{"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":"
\"Marita<\/div>\n

When Marita Cheng was in high school she didn\u2019t know what the word \u2018entrepreneur\u2019 meant.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But she already was one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until university that she realised this could become her career, and she could make a real difference.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\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

<\/h3>\n

\u201cCreating something from nothing\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\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

The world of robots and awards<\/strong><\/h3>\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

Now she\u2019s unveiled her latest venture to the world, an app using artificial intelligence to help blind and vision impaired people see and navigate their surroundings safely<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Aipoly employs a machine learning algorithm to near-instantaneously identify an object when a smartphone is held over it, which then reads aloud what it is.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The startup emerged from a piece of homework handed out at Singular University, where Cheng was the only Australian in a cohort of 80.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Having a social conscious just makes good business sense as well, Cheng says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf your startup is doing something that has a really good social cause then even if you fail, you don\u2019t really fail,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cEven if you just advance knowledge in that field, or if you create something that helps hundreds of people instead of thousands of people, thousands of people instead of millions of people, at least you made that impact. If you create something that doesn\u2019t help people and you fail, you also failed to help people along the way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you do something that has a social good and you do really well through it then everyone wins. But if you fail or run out of money at least on the way you still changed people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lessons learnt<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Despite spending significant time in Silicon Valley, Cheng is still based in Melbourne and says she is heartened by the recent movement in the country around entrepreneurship and innovation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s great we have a PM who owned a successful company, great that the chief scientist of Australia started a startup and that the head of the CSIRO also worked for startups,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf we have the leaders of our country and institutions knowing that innovation leads to great success stories and great success for our economy then it\u2019s pretty exciting to see what policies they\u2019ll create for our country moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In typically modest fashion, Cheng says the biggest lesson she\u2019s learnt across her various ventures is the importance of finding complementary partners to work with.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to know what you\u2019re capable of and what you\u2019re not capable of, and then partner with people who are capable in that to achieve your goals,\u201d Cheng says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTo create something really great you need to work with people that have skills complementary to your own to bring it to the world. It really does take all these cogs working together to make a fantastic product.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Despite already having three success and rapidly growing companies under her belt, there\u2019s still a distinct feeling that Cheng is just getting started on her entrepreneurial journey.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBetween 2Mar and Aipoly it\u2019s a big year coming, but I\u2019m really looking forward to it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m really looking forward to all the things I can do after this year when I know even more about the world and know even more about bringing cool things to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and SoundCloud.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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