Where to Find a Technical Cofounder for an EdTech Startup?

TruePursuit on 25/05/2026 - 09:07
Last edited 25/05/2026 - 09:08

Brief background:

I'm turning 26 this year and this has been my seventh year studying at a tertiary level, and I've never had a proper job. I have been trying to apply since my high school days, but I was rejected due to "inexperience and lack of qualifications". I didn't have connections either. I thought, "Okay, fine, let me study then, so I will be valued". That didn't help, and now I've been stuck. I did have a few connections, and some people did genuinely try to help, but nothing worked. I've been doing a casual remote job since December 2024, but it pays peanuts. I've applied for thousands of jobs, and some seemed promising when I did well in a few interviews, but in the end, it was the same "unfortunately". I took it as a sign that I'm meant for greater things and am not destined to be a worker. I genuinely can't live like this anymore as I feel like the living dead, and I have been burnt out, lonely and depressed.

I've had an idea for an EdTech startup since 2023, but I gave up on it because I was busy with studies and didn't have the skills to make it work. I now see it as the only avenue to fixing my life. I'm more of an ideas person, and my other skills include pattern recognition, communication, understanding systems, problem-solving, and critical thinking. I still lack the necessary skills and require a technical cofounder to be my business partner. Do you know where I can find such a person?

Thanks in advance.

Education & Work

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  • Kongzi on 25/05/2026 - 09:15

    Hinge

    • 28
  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 25/05/2026 - 10:04

    You: i got an idea

    Backer in 2026: if it is not a vibe coded ai powered app, and sexy, I don’t wanna know

    • 12
    • Aldonis on 25/05/2026 - 10:22

      not interested in the op but i'm on board for the sexy app

      • 11
      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 25/05/2026 - 10:24

        Oh uhmmmm idea.. idea

        Ok maybe petrol spy as we have now… but like with anime waifu avatars? And… a sprinkling of obscure Seinfeld references.

        • 3
        • mailbox on 25/05/2026 - 10:31

          AI Generated Conservative alt-right patriotic trad wife feet content is going bonkers on insta/TikTok surely.

          • 5
        • TerryJustTerry on 26/05/2026 - 08:22

          Almost there…

          • 1
        • smartazz104 on 27/05/2026 - 08:32

          That's gold Jimothy, gold!

          • 1
    • Muppet Detector on 25/05/2026 - 10:24

      Framework For Startup

      • 4
  • freefall101 on 25/05/2026 - 10:51

    I took it as a sign that I'm meant for greater things and am not destined to be a worker

    Dude… that's not the sign you should take from this. It's not about being a worker or not, it's about finding the best way to apply your skills.

    I've had an idea for an EdTech startup since 2023, but I gave up on it because I was busy with studies and didn't have the skills to make it work

    You need a lot of charisma to convince people that your idea is so fantastically beyond what anyone else has ever delivered that they should partner with you. Particularly if you have no cash to pay them and they're the ones with the skills. Usually these startup companies come from groups of friends willing to invest time for no return. There's no one hanging around waiting for an ideas person to show up.

    Unfortunately everyone has amazing ideas, the hard part is building them, scaling them out and finding funding to take them further. You're not going to find a random stranger to partner up for free.

    I genuinely can't live like this anymore as I feel like the living dead, and I have been burnt out, lonely and depressed.

    That kinda sounds the worst time to begin a startup, the burnout won't get any easier. What social groups have you looked at joining, what interests you? There is something for everyone these days, it'll help you build your skills in connecting with people and definitely help a lot more with the loneliness. Also, have you talked to your GP about the depression? Depression isn't just circumstances being bad (although that doesn't help), you need to get that treated.

    • 11
  • moph on 26/05/2026 - 09:26

    Hey mate. I am a technical startup founder having worked in several startups as a software developer and now running my own. Just a hint. There are a lot of people who have an idea and want to build it but don't have the technical skills and so try to find a technical cofounder. As someone who is potentially that person, I would assess what my non-technical cofounder is actually bringing to the table. I am not a great salesperson or networker or marketer, but I can do it. I would need you to be good at it, and having already made some progress with it, for your offer to be attractive. You should already be speaking to investors and potential customers. Make mockups and demos and show them to customers and see if they are actually ready to buy. Do you have funds? It's your job to figure out how we're going to get paid, and when. If you haven't done those things then you are not really a cofounder, you're just another guy with an idea who wants me to build it for them.

    • 11
    • Some Random Guy on 26/05/2026 - 13:58

      As someone who's interested in someday establishing an Engineering/tech startup, would working at a small startup provide experiences that wouldn't be available at larger firms?

