Chris Veraa has turned a habit of doodling his lecture notes into a start-up venture that he hopes will help other businesses better sell their ideas.
He launched BizDraw this year during his QUT EMBA studies to 'bring strategy to life with the power of pictures'.
"I used to sit in lectures and illustrate the lecturer's key points rather than write it down in words," he said.
"That turned into 'visual mapping' for group assignment tasks and using rich pictures to unpack complex and chaotic business case studies.
"I thought: If it helps me understand and remember things, why not use it as a tool to assist others."
Mr Veraa was encouraged by his QUT lecturers (including QUT Corporate Educator Dr Tony Peloso) and fellow EMBA students to pursue his hobby and has developed it into a new business as part of his course work.
His new startup, BizDraw, uses his drawing skills to simplify the often convoluted world of strategic planning through eye-catching images to illustrate the point.
"It's been said that people remember a higher percentage of the things they see, than the things they read or hear," he said.
"What BizDraw does is tap into that visual learning approach by simplifying concepts into a picture-based language that everyone can understand.
"This is particularly important when mapping out complex strategies or unravelling wicked problems within an organisation."
Mr Veraa is a self-taught illustrator who works in higher education management.
"I've been drawing since I was old enough to hold a crayon," Mr Veraa said.
"Early on, I was inspired by Disney movies and, as I moved into primary school, it became more about comic books and Saturday morning cartoon shows. The common thread in all of those things is storytelling, which is a skill that I still apply to my work as it is so relevant to business."
Mr Veraa said BizDraw’s clients had already included QUT, the Department of Transport and Main Roads and Simple Telecom.
He's also currently on a high after being part of the three-member QUT Business School student team that won the 2016 Global Business Challenge in November with the Smart Toilet Company app idea for remote communities.
Mr Veraa completes his Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) this semester.
Release date: Tuesday, December 13, 2016
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