Miss Nicole Jensen

Over the weekend I attended my second Edgeware event. It was definitely a winner and I must firstly thank Sarah Moran for sponsoring my ticket to the conference.

Unfortunately though, I was off to a bad start due to a clash with Friday evening traffic heading to Suncorp Stadium for the Broncos vs Cowboys rugby league game. Despite leaving home half an hour early I was forty-five minutes late when I stepped off the bus from the city! Cutting a long story short, I became so fearful of the time I was spending not yet at the venue among drunken football fans in the street I chose to take the safe route home again, thus missing out on the initial networking session and Map Magazine’s Carl Lindgren.

The next morning I was welcomed warmly by the darling Nat Duncan, Edgeware director Michael Doneman and various Brisbane Twitter friends. I filled out a brief profile on myself and stuck it to the physical network of string and people on the wall of Substation 4 and immediately felt connected; even before meeting the majority of conference attendees! Later I was to learn this was part of reknowned Brisbane photographer Mark Lobo’s Six Degrees project. Can’t wait to see the outcomes!

Saturday’s speakers were:

• Adam Penberthy, Fresh Marketing
• David Conry, Youngcare
• Amanda Jackes, Woodford Folk Festival
• Morgan Daly, Urban Grind
• Samantha Jockel, Biddy Bags
• Ben Johnston, Josephmark

Sunday composed of:

• Leesa Watego, Black Lines
• Paul Natorp,  KaosPilot International
• Elliot Bledsoe, Creative Commons Australia
• Kerry Azar, New Duende

The weekend was very well-planned, very appropriate for the broad range of attendees and made excellent use of Edgeware’s kick-arse motto of Make money, have fun, change the world. I was inspired, validated and motivated (even to the point that I wanted to leave abruptly in order to act upon plans!). It was a very comfortable environment, which is sometimes difficult to achieve at conferences. Not that Edgeware has ever had such a problem at all!

To finish up, I acknowledge the lovely Ludmilla Doneman and her volunteers for the fantastic catering, and I’d like to share a collection of my favourite quotes from the weekend. Such gems!

• “Are you in it for the idea or are you in it for business?” – Samantha Jockel
• “Be honest with what you don’t know. Start with what you do know.” – Leesa Watego
• “Only when you love good coffee can you make good coffee.” – London advertising slogan, via Paul Natorp’s presentation
• “Don’t ask for help; ask for advice.” – Amanda Jackes
• “Know who you are so that you know what you need.” – Samantha Jockel
• “If you don’t fit your imagined entrepreneur then you must re-imagine what you want your lived entrepreneur to be.” – Leesa Watego
• “Sometimes it’s easier to seek forgiveness later on than it is to seek permission.” – Amanda Jackes
• “Whatever criticism you receive, turn it into a greater asset.” – Paul Natorp