You will hear me beat the drum often about Australian Startups needing to become more relevant on a global basis. Well here is one that is not just relevant, but is leading its field globally and dominating in core markets such as the US.
I listened to a podcast where Adil Shiffman the founder of Catapult was interviewed. I instantly fell in love with what he was doing in his business, not just because I am deep into Peak Performance science but because he is really leading the space with innovative thinking, and he is the exact type of ambassador we need to represent Australian innovation.
Adil saw an opportunity to leverage what the CSIRO had begun and take their technology to the next level through improved design, and by building a commercial model relevant to the Catapult’s target market – professional sports. Adil was a doctor before he started this business but saw the opportunity and executed……. This is what separates the 99% of us with ideas and those successful entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs get on and execute while the rest of us sit there thinking about how great our idea are!
Catapult Sports have improved on the novelty that we see in wearable technology such as FitBits and Jawbone’s Up (which admittedly is aimed at mass market consumption), and through its proprietary innovation can provide professional sporting teams with big data that can provide TRUE actionable insights that is transforming how games are played and how players are coached.
For all of those University students looking for somewhere to work, it’s companies such as this that need to be on top of your list. Firstly, because they are Australian and we need to support home grown companies and secondly because working for minds such as Adil there is hope that this type of Entrepreneurial spirit will rub off and encourage you to start your own venture. Learning from those that have done it is the best place to start, as opposed to disappearing into some corporate hierarchy hoping to climb the corporate ladder.
I can’t speak to the internal culture of Catapult and I’m happy for people to comment. I do think a great deal of positive lessons can be learned from working in this type of business.
Keep up the great work Catapult Sports and let’s see more Aussies making this type of an impact.
For those interested here is a link to the video interview.
http://thisweekinstartups.com/catapult-athlete-analytics-powerhouse-changing-games-sports-worldwide/
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