innovation Archives - Women In Digital

Introducing the 2022 Women in Digital Awards Innovator of the Year, powered by Auto & General, Emily Bobis!

Emily Bobis is the Founder of Compass IoT, a road intelligence company using connected vehicle data to improve road safety, infrastructure and city planning.

Now in its fourth year of operations, Emily has grown Compass IoT into a multi-award-winning organisation making an incredible impact in building safer cities and pushing the boundaries of transport planning. So far, Compass IoT has been used to map 20 million freight vehicle trips across Queensland, halve crashes on one of Sydney’s busiest roads, justify a $73 million bridge widening project, and measure a 50% deterioration of roads in Lismore caused by flooding to help prioritise relief efforts and asset maintenance.

The judges were impressed by Emily’s innovation and ambition to solve a real pain point in the market, alongside impressive growth statistics.

Here’s what Emily had to say about her win on the night:

We were thrilled to talk to our 2022 Innovator of the Year about her winning entry, career journey and thoughts on diversity in digital.

Click here to meet all the 2022 Women in Digital Award Winners.

Congratulations Emily! We are so impressed by your entry and obviously so were our judges, but tell us, who is Emily Bobis?

I’m a 27-year-old Co-Founder and Director of Compass IoT – a multi-award-winning road intelligence company based in Sydney. I’ve spent my entire professional career building tech-enabled startups, particularly around branding, marketing, media, and PR.

I’m passionate about getting things done, communicating the value of good marketing and design for business outcomes, creating a difference, solving problems, and encouraging young people to get involved in entrepreneurship.

What is something that not many people know about you?

I’m a 2nd Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo and have trained for 10+ years. Training for such a long time requires you to take on feedback, get comfortable with being uncomfortable, and challenge your own bad habits – skills that also happen to be essential to entrepreneurship and good team building.

Who is your professional inspiration?

It’s cliche but of course, I’m going to have to say, my mum. She taught me the importance of sustained persistent effort to achieve goals. It’s often persistence that builds life-long aptitude and resilience, which can trump natural talent when there’s pressure to deliver.

I’m also very grateful for my co-founder, Angus. He’s one of the most patient people I know. I’ve learnt a great deal from him about team leadership and we make a great team.

What’s your go-to startup or technology resource recommendation?

The Guild of Entrepreneurs resource library and online community. It’s an incredibly well-curated library on all things startups, and the community is a terrific bunch of founders, mentors, and enthusiasts that genuinely want to provide value.

How did you end up working in technology?

A complete accident. I applied for a study abroad scholarship program because I was trying to avoid writing a book report at university. By some luck, only 4 people applied and there were only 4 places available, so I got accepted by default. On that trip is where I ended up meeting my co-founder, Angus.

A few years later, I had a terrible experience in a corporate internship and had a realisation: I don’t want to work in a job like this for the rest of my life. After the internship ended, Angus and I started Compass IoT.

I’ve always been interested in technology and the value that it provides, but I didn’t ever plan to start a technology company. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had been a good student and just written my book report…

What has been the best career advice you’ve ever received?

There are 2 pieces of advice I keep coming back to:

When in doubt, do something – making a decision (even if you’re not sure it’s the right one) is better than doing nothing at all.
Do it scared – you’ll never feel 100% confident in your ability to do something. If you’re scared about an opportunity, don’t pass on it; just do it scared.

Welcome to our WIDAwards Alumni! We want to know… what does winning this award mean to you?

I’m incredibly proud to be representing the Compass IoT team and our success so far. We often reduce the success of a startup to its founders; in reality, there are 12 other people that deserve a huge level of recognition for building Compass IoT.

In a bite-sized summary, how did Compass IoT come to be?

My Co-Founder and I met while studying at the University of Sydney. I ended up working with him at a bike-sharing startup called Airbike. Through Airbike, we had discussions with different transport and mobility planners and discovered there was a missing link between how cities were designed and how people actually used them. We went on to found Compass IoT to try and bridge that gap using data from cars.

What have been the greatest challenges you have encountered whilst launching Compass IoT? How did you overcome them?

Adapting from being in a team of 3, where I did a lot of the day-to-day tasks, to managing a team of 12 and delegating responsibility. Learning to let go and trust others to deliver can be really difficult and is definitely a skill that I’m still learning. I’ll let you know when I figure that one out!

Compass IoT has achieved some incredible outcomes as evidenced in your submissions. Tell us, how do you work towards driving constant innovation?