      • 1
      • moph on 26/05/2026 - 14:35

        Definitely, both have their pros and cons

        Large businesses offer experience in good engineering practices, team structure, and project management. Small startups offer experience in getting shit done in whatever way works, resourcefulness, taking initiative and agency. Personally I find the culture of small startups much more aligned with my personality and I've felt bored and suffocated when I've worked for larger organisations.

        • 4
        • Some Random Guy on 26/05/2026 - 15:25

          Reading the sentence on SSUs made my eyes light up as that's exactly how I work and would like to work for the foreseeable future.

          I am looking to apply as an intern at some small local firms to get my foot in the door (last year of uni (I shortened it by a year going from double to single degree)). If prior formal work experience isn't something under my belt, what are other things I can leverage/present on a resume?

          • 0
          • moph on 26/05/2026 - 15:32

            @Some Random Guy: Interning is good. There may also be research groups at the uni who are doing collaborations with industry partners, often they employ students as interns or paid casuals. See if there is anything in your field. My business is working on a project in partnership with a uni research group and they often have students working on it as casuals.

            Other than just build stuff, demonstrate familiarity with the technology and build a portfolio of small projects you can show people.

            • 2
    • eddyah on 26/05/2026 - 09:58

      Runs a startup but can't make a damn paragraph.

      Your employees hate your long ass prose mate.

      • -7
      • moph on 26/05/2026 - 12:40

        Thanks for your feedback, we'll take it as a feature request and see if we can get it into the next sprint.

        • 15
        • jatyap on 29/05/2026 - 12:36

          Hahaha! This one made me LOL!

          • 0
  • Wiadro on 25/05/2026 - 09:28

    seventh year studying at a tertiary level, and I've never had a proper job.

    i lasted one year and I have many jobs now.
    ill tell you life isn't about tertiary education, its about life skills and self education.

    you reckon Bill Gates would have made Microsoft if he was in tertiary education for 7 years?
    no.

    • 10
    • AaronRain on 26/05/2026 - 10:47

      Sure if you think you can be the next Gate or Zuckerberg, however for each of those there are the Bezos, Brin, Cook, Farquhar, and Cannon-Brookes (in fact the Atlassian founder met during their study) - if you think tertiary education is all about studying then yeah that won't probably get you as far.
      Figures from Gemini said:
      "Overwhelmingly, 85% to 92% of successful tech and unicorn founders finished their tertiary education, while dropouts or those without degrees make up only 8% to 15% of the pool."

      • 3
      • poboy on 26/05/2026 - 21:38

        It also helped that the majority had rich parents.

        • 7
        • tenpercent on 26/05/2026 - 23:00

          Shhh. Don't spoil the fairy tale narratives they spent years marketing to build their personal brands.

          • 3
        • AaronRain on 27/05/2026 - 10:17

          That could be true but rather than direct funding I think what helped most was the network and non-monetary resource they provided, I mean Atlassian was founded on a $10,000 credit card debt.

          • 1
    • Charmoffensive on 27/05/2026 - 15:53

      you reckon Bill Gates would have made Microsoft if he was in tertiary education for 7 years?

      Maybe? Gates basically bought someone esle's software for cheap and pitched it to intel. He's not a genius visionary, more an opportunist.

      • 2
      • slipstreamexpress on 27/05/2026 - 03:43

        I'm not sure if you are self aware enough to realise the irony of claiming to "loathe condescension" whilst in that very same response starting your comment with "cool story, boomer".

        Possibly something to reflect on.

        • 14
      • simplystu on 26/05/2026 - 20:32

        Surely … You would have made connections with atleast afew ppl with similar idea while you spent 7 years at uni ???

        That's how quite afew businesses got started in early 2000's … Networking with the ppl that you are studying with.

        • 1
        • TruePursuit on 27/05/2026 - 17:27

          Zero. I didn't have the idea until 2023, and my university was online because it was in another state. There is no way I could interact with any students or form connections. My other university was on campus, but it was during the lockdown period plus I had already graduated by then.

          • 0
  • brendanm on 25/05/2026 - 13:25

    Teach English in Japan.

    • 9
    • GardenGnome on 25/05/2026 - 13:28

      This * 1000000000. Use the skills you have in Japanese and get out of university and experience the world.

      • 5
  • ssfps on 26/05/2026 - 01:59

    I'm more of an ideas person

    "ideas guy" is often used as derogatorily among technical people.
    Ideas are worth almost nothing, it's always about execution.

    • 9
    • CalmLemons on 27/05/2026 - 00:50

      ^This.

      Ideas are cheap. Action and execution are everything.

      Start doing it, let it play out, don't 'think' what the future will be like. I'm being nice.

      First step is to just begin, in a real way.

