TO create something from nothing is an impressive feat, but for Paul Pichugin, the acknowledgement of the power of his creation is a sign that he’s on the right track.
Pichugin has walked away from this year’s Networking WA and WAtoday Entrepreneurs and Innovators 2015 event with the People’s Choice award and a nomination as Entrepreneur and Innovator of the Year.
The South West photographer received his nominations for his beautiful work creating 360 degree virtual tours for the tourism and resources industry.
The breakfast function recognised some of the state's most forward thinkers at an awards ceremony on May 7.
Pichugin was shocked to have won, saying he was told to prepare a three minute speech just in case, but neglected to do so as he thought he had slim chances.
For Pichugin, the award symbolised his idea was a strong one, spending the last year in unchartered business territory where he never knew if his actions were make or break for his career.
No stranger to resiliency, Pichugin is known for his landscape photography, venturing into the wilderness to capture nature at its finest, even in a blizzard in Tasmania which he hiked through last week.
He said failure didn’t scare him in the slightest as he had experienced it before; it was huge success that he couldn’t comprehend just yet.
He won a chance to participate in a week long intensive business course where at the end of the week an opportunity is presented to pitch your business idea to private ‘angel’ investors.
Pichugin said start up businesses in WA have grown tremendously in the last year, indicated by the strong ideas presented at the breakfast alone.
Along with the prize presentations, the event included a discussion with panelists Professor Peter Klinken, Zhenya Tsvetnenko and Sean Moore who Pichugin said made the breakfast even more worthwhile as they were genuinely engaging speakers.
