OUR STORY | The Exchange

OUR MISSION

To empower the brave by creating space and community for them to connect, grow, and succeed.

OUR VALUES

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EMPOWERING.

CONNECTING.

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GROWTH.

SHARING.

COURAGE.

GRATITUDE.

OUR

STORY

In July 2017, Jillian Kilby wrote to the CEO of Telstra: "I would like to acquire the abandoned former post office and telephone exchange".

In November 2018, Telstra announced the sale of the building and Jillian delivered on her commitment to make this grand old dame the future home of The Exchange startup community.

We are a community and coworking space that first and foremost aims to build confidence, capacity and capability to increase the chance of commercial success of startups, those scaling businesses, and even those still sitting on the fence. People frequently arrive at the events to find the team unpacking more chairs due to unprecedented demand, and the words “I’ve been following you on Instagram” or “I have the biggest crush on your team.”

In as little as 12 months, we have an online following of over 3000, a community of over 170 members, over 100 events marked off the calendar, a 1000m2 free coworking space in a unique partnership with Charles Sturt University, and our one of a kind Clock Tower in the Main Street of Dubbo.

This is our story. And we hope, it will be your story too.

MEET

(Y)OUR TEAM

Winner of the 2018 NSW/ACT AgriFutures Australia Rural Women’s Award, Jillian is unwilling to settle for the status quo.

She approaches life optimistically, with the logical thinking of a civil engineer, the roll-up-your-sleeves attitude of a farmer’s daughter from Coonamble, and an altruistic passion for change.

Jillian splits her time between Dubbo, Sydney, and Silicon Valley. Her dream is to create a community of collaborators, to increase the confidence, capability, and capacity of business owners, no matter where they choose to live.

Founder

& CEO

JILLIAN

Kate is super organised.

She is our project delivery guru, who thrives in a fast-paced and energetic environment. With a background in executive office management roles, Kate always ensures that client expectations are upheld and that the team is as prepared as they can be.

Kate is a Dubbo local who is social and active in the local community. She is also a wife, mum of two, and co-founder of her very own side-hustle, One More Thread. It's safe to say, Kate is both brave, and bold.

Project

Delivery

KATE

Matt is no ordinary technician. He's extraordinary.

Juggling a young family and a long list of clients, Matt has been spending the majority of his time working as the project manager at the clocktower.

With an eye for detail and a keen design aesthetic, Matt has transitioned from trade to visual media storyteller. He captures memories on video with a drone and time-lapse technology. In fact, the videos he has created for the Exchange has resulted in an ever-increasing new client wait list.

Project

Manager

MATT

Minna is the go-to-girl when it comes to aligning all company communications (read: everything!) at The Exchange.

She has a can-do attitude and is committed to exceeding expectations. With a degree in Modern Greek and Geography from The University of Sydney, Minna describes herself as someone who doesn’t fit in any particular box.

Growing up in an environment surrounded by small family businesses, Minna has real insight into, and passion for starting and running a small business.

Community Manager

MINNA

Wildly determined, Malaika is our resident big-picture thinker.

Having recently returned from incubating female-led businesses in Zambia, she combines global best practices with grassroots experience. With an International Studies and Economics degree, Malaika is passionate about social impact and finding sustainable answers to start-up problems.

Malaika is leading The Change program across the Orana Region. You’ll find her knee-deep in research, stakeholder analysis, program development, and delivery.

Program

Manager

MALAIKA

Cate’s super power is her ability to ask just the right question.

With a background in psychology and marketing she has worked with small and large
teams in multinational corporations, not for profit, government and small business
sectors. With a passion for connection and building community, she loves helping businesses and individuals manage change, scale and grow.

Cate is constantly
inspired by the talent and untapped potential among founders in regional NSW.

Partnership Manager

CATE

OUR VISION

10 years from now, people in regional Australia will turn around and say “I started my business at The Exchange Clock Tower -- And that made all the difference.”