Nick Willis

When I was old enough to understand my Dad (now sadly departed) sat me down and said "there are two chairs in life, each with a label on the back, one says I wish I had, and the other says I'm glad I did, which one do you want to sit in?"

Since that day I made a promise to myself not to die wondering. This philosophy has taken me all over the world from Dog Sledding on the edge of the North Pole in -38oC, to Skydiving over "Isengard" in New Zealand, as well as dragging myself around the Brecon Beacons (where the SAS train) with my Adventure Racing Team Mates.

My close friends call me "110% Nick". Yes, I am competitive, but mostly I'm competing against myself and taking pride in a job well done.

I'm currently a co-founder of Startup Business Evaluator. Our goal is to improve the success rate of small business in Australia by providing cost effective access to tools and expertise to get them off to the best start possible. We also provide a free mentoring service via our Facebook page to help out individuals and small businesses that don't have access to a network of experienced professionals. You can check out our Facebook page here.

In business I'm an avid reader and blogger on the topics of innovation and strategy, and have made a career out of challenging the "Status Quo". Over the past 20 years I've managed and delivered major changes for over 20 companies (including global names such as Shell, Motorola and Vodafone/Verizon, across most of the major industries (resources, manufacturing, retail, services, high tech, as well as government agencies and not for profits).

I co-founded my first startup business in 2002 with my good friend Jon Hill and we had a fantastic 5 years building, growing and selling our services business (Wexner). In 2007 I took a sabbatical in Canada to marry my wife Sam and spend 6 months together mountain biking and hiking in the amazing scenery that Whistler and British Columbia has to offer.

2008 bought me to Australia (Sam's an Aussie, and so I am now) where I spent 3 years helping a struggling not for profit get itself back on its feet after years of unsustainable losses.