A Journey of Entrepreneurship, Neuroscience, and Empowerment 🧠 🔑
Words by Victoria-Rose Tucker Program Manager (New Wave)
Dr Hayley North, Founder of Understand Your Brain (UYB), is a graduate of the UNSW School of Medicine and Neuroscience Research Australia and has dedicated her career to improving people's lives through the application of neuroscience research. With her company, UYB, she offers keynote seminars and interactive workshops for organizations, covering topics such as mindfulness, stress management, and more. Through her passion for neuroscience and her commitment to making its insights accessible to everyone, Dr. North is helping to make a positive difference in the world.
As Hayley embarked on her entrepreneurial journey and launched her startup, UYB, she sought to grow herself and her business and have a greater impact. This led her to UNSW Founders and their Coach & Connect service, a free coaching program for all UNSW affiliates.
Due to a shared interest in brain science and helping people through transformative change, Coach & Connect Manager Phil Doran introduced Hayley to the New Wave Program Manager Victoria-Rose Tucker. They held weekly one-on-one coaching sessions, working through the challenges facing UYB and setting goals to drive the business forward. Eventually, the opportunity presented itself in the form of the New Wave Women Founders program (Cohort 10, 2022), and Hayley knew it was the perfect next step for her and UYB.
The New Wave program provided Hayley with the ideal setting and guidance to validate her ideas, think creatively, develop essential entrepreneurial skills like pitching and networking, and connect with other ambitious women entrepreneurs. As a result of her participation, UYB was selected to pitch as one of the top 10 teams at the live Showcase event and was awarded the UNSW Dean of Science Prize, as well as $2,500 in seed funding.
Through her experiences in the program, Hayley grew more confident in her abilities and increased her networking skills. These skills have led to new opportunities for UYB to deliver workshops for various university departments, government agencies and corporations since completing the program.
“The new wave program has reframed my thinking about business and the consumer and taught me to challenge and test all assumptions, just like we do as scientists. This type of thinking ensured that I could develop a service that consumers truely need and will benefit from” – Dr Hayley North.
If you're interested in empowering your employees with a deeper understanding of the brain and strategies to enhance their mental health, wellbeing, and productivity, you can reach out to Hayley here.
Ready to launch or grow your startup? Apply for the New Wave program here. The deadline for March-April program applications is February 26th.
Victoria-Rose Tucker Program Manager (New Wave)