Go West, this is what we’re gonna do, Go West!

Perth! Booming Perth. We’re heading there too and I’m pleased to welcome Justin Strharsky as our city curator. Justin is active within the WA startup space and is the managing director at Synaptor – a platform where you can manage health, safety, and environmental risk in real time. You can follow him on Twitter here or connect with him on LinkedIn.

Justin will be sharing the best events, meetups, community news, jobs and more in each fortnight’s fetch. You can submit items to him via email here, via @thefetchper, FB and don’t forget to subscribe on http://thefetch.com so we’ll arrive straight to your box. Our first navy/purple-themed fetch (cough West Coast Eagles FC) will be sent shortly. As part of Justin’s welcome, we put a few questions to him:

Justin Strharsky

How did you end up where you are today?

I flew South from Russia. I spent three and a half years on Sakhalin island working with an Australian consultancy. We helped to manage health, safety, and environmental risks on what was at the time the world’s largest integrated oil and gas development project. When that project transitioned from construction to operations, and the GFC hit, I closed our Russian office and relocated to Perth.

In 2011 a client asked us to build yet another mind-numbingly boring and inadequate paper-based safety tool. We decided that we had had enough and could do better. We launched Synaptor in order to free workers from the tedium of safety paperwork and to enable companies to manage risk in real time.

Before moving to Russia, I had a few other ‘character-building’ experiences. I helped manage a family medicine clinic in Alaska, owned a cafe-bar in Prague, and worked for several years in Silicon Valley, primarily for Sun Microsystems.

What makes you tick? What makes you ick?

Most days it seems that coffee makes me tick. One cup too many and it also makes me ick. I get excited by big ideas, big plans. I dislike talking to people when they’re not really present. Hello, are you in there?

Why do you love ‘fetchin?

I’m convinced that culture – the ideas, attitudes, and habits of those around you – affects what you believe is possible. I want to contribute to a local culture that encourages people to believe that they can make good things happen.

What things excite you about our community right now?

I think it’s a fantastic time to be an entrepreneur in Australia. There are so many big, exciting problems to get after, and so many resources at our disposal. The community is relatively small and approachable, and while we are learning from the way things are done elsewhere, there is an invigorating freedom to make our our own way.

What’s your favourite thing about your city?

I think Perth is wonderful – don’t tell anyone, okay? I’ve found Goldilocks’ bowl of porridge here – it’s just right.

Today my favorite thing is the first rain of the season.

Where can we find you in Perth?

Hopefully I’m in King’s Park, enjoying a famous sunset. If I’m not there, check my desk.

How can we connect with you?

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JustinStrharsky
https://twitter.com/thefetchper

Email:
justin@synaptor.com.au
justin@thefetch.com

Come out to one of the entrepreneur meetups.