Why we built this

Early in my career, I was fortunate to meet people who helped me make some of the most important decisions of my life. These individuals were more than just advisors. They became mentors who guided me through uncertainty, shared their experiences openly, and helped me see opportunities I would not have recognised on my own.

Access to the right mentorship can completely change someone's trajectory.

The problem is that not everyone has access to those conversations, networks, or experienced professionals who can guide them at the right time. Many students and young professionals are left making critical education and career decisions without clarity, industry insight, or personalised guidance.

That realisation is what led me to start GradNextSteps. The vision is simple: to make meaningful mentorship, career guidance, and real-world expertise accessible to everyone, especially in specialised and competitive fields where the right advice can make all the difference. Because one conversation, one mentor, or one piece of guidance at the right moment can change a life.

Growing up, I wanted to be a dentist. Not because I had done deep research or spent time exploring the field, simply because my dad mentioned it during a dentist visit one day and it stayed with me.

When that path did not work out, I made a different decision. The principal called with a seat available in Chemical Engineering. I said yes. Just like that, a three second call that set the direction of my career. And honestly? It all fell into place. I fit right in, discovered a genuine passion for the subject, and ended up being one of the top students in my college.

How many more strengths were sitting there, waiting to be uncovered, simply because no one ever helped me look?

My career took me into new technology development in chemicals, work I found genuinely fulfilling. Then somewhere along the way I moved into marketing within the same field. I realised I had a natural ability for it, a strength I never knew existed in me. Nobody had ever pointed it out, I had never explored it, and I certainly had never planned for it. It just emerged.

If I could go back, I would go in with all the information. I would have someone to talk to, an advisor, a mentor, a guide, who could help me understand my strengths, explore my options, and make decisions with clarity and confidence instead of just hoping things fall into place. That is exactly what I did not have. And that is exactly what I want to give every student through GradNextSteps.

Growing up, there was no structured process for making career decisions. Like many students, I made important choices based on the information available at the time, without fully understanding where those decisions might lead.

Over the past 25 years, my career has spanned cybersecurity, technology infrastructure, cloud transformation, and leadership roles within highly regulated organizations. Along the way, I learned that success is rarely about having perfect information. It is about making informed decisions amid uncertainty.

What fascinated me most was not the technology itself, but the decisions behind it.

In cybersecurity, technology strategy, and now AI and Agentic AI systems, every decision involves balancing risk, opportunity, cost, and long-term outcomes.

Looking back, I realised students face a very similar challenge. They are expected to make life-changing decisions about countries, universities, courses, and careers, often without the guidance or structured thinking needed to evaluate those choices properly.

That belief led me to co-found GradNextSteps. Our mission is simple: help students avoid costly wrong decisions and make education and career choices with greater clarity, confidence, and long-term perspective.