      I'm sorry to break it to you but you don't need a tech founder as there are a few other things you need to address.

      • 1
  • Nillionaire on 25/05/2026 - 09:29

    https://claude.ai/

    • 7
    • TruePursuit on 25/05/2026 - 09:31

      I'm already using it, but it has its limits.

      • 0
      • downhillmtbr on 25/05/2026 - 17:39

        Just checking, have you used claude code or just claude itself?

        Assuming the later:

        What model are you using ?
        What thinking effort are you using?
        Have you setup a claude.md file?
        Using any skills?
        Using any MCP servers?
        Have you got all the other command line tools you need installed locally?
        Leveraging any frameworks that the LLMs are trained on and can infer conventions from easier?
        Using any plugins?
        Using worktrees so you can work in parallel?
        How's your type coverage and test coverage?
        Are you using any mutation testing to catch bugs?
        Are you using any other models to work alongside claude's to catch it's blindspots?

        It does have it's limits, but if you spend the time getting the tooling all set up, you can really go a lot lot further :)

        • 3
        • Eeples on 27/05/2026 - 14:18

          I wouldn’t expect a reply from the OP.

          • 2
        • Ooops on 27/05/2026 - 16:34

          Crickets.

          I'm a dev myself, I spend less than 5% writing critical code and the rest 95% of my time reading code. Fkton of mistakes and security issues with AI.

          As I'm typing this, i'm in the train, next to a highschool student trying to do an assignment with Claude. All I see is "this is wrong", "this is not what I asked…"

          • 2
          • jatyap on 29/05/2026 - 04:25

            @Ooops: Eh. Dev here too… If you give it the right context, it comes up with the right answer faster than almost every human dev (even with redoing mistakes).

            In my experience, though, most people are too lazy to provide the correct context. That's not an AI problem.

            And yes, you still have to watch out for hallucinations.

            • 1
  • JIMB0 on 25/05/2026 - 11:14

    Having gone from a trade to a bachelor’s degree, I can say there’s a huge difference between academic ability and being useful in the real world. A surprising number of people with purely academic backgrounds struggle once there’s no rubric, tutorial or textbook answer to follow. Even with those, plenty still struggle.

    • 6
    • moar bargains on 25/05/2026 - 14:13

      I used to think PhD's were an indicator of intelligence. Now that I have past career experience working at a university I have realised that PhDs are actually just an indicator of stubbornness and have very little to do with intelligence. The number of people I have met with PhDs that I genuinely wonder how they manage to tie their shoes…

      • 7
  • TheBird on 26/05/2026 - 01:28

    I've had an idea for an EdTech startup since 2023. didn't have the skills to make it work. I now see it as the only avenue to fixing my life.

    It's ok, no one knows everything but words like this don't exactly inspire confidence.

    I'm more of an ideas person

    For me, the important question would be, other than the idea, what do you bring to the table?

    I still lack the necessary skills and require a technical cofounder to be my business partner. Do you know where I can find such a person?

    If you're talking code monkey/devops, you found one here so here's your chance. I'm listening. What's in it for you? What's in it for me? Who does what? What makes you believe this will work? When do you need this to start? Why is this the right idea for right now? Basically, what's your pitch?

    • 6
    • Muppet Detector on 26/05/2026 - 02:52

      @The Bird

      This is the one I meant.

      Stephen Hawking was an ideas man and it's just rude that they gave Moniz a Nobel and not Hawking.

      • 1
      • TheBird on 26/05/2026 - 04:15

        Yes, but he made an appearance on both Star Trek and the Big Bang Theory. Maybe that's the reason Hawking was more famous ;)

        But yeah, I figured this was the one you were talking about.

        • 1
        • Muppet Detector on 29/05/2026 - 00:48

          The think I'm dirty with about Moniz, is he invented the frontal lobotomy. The dude got a Nobel for inventing the Frontal lobotomy FFS.

          • 1
      • TheBird on 26/05/2026 - 04:43

        I don't know how but I missed that he was thinking of AR.

        I have zero interest in anything AR related.

        • 0
  • tenpercent on 25/05/2026 - 10:39

    "Okay, fine, let me study then, so I will be valued". That didn't help, and now I've been stuck

    What did you study? Bachelor of Arts? Media studies? This is rhetorical for you to reflect on.

    Employers will be wary of hiring you because you're already 26 and have no IRL employment experience apart from some online remote thing that clearly isn't improving your employability. Assuming your marks aren't terrible then employers know you can learn, but they don't know if you can show up to work on time, interact with other employees and get the job done. You need to demonstrate that you can.