So many startups fail because they create a solution first and then try to find a problem space to force their idea into. Our innovation comes from listening to customers and identifying problems, prioritising them, figuring out what is feasible to create, and THEN acting on it. We’re always scanning and searching for new problems within our focused niche and how we can potentially apply connected vehicle data to solve them without compromising our ability to deliver or our business goals.

We went to list all the awards and grants you have received here but truthfully, there are just so many. It is so incredible to see how much you and Compass IoT have achieved in just 4 years.

Often, women don’t put themselves forward for promotions or awards and this is for a laundry list of reasons with one of the most discussed being imposter syndrome.

What advice do you have for women wanting to put themselves forward for an award but aren’t sure if they should?

Self-nominate regardless of whether you think you’ll win. The worst-case scenario is you might actually win. You miss 100% of the opportunities you don’t take – there are plenty of other people who will doubt you or tell you that you can’t do something. Why add to that list by being one of them yourself?

I actually don’t like the term imposter syndrome – it shifts the blame back onto individuals, fostering the idea that women are the ones that need to change instead of looking at overhauling a system that was never designed to offer us a legitimate seat at the table.

As a Founder and growing startup, how have these awards and grants helped you?

They helped by providing legitimacy and incredible brand awareness to Compass IoT, the team, and the value we provide to transport professionals.

What advice would you give to anyone with an idea for a business solution/ product/ app?

It’s never too early or late to start. Building Compass IoT has been one of the most terrifying, lonely, and challenging things I’ve ever done. But it’s also been the most rewarding, interesting, and humbling experience; if I had to go back, I’d do it all over again without a second thought.

What has been your biggest learning this year?

Execution is everything. Ideas are amazing to have but don’t really mean anything unless you act on them and create something tangible.

What is next for you and for Compass IoT?

We’re in the process of expanding internationally to New Zealand and the UK.

It is commonly recognised that there are fewer female leaders in digital and technology. What do you think could be done to improve diversity in tech?

There needs to be an attitude adjustment across all sectors regarding female leadership and mentorship (for men too!), not just technology and digital. My male counterparts have been asked on multiple occasions what business they own, whereas I’m constantly asked what company I am interning for. We need to change the rhetoric we all use so that we don’t unintentionally undermine women’s achievements with outdated assumptions based on gender stereotypes.

This change involves all genders, age ranges, and seniority levels to set an example, communicate expectations, and speak out when something is done or said that isn’t appropriate.

What do you believe is the importance of industry awards such as the Women in Digital Awards?

You can’t be what you can’t see. It’s important to have a platform that highlights intelligent women doing great things because, for too long, there has not been a public forum that provides enough duly earnt recognition.

My hope for the future is that we no longer need female-specific awards. Ideally, I want both men and women to be equally recognised in the same spaces, events, and award categories.

What technology development or trend is most exciting to you at the moment?

Connected and Autonomous Vehicles! We’ve already seen a wave of cars that are defined by their software more so than their physical hardware. Now, we’re incredibly close to seeing more driverless functions, which could lead to a drastic reduction in road deaths and injuries.

Emily, if you could leave the Women in Digital community with one parting word of wisdom, what would it be?

Back yourself. Women are often quick to turn down accolades or public accomplishments because we either think we are undeserving or are afraid to be seen as arrogant if we accept them. Self-nominate, celebrate, raise other women up with you, and become comfortable with the recognition that you deserve.

Once again, congratulations to Emily Bobis on this accomplishment and thank you for taking the time to chat with us!

To read more Q&A blogs from our line-up of Women in Digital Award Winners, head over to our blog and keep an eye out for more stories on our LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. You can also see our incredible list of 2022 WIDAwards here.

Camille Socquet-Clerc is the quintessential woman in digital. Originally from France, Camille has always been passionate about marketing and has extensive experience working as a Marketing, Communications and eCommerce Manager within global brands including Michael Hill, Alpha Digital, Mountain Designs and L’Occitane to name a few. We can’t help but be in awe of her career!

In 2019, Camille founded Bloom – an impact investing platform that helps people invest in cleantech and clean energy projects. And just last year, she did that thing that all founders dream (and fear) doing… Taking the leap and leaving full-time employee life behind her to focus all her time on Bloom.

Camille holds a very dear place in our heart at Women in Digital HQ for her passion for diversity in tech and being a long time Women in Digital community member. We were thrilled to chat to her about her career journey from Marketing Queen to impact entrepreneur and diversity ambassador.

These are incredible professional accolades, but tell us, who is Camille the person?

I was born in the French Alps and spent my childhood skiing and being out in nature. As a result, I love being outdoors! I spend as much time as possible hiking, surfing, swimming… But I also love learning and problem solving, which means my work has always had a lot of meaning to me. I am passionate about my work. And as a person, I guess I am a very sensitive person, who loves to connect with people on a deeper level.

