Please tell us a little about yourself.
I cofounded Teach Ted with Sare Christensen. I draw on more than 20 years’ experience in sales, product development and project delivery along with personal experience as a parent, playgroup volunteer and now Expert Board Member for Playgroup Victoria. I am passionate about giving back to her community and improving access to information for families in regional and remote areas.
Sare, my co-founder and our Creative Director, is an award-winning designer and illustrator and the artistic force behind Teach Ted. Sare has also written, illustrated and self-published a storybook, My Sister Mia’s Heart for her two children and their friends to help educate and promote awareness of her daughter’s VSD heart operation.
Please tell us a little about Teach Ted.
We were inspired to create Teach Ted after some less than relaxing experiences taking our own children to hospital! Leveraging our professional experiences and access to experts, personal knowledge of the challenges of parenting younger children and a love of storytelling, Ted came to life. The original idea behind Ted was formulated over playgroup and playdates in 2012 but Ted needed to be put down for a nap due to family circumstances. In 2018, I left my executive role to focus on getting Ted out into the world. We are driven to reduce anxiety and improve experiences of children interacting with medical treatment. We know that when we do that, the cost and efficiency benefits to the providers and broader community will also be delivered.
What drew you to the Fishburners Fempowered program?
Our goal is to have Ted available to families everywhere, regardless of where they live or who is undertaking their care. Being for purpose, for profit, we find that many misunderstand our drivers and goals. They have track records in how this can be done successfully. We are also drawn to the community of likeminded founders and know that a lot of our learnings and support will come from them as well as us having an opportunity to give back.
What about the next 6 months excites you, what are you looking forward to?
We are looking forward to getting to know everyone in the program, testing out our plans and ideas for the next stage of Teach Ted and building a stronger framework around our short and longer term plans. We are also excited about the opportunity to work so closely with such experienced EIRs.
What message would you like to send to the aspiring Women founders of Australia?
There is never going to be a ‘right time’ to upend your live and try out that crazy idea you have so just jump in and do it. The road will be hard and may take a lot more time than you thought to get you where you want to go but it is worth it. Share your idea with people – it’s a great way to test your messaging and market but also their positive feedback and words on encouragement will keep you going even when it all seems too hard. Finally, surround yourself with people who encourage and inspire you – this is not about ignoring constructive or negative feedback but rather ensuring you remember that you are capable, you can be the right person to change the world and you can make magic happen.
