Summary
Usman Iftikhar, was named 2018 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year amongst 1.4 billion young people living in 53 Commonwealth Nations. Usman shares his journey as a migrant entrepreneur and the challenges he faced in starting a business. He founded Catalyser, a startup incubator empowering over 900 Migrapreneurs to build Australia 2.0. Usman highlights the need to support migrant entrepreneurs and shares his plans for growing and scaling up his organisation.
He discusses the importance of mentors and the support he received along the way. Usman also highlights the need for a more inclusive startup ecosystem and shares his involvement in the space industry and the Obama Foundation. He emphasises the importance of maintaining mental health and provides strategies for coping with the pressures of entrepreneurship.
He also talks about the future of his work and the impact of migration and climate change.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
04:10 Challenges Faced as a Migrant
08:45 Motivation to Start a Social Enterprise
10:55 Defining Success in the Social Enterprise Space1
3:55 Overcoming Challenges in the Startup Journey
15:56 The Importance of Mentors
20:57 Becoming the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year
24:07 Supporting Migrants and Refugees in Starting a Business
30:12 Involvement in the Space Industry
35:12 Involvement with the Obama Foundation
38:09 Strategies for Maintaining Mental Health
41:32 Supporting Mental Health
43:48 Looking Towards the Future
46:23 Supporting Migrant Entrepreneurs
47:01 Time Management Tips
51:41 The Importance of Marketing and Sales
57:23 Building Trust and Telling Your Story