Meet Your Co-Hatchers
We are serial entrepreneurs with proven track-records and decades of combined experience in starting, growing and advising startups and brands across diverse industries and geographies.
Founding Team
Nirojan J. Yamunarajan
Co-Founder & Director
Niro is a Co-Founder and the Chief Creative Officer at Culture Shock studios - an original content and intellectual property development studio that works closely with major celebrity talent to develop and commercialise new entertainment-based business ventures.
With over a decade of experience as an entrepreneur and business strategist, Niro’s distinct approach to creating and augmenting commercial + brand equity value lies at the intersection of technology, creativity and culture. He has led digital innovation, brand and product strategy + design, and intellectual property development projects for blue-chip companies, startups and public figures across diverse industries and international markets including Australia, U.S., LatAm, South East Asia, India, and Dubai.
Niro has also co-founded and successfully exited multiple tech startups, including an entertainment media and publishing technology company (acquired by a NASDAQ-listed business in 2014); and an enterprise SaaS technology company (IPO’d on the ASX in 2018). He has collaborated with and produced work for premium brands, including Red Bull, Corona Extra, Canon, Intel, Disney, KPMG, Mike Tyson, and others.
Brandon Tuo
Co-Founder & Director
A multidisciplinary technology specialist, Brandon drives business outcomes and revenue generation by helping startups and brands build new ventures in ERP, CRM, big data applications, robotics process automation, artificial Intelligence, data warehousing, and blockchain & decentralised finance.
He possesses deep mathematical and data science knowledge, with Bachelors and Masters degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics. He has over 10 years experience in technology advisory and implementation and software development, and now helps founders achieve rapid growth through continuous product and operational improvement.
Brandon’s experience has exposed him to several industry verticals including: supply chain (Specsavers), professional services (KPMG, Deloitte), banking (ANZ), telecommunications (Telstra, NBN), manufacturing, retail, and healthcare. He is proficient in programming languages: C, C++, C#, Haskell, Java, Perl, Prolog, Python, Scala, Shell Scripting, SQL, T-SQL
Tim Young
Co-Founder & Director
Tim is the Director of Golden Path Capital - a boutique capital advisory firm which has managed over $4.5Bn in deal flow through joint ventures. Tim works closely with ultra high-net-worth individuals, family offices, private equity firms, institutions, hedge funds, investment banks, and conglomerates seeking to invest in special often unattainable deals across a range of elite performing asset classes.
As a highly-experienced business growth strategist, Tim has strong relationships with a vast network of equity investors and has an in-depth understanding of what they look for when they invest in a company. He is personally responsible for closing $50M in contracts during Q1, 2021.
Tim works with clients to develop strategies and plans to optimise their businesses by identifying and focusing on the core commercial imperatives that will enhance brand and business value, while amplifying opportunities for scale, strategic partnerships, and capital-raising. Tim is also the Director of Investor Relations at Leo Sports Management - A Global Sports Assets & Talent Management Ecosystem.
Sean Andrews
Co-Founder & Director
Experienced entrepreneur and leader in rapidly launching hardware and marketplace products from ideation through to sale. Sean has partnered with the world’s largest brands to conceptualise their visions, and bring their products to life and into consumers’ hands - including Amazon, 7Eleven, Harry Potter, NBA, Marvel, Warner Bros., and more.
Having designed, developed and sold products to over 5800 major retailers across 14 countries ranging from Harvey Norman through to Disney; he is adept at executing on every aspect of product development. This includes licensing, fundraising and factory sourcing, through to warehouse setup, distribution and sales. In 2016, Sean developed the first connected product for Disney, the Plox Star Wars Death Star, raising USD$1.7M for the venture.
Sean also co-founded the San Francisco-based hotel startup ‘ROOM’ with the CEO of Super 8 China, raising USD$1.2M. He developed ‘ROOM’ from 0 to 40 ROOMs within California and towards an acquisition by B&B Hotels (a Goldman Sachs Company).
We have deep business expertise that we draw on to help founders develop scalable solutions and establish clear market fit with growth acceleration strategies that maximise capital efficiency.
Hatch[This] Startup Advisory Team
Our multidisciplinary advisory team at Hatch[This] consists of an extensive breadth and depth of experts by both function and capability who are ready to engage with you as mentors, consultants, board members, and interim execs for your startup or brand.
Technology & Product Mentors
Ryan Shields
Strategy & Technology
With over 20 years experience in technology and business growth roles, Ryan adds tremendous value across meaningful strategy planning, project execution and technology integration for startups and SMEs so that they can focus on doing what they do best.
With vast experience in ICT engineering, project management, and business development, Ryan has deployed his skills in the startup space across the UK, Europe, USA, Asia and Australia - building a body of work around concept to launch ventures. Helping businesses understand and leverage technology to improve their organisations is at the core of his humanistic approach to leadership and business strategy.
Ryan also works on multiple social impact projects wearing various hats between mentoring, education and community engagement. Working with giants like Google, Twitter and Atos Origin has given him insight into complex problem solving and outcomes-based solutions that work for startups through to SMEs.
Josh Davey
Design & Customer Experience
Initially trained in visual design, user experience, brand identity, and marketing, Josh shifted to customer experience as Partner & Director of behavioural design consultancy, Neo. At Neo, he led initiatives with startups, non-profits, and enterprise organisations, globally, through the strategic and detailed design and communication of their products, services, and systems.
