bit easier than others - think an office montage of high-fives, team-building activities and jubilant fist-pumping.
Catie McHugh
How not to hustle: A guide for savvy entrepreneurs
Hustle. It’s a phrase that is thrown around with abandon these days, especially in the context of entrepreneurship. It seems everyone and their uncle is firmly in the camp of hustling your little heart out until you achieve your dreams reach success.
Catie McHugh
Are millennials the greatest generation of entrepreneurs ever?
Millennials - is there anything they can't do?Between sending the demand for smashed avocado skyrocketing and not affording houses, it seems Gen Y is a bit of a wayward generation… or are they?
Catie McHugh
Son of a pitch! 10 ways you can totally nail your next business pitch
It’s never terribly pleasant, the ‘pitch’. All eyes are on you, the up-and-coming entrepreneur, and it feels like the room is looking for any excuse to stop listening. Oh god, is that a rejection on the horizon?
Catie McHugh
The benefits (and challenges) of a team with high tolerance
Tolerance. It’s something that we all should practice, something fundamental to harmony between humans from all different walks of life - all those different ideas, expectations and ways of simply existing all have to live side-by-side somehow!
Catie McHugh
Can AI help us dress for success? (Shop) You betcha!
Between Siri, Google Assistant, Bixby and Alexa, we humans sure are accumulating a lot of friends with artificial intelligence. It’s safe to say we’ve embraced the idea of AI in some aspects of our life, especially when the payoff is convenience.
Catie McHugh
Silicon Sydney: Largest startup hub in the southern hemisphere to open late 2017
The NSW Government in Australia has injected $35 million AUD into an all-new project to support the growing startup landscape in Sydney. Anticipated to create up to 6,500 new jobs across many burgeoning ventures, startup culture and the entrepreneurial spirit is set to thrive.
Catie McHugh
4 reasons kindness is a crucial ingredient in the startup recipe
How much have you thought about kindness lately? To a busy entrepreneur, perhaps it doesn’t mean a whole lot outside of it being something warm and fuzzy that you experience every now and then. The truth is, however, that kindness may be one of the most untapped commodities in business.
Catie McHugh
3 big business ideas that sound terrible on paper (but actually work)
As anyone who has ever tried will tell you, starting a business is not easy. However, launching an entirely new product or service, in which the immediate market need is not obvious, is close to impossible.
Catie McHugh
5 things you need before approaching a venture capitalist
If you’re running a startup (or thinking about creating one!) you’ll likely have spent countless hours and sleepless nights researching one of the most critical elements of bringing your idea to life: funding. And that means you’ll have run into the big guns of company funding, the venture capitalists.
Catie McHugh
How less consumption and more gratitude can make you a better entrepreneur
Thanksgiving brings a whole lot of festive familiarity: lots of turkey and all the trimmings, family engagements to rush around dutifully to, and eye-popping sales that seem to bring out the best in deals and worst in humanity.
Catie McHugh
Lionel Richie: Leading LA’s startup investing surge
Grammy-getting, Oscar-obtaining, Golden Globe-grabbing legendary singer-songwriter Lionel Richie, is adding another feather to his cap as one of LA’s most prominent celebrity startup investors.Upon backing doctor-on-demand service, Heal, Richie got bitten hard by the modern tech bug. And he’s not stopping there.
Catie McHugh
Is time tracking the ultimate productivity hack for busy entrepreneurs?
You’re an entrepreneur on the rise, dedicating every skerrick of resources to realizing your business dreams. However, there’s one thing no venture capitalist or Kickstarter backer can raise for you: time.
Catie McHugh
International Women's Day: Celebrating the female change-makers
Let’s just clear up one small thing before we proceed: we definitely don’t need to wait for a special day on the global calendar to celebrate awesome women. As a business, F4S is all about celebrating the uniqueness of every individual, which means we are privileged to have met tonnes of incredible women in our own journey - we’d need a whole year of International Women’s Days if we had to wait to talk about them all!
Catie McHugh
What to do if your business idea already exists
One night, you’re sitting having dinner and bam - it hits you. A brilliant and original business idea. Over the coming days, weeks, maybe months - you keep returning to it, contemplating it.
Catie McHugh
The double-edged sword that is Travis Kalanick: Unraveling the culture that rocked Uber
Travis Kalanick, founder and (former) CEO of the ultimate disrupter Uber, is gone. Ousted. Kaput.
Catie McHugh
“You called it what?” The product names that nearly destroyed businesses
As much as we humans hate to admit it, we’re pretty darn influenced by brands, and our emotional reaction (and subsequent attachment) to everything from the packaging, the name and the product itself, is something companies agonize over getting right. You only get one shot, after all.
Catie McHugh
5 weird startups (that are kicking ass)
It’s fair to say that we are in something of an ‘entreprenaissance’ at present; the blistering speed of innovative tech and relatively low cost to launch ideas out in the wild is birthing some incredible companies around the world.
Catie McHugh
Three booming industries (that might surprise you)
During those long nights spent poring through business news, developments and the latest startup success stories, always searching for that little something that sparks your next big entrepreneurial idea, you may have noticed some quirks.
Catie McHugh
The ultimate playlist to fire up your entrepreneurial spirit
Everyone loves music, right? Even busy entrepreneurs take the time to add a little vibrancy and music therapy to their day - or, they should, in any case!
