Live from West Tech Fest - the biggest startup and innovation focused festival in Western Australia.

Head of Venture Studio at BetterLabs, Isabelle Charter is committed to helping startups grow faster, smarter, and bolder — and shaking up what a venture studio can be. Isabelle has spent nearly 20 years in startups, during which she’s started, scaled, sold, pivoted, and killed ventures. Most recently, Isabelle built and sold Drip - Australia’s first investing app for under-18s.

In this episode, Isabelle joins the raft to talk about her many startup journeys, micro-investing, and the importance of financial literacy.

Isabelle is also a Board Member at Meridian Global Foundation, an organisation that aims to change the way Australians think about giving. She'd love for you to check out how you can become an everyday philanthropist, and if you have children (or know someone who does) don't forget to download Drip on your app store!

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Caitlin is a proud Goan woman and strategic leader with 10+ years driving multi-sector reforms across government, civil society, and global organisations. Recognised by Forbes, the Obama White House, and as 2024 ACT Young Australian of the Year, Caitlin has a record of delivering transformative programs that advance social impact, equity, and human rights.

In this episode, Caitlin shares her experience running Girls Takeover Parliament, her thoughts about traditional and non-traditional political media, and her aspirations to become Australia's first intergenerational commissioner.

Caitlin's ask for you rafters is to inform yourself about (and join, if you can) the National Women's Alliances which play a key role in ensuring women’s voices are central in the policy development process. Or, if you work with or for an organisation with a wicked problem that needs solving, you can hire Caitlin to help!

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DiRtY sExY FuNNy.

Lucy Lovegun is a multi-award-winning, internationally acclaimed force in the Australian burlesque scene. Known for her bold, comedic style, she’s performed around the world and competed twice at the prestigious Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas—taking home the title of Most Comedic. A passionate teacher, mentor, and community leader, Lucy is a titan of tease and headlining erotic clown.

In this episode, Lucy joins the raft to talk about the art of tease, beautiful journeys, finding a space where you belong, and dance trauma.

If you would like to support Lucy, you can follow her on Instagram @lucy_lovegun - or do yourself (and your local arts scene) a favour and go check out some of your own local burlesque performers. If you're based in Perth, Western Australia (like Lucy and the raft) you can check out Perth Burlesque Shows for what's on!

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Madison Heady is a vibrant young woman navigating her way through life and living with a disability. Madison was born with Cerebral Palsy and spent many years learning to walk and talk. After a devastating accident, she needed to learn how to walk all over again in 2020. She describes her greatest achievement being when she created her own public speaking and advocacy business. Her inspiration began as a high school student when she noticed a divide between her and her peers.

In this special episode we are joined by both Madison and her mum to discuss navigating disability, true inclusion, and Madison's sporting career (including her silver medal win at the 2020/2021 National Athletics Championships).

You can hear more of her story, and support her advocacy efforts by checking out www.madisonheady.com. Madison's dream is now that she has her voice, she wants others to see THEY CAN TOO, just by starting a conversation.

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Narelle Henry is a Noongar woman, educator, former athlete and coach, and General Manager of Ember Connect - a platform connecting and elevating First Nations women.

For over two decades, Narelle has been focused on creating opportunities and building confidence for women and young people, and helping them see what’s possible, whether in classrooms, on courts, or in community spaces.

You can support Narelle's mission by checking out the Ember Connect Wildfire Series podcast, or sign up to the Ember Connect Live platform here.

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Lucy Peach is devoted to raising cuntciousness using science, story, and songs.

She believes that embodying our cyclical nature is key to a thriving world.

With roots as a human biology teacher and sexual health educator, Lucy is also an award-winning performer, TEDx speaker, the author of bestselling book Period Queen and the creator of theatre show My Greatest Period Ever. Working with everyone from elite athletes to teenage girls, she has helped thousands fall in love with their cycles.

If you are an advocate for increased awareness of the menstrual cycle as a positive tool for power, pride, and self-care and would like to engage Lucy to educate and entertain your community, check out her website at lucypeach.com, or you can grab her bestselling book Period Queen here.

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Naarah is an Aboriginal Australian actor and Royal Academy of Music graduate. Named 2024 NAIDOC Aboriginal Creative Talent and Tasmanian Young Australian of the Year, she works across theatre, songwriting, TV, and public speaking. Highlights of Naarah's career so far include Amazon’s Deadloch (which the Raft are obsessed with!), The Sunshine Club (QLD Theatre), and Our Country’s Good (Lyric Hammersmith).

In this episode, Naarah joins us to talk about resilience in the arts, being an Indigenous woman taking on the theatre in the UK, and how to deal with 'No' until you get the 'Yes'.

If you would like to support Naarah and help her get her next YES, help her raise her visibility by getting to ten thousand followers on Instagram or Tiktok! 👀

We would also love to see you show some love for indigenous designers. Here’s some we talked about on the show:

https://kirrikin.com/

https://www.clothingthegaps.com.au/

https://www.gamminthreads.com/

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Dr Kat "Astrokat" Ross is an astrophysics post doctoral researcher who studies teenage black holes using radio telescopes.

Dr Kat is also the leader of the national #IncludeHer movement, which aims to correct high school courses to include a more diverse representation of scientists.

A proud bisexual and agender person, Dr Astrokat was diagnosed as an adult with ADHD. She is looking to help create safe spaces and welcoming environments for other LGBTQIA+ and neurodiverse individuals in STEM.

If you would like to support Dr Astrokat's mission to bring more representation to the world of STEM, you can start by following @includeher on Bluesky or @includeher_stem on Instagram. Or, if you are eager to volunteer (or help fund) the movement, you can reach out to Dr Kat directly on Instagram, Tiktok or email.

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