    Apply for entry level positions and get some experience.
    Heck, at this point you should apply to work at Colesworths. Maybe volunteer work at a soup kitchen or food bank or salvos. These will be opportunities to demonstrate your ability to show up and do work and also improve interpersonal skills.
    Do an internship during your summer break.

    I've applied for thousands of jobs, and some seemed promising when I did well in a few interviews, but in the end, it was the same "unfortunately". I took it as a sign that I'm meant for greater things and am not destined to be a worker. I genuinely can't live like this anymore as I feel like the living dead, and I have been burnt out, lonely and depressed.

    This reads like you need to improve your interpersonal skills.
    If this is affecting your mental health you can probably access psychologists or counsellors at your uni for peanuts or free.

    Also you should find out about your uni's careers guidance department and book in as soon as possible. I think you need a real human being to be frank and specific with you to your face (tell them that's what you want) instead of giving you polite vague reasoning like your job application rejections. Ask them about interview skills (it sounds like this is where you're coming unstuck). Ask if they can do mock interviews with you for practice and to get their frank feedback, then you will know what you need to work on.

    I still lack the necessary skills and require a technical cofounder to be my business partner. Do you know where I can find such a person?

    Are there no technical and skilled people at your uni? You've been studying for 3 years since you first had this idea but not anything that can help you achieve it. Pause and reflect on that.

    • 5
    • 7ekn00 on 25/05/2026 - 11:37

      What did you study?

      Gender studies for 4 years, then DEI implementations for the rest :P

      • 1
      • tenpercent on 25/05/2026 - 11:42

        Gender studies for 4 years, then DEI implementations for the rest :P

        No amount of work experience could sway a normal minded employer to go near that.

        • 1
    • TruePursuit on 25/05/2026 - 11:54

      Bachelor of Languages (Japanese Major), Diploma of Building and Construction, Bachelor of Creative Writing.

      I've tried everything from Colesworth to Kmart, to Autobarn, to what have you. I did two internships that didn't benefit me in the slightest, and I was just giving the people free work. It might be difficult to believe, but yes, this is what some Gen Z people like myself from less fortunate backgrounds have experienced. I've already seen counsellors and psychologists throughout the years. They can offer advice that I've taken, but none of them can help, and I've tried implementing their advice, but nothing is working.

      I studied during COVID-19, so everything was remote, and I didn't get the chance to make any connections. Neither the universities nor TAFE helped out in the slightest. They simply wiped their hands clean after I graduated.

      • 0
      • mskeggs on 25/05/2026 - 13:04

        I did two internships that didn't benefit me in the slightest, and I was just giving the people free work

        Did you get some references? What kind of roles did you intern at?
        Your studies are a bit unrelated, so you probably need to explain how your studies will help you in the workforce - it isn't clear to me.

        • 6
      • tenpercent on 25/05/2026 - 13:08

        Bachelor of Languages (Japanese Major), Diploma of Building and Construction, Bachelor of Creative Writing.

        Why did you study those? Did you have a particular career in mind before you started? Sometimes we get lost along the way and lose sight of our original goal. Or sometimes the goal can be set when you're younger and more naive and it might just be unrealistic, even that's not fair, e.g. not having the right connections to get into a particularly niche job, e.g. wanting to a movie star when there's a million other people as good or better than you also wanting to do that. Or sometimes people just coast along without any clear goal or path.

        The Diploma stands out as being quite different to the other two, but also possibly the most promising route to a steady, rewarding career if you pursued that area further to get a trade (or engineering degree, although I would guess engineering is probably not your thing given your study choices). That would at least give you a starter career that can help you get established and would provide a marketable skill you can fall back on. Why did you study that one?

        Also, don't buy into the "find a job you love so it doesn't feel like work" post-modern mumbo jumbo. If you don't come from money, a job is a means to an end first and foremost. You don't have to derive your purpose from work or make work your purpose.

        I've tried everything from Colesworth to Kmart, to Autobarn, to what have you.

        If you're not making it past interviews for any employer even for entry level work then you really need to figure out why that is and fix that. Again, if you're still at uni or have access as a graduate: go to their careers guidance department centre or whatever they call it. Get some professional and honest feedback and advice how to improve. Treat that as a separate objective to figuring out what job/career to pursue, which they should be able to help with too.

        I studied during COVID-19, so everything was remote, and I didn't get the chance to make any connections. Neither the universities nor TAFE helped out in the slightest. They simply wiped their hands clean after I graduated.

        That sucks. I have family members in education who can see the difference in students they have today versus before lockdowns and remote learning. They have more anxiety, more depression, strange juvenile interpersonal skills. So I'm aware of some of the lasting impacts it has had.

        So have you graduated? I got the impression you are still studying now. If so what and why?

        They can offer advice that I've taken, but none of them can help, and I've tried implementing their advice, but nothing is working.

