Stories of the Fellowship - Nicole Meaker, Winter20 Fellow

As we conclude our third Fellowship cohort (first women-only cohort), we are catching up with the Fellows to share their experience of the program.  Hear from Nicole Meaker.

Nicole is an applied technologist, experienced across solution architecture and technical sales in SaaS, unified communications and enterprise IT. She most recently led technical partner enablement for the launch of Webex Contact Centre in ANZ at Cisco. Nicole holds a bachelor of computer engineering from the University of Melbourne. Whilst studying she managed building projects at the university (inc. Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship) working with architects to understand user requirements and facilitate design and construction. Nicole is now participating in the Antler startup generator where she is working to find a cofounder and to validate ideas across a number of verticals including the built environment, unified communications and biotech. She is also now a mentor at SproutX - an accelerator program in the Agtech space.

What is the Fellowship to you?

It’s a journey of self discovery made possible through a guided introduction to the ideas, innovation, breadth of experience and authenticity of the startup community. It’s a network of peers (Fellows) who are on a similar journey of seeking to find more value and inspiration in their day to day, and a network of advisors/mentors/new friends who all want to help you and each other succeed.  

Would you recommend it to others?

Yes! I would especially recommend the program to people who feel like they have lost their passion through their professional experience. I gained so much inspiration by being exposed to the diversity of thought in the Fellows and broader Startmate family, and by taking a structured approach to self introspection. It enabled me to make a bigger leap than I imagined at the start of the program.

What lessons did you learn from the Fellowship?

The most important lesson from the Fellowship has been a reminder that I can make my own path. I had been caught in a mindset of progressing through corporate ranks and job titles and had a very unhealthy dose of imposter syndrome. Listening to others’ stories helped me realise that there are endless opportunities, I just need to take action.

Where are you now?

During the Fellowship I applied for and received an offer to Antler’s startup generator in Sydney. I resigned from Cisco and started on the Antler program. I’m fascinated by the idea of measuring the experience of people in the built environment and am validating an idea for a UX tool for architects and placemakers.

‍