✨ Launch Event – MelbDT ✨ Failure Résumé: Failing Forward in Design

Come help shape the future of the Melbourne Design Thinking community. This is more than just a meetup - it’s an open invitation to co-create a space that reflects you: your questions, your experiences, your challenges, and your hopes for the design industry. Whether you’re curious, burnt out, job hunting, leading, or just in it for the pizza - you’re so welcome here.

We’re thrilled to announce the first-ever Melbourne Design Thinking event. We're part of the Australia Design Thinking collective — with a reputation for meaningful conversations, warm connections, and zero BS - just good humans talking about the real stuff that shapes our work and lives. Plus, yes, 🍕.

Now, we’re bringing that same energy to Melbourne - and we’re kicking things off with a topic that feels timely, necessary, and deeply human: Failure.

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WHAT TO EXPECT
We’ve invited an incredible panel of leaders from startups, scale-ups, and large orgs to share something you won’t find on their LinkedIn: their Failure Résumés.

⭐️ Mark Woodland - Founder of Xplor & Kismet Health
⭐️ Teresa Huang - Head of Product at Bupa & YouTube Creator
⭐️ Ben Pecotich - Co-founder of Sydney Design Thinking & Founder of Dynamic4
⭐️ Mickey Rummery (Facilitator) - Founder of RUMR & Conference Director of The Outlook and UXCamp Naarm
⭐️ Rachel Zhang (Facilitator) - UX Lead at RACV & Founder of Ro&Co Studio

That’s right - three of their biggest flops, the tough lessons that came from them, and how those moments became unexpected springboards to growth, clarity, and success.

In an economy where roles are scarce and pressure is high, we believe it’s more important than ever to normalise failure, dismantle shame, and share the messy middle - especially for designers navigating career pivots, layoffs, burnout, or reinvention.

BIOS
Mark Woodland is a visionary Australian entrepreneur and systems reformer, driven by the belief that better-designed systems create better lives. A former Army non-commissioned officer, he brings a service-first mindset to everything he builds.

After helping his mum run her childcare centre, Mark co-founded Xplor in 2016 to cut down admin for educators. It grew into one of Australia’s fastest-growing SaaS companies, serving over 10,500 centres worldwide before becoming part of Xplor Technologies.

In 2022, he launched Kismet, an AI-driven healthcare platform simplifying access to the NDIS, aged care, and disability services. By reducing compliance burdens, Kismet helps providers focus on dignity, connection, and wellbeing.

Known for his clarity, empathy, and relentless execution, Mark builds high-performance teams and reimagines broken systems to deliver lasting, human-centred impact.

Teresa Huang is a product management leader with 10+ years’ experience across financial services, media, healthcare, aviation, and e-commerce. She specialises in product development and emerging tech, fostering innovative, empowered teams through collaborative leadership. Beyond her corporate role, Teresa runs a YouTube channel on product management, leadership, and career growth in the tech sector.

Ben Pecotich is a designer, coach, and founder of Dynamic4 – a social enterprise and B Corp focused on leadership, design, and innovation for happier communities… and making the transition to more regenerative ways of living and doing business.

He coaches and works alongside leaders to solve problems that matter by designing and building business models, products, and services that customers and teams love, make money, do great things for people and our planet, while increasing wellbeing.

For 30+ years, Ben’s led, designed, and delivered strategic change in financial services, digital & tech, health & fitness, and founded startups/social enterprises – in Australia, NZ, Asia, the UK, and Europe. He founded Dynamic4 in 2001 and takes a human-centred design and living systems approach to bring together strategy, design, and tech.

Ben Pecotich's the author of Solve Problems That Matter: Design, Build & Launch Your Social Enterprise Idea and co-founder of Sydney Design Thinking.

EVENT SPONSORS
This event is brought to you by WongDoody, RUMR, Ro&Co Studio, and Dynamic4.

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