        I've heard stories where sometimes it takes years for a person to find the right therapy or medication or other treatment or combination that works for them. In my experience, when friends or family have eliminated the root cause (e.g. a toxic relationship, not having a goal, working with incompetent colleagues, etc), then the other interventions have much greater success. It's a shitty cliche, but things will get better for you if you keep purposefully working at it.

        • 6
      • tikei on 27/05/2026 - 13:50

        Do an education degree so you can be an English or Japanese teacher. The units done in those degrees will reduce the credits required in the teaching degree

        • 0
  • Boioioioi on 25/05/2026 - 12:46

    OP in terms of your job search, I'd try think of what skills you have and how can you apply that into an area with more demand. Then learn / apply for work in that area.

    Sounds to me like the degrees you have learnt + the profession you are looking for is not one with high demand here, hence hard to find well paying work.

    • 5
    • GardenGnome on 25/05/2026 - 13:27

      He has a degree with a major in Japanese language, the logical idea would be to look for a job in Japan with the skills he has acquired.

      • 2
      • findthelimit on 26/05/2026 - 20:31

        But he has no experience in the real world tho which is worrying tbh. Guessing Japan's social demands will be alot more taxing mentally than any Western country..

        • 0
  • outlander on 26/05/2026 - 00:44

    These threads are depressing. It feels like watching someone get picked at by piranhas.

    Not virile piranhas, but the old, slow, pathetic kind

    • 5
    • slipstreamexpress on 27/05/2026 - 04:13

      Whilst I agree that some responses are overtly critical without much helpful information, there are also some uncomfortable truths someone in their position might need to hear.

      If you're been institutionalized in the tertiary education system for as long as they appear to have been, this gives you an extremely warped and skewed view on how the world should and actually works. Especially if you're someone that doesn't come from a decent financial support base.

      I don't think "you can do it, you're just the next unrealised Stephen Hawking!" Type messaging is useful in this case and will only possibly prolong the delusional mindset OP appears to be operating under.

      A helpful but uncomfortable reality check backed up by realistic expectations and avenues to change course are needed, but so far horribly received due to the mixed messages and advice OP is getting.

      • 1
    • Muppet Detector on 26/05/2026 - 01:24

      You need some new pants. That will make you feel better.

      • 0
      • outlander on 26/05/2026 - 11:36

        how did you know…

        • 0
        • Muppet Detector on 26/05/2026 - 12:49

          Your post just reminded me of the lyrics

          "you make my pants want to get up and dance" by Dr Hook.

          It sounded cheerful and I thought it may help with your depression.

          • 0
  • ihbh on 25/05/2026 - 10:21

    I've been doing a casual remote job since December 2024

    Get a people facing job, even if you work for free as a volunteer. I dropped some stuff off to Vinnies on the weekend and it's sth you can do (Vinnies, Lifeline bookshops/op shops, etc. - and Lifeline can help with your other situation).

    require a technical cofounder to be my business partner. Do you know where I can find such a person?

    They don't exist for your needs.

    A relative invests in direct businesses/rolls out franchises from other countries for their fund. They want proven cash flow, not fluffy ideas.

    I mentored a cofounder in my area of expertise. Their company is listed on the NASDAQ and they were looking to buy trophy homes. They have a tonne of money and focused on the success of their baby. They've worked bloody hard and want to enjoy some of their success. They would probably get pitched dozens of ideas a day if someone recognised them. Unless you've got a good pitch and business plan with a clear route to monetizing it, they ain't going to give you a second.

    The person you are looking for is a wannabe cofounder.

    • 4
    • mailbox on 25/05/2026 - 10:27

      okay so where would you find a wannabe cofounder

      • 0
      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 25/05/2026 - 10:31

        Just promise 69 -420 x returns on investment and keep saying ‘AI’

        • 10
      • mskeggs on 25/05/2026 - 13:00

        Often people you meet at uni or through work.

        • 2
      • pyramid on 25/05/2026 - 10:31

        Reddit

        • 0
  • freefall101 on 26/05/2026 - 01:41

    Get a job as a truck driver. Good pay (particularly after the first year or two), plenty of time to think, plenty of time to save money then actually invest it in your idea. Or stay a truck driver.

    Average age of truck drivers these days is like 130, there’s huge demand.

    That’s my realistic advice. However for the advice you asked for, Google for startup meets around you. There are billions of them, I keep getting invited to them simply because I went to some virtualisation event once (free breakfast). Good chance to just chat to others and get a feel for it.

    • 4
  • plmko on 25/05/2026 - 10:48

    Lol surely this is a troll

    You've posted 6000+ Ozbargain ads in 3-4years. Is that how you use your time?