Josh’s work is novel, grounded in a deep understanding of human behaviour and what it takes to successfully create, launch and commercialise emerging technology. He has partnered with and led projects for leading brands including: Spaceship, Moneysoft, Tourism Australia, Etihad, Telstra, Qantas, Woolworths, Safaricom, NAB, Australia Post, The Heart Foundation, Australian National University, and The Digital Transformation Agency.
He also co-founded the design and CX capability-building company, 'Train', which was delivered to organisations such as IAG, Contiki, Australian Unity, Lendlease, Red Cross Blood Service, and the City University of New York.
Privacy & Security Mentor
Karissa Breen
Privacy & Cyber Security
Karissa Breen, or KB as she's better known, is a serial entrepreneur focused on the technology, cyber security, and media/communications sectors. KB holds numerous board positions, is the VP of Communications for a global media company, and leads multiple ventures focused on the security industry. In 2017, she founded KBI to help tech startups and global enterprises better frame and develop their engagement strategies.
Having worked on the front-lines of both executive communications and cybersecurity, KB saw fundamental issues with the way in which cybersecurity was trying to engage with people both inside the industry, but more importantly, to external audiences.
Whether through innovative marketing strategies, internal communications, or new-media production, KB has established herself as an influential force in improving the way tech companies protect their customers privacy, mitigate security risks, and communicate these efforts to stakeholders and customers, alike.
Brand & Marketing Mentors
Jason Turnbull
Brand & Innovation
An experienced entrepreneur and consultant, Jason has developed a unique framework to treat and strategically manage brands as though they are financial assets. Having trained in graphic design, multimedia, and corporate finance, he bridges the gap between the creative and commercial worlds of business.
Applying a portfolio management approach, Jason helps entrepreneurs, enterprises, non-profits, philanthropists, and investors understand how to structure the architecture of their brands, leverage and acquire strategic assets, reduce risk, and optimise the value of their brand portfolio to drive financial value.
In 2020, Jason helped successfully launch Vigilant AI, a leading AI financial analysis company in Asia and North America; Small Business Investors, a global investment network acquiring and partnering with small businesses; and Skoolcraft, an award-winning Australian edutech company. He also holds numerous brand advisor roles to ultra-high-net-worth investors, wealth advisors, and family offices in Australia, LATAM, Asia, and North America.
Finance & Capital Raising Mentors
Jules V.B. Pedersen
M&A & Investments
Jules is the President & Executive Chairman of Yolo Entertainment, USA – a TMT investment group capitalizing on shifting audiences leveraging traditional media assets and delivering specialised high-end global campaigns across the commercial, entertainment, political & philanthropic divides. He has produced continuous growth, via both complex GTM structures and M&A, throughout the Americas and Asia Pacific since 2008.
Jules is also Executive Director of Seven Seas Group, providing UHNWI clients with a wide range of competitive and unique off-market advantages, capitalising on opportunities often deemed 'unfeasible' by competitors - originating, facilitating, and executing joint-venture transactions on investments in deals across a range of elite performing asset classes.
Jules’ philanthropic initiatives boasts an impressive track record of giving to, successfully promoting & raising funds for many big-name charities worldwide.
We’ve had egg on our faces many times before.
Having hatched a few successful chickens and broken many eggs between us over the years, we’ve learned a thing or two about how to think and go about starting a new venture.
Believe it or not, our failures have been where the most valuable learnings have been, and these first-hand experiences of what not to do, have enabled us to turn those insights into teachable lessons that will help you avoid making the same costly mistakes that we have.
Contrary to popular belief, entrepreneurship isn’t sexy. It’s a long-term commitment that embodies the notion of “no pain, no gain.” Perseverance is a key differentiating factor between those who are successful and those who are not.
Pro Tip: Keep going. Even when you have egg on your face. It helps build character.
Our Values
We stick to these no matter what. They drive our investment decisions and the way we think about business and life.
Pursuit
The essence of entrepreneurship is pursuit. Not just pursuit, but the power to pursue. It’s the power to pursue something that the world is missing that only you can give it. Something so valuable, that if you don’t push past all barriers to bring it to life, the world will fail to progress to its greatest potential. Commitment to a purposeful pursuit is where personal fulfilment is found.
Truth
The truth moves you towards your goals. Even when it’s difficult to swallow. Do your beliefs hold true under scrutiny? Have you validated your assumptions? Are you being truthful? In business, the quickest and most direct route to the truth will be the fastest way for you to accelerate towards building a successful company that delivers true value to it’s customers.
Creativity
Creativity is intelligence having fun. And that’s what life should be about - having fun while creating something that delights the hearts and minds of your customers. It takes a lot of hard work and outside the box thinking to make a difference; to truly understand the underlying challenges and come up with creative solutions that scale. Like Albert Einstein said, “You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created.” Word.
Impact
Without impact, there’s no change. Impact on the lives of your friends, loved ones or colleagues. Impact that makes the grind worthwhile. Impact that’s meaningful and lasts. If you’re working on something that doesn’t have the potential to catalyse change and improve people’s lives, then your [This] isn’t worth hatching. Pursue something greater and become a force to be reckoned with.