What is something that not many people know about you?

I absolutely love dancing. I am that person that will dance until the music stops.

What’s the most useless talent you have?

I used to be a ski teacher, not very useful when you live in Brisbane!

You have recently founded Bloom. Looking back, when did you decide to ‘take the leap’ and put this idea into action?

I decided to go full time when we got accepted into the University of Queensland’s iLab program. It is a competitive and quite prestigious startup accelerator program, which gave me confidence that it was the right time to go all in. At the same time, our community was growing really fast, which also gave me extra validation that I was on the right track and needed to take the plunge. I have to admit as well that my partner has been pivotal, he encouraged me to go all in and accepted the financial risk – I owe him a large part of the courage it took to leave my full time job.

What has been your biggest career challenge and how did you overcome it?

My biggest challenge was to create my own company in a field (financial services) that was new to me. I did overcome my impostor syndrome and doubt by doubling down on work, and making sure that I methodically ticked all the steps to head into the right direction. Surrounding myself with mentors and advisors has been key to giving me confidence and accountability.

What are you currently watching/reading/listening to?

I am passionate about impact investing so one of my favourite podcasts is ‘Good Future‘. I am also a fan of Guy Raz (NPR journalist) so I highly recommend ‘How I Built This‘ or ‘Ted Radio Hour’. I purposefully don’t have Netflix to make sure I spend as little time as possible watching TV, but my guilty pleasure is “Adventure Time” – An American fantasy animated series. It’s incredibly witty and cute and only last 10min per episode – perfect after a long day of work.

Who is your professional inspiration?

I admire other female founders who have done really well in the green-tech field such as Katherine McConnell, Founder & CEO of Brighte. In general, my inspiration comes from entrepreneurs who have been bold in their vision and who are driven by making a positive impact.

What’s on repeat with your work playlist right now?

I don’t work with music – I need deep focus to do my work. In the past I actually suffered in noisy open-plan office environments! However I listen to music everyday when I run in the morning – I love the ‘Discover Weekly’ playlist on Spotify, always new things to discover and energising music to raise my energy levels and motivation.

What’s your most recommended Business/Marketing resource?

I love everything Harvard Business Review (podcast, magazine, website) – because it is nuanced and backed by research most of the time.

I recommend the book ‘Talking to Humans‘ (a practical guide to the qualitative side of customer development) by Frank Rimalovski and Giff Constable. This is one of the best resources I have come across to build my startup. Talking to your customers is so simple YET so few people truly do it. To me this is a skill and resource that should underpins any other business or marketing strategy.

From global brand names to Australia’s largest cleantech startup accelerator, how did this transition evolve?

My career took a turn in 2018, when I started learning more about Climate Change. I could no longer reconcile working for an industry that did not actively provide solutions to the climate crisis. As soon as I made the decision to be aligned with my value, a Communication Manager role at EnergyLab was advertised and I knew it was my chance to do the work I was meant to be doing.

What do you think can be done to improve diversity in the digital industry?

We need leaders and people in position to hire to develop progressive HR and diversity policies. We need leaders to educate themselves on the many benefits of diversity (Women in Digital activities and events are a great place to start!) – there is now overwhelming research linking diversity and performance for businesses, there is no excuse for any leader in business to be passive on this matter.

What technology development is most exciting to you at the moment?

I am excited by blockchain for its potential to create more transparency in supply chains and revolutionise the way people consume energy across the world.

What is next for you?

Launching our App later this year! For now people can sign up to our waitlist here.

A big thank you to Camille for taking the time to chat with us. If you haven’t already, go ahead and follow Camille on LinkedIn and learn more about starting your climate impact investment journey with Bloom here.

Want to see more career spotlights on incredible women in digital? Head over to our socials and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

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Introducing the 2020 Women in Digital Awards Innovator of the Year, sponsored by Clinic to Cloud, Carolyn Mee!

Carolyn is the Founder and CEO of the Sound Scouts app, an online hearing screening service designed to check for hearing issues in children. This innovation incorporates the science of a hearing test in a mobile game that is not only accessible, but fun and affordable for families! Thanks to the Australian Government Department of Health, this life-changing service is now free in Australia and has been implemented in over 1,200 Australian schools, completed 40,000 children’s checks plus 15,000 adult tests. What an incredible innovation!

We are delighted to chat to Carolyn about her winning entry, career in digital and insights on diversity in digital industries.

Watch the live announcement of the Women in Digital Awards Innovator of the Year here.