    I don't believe you are what you say you are.

    • 3
    • Wiadro on 25/05/2026 - 21:30

      posted so many comps, prob never won any either

      • 1
    • Franc-T on 28/05/2026 - 13:41

      If its not a troll I would be very suprised

      Anyway OP 'not destined to be a worker' ' I'm more of an ideas person'

      Heres something pretty relevant to you:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkGMY63FF3Q

      • 0
      • Muppet Detector on 29/05/2026 - 00:42

        Anyway OP 'not destined to be a worker' ' I'm more of an ideas person'

        Stephen Hawking was probably one of the greatest "ideas" people throughout the last two centuries

        • 0
        • Franc-T on 29/05/2026 - 11:54

          its not equivalent. He had a job, science is hard work as well as ideas.

          • 0
  • GardenGnome on 26/05/2026 - 06:20

    The problem is this guy is at university for 7 years yet doesn't walk down to the computer lab and ask around if anyone can help with his EDU fintech idea?

    He is at university, the main hub for startups in this country. He could just ask current students or graduates for help? Doesn't seem to be a serious problem.

    • 3
    • TruePursuit on 27/05/2026 - 07:31

      The university is not in this state

      • 0
  • Muppet Detector on 25/05/2026 - 10:41

    OP, what is your educational background?

    Why the interest in developing educational technologies?

    I'm not quite sure what skills you're searching for "to make it work". To make "what work"?

    Like, just somebody who knows how to code programs for digital integration, or somebody who knows how to develop and/or operate a business?

    If your background is education and you have the skills that you claim, I can't imagine why you are not highly valued in either the education or defence sectors, both of which are quite aggressive employers.

    It breaks my heart to hear about somebody who wants to work, appears to be putting in the effort, but can't seem to get their foot even just inside the door.

    Congrats on your resilience and determination.

    Let me leave you with this thought.

    Antonio Moniz was awarded a Nobel Prize. Stephen Hawking never was.

    • 2
    • TruePursuit on 25/05/2026 - 11:48

      Thank you for one of the few genuine comments in a pool of trolls. It really means a lot.

      Bachelor of Languages (Japanese Major), Diploma of Building and Construction, Bachelor of Creative Writing. My initial plan was to develop stories for manga and video games in Japan, but that didn't come to pass. I contacted my university, which is interstate, to help out, since they mentioned they had a community for people who work in Japan, but that didn't help either. It also didn't help that I studied during COVID-19, when everything was online.

      Yes, someone who knows how to code programs and implement AR object recognition.

      • -6
      • GardenGnome on 25/05/2026 - 12:15

        ROFL. You have zero skills or experience in anything cyber or any skills in EDU yet you want to start a fintech EDU company?

        Any idiot can use A.I to vibe code a shitty app and you will get found out the minute you go for a job or launch your app. It will crash and burn no doubt.

        This is the real world not some woke university where you get ahead because of your skin color or gender or how progressive you are.

        I genuinely can't live like this anymore as I feel like the living dead, and I have been burnt out, lonely and depressed.

        Honestly find a psychiatrist first and look after yourself second, third you have a Japanese language degree why not go to Japan and work?

        You like posting deals and helping people find bargains? Maybe look for something in the care industry or customer service. You're not chained to your degree.

        Sometimes people need a sea change, whether that's going interstate or overseas. It actually works and helps you grow as a person.

        • 4
        • TruePursuit on 25/05/2026 - 12:36

          It solves an issue that I'm passionate about. That's why I'm looking for a cofounder who has the skills.

          This is the real world not some woke university where you get ahead because of your skin color or gender or how progressive you are.

          I never "got ahead" in the first place throughout my entire life, let alone university, for being different, so I don't know why you're even bringing this up.

          I don't have the money to travel. I received 2 offers for jobs at a Japanese company, the latter of which was perfect for me, but for reasons unknown, I was rejected.

          Thanks for the suggestions.

          • 0
          • Muppet Detector on 25/05/2026 - 12:48

            @TruePursuit: Just ignore the trolls matey or tell them to FO. Don't even bother trying to build up their egos and low self esteem by responding to them or trying to defend your position or trying to justify yourself.

            One of your trolls is a church going Christian, dude, and then speaks to you like that.

            • 10
            • Cheaplikethebird on 25/05/2026 - 14:02

              @Muppet Detector: The bloke got a degree hoping to write storylines for mangas in Japan, I think maybe a little trolling is in order.

              • 6
              • Muppet Detector on 25/05/2026 - 14:31

                @Cheaplikethebird: Some of my kids learned Japanese, Nihongo & Kokugo (among others) because they wanted to.

                I learned how to play the harmonica because I wanted to play Piano Man like Billy Joel.

