Sharon Melamed (Matchboard) wins the WIICTA Innovation (Partner) Award in 2021
As winner of the Women in ICT Awards (WIICTA) Innovation (Partner) award in 2021, Sharon Melamed is the brains behind Matchboard, a B2B matchmaking platform for finding trusted IT buyers and suppliers.
The platform has transformed the buying process for thousands of organisations, helping them save time and mitigate risk by pre-screening all suppliers on the platform and answering a set of questions to find the right ‘match’.
How did you get your break into the IT industry and progress to where you are now?
I’m really a non-techie and broke into IT by default as I had a business idea for a start-up (Matchboard) that had technology at its heart. It’s been an incredible learning curve over the last 10 years. While I used to think of technology as boring things like assembling a computer motherboard, now I realise the power of technology to change and improve the world in so many exciting ways.
What were some of the innovative projects or initiatives that you've worked on in the past few months?
In the last few months we’ve run several online executive roundtables connecting IT buyers and suppliers, and it’s been fantastic to see some great opportunities arise from these. Our roundtables follow an innovative formula including a gourmet lunch delivered to the home/office of attendees, and a champagne prize for best audience question.
Credit: ARN / IDG Who or what has influenced you professionally?
I’d say the biggest influence has been the countries I’ve lived in and the different cultures I’ve been exposed to. For example I lived in Israel – also known as the start-up nation – for nine months, and that really ignited in me the entrepreneurial bug.
Ten years living in the US showed me the potential of large international markets and living there through the dotcom/dotbomb era gave me a reality check on blind exuberance for new business ideas. Working with a Japanese company inspired the business model I’ve built with Matchboard, which is based on long-term relationships of trust with our customers.
What is the most surprising or profound thing you've learned or discovered while working in the IT industry?
It was a nice surprise to me that you don’t have to be a techie to succeed in the tech world.
What are your professional ambitions?
My ambition is to continue to grow Matchboard for many years to come. I would also like to continue my pro bono work with different charities, and contribute where I can on boards. Last year I was appointed to the Industry Advisory Board of Sydney University’s School of Computer Science – not for any technical expertise, but to inject entrepreneurial ideas into student programs.
