Hi, I’m Sharon
I love technology, innovation, creativity and collaboration.
I have worked in software development and project management for most of my career, holding senior roles in some of Australia’s fastest growing companies including multi award winning software company, Opmantek.
In 2017, I threw everything I had behind the formation and launch of the Gold Coast Innovation Hub (GC Hub). The GC Hub is a non-profit organization that has received Federal, State and Local government support to deliver a citywide innovation strategy that will provide infrastructure and services to support new business growth in the city it is anticipated that the GC Hub project will have a $3Billion economic impact on the Gold Coast over the next 5 years.
In the years prior, I co-founded a number of initiatives in the innovation and startup space, including Startup Apprentice with Sam Winter, which launched on the Gold Coast in 2013. The organisation delivered Australia’s first in-curriculum high school startup accelerator program, introducing a new generation to entrepreneurship and paving the way for many other organisations to launch in the space. Since then, thousands of students across Gold Coast have participated in Startup Apprentice led workshops, events and programs, Startup Apprentice has also been a partner in the Mayors Telstra Technology Awards for 5 years.
I was named by the Australian Financial Review as one of Australia’s 100 Women of Influence in 2018 and was recognised as a ‘Startup Leader’ in the 2014 Westpac Community leader awards. Sam and I were also were named ‘Innovation Champions’ by the Queensland Government for our contributions to the Gold Coast Startup Ecosystem in 2015.
This website is my personal outlet for all the things that I think about – both in business and in life, as well as a place to share the more creative aspects of myself. Expect a lot of random poetry, in depth thought pieces, the occasional recipe, a showcase of painting, sketching, illustration and maybe the occasional creative tutorial.