                I've done a few uni degrees simply because I wanted to learn about some stuff.

                So, this dude wanted to create comics? Not into Mangas, but I have an extensive Phantom comic book collection and I love Batman comics lol. I collect a few dif comics. Apart from the Phantoms, not much that's too expensive, some LT mint first editions are probably only worth a dollar or two lol.

                I'd love to be able to draw. My OH and a few of my kids are fantastic at it, I get very jealous because I can't even draw a reasonable stick figure.

                I contemplated doing a fine arts degree so that I could learn ceramics and create my own dinnerware for my imaginary fantasy restaurant empire.

                There's nothing wrong with wanting to learn stuff.

                EDIT: I learned a type of calligraphy so that I could create my own wedding invitations.

                • 2
                • Cheaplikethebird on 25/05/2026 - 14:34

                  @Muppet Detector: It's an incredibly specific career path with many barriers to entry and old mate just abandons the degree when it didn't work out. I imagine they don't hire many foreigners to write content for media that is marketed exclusively to the Japanese.

                  • 2
                  • Muppet Detector on 25/05/2026 - 15:22

                    @Cheaplikethebird: Ah well, he gave it a shot, it didn't work out. Happens to millions of people. Clearly some people get jobs in that field, dude won't know if he will if he doesn't have a go.

                    Now he's got another idea he wants to try out.

                    LOL, last few days folks have been wailing about disincentives for new businesses and start ups etc… innovation will move overseas…

                    Dude turns up asking for help to tick those boxes and the ones crowing the loudest are the ones sticking the boot into this dude and discouraging him from having a go.

                    When he asks for career advice, then we can help him with that. Perhaps brutal honesty will be called for, who knows? Before then, he won't hear anything that he doesn't want to hear iykwim, so no need to make him feel like shit and kill off any of the get up and go the bloke has left.

                    • 1
                    • Cheaplikethebird on 25/05/2026 - 15:30

                      @Muppet Detector:

                      Clearly some people get jobs in that field, dude won't know if he will if he doesn't have a go.

                      Yeah, Japanese people lol.

                      There's a difference between sticking the boot in and giving someone a reality check. Hoping someone with the relevant skills will run with a brain fart from someone who ISNT TECHNOLOGY OR BUSINESS TRAINED is a little misguided. Old mate will need to learn to do it all himself or move onto the next daydream.

                      • 1
                      • Muppet Detector on 25/05/2026 - 15:52

                        @Cheaplikethebird: Well those are their issues, eh? Never know, somebody with the skills may just be looking for an idea to invest in (there is a whole tv show called Shark Tank, which literally does that. Cashed up investors looking for ideas to buy into and support).

                        Shark Tank

                        Bill Gates. He has the skills. He is very vocal about hiring the people with ideas for him to make happen. He brags about it.

                        Hopefully I've gently pointed that out to him (how an idea may not be enough) and he can steer himself in that direction.

                        Idk, he's trying. He's not bludging.

                        Maybe he will fail again. Maybe he won't.

                        I must come up with a dozen business ideas a week. Many remain firmly with my other brain farts and fantasies, some I run with and many of those fail. But every now and then, one of them pays off, everything just falls into place and everything just seems to work.

                        When that happens, that's a truly amazing experience and it's so addictive, gives you such a high, I don't know why anybody does drugs lol.

                        Our world needs all sorts of people, including dreamers. We especially need dreamers and people who inspire themselves and others in this fk'd up epistemologically mixed up excuse for a nightmare that we live in.

                        Remember Stephen Bradbury? The dude who won Olympic gold for ice skating because he was the only one who never fell over?

                        If he never tried, he would never have won. But he did have a go, some unexpected, extraordinary events simultaneously happened rewarding him with an achievement that most serious sportspeople only dream about.

                        He didn't win because everyone else fell over. He won because he kept standing up.

                        • 3
                        • Cheaplikethebird on 25/05/2026 - 15:59

                          @Muppet Detector: Yeah I actually know someone who recently scouted for and is currently in the process of purchasing a well known tech business, investors aren’t jumping in on an idea. The person I know has their MBA and had a hard enough time convincing investors to purchase this business which most tech enthusiasts will know the name of.

                          Idk, he's trying. He's not bludging.

                          Is he? Hasn't pursued his existing degrees further but is instead coming up with ideas for business that other people will build. Seems more like procrastination to me.

                          • 0
                          • Muppet Detector on 25/05/2026 - 16:55

                            @Cheaplikethebird: He hasn't pursued his existing degree YET.

                            So, he's learned a second language, at least his may be somewhat useful at some stage of his life. When I went to school, we had to learn Latin!

