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My Story

G'day! I'm Benjemen Elengovan. My journey to becoming a start-up founder has been an incredible ride, full of ups and downs, and I'm stoked to share it with you.

I grew up in India in a lower-middle-class family. Financial struggles were a constant reality. My parents worked hard to ensure I got a good education, which opened doors to me globally.

At a young age, I was very entrepreneurial, mainly driven by the need to earn extra money to support myself and my family. I started working on side gigs at the age of 14.

My first gig was writing class notes for my friends, which earned me my first $$. Throughout my teen years, I worked 19 odd side jobs, learning about the world from different perspectives.

Here is the list of odd jobs 👇:

Magician | Professional Master of Ceremony | Radio Jockey | Tutor | Script writer| Music Composer | Building Science Projects | Professional Waiter | Barrister | Dumbbing Artist | Subtitle writer | Website Developer | Bartender | Actor | Freelancer Writer | IKEA Furniture Assembler | Food Delivery Driver | Course Creator & Trainer | School book Author

I am always driven to solve problems that bring change and improve people, businesses and places.

As a trained engineer and experienced management consultant, I have worked with numerous organisations worldwide to build business management systems, improve business process efficiencies, and keep people safe in the workplace.

I launched my first startup, Noah Ark Consulting, an online medical tourism platform, at the age of 19. Failing to run it as a sustainable business, I lost my confidence in entrepreneurship for over six years.

Arrived in Melbourne in 2015 as an international student and migrant. In the following years, I regained my confidence and courage to build a new startup journey.

Between 2015 - 2017, I tried and failed to launch six businesses. My desire to become an entrepreneur grew stronger every time I failed.

This journey so far has led me to build:

MyGigsters - a global financial services platform for gig workers. MyGigsters uses advanced data insights to help gig workers earn more, save and access financial services such as tax accounting, retirement, insurance and more...

Megamind Creations - a new-age software development firm that has built some award-winning products

Gufy - a growth hacking agency helping startups get users

Amongst numerous startup failures, I have had few successful exits

  • Noah Ark Consulting (exited) - Acquired by a Medical Tourism Compan
  • MySafetyBot (exited): an IoT-driven software application to make workplaces smarter and safer.

I aim to build a people-first culture company that solves real problems that impact people's lives. I have some superpowers in business strategy, marketing, facilitating innovation and empowering people.

Family ❤️
I am married to an amazing woman - Ishwarya Rao (who I met when I was 19 years old and fell in love with), and I have a little princess, Anika, and a mate, Ayaan. We are a startup family with my wife, who runs a startup (Yura Foods - A healthy gluten-free alternative using millet).

Awards and Recognition

  • Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 - CBA Young Hero Awards
  • Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 - AUS Tamil - Largest Tamil Community in Australia
  • Indaily 40 under 40 South Australia
  • Emerging Industries Award
  • Merit Receipient for Best Technology Platform at iAwards SA/NT

Some crazy things I have done:
🎨 Guinness World Record attempt for 58 hours of Nonstop painting
🏰 Guinness World Record attempt for building the highest number of sandcastles under one hour
🧙🏻‍♂️ Professional Magician and has performed more than 50 shows
🎙 Built my private radio station at the age of 12

BENJEMEN ELENGOVAN: FROM GIG-WORKER TO START-UP FOUNDER

Interview with Joseph Jude on Gravitas WINS Radio

Interview on Startup Palette Show

Publications