{"id":41942,"date":"2023-10-20T15:17:35","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/creating-something-from-nothing-how-marita-cheng-became-one-of-australias-most-important-entrepreneurs-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:17:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:17:35","slug":"creating-something-from-nothing-how-marita-cheng-became-one-of-australias-most-important-entrepreneurs-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/creating-something-from-nothing-how-marita-cheng-became-one-of-australias-most-important-entrepreneurs-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cCreating something from nothing\u201d: How Marita Cheng became one of Australia\u2019s most important entrepreneurs – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
When Marita Cheng was in high school she didn\u2019t know what the word \u2018entrepreneur\u2019 meant.<\/p>\n
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But she already was one.<\/p>\n
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From a very young age Cheng wanted to make things. It was a simple process \u2013 she would talk to people, find out what they wanted and then work out how to create it from nothing.<\/p>\n
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It wasn\u2019t until university that she realised this could become her career, and she could make a real difference.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI didn\u2019t know what entrepreneurship was, I didn\u2019t even know what the word entrepreneur meant,\u201d Cheng tells StartupSmart.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut in my head what I was doing was similar to the life I lead now. I was going around talking to people, finding out what they wanted and bringing it to the world.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt was in university that I learnt what the word entrepreneur actually was. I said, \u2018oh, that\u2019s the name for what I want to do\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Cheng was raised with her brother by her single parent mother in a housing commission apartment in Cairns.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After graduating from high school in 2006, she was soon named the Cairns Young Citizen of the Year before relocating to Melbourne to undertake a Bachelor of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Melbourne.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was during this time that Cheng discovered the world of entrepreneurship and \u201ccreating stuff\u201d and soon realised that it was the best time possible for her to dive fully into it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIn order to learn about starting a company you actually have to start one to learn about the processes and what it takes to create something from nothing and bring it to the world,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t want starting a company to just be a dream. I didn\u2019t want to go through university, get a job and then later think, \u2018oh I want to start a company one day\u2019 without actually knowing what that entails.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re at university you have the freedom to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The simple experiment that Cheng undertook to discover what it was like to start a business now has 27 chapters across nine countries.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The company she created, Robogals, aims to encourage girls to go into STEM-related fields \u2013 Cheng herself was only 19 when she launched it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Its global chapters have now as worked to inspire well over 30,000 young girls around the world, something that constantly amazes Cheng.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really rewarding to see what it has become,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cEven while I was creating it, it was just this wave that kept growing and growing in momentum, and in people, power and force.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you put a bunch of smart people together and give them the freedom and encouragement they can create amazing things.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Through the organisation, Cheng\u2019s message to young girls is a simple but crucial one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI tell girls that they can do anything they want to do,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m telling them that with engineering you can build anything \u2013 you just have to imagine it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBut I really want to show them too. I want to show girls that with science and engineering you can make a really cool change in people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m doing it \u2013 I\u2019m just a young woman a few years older than them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now 26 years old, Cheng has established herself as one of the most prominent and respected entrepreneurs in the country and as a driving force behind the recent push for a change in national cultural and innovation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Focusing on robotics and engineering, she has established a portfolio of companies and plaudits that would prove daunting for someone twice her age.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She\u2019s now founded 2Mar Robotics and Aipoly, two startups utilising innovative technology to help those in need, and achieved formal recognition after being named the Young Australian of the Year for 2012.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But for Cheng, it\u2019s all about ensuring her skills and ability to create something from nothing is used for the greater good.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And that\u2019s a clear trend in the companies she\u2019s founded and the technology she has created. There\u2019s always a slant towards the social good and conscious, with each aiming to make the world a better place for those living in it in their own little way.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She founded 2Mar Robotics in 2013 to make robotic arms for people with disabilities to help with their day-to-day lives. It quickly picked up $20,000 in funding from the Melbourne Accelerator Program, five prizes and the lucrative chance to exhibit at CES 2014, one of the biggest tech conferences in the world.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
\u201cCreating something from nothing\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The world of robots and awards<\/strong><\/h3>\n