                            Think about Stephen Hawking. To the best of my knowledge, he never actually built anything or "made" anything. He just thought about things. Came up with ideas and then thought about those ideas for a while to see if he could make them work.

                            • 0
                            • GardenGnome on 26/05/2026 - 06:24

                              @Muppet Detector: You're comparing this guy to Stephan Hawking and Bill Gates? That's a rather large hill to climb.

                              • 0
                        • findthelimit on 26/05/2026 - 20:28

                          @Muppet Detector: yea dard

                          • 0
              • Muppet Detector on 25/05/2026 - 13:38

                @GardenGnome: smirk

                Someone is a bit sensitive.

                The dude is trying to work out how to make something, he didn't ask for any career advice.

                I'm trying to help him work out how to make something (that's what he asked for), whereas you launched into a derogatory tirade disguised as career advice and telling him how to get a job.

                If he asked you how to get a fence built, would you tell him to see a psychiatrist, make him feel like shit and give him career advice that he didn't ask for?

                Oh

                I don't want your career advice either.

                Bless You

                • 10
                • Nebargains on 27/05/2026 - 11:50

                  @Muppet Detector: They may have asked how to build something but what they really need is career advice. If it's something they are passionate about then at the very least having a better paying job will help get it off the ground.

                  • 0
                • GardenGnome on 25/05/2026 - 16:49

                  @Muppet Detector:

                  If he asked you how to get a fence built, would you tell him to see a psychiatrist,

                  But alas he is not building a fence, he is trying to launch an EDU fintech application/service with zero education, knowledge or skills.

                  The guy/girl/she/they/he needs some guidance and solid advice. He's been @ university for 7 years and is miserable.

                  Sea change is my advice, it doesn't mean he drops the EDU fintech idea it just means he starts moving forward again.

                  I don't want your career advice either.

                  Bless You

                  You sound like my wife.

                  Also, there is more to life than money, and money won't save you in the end. You need to find and create a life you can live with and be happy.

                  Some people find meaning in many things, some find it in alcohol and drugs, some find it in study, some find it in religion and family. It's up to you!

                  CHOOSE LIFE!

                  • -7
                  • Muppet Detector on 25/05/2026 - 17:34

                    @GardenGnome: Holy shit. I thought you were a woman all this time. Lol. Sorry bout that.

                    • 2
                    • GardenGnome on 26/05/2026 - 06:16

                      @Muppet Detector: LOL. You know same sex marriage is legal now? Anyway, it doesn't matter whether I wear a dress or not.

                      • 0
                  • GardenGnome on 26/05/2026 - 06:18

                    @GardenGnome: lol @ all the woke negs. Tell people the truth and they get angry because you challenge their fragile world view.

                    • 0
          • GardenGnome on 25/05/2026 - 13:18

            @TruePursuit: Dude you're not going anywhere right now @ university or by launching an EDU fintech app. Time to polish off your resume and try again. Japan is always looking for English teachers, maybe not what your ideal job is but it's a change none the less. You can work on your EDU fintech project in your spare time while in Japan if your still passionate about it. Sea change is my advice, get out of university and live a little. University in Australia is not the real world, it's a huge woke factory that does not prepare you for real life in society.

            • 0
          • jatyap on 29/05/2026 - 04:32

            @TruePursuit: How good is your Japanese? N2 level? N1 level? Quite a few Japanese companies that are willing to give Aussies a chance (here in Australia), but the positions require a decent level of knowledge in Japanese AND Japanese business culture.

            Also, what would you offer your co-founder? Nobody would even give you a second look if it meant you provide the idea and they do 90% of the work for equal returns.

            • 0
          • Tomb99 on 10/06/2026 - 08:17

            @TruePursuit: They offered you a job and then rejected you?

            • 0
        • Ponsonby on 26/05/2026 - 20:14

          "you have a Japanese language degree why not go to Japan and work?"

          You have a rare skill - why not pursue the Japanese angle further? A late 20s friend was finding it hard to break into employment after years of study, including Japanese. His break came when he taught English in Japan for a couple of years - on return, he cracked a government graduate job which among other things used his language skills. If you can't travel like he did, is it an option to focus your job seeking efforts on companies or organisations that interact with Japanese companies and need someone to help with liaison?

          Or apply for a graduate job with a state or commonwealth department that could use your language skills? DFAT is extremely competitive but others that are trade or business related may be easier to convince if an argument can be made about your language skills.

          Just one idea: https://www.wa.gov.au/government/multi-step-guides/place-of-…

          Especially if you want to build your familiarity with Japanese culture and make contacts, perhaps consider getting in touch with https://austjapanfed.org.au to find a Japan/Australia group in your city or area.

          • 0
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