Catie McHugh
8 incredible entrepreneurs you must start watching right now
The great thing about all these fantastic startups popping up all over the world (you know, apart from their general world-changing innovation) is that the genius entrepreneurs driving them often have a stellar online presence.
Catie McHugh
4 tech startups that are changing the world (in all the right ways)
The tech industry, unsurprisingly, continues to go absolutely gangbusters. Just a quick scan of the daily news and business blogs with your morning coffee each day would give you an indication that the world is on a perpetual, sustained leap forward in what we can achieve with technology. And startups are taking full advantage and innovating at cracking speed.
Catie McHugh
The ultimate employment battle: Startup BS vs. corporate BS
When it comes to your career, where’s your head at right now? Perhaps you’re working in a corporate, staring enviously at the Inc. 5000 list and wanting to get in on one of those hot tech startups you’ve heard so much about (or maybe you have an idea to start one yourself).
Catie McHugh
The founder should be the best salesperson in the company. Here's why.
If you want a successful startup, then you’re going to need a hot sales strategy for your product or service, and a great team to do the legwork, at least initially.
Catie McHugh
Are women less likely than men to become entrepreneurs?
Whew, let’s just come right out of the gate with a big question. But, it is an important one to consider and dissect - are women really less likely to take on the world of entrepreneurship, and why?
Catie McHugh
Three Wonder Woman attitudes that will help you succeed as an entrepreneur
Just in case you’ve been a castaway on a deserted island for the past few months, we’ll let you know that Wonder Woman hit cinemas, and it was kind of a big deal.
Catie McHugh
Why do some successfully crowdfunded projects still fail?
Crowdfunding continues to be a super-popular method for inventors, entrepreneurs and creative artists to get their projects out into the world. Essentially, you can place your concept on platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, where they can gain traction from ‘backers’ (i.e. regular people) who like the cut of your jib, and will provide funding to help you realise your project. Typically, the reward for funding is the product itself.
Catie McHugh
4 ways to combat entrepreneurial loneliness
When you start a new venture, it's a frantic and ever-changing journey of launches, stretch goals and (hopefully!) rapid growth, all of which require you to be the driving force for success.
Catie McHugh
15 quotes that really reflect startup life
It's true - startup life is pretty crazy! Each day is different, with more twists and turns than an Agatha Christie novel. We've dug around for fifteen quotes that really resonated with us on this wildly wonderful journey. Enjoy!
Catie McHugh
The World Happiness Report: The places where entrepreneurship is the key to glee
The World Happiness Report is a unique global study, analysing six key factors that contribute to the happiness of a country’s citizens, including how people evaluate the quality of their working life.
Catie McHugh
6 must-listen podcasts for entrepreneurs
If work and life get in the way of keeping abreast of everything in the entrepreneurial world, there are some great podcasts you can tune into while on the move that will not only keep you on the cutting edge, but inspire and enlighten you along the way.
Catie McHugh
Five fictional entrepreneurs we could all learn from
Sir Richard Branson. Steve Jobs. Warren Buffett. Arianna Huffington. They're all wildly successful entrepreneurs, and they're also very much real people to draw inspiration from as you navigate your own business path.
Catie McHugh
Things are about to get Wilde in Sydney.
Expert growth hacker, Heather Wilde, is coming to Sydney to present Growth Hacking 101 on August 16.Make sure you mark StartCon in your calendar this December!Australia’s ultimate startup and growth conference, StartCon, is putting on some epic events in the lead-up to their big show in December.
Catie McHugh
4 signs you're overdue for a culture transformation
Grumpy colleagues, projects getting derailed, lack of communication across teams and departments… we've all been there, right?
Catie McHugh
Got a great startup idea? Enter the Battlefield.
TechCrunch Startup Battlefield is coming to Australia for the first time.Early stage startups can do battle for exposure, funding and gloryTechnology media giant, TechCrunch (in partnership with ELEVACAO) is bringing their brilliant business combat zone, TechCrunch Startup Battlefield to Australian shores.
Catie McHugh
4 tech triumphs on the way for business in 2018
With the way technology progresses and reinvents the world as we know it, at breakneck speed, it’s both exciting and intimidating to imagine what even the near future will hold for us.
Catie McHugh
Why Artificial Intelligence is still pretty dumb
Recently, American mega-retailer Walmart announced plans to introduce technology in stores that would scan shoppers’ faces and indicate whether they were unhappy, angry or frustrated.
Catie McHugh
Why being ungrateful is costing you success
What do Oprah Winfrey, Sir Richard Branson, Arnold Schwarzenegger and a host of rich, famous celebrities have in common?
Catie McHugh
Startup life: Myths busted
When you hear the word “startup", what images are conjured in your mind? Do you think of a bunch of genius nerds in t-shirts noodling away on the next breakthrough app?
Catie McHugh
3 industries millennials have (allegedly) ruined
Millennials are the generation everyone loves to talk about. It would appear everyone has an opinion on who they are, what they represent and where it has all gone wrong for them (we humans are a funny bunch - the fact is, generations bring change and this negative perception of the newbie generation is nothing new).
Catie McHugh
The true cost of a toxic hire (and how to avoid them)
In any successful business (and especially in an early-stage startup!) hiring great people who thrive in their role and the workplace culture is absolutely critical. A toxic hire (you know, those whose behavior has a majorly negative effect on team morale and productivity, thoroughly poisoning the atmosphere) can have disastrous consequences.
Catie McHugh
How to follow your motivations to make the right next steps in your career
New year, new you?
Catie McHugh