by Grace Knight
At 25, Niamh Sullivan has already accomplished what many people strive for their entire lives.
From beating cancer to starting her own company and being named a Forbes 30 under 30 semi-finalist, Ms Sullivan (Class of 2016) is a force to be reckoned with.
Her rationale is simple: “There’s no other time in life when you’ll have this much energy, enthusiasm and ability to try new things, so why not give it a go?”
Ms Sullivan’s joie de vivre was shaped by her childhood.
On her final day of primary school in 2008, doctors found a tumour the size of a grapefruit on Ms Sullivan’s lungs and she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Intensive treatment followed, leaving her with health complications that persisted into adulthood.
But the experience led to a family trip to Disneyland thanks to Make-A-Wish Australia, and Ms Sullivan began sharing her story with the public.
A Bachelor of Communication (Major in Journalism) at Bond University was natural fit to develop her interest in storytelling, examining global problems, and delving into the stories of people behind these issues.
“I think this passion was probably from when I was younger and I went through my cancer treatment at age 11,” she said.
“After a pretty intensive couple of years, I began doing a lot of charity fundraising which then transformed into public speaking, attending various events, and sharing my story.”
After graduation, Ms Sullivan worked with Channel Seven for two years before starting her own business, INFIX Creative Studio.
INFIX specialises in helping tech start-ups create their brand stories, launch, scale and raise funds, as well as produce the collateral needed to get their brand up and running.
It is a young business with an equally youthful team but Ms Sullivan said their fresh perspectives and motivation was their greatest advantage.
“There’s definitely been a lot of challenges that I’ve had to face along the way, especially as a young person working in the well-established technology industry,” she said.
“I think age is too often seen as a hindrance, where I often see it as an advantage.”
Recently Ms Sullivan was named as a semi-finalist for the Forbes 30 under 30 list for the Asia Pacific region, with the final list to be revealed in May.
“Our work at INFIX has involved helping global brands get their big visions off the ground, so for me it’s pretty fulfilling to know that our work has had enough of an impact to be noticed like this,” she said.
“I love what I do with INFIX and to know that I’ve made it to this point.
“It means that the work I’ve done and the challenges I have overcome have all been worthwhile.”
In addition to her work with INFIX, Ms Sullivan remains an ambassador for Make-A-Wish and regularly hosts their national events and is often a keynote speaker within the charity’s conferences and workshops.
“After having my childhood wish granted during my cancer treatment, I really wanted to be able to give back to the charity in any way that I could,” she said.
“I looked at the skillset that I had, and from there I began speaking at their events, workshops and conferences to help them raise the funds that they need to continue doing their work.”