The Journey
From Information Systemsto independent builder
Six phases, one direction. Each stage added a capability the next one needed — and the whole thing was paid for along the way.
- 01Information Systems
- 02UX & Product Thinking
- 03Enterprise Digital Transformation
- 04Business Analysis
- 05AI Product Development
- 06Independent SaaS Builder
Primary timeline
In the order it happened. The capability arc above is the shape of it; this is the record.
- Bachelor of Commerce, Information SystemsVictoria University of WellingtonThe foundation: how organisations actually use technology, and why most system failures are really organisational failures. Club president of the Asian English Speaking Club and marketing staff at AIESEC alongside the degree.
- Exchange semester, ArtsAkita International University, JapanA semester abroad, tutoring Chinese and English alongside study. Working across three languages with students is where the habit of checking that both sides mean the same thing by a word started.
- Master of Information SystemsUniversity of MelbourneDeepened the systems side and added the analytical toolkit — data modelling, process analysis and the structured methods that underpin business analysis.
- Business Analysis certificationLaiOfferBusiness analysis with Python and machine learning — taken alongside the master's, and the first formal step toward the analyst side of the work.
- Assistant Consultant →Global technology consultancy · ShanghaiEnterprise transformation at scale, inside a consultancy that does it for a living. This is where the enterprise logistics SaaS delivery sat — stakeholder facilitation, prototyping, specification, testing and handover.
- Digital Product Designer InternSketchliA design agency doing UI/UX and software delivery. Conceptualising, prototyping, user testing and design implementation — the craft layer underneath everything since.
- Freelance UI/UX Designer →Self-employedClient work designing web and mobile applications, including the ticketing app, the landing-page system and the usability evaluation published here.
- Digital Product Designer →Syaila Pty LtdFull-time product work with consultants and clients: gathering project insight, prototyping in Figma, presenting to clients, and analysing requirements for new modules delivered into an existing platform.
- Online shop owner →DriftDecoStudio · EtsyAn independent e-commerce business, self-funded and self-run. Product listings, pricing, fulfilment and customer service — commercial reality rather than a case study.
- Independent AI SaaS builder →Self-employed · Melbourne, remoteBuilding AI-powered SaaS products that help organisations streamline workflows and accelerate digital transformation — working the full lifecycle from business analysis and solution design through to delivery.
The thread that funded it
Alongside study and professional work, I kept working part-time in warehouse and forklift operations. It is not the start of the career — it is what paid for the rest of it.
- 01Part-time warehouse & forklift workShifts around study and full-time roles. Physical, scheduled, unglamorous, and completely reliable as income.
- 02Financial independenceNo money from a full-time salary went into the experiments, and no outside investment was ever involved. The warehouse income was the budget.
- 03Continuous learningThat budget bought certifications, software subscriptions, AI API credits, cloud hosting and domains — the unglamorous line items that make self-teaching possible.
- 04Independent product developmentAnd then prototypes, an e-commerce business, and production SaaS. Earn, invest, build, launch, learn, improve.
Every independent product on this site was funded this way. No venture funding, no investment, no commercial backing.
