SydDT #117/Melbourne Design Thinking #1: Failing Forward in Design

RSVPs ARE OPEN ON THE MELBOURNE DESIGN THINKING MEETUP PAGE. GET YOUR TICKET HERE!

We’re excited to be launching Melbourne Design Thinking (MelbDT).

We’re collaborating with Mickey Rummery and Rach Zhang – who are Melbourne locals – to help convene and launch MelbDT.

Come help shape the future of the Melbourne Design Thinking community. 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.

Join us for a fun night of conversation with interesting people in and around the Melbourne design community… and be part of our inaugural MelbDT.

WHAT TO EXPECT
We’ve got a great panel of leaders from startups, scaleups, and large orgs to share something you won’t find on their Linkedin: their Failure Résumés.

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

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 a market 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.

FACILITATORS & SPEAKERS
Mickey Rummery
Founder of RUMR & Conference Director of The Outlook
Awesome bio coming soon…

Rach Zhang
UX Lead at RACV & Founder of Ro&Co Studio
Awesome bio coming soon…

Mark Woodland
Founder of Xplor & Kismet Health
Mark 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
Head of Product at Bupa & YouTube Creator
Teresa 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
Design & Innovation Director/Founder of Dynamic4 & Co-founder of Sydney Design Thinking
Ben’s 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.

What’s Melbourne Design Thinking (MelbDT) all about?
MelbDT is the newest member of the Australia Design Thinking collective, joining Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Byron.

MelbDT is convened by Melbourne locals Mickey Rummery and Rach Zhang. It’s about helping bring together a connected community and ecosystem of people from a diverse range of design and business practices, industries, contexts, and roles… to learn, share, and get exposed to what’s possible.

This is for everyone who’s keen to take a human-centred design and living systems approach to innovation and solving complex problems – to help create great outcomes for people, our planet, and business.
I’m lucky to be collaborating with Mickey and Rach to share a bit of what we’ve learnt convening Sydney Design Thinking (SydDT) over the past 10 years.

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

We take photos and record our events for documentation and promo purposes. Just let us know if you prefer not to be featured.