Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Sometimes the secret sauce to start-up success isn’t the invention but the business plan. After funding-failure, Shannon had to pivot to save his business. His next move was so successful he pitched his start-up to the King of England. Giving access to clean drinking water to everyone on the planet? Just another day at the office for this founder.
On this episode of We Built This Thing, Shannon chats with host Justine Rogers about his uncertain path to becoming an award-winning founder. From his decision to swap his childhood plan of becoming a pilot to doing an engineering degree at UNSW Canberra, to the trials and tribulations of being a first-time founder, to finding out the secret sauce to start-up success isn’t the invention but the business plan.
Find inspiration in real stories from the UNSW community on the UNSW Centre for Ideas podcast, We Built This Thing. Listen now at unsw.to/wbtt
For more videos like this subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/unsw?sub_confirmation=1
We're the official channel of UNSW Sydney, a brilliantly located university between the coast and the city.
UNSW Sydney is one of Australia's leading research and teaching universities. We're a welcoming community, promoting lasting knowledge and creating an academic environment where outstanding students and scholars from around the world can be inspired to excel in their programs of study and research.
Sometimes the secret sauce to start-up success isn’t the invention but the business plan. After funding-failure, Shannon had to pivot to save his business. His next move was so successful he pitched his start-up to the King of England. Giving access to clean drinking water to everyone on the planet? Just another day at the office for this founder.
On this episode of We Built This Thing, Shannon chats with host Justine Rogers about his uncertain path to becoming an award-winning founder. From his decision to swap his childhood plan of becoming a pilot to doing an engineering degree at UNSW Canberra, to the trials and tribulations of being a first-time founder, to finding out the secret sauce to start-up success isn’t the invention but the business plan.
Find inspiration in real stories from the UNSW community on the UNSW Centre for Ideas podcast, We Built This Thing. Listen now at unsw.to/wbtt
For more videos like this subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/unsw?sub_confirmation=1
We're the official channel of UNSW Sydney, a brilliantly located university between the coast and the city.
UNSW Sydney is one of Australia's leading research and teaching universities. We're a welcoming community, promoting lasting knowledge and creating an academic environment where outstanding students and scholars from around the world can be inspired to excel in their programs of study and research.
