While for some people, embarking on a path of entrepreneurship can feel like lurching into the unknown, for Indra Mckie of Penrith in Sydney’s west, it’s been a giant leap towards a creative, innovative, and exciting future.
Indra recently completed SSE’s Startup Success program, a collaboration with Penrith City Council. Her initial goal was straightforward; arm herself with the basic knowledge and confidence needed to launch her own venture. But when we caught up with her recently to chat about her experience, she said she left with so much more; “new connections, friends, marketing content, a pitch deck, and an elevator pitch!”
Indra’s innovative idea, Idea Active
Indra's brainchild is Idea Active, a fusion of creativity, critical thinking, and fitness. Drawing on her facilitation experience, a PhD in collaborative interaction design from the University of Technology, Sydney, and her personal passion for fitness, Indra has crafted an innovative concept—a ‘gym for the mind’, tailored for corporate teams.
“Idea Active is an online and in-person ‘gym’ for corporate teams to flex their creative and critical thinking muscles through quick, engaging training sessions to solve problems, make decisions, and ideate collaboratively,” she explained.
“It’s a unique suite of training sessions – like Creativity Circuit, Business As Usual Booster, and Empathy Energiser – that have the potential to revolutionise team dynamics and foster a culture of innovation within the corporate sector.”
What do ‘innovation’ and ‘entrepreneurship’ mean to you?
Innovation, in Indra’s mind, comes from trusting your instincts. “It’s a process—of taking an experience and understanding the true fundamental human needs and beliefs through engaging with real users to create a new way of doing things.”
Whereas, while entrepreneurship and innovation go hand in hand in theory, entrepreneurship is more a way of life, an opportunity to pursue your own ambitions and objectives. “It means that I don’t have to have my ideas shut down by a manager, a boss, or whoever thinks they know what is best—I can pursue and explore my ideas on my own terms.”
Mentor magic
A good mentor can make a huge difference in business and in life. Is there anyone Indra credits with inspiring her? Absolutely. “I really admire my PhD supervisor [and Director, Graduate Research, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at UTS] Dr. Bhuva Narayan. She’s been my mentor for a long time now and she’s always inspired me to push the boundaries in my own ideas.
“She is a mastermind and bold. She always finds time to help so many people on top of her own workload [and] it’s through this that I realise that my success is greater when I can help other people in the pursuit of their own dreams, something I am striving to do in Idea Active.”
For anyone considering their own entrepreneurial journey, Indra was quick to offer some great advice.
“Embrace your nerves and excitement as a sign of your growth potential and take the plunge! The Startup Success course content was fun, interesting, and compatible with full-time study or work. The online content was well put together—on the same level of quality that I’ve experienced in online universities. And the SSE Facilitators were so welcoming and kind, they made even the scary topics feel approachable and achievable.”
We can’t wait to see what’s next for this super-powered SSE graduate!
Connect with Indra on LinkedIn and follow Idea Active on Instagram.