Congratulations! We are so impressed by your entry and obviously so were our judges, but tell us, who is Carolyn the person?

I’m a woman who believes that if you put your mind to something, anything is possible. I’m a mother and a Founder. I’m as persistent as I am passionate because one without the other will only get you half way there. I care about making a difference, learning and growing in the process.

What is something that not many people know about you?

I lived and worked in the Red Sea in Egypt for a number of years. At one point I felt as comfortable under the water as I did above it.

In a bite-sized summary, how did you come up with the idea for Sound Scouts?

Sound Scouts was my final assignment for a course I completed in Digital Media. I was introduced to the concept of Serious Games, games that can do more than just entertain, and I quickly recognised the potential to apply the theory to testing children’s hearing. As the mother of three children I knew it was difficult to access a face to face hearing check so I was confident that a digital solution would be a game changer.

Who is your professional inspiration?

I’m inspired by everyday people doing things that matter because I believe that one person can make a difference. Dr Catherine Hamlin was and continues to be an inspiration. Her efforts to assist marginalised women were extraordinary. Dr Fred Hollows is also an inspiration.

You have obviously found a fantastic niche in the market, what were some challenges you encountered while launching Sound Scouts?

Disruptive technology is often frowned upon as people are skeptical about new ways of doing things. In the early days I presented to hostile audiences more often than not, rarely receiving acknowledgement for our efforts to think innovatively about a problem that had not been addressed in decades. Fortunately, we were able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the solution and the rigour that we had applied in its development, and the sentiment slowly changed.

What’s your most recommended business resource?

I recommend listening and learning from your customers.

Most of your career was involved with production and content creation, how did this experience tie into what you do now at Sound Scouts?

As a content creator the need for digital knowledge was becoming more and more important hence why I returned to study. But there’s also a need to integrate creative thinking into digital solutions, so my background in content creation was and continues to be extremely relevant.

I had spent decades thinking about how to engage and entertain so when it came to applying that to the Sound Scouts solution it was second nature.

How do you believe Sound Scouts has made a difference for families and clinicians during this pandemic?

Sound Scouts is a digital, app-based hearing check that parents can do at home. It enables a non-clinician to triage a child (or an adult) to determine if they need to take the next step and see a clinician.

During the early months of the pandemic we doubled down on the development of our Clinical Portal which enabled hospital audiology departments to direct patients on their wait list to test at home. The clinicians could then remotely review the results and make a decision on whether the patient needed to be seen by a clinician.

What advice would you give to anyone with an idea for a business solution/ product/ app?

I would encourage anyone with an idea to take the first step. That first step may be conducting research, finding a business partner or documenting a plan. Once you take the first step, which is always the hardest, more steps will follow and before you know it you will be on the road to building a business.

What is next for you and for Sound Scouts?

We’re working on making Sound Scouts available in more countries so more children have access to an accessible, reliable hearing check that has been purpose built for children . We’re also expanding our product offering and will be releasing a number of new web apps in the hearing space in the coming months.

It is commonly recognised that there are fewer female leaders in digital and technology. What do you think could be done to improve diversity in tech?

I love the Women in Digital call to action that ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ and I fully support the drive to elevate more women working in the digital space to act as role models for others to emulate.

My digital journey has been supported by firstly, a scholarship and then by several government grants. I think distributed properly this type of government support can make a big difference.

Do you have any initiatives at Sound Scouts to recruit or support female talent? We would love to hear your insights.

Sound Scouts is a small company but we encourage diversity in our team. We appreciate the value people can bring to the team if they have a different perspective on the world. This drives our culture and is top of mind when we are hiring and building new relationships.

What do you believe is the importance of industry awards such as the Women in Digital Awards?

Awards, like the Women in Digital Awards, allow people like myself to take a moment to stop, reflect and appreciate what we have achieved. It’s not uncommon for Founders and innovators to be constantly focused on the next challenge, but it is important to celebrate the milestones and Awards encourage us to do this.

What technology development is exciting you at the moment?

I’m excited by the promise of technology to deliver better outcomes in the health space. Serious games have untapped potential to engage, entertain and inform and I’m looking forward to seeing how they will be harnessed in the future.

Once again, congratulations Carolyn on this accolade and thank you for taking the time to chat with us!

Want to get involved with the Women in Digital Awards? Be sure to subscribe here so you never miss an update!

To read more Q&A blogs from our line-up of Women in Digital Award Winners, head over to our blog and keep an eye out for more success stories on our Facebook and Instagram. You can also see our list of other winners here.

