At just 23 years old, Matthew Childs can claim what most his age cannot: he is the CEO and founder of his own successful business.
That business, WineStash – which sells a range of wine storage products – is forecast to turn over about $3 million this year.
"It's just been crazy. It's growing so quickly. By this time next year I physically won't be able to do all the work myself," says Childs.
He is part of a growing group of young Australians who are starting their own businesses; a recent study indicated 84 per cent of people under 35 are open to exploring the possibility of running their own business.
Childs, who is studying a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and Business at UTS, participated in the university's new initiative, the Hatchery, a hands-on practical program that teaches students how to develop innovative ideas and solve problems. The program, which has two intakes a year of 70 students, began in 2014 and has been overwhelmingly popular among participants.
"We have students who haven't even got into UTS yet asking if they can join the program," says Tida Tippapart, program leader at the Hatchery. "It just shows students are hungry to learn these skills."
Childs, who was one of the first students to complete the program, used the skills he was learning in the Hatchery to build up his WineStash business, which he had begun six months earlier. "I started out on eBay and the business just grew and grew," he says. "The idea is similar to Ikea, where the wine storage is sold in a flat pack and shipped directly to the seller."
Childs' interest in both wine and business stemmed from his grandfather, who owned a liquor store.
"He was the one who taught me what was involved in running a business. Because of him I've always had a business mindset and now I have almost a monopoly on Australia, I offer around 162 products and sell to 50 stores all around Australia."
Catherine Raffaele, lead educational designer at the Hatchery, says the program helps students adapt to a changing job market. "Jobs that we thought five years ago were immune to automation are now becoming prime candidates for digital disruption," she says. "Jobs of the future will require people to create their own work, be flexible and solve problems."
Raffaele, who is also completing her PhD on entrepreneurial learning and co-working practices, says the program is very experimental and is constantly adapting to suit student needs.
And UTS isn't the only university to pick up on this trend; Sydney's UNSW as well as Melbourne's Swinburne University of Technology and Monash University are also putting entrepreneurial skills at the forefront of their teachings.
The trend is also filtering through to primary schools, with a number of schools around Australia making use of programs like Club Kidpreneur, a not-for-profit social enterprise that teaches children aged 8-12 how to think like entrepreneurs. The company launched in late 2010, and the idea has grown ever since, with the company now catering for over 8400 kids and 489 schools all over the country.
"We're planting seeds and sparking interest so children can have access to this kind of thinking from a young age," says Gemma Alker, general manager of Club Kidpreneur. "We teach kids about problem solving, budgeting, how to use financial maths in a practical way and that businesses can be used for social good – skills that are useful no matter what industry they end up working in."
Alex McCauley, CEO at StartUp Aus, a not-for-profit organisation hoping to transform Australia's future through technology entrepreneurship, has praised the efforts of those trying to implement entrepreneurial education. "It's great that this content is being taught right throughout the schooling process," he says. "There's definitely room for this kind of teaching in the formal curriculum too; as the workforce changes, skills like problem solving and creative thinking will have the most value."
A Deloitte study found 65 per cent of the Australian economy is based on industries that are likely to be altered by the improvement of digital technologies. Industries like finance, retail, media, information and communications technology are already heavily affected but miners, construction groups and manufacturers are likely to also face incremental disruption.
Guy Abelsohn, another Hatchery graduate, has just returned from a Landing Pad program in Tel Aviv, where he was developing his own business, MyInterview, and is hoping to change the way companies recruit employees.
"MyInterview is a site that enables employers to interview candidates over video," says Abelsohn, who started the site in 2014 with co-founder Benjy Gillman. "After the candidate has been shortlisted, an employer will send them a list of questions and the candidate has 30 seconds to view the questions and two minutes to reply."
The site allows employers to speed up the recruiting process and interview potential employees from all around the world. "Recruitment is changing dramatically and it's becoming increasingly important that an employee's personality is compatible with the business," Abelsohn says. "Often you can't gauge that with just a piece of paper."
Australia is currently ranked first in the Asia-Pacific and seventh globally in the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Index, and the government says it is committed to helping foster the growth of entrepreneurs and business owners.
"We are focused on creating an environment where start-ups and established businesses can innovate, grow and deliver more jobs right across Australia," says Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Greg Hunt.
According to a PwC study, startups have the potential to contribute over $100 billion to Australia's GDP and create half a million new jobs by 2033, meaning programs like the Hatchery may become more common as universities integrate entrepreneurial content into their curriculum.
"These students are the next generation of leaders and makers so we need to teach them how to work effectively across different disciplines and industries," says Raffaele. "If you start with the building blocks you can apply them at any level, it's not enough to just have entrepreneurial skills, in order to create something of value you need to have expertise and a background in a certain area."
