the refugee Entrepreneur

succeeding in a boomer Anglo man’s world

“When you belong to the ‘Other’, every part of you is open to scrutiny, and the weight of pre-judgement by privilege - not just your demeanour, your productivity, your education - but even your hair, the way you dress, how you pronounce ‘scallop’. Assumptions about you outpace your work. You’ll perform three times as well to be judged twice as harshly as your peers. That could temper you in many ways - how you choose do so, must be authentic to you.”
— excerpt

Part handbook, part biography for the most of us who don’t look like executive Australia.

Steven HK Ma weaves humor with advice for established and aspiring tech, consulting and startup entrepreneurs working in a boomer Anglo man’s world.

A science fiction nerd born to two generations of refugees becomes a startup entrepreneur, listed on the Deloitte Fast 50 Rising Stars. 

Leading a consultancy famous for centring on employees’s personal journeys toward purpose - with clients benefiting from breathtaking productivity increases as a result.

This book recounts his life’s journey to reconcile a life born to a refugee family with Australia’s multicultural experiment and the expectations of the privileged. See what he attempted to do differently, to still succeed by the metrics of the majority, whilst honouring your history and pursuing your authenticity.

the author

I am currently a full time, stay at home dad; recovering from corporate burnout and wanting to spend more time with my kids.

I have a background in software engineering and astrophysics; spent many years in startups. As a hobby, have long been an amateur poet and painter. I love:

  • documenting our children’s precious growth moments

  • sharing the hard-earned wisdom from my career

  • dreaming of better worlds