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At the 2020 Women in Digital (Virtual) Awards, we were thrilled to host the Director of International Emerging Tech Innovation at Walmart (yes, Walmart!) as our international keynote speaker. Her name is Fareena Contractor.

A former molecular geneticist, Fareena has experienced her fair share of surprising career pivots to get where she is today. After helping develop the H1N1 vaccine in India and researching brain cancer suppressors at the University of Alberta, she left the lab in 2011 to explore Design Thinking and Strategy. This is where she found her calling in business innovation. Over the past 3 years at Walmart, Fareena has built a grassroots innovation organisation which has disrupted the status quo and effected significant changes across functions, levels and countries. We were so inspired by her personal journey and story of resilience, we HAD to have her speak at the 2020 Women in Digital Awards.

2020 has been a tough year (to put it mildly). Whether you’ve been separated from family, lost your job or struggled throughout isolation, everyone has a unique story to tell. In the face of this global crisis, we believe the role of resilience has never been more relevant (or important) to our Women in Digital community. Fortunately, Fareena was eager to lend her insights on building resilience and now we are thrilled to share them with you!

You can watch her full speech from the Women in Digital Awards here:

Here’s a summary of Fareena’s top 8 tangible tips (backed by science of course) on building resilience:

1. Eat well, exercise, rest

It makes sense that boosting your overall health will give you the strength to take on stressful situations as they come along. This starts with eating right and exercising, releasing those ‘feel-good’ chemicals we call endorphins. For the average adult, 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week is recommended (Australian Government Department of Health, 2019). But believe it or not, sleep is just as important. Without sleep, your ability to learn, make decisions and cope with stress drastically decreases. For most adults, medical professionals recommend seven to eight hours of sleep per night (Harvard Health, 2017).

2. Connect with yourself & connect with others

Strong ties to family, friends, co-workers or any person or group of individuals are key to building resilience. They are your stress buffers, particularly your close family and friends. Together, these parties form your social network that you can lean on from time to time to help you bounce back from setbacks or offer support in return. But it’s important to also have regular check-ins with yourself as well to help assess your emotional, psychological or physical needs and deal with any issues you identify.

3. Meditate and reflect on the uncomfortable

Of course, nobody enjoys being comfortable. But it is something you should try and embrace. Next time you experience a situation that makes you feel any discomfort or stress, rather than avoiding it, sit in your discomfort, and clear your mind. Meditation can help counter the stress you’re experiencing by eliciting a relaxation response and help build resilience (Headspace, 2020).

4. Be creative

When we are creative, we automatically become resourceful and look to solve problems in new and interesting ways. It is so often overlooked as a great source to cultivate resilience. Think about what is your creative outlet? We all have elements of creativity – it doesn’t have to be a Michelangelo piece). Whatever it is, find time to be creative and create something!

5. Be generous and give back

You know the saying – the more you give, the more you get. Generosity fuels the soul, giving you a sense of purpose and wellbeing as well as that warm and fuzzy feeling. Who doesn’t love that?! Being generous doesn’t require anything drastic either. Simply buying a coworker a coffee, volunteering at a local event or putting a few dollars towards your favourite cause is enough to get those feel-good vibes flowing!

6. List things you are grateful for

We may not celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia but anyone can see the benefits of taking the time to be thankful for what we have in our lives. It not only increases positivity and self-esteem as you reflect on your achievements but also helps reduce stress and make you happier overall (Happify Daily, 2020). Fareena recommends that every day to sit down and write out three things you are grateful for. This can be anything – if your family is safe and healthy then that’s enough to be grateful for as not everyone has that.

7. Experience new things

Take opportunities to experience new things! Leaving your comfort zone to try new things can be undoubtedly daunting but what better way to build confidence and resilience? Now, we’re not pushing you to jump out of a plane or anything but you could travel somewhere new, give pilates a go or experience anything that energises you and will help you create new memories.

8. Smile 🙂

This is the most simple step to building resilience that you can apply immediately! According to recent research published in Experimental Psychology, when you smile, the emotional centre of your brain (called the amygdala) is stimulated and releases neurotransmitters that moves you into a more positive space (Marmolejo-Ramos et al., 2020). Also, you’ve probably heard this before but smiling really is contagious (Wood et al., 2016). So we recommend you start now! 🙂

Thank you to Fareena – we are so excited to see what this powerhouse is going to do next! If you are interested in learning more about Fareena, connect with her on LinkedIn.

Want more? To read our Q&A interviews with our line-up of Women in Digital Award Winners, head over to our blog and keep an eye out on our Facebook and Instagram. You can see the full list of 2020 Women in Digital Award winners here.