What better time than summer holidays to learn a new skill or get inspired by reading a new book, listening to an in-depth podcast or attending a creative event.
Photo by Unsplash.
It’s also the time of year for sharing, and we asked the staff of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit, as well as our UTS startup community, for their personal recommendations - especially the books and podcast episodes that they share with friends. Who knows, your next big idea might be inspired by some summer goodness right here! Enjoy
Podcast episodes
Inside Influence
Episode 59: Ty Montague, StoryDoing
I loved this episode! Often in our space of innovation and entrepreneurship, we hear about the bleeding edge of lots of different businesses, technologies and industries, we’re often speaking about startups that are lean and agile and can respond quickly to change. What I loved about this podcast was that the idea of embodying your company’s story, or your company’s values, was an idea applicable to even the biggest of organisations. Spreading a bit of startup mentality to the big end of town!
- Rhi Tuntevski
Stop Everything!
Create Netflix and (then) Chill
Marc Randolph, co-founder and first CEO of Netflix talks about how in 20 years the company morphed from DVD home delivery e-commerce site to Hollywood power player and tastemaker. Really interesting & entertaining recount of how a startup can morph with rapidly changing needs of an industry over time!
- Zoë Crawford
Funny in Failure
Episode 28: Held Back with Broden Kelly
Broden Kelly, a member of renowned Australian sketch group Aunty Donna, gives a very honest & personal account of the hurdles faced by starting a business (in this case; comedy group) with your friends, and how to manage changing dynamics in a group of young creatives, who sometimes have different visions of success.
- Zoë Crawford
The Startup Playbook Podcast
Episode 3: Interview with Justin Dry, Co-founder, Vinomofo
This episode is an excellent listen as Justin tells the story of their startup journey with total realism, and how they lived on the edge (and nearly went broke) so many times as well as how they pivoted time and time again until they got it right.
- Fiona Anson
Conversations
The seaweed scientist who survived being scalped
A passionate scientist who innovated wildly and then set up shop in my old town, Nowra, with an amazing seaweed farm and lab, before surviving an awful accident with great bravery. It’s a great tale of passion, resilience and innovation.
- Ruth Treddinnick
LSE IQ
Episode 29: What's the secret to happiness?
Why does happiness elude so many of us and what can we do about it? Great listen from the London School of Economics and includes Paul Dolan, author of Happiness by Design. A great podcast-book combo for a happy 2020.
- Margaret Maile Petty
This Week in Startups Australia
Series 7 Episode 16 WithYouWithMe
Mark Pesce discusses WithYouWithMe's founder, Tom Larter, how his startup cracked the DNA of the continuously upskilling organisation by helping military veterans get jobs. This TWiSTA episode offers deep insight on teams, approaches to team member skills, re-skilling and social innovation. And, of course, UTS is a sponsor of this excellent podcast series.
- Ann Schoefer
Currently, this is my most favourite podcast. It's just full of startup insights from the most prominent startup ecosystem - Silicon Valley. You won't get that anywhere else in my opinion. In the last couple of weeks, I've learned so much about startups and VC, thanks just to this podcast. I like this episode in particular because it shows that what might often seem like a Sci-Fi Novel is, in fact, a viable and feasible piece of innovation, which is closer to the reality than you might think. Notice the title of the podcast - i.e. there is some cool s*** out there and it's coming soon!!! How exciting!? How motivating?!
- Pavel Stanek, UTS startup - Fasade
FT Start-up Stories
Episodes 1-10
OK, this is definitely summer listening (and was recommended to me by staff at UTS Innovation and Entrepreneurship!). IMO, it's one of the best podcasts I've listened to both production and content-wise. This podcast and the episodes 1-10 are a must for a first-time entrepreneur. Those 10 episodes are like a short course on entrepreneurship. Each episode explains the key concepts and methods. In every episode, there are at least 3 people discussing the given topic. Not only it provides the audience with different perspectives, but the people discussing the topic are men and women that have done extremely well in the world of business.
- Pavel Stanek, UTS startup - Fasade
Books
Hooked by Nir Eyal
The tagline "how to build habit-forming products" says it all, and it's written in an engaging yet simple style with real-world case studies of the tips behind how to make businesses addictive.
- Fiona Anson
The ONE thing by Gary Keller & Jay Papason
In The One Thing, you'll learn to cut through the clutter; achieve better results in less time; build momentum toward your goal; dial down the stress; overcome that overwhelmed feeling; revive your energy; stay on track; and master what matters to you. I really liked it because, although it's a simple philosophy, we often get distracted by all the things we need to do rather than focussing on the ONE thing that will move us closer to our desired outcome. This book is a great lesson in focus.
- Fiona Anson
Startup Focus by Mick Liubinskas & Phil Morle
Loads of tips, tools and case studies to get you thinking about startups. I reckon this the most recommended Australian book on startups, and from a person, I personally think the world of.
- Murray Hurps
Good to Great by Jim Collins
It’s a brilliantly simple line of thought - disciplined leaders who hire disciplined people and face reality can be great. Loads of interesting case studies backed up by data.
- Mark Fischer
The Value of Everything by Mariana Mazzucato
The book will make you rethink wealth, the global financial system and what is the meaning of creating value. If you missed her speaking at UTS last December, watch this video of one of her recent talks.
- Margaret Maile Petty
Don’t Get a Job… Make a Job How to make it as a creative graduate by Gem Barton
If creative entrepreneurship is your thing you’ll love this compilation of interviews, advice and strategies from designers, architects and artists about how they kickstarted their creative businesses from scratch. Loads of projects that will inspire - ‘steal like an artist’!
- Guy Degen
Courses and Workshops
UTS Open Designing out problems
Whatever we do today requires problem-solving and new ways of thinking. This online course guides you through the steps of framing and re-framing problems and you can work at your own pace. A great course to do with the time to reflect over summer and return in 2020 ready to tackle any problem in the too hard basket.
- Alisha Mendonsa
Think differently through play | UTS Creative Futures Workshops
2020 Sydney Festival, 22 January
How might we play with our ideas for innovative and creative thinking? As a child, you might have let your imagination run wild and created incredible models out of Lego. But how can you use those colourful plastic bricks for innovative and creative thinking? Lego Serious Play is a highly effective visual and collaborative thinking method designed for organisations, teams and individuals. Join IEU’s Innovation Designer, Guy Degen, and learn why more organisations are turning to play for future-thinking and inspiration. Come along and be ready to build your ideas!