Junie's tech journey

In this week's member spotlight, we spoke to?Junie Baptiste-Poitevien?founder of?Propel Innovations?a company that is propelling your business and its customer journey for success with website, app or product design.

What's a lesson from your experience you can share with upcoming Techies?

Know your Ikigai, explore other areas that have nothing to do with your skills, hang out with people who are different from you, reach new limits by constantly getting out of your comfort zone and exercise the art of connecting links with all these experiences you interact with.?You’ll be amazed by how much perspective you gain!?

What tech area are you passionate about and why?

I’m passionate about the area of advanced tech and representation in tech.?

I find advanced tech intriguing because it’s technically challenging. I’m not a technical person and I’m curious about how to apply these advanced techs in various industries, like blockchain in music. Yet, I see it too often that the technical becomes impersonal. I’m constantly curious to imagine how you can design these advanced technologies with some human touch - and representation, of course!?

When I explored the world of tech, before starting my business, I asked myself: “where are the Black Bill Gates?”. As I delved deeper into the tech area, I discovered some not-so-astonishing facts. I’ll never forget my reaction when I read that an AI has a 35% error rate in recognising people like Serena Williams, Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, because of their dark skin. Are you astonished? I wasn’t. So, being constantly curious, I started exploring an idea and entered an accelerator program.?

Meanwhile, I’m running my business, Propel Innovations, to deliver UX projects and create a better representation of people in the design and development of technology.?

What has been your career path so far??

When I was living in Canada, I was working for a bank for 5 years and became one of the top 50 employees in Canada. I had reached a nice level of my comfort zone. But, was this it? Would I continue needing to prove to everyone else that I deserved to rise up the échelons of banking? I felt that I could live a much more meaningful life after completing a Bachelor’s in Community, Policy and Public Affairs at Concordia University in Montréal (my home city) and working at a bank.?

I always dreamed of living abroad. I was good at languages (still am with 5 tongue twisters!). So, I researched what I can do to financially support my dream of living abroad: teaching English, to people whose first language isn’t English. Perfect! Now, where shall I go? México, I chose!?

I got certified with Cambridge University’s CELTA, I did a stint in México and China teaching adults and teenagers. After two years, I felt like I had, again, reached my limits. I was damn good as a teacher but I felt teaching was repetitive and I didn’t like repetition. I decided I would go back to studying. I chose to study for my Master’s in International Relations in Spanish in Spain, so I can go back to Latin America. I had finished my teaching contract in China and had 7 months before applying for a University in Spain. What do you do during those 7 months? Throughout my journey abroad, I encountered people who had either visited or lived in Australia or were Australian. I thought to myself: “what is the hype with this country?”. My curious self made the leap down under, landed in Perth in 2014 and never applied to study in Spain.

I had noticed that the world of tech and startups, in Australia, was in its infancy compared to Canada or the USA. Since 2014, it had been a long journey of jumping visa hoops and getting by. I worked in Hospitality, Events and Not-for-Profits in Perth. I completed a Master’s in Public Policy and Management at Murdoch University, in Perth. In 2018, I moved to the Northern Territory for migration purposes and I was exposed to working in Aboriginal Health. I had a very eye-opening and realistic experience working in this area. I witnessed immense racism and I had to learn to survive. I had a goal and I had to stay focused. I had a good support system (with my family in Canada) and a handful of close friends in Australia. In 2020, the pandemic hit, the world realized that technology was here to stay and I took the plunge into that window of opportunity and started my business in tech.?

You see, over the course of life and professional experiences, I’ve learned and accepted that a career path is unrealistic. Your environments push you to hone in to your skills or drive you to learn new skills. I knew what I was really good at and what I couldn’t stand doing. I also knew what my goal was and what I can do to get paid for it. In other words, I knew my Ikigai.?

I didn’t have time to fall into the trap of studying something again and returning to a revolving door of having to prove what I’m capable of. So, I took the bull by its horns with all my transversal skills and put it to work. I know who I am, what I want and why I want it. Those are the only paths that matter!