Zoe Savic is the Queensland female founder of Cogniom. Cogniom empowers leaders and innovators to easily identify areas for improvement, quantify their impact and become ambassadors for positive change – all through analysing business data.
Cogniom’s flagship product, The TANDM Suite, helps organisations discover truths, identify value and empower teams to achieve positive business outcomes. By measuring time, cost and experiences, they’re helping to make data driven decisions the new norm in business.
We spoke to Zoe about her business and journey as a female founder.
What inspired you to start your business?
We originally started by wanting to help improve inefficiencies that lead to medication errors in a hospital setting. We quickly found that inefficiencies in any business can cost millions, and leaders were often left blind to it. Now, we have transitioned our software to be completely flexible to suit any need or industry.
What milestones have you reached?
The first investment, the first client and the first profitable month were all incredible milestones to hit! One of the biggest things I’ve learned is how important it is to celebrate those milestones – big or small! It’s so easy to get lost in the stress and fast pace of startup life and miss the wins.
For me personally, becoming an author for Inside Small Business and working with other startups have been particular highlights of this chapter of my career.
What business achievements are you most proud of to date?
We’ve had the privilege of working with federal, state and local government departments as well as businesses ranging from startups to big corporates. Discovering the story their data has to tell and helping them find pathways towards improvement and better decision-making opportunities is incredibly rewarding.
Have you participated in any Advance Queensland programs, or received any support from Advance Queensland to date?
Cogniom were lucky enough to be Round 6 Ignite Ideas Fund recipients. It was a significant boost to help us grow.
What’s your advice for other female entrepreneurs and businesses starting out on their entrepreneurship journey?
Be fearless! Know your worth! Surround yourself with people who aren’t afraid to tell you the truth – not just pay you compliments. Don’t be afraid of getting it wrong – failure isn’t a dirty word and some of the best lessons come from there. Be agile. Be prepared to pivot. Be unapologetically you. And don’t forget to celebrate all the wins, no matter how small they seem!
