Zuricka - A Minimalist Entrepreneur

Through this project, I share the exact steps that have been documented and practised through ancient history and that I find useful. Topics include
-- the power of reprograming the mind
-- how to declutter and let go of Chaos
-- How tp set goals and achieve them

At the end of the day, to transform your life as a professional/ business owner/founder or a self-employed professional, strategies and tactics can only work if we figure out what we want at a deep inner level.

Founder

StraightUp

http://www.straightup.net.nz is where you can learn about how we operate as software tech recruiters.

🚀The core purpose of StraightUp is to enable New Zealand companies to find talented software engineers and at the same time to enable software engineers to find companies that are worth investing their careers with. We only get involved when they are unable to find the right talent or workplace.

We span the globe for software engineers with the rare skillset that New Zealand software teams require to stay ahead in the market.

🔥We solve one problem in a very competitive marketplace: That problem is finding talent for hard-to-fill software engineering roles and workplaces that are stable, financially strong and a joy to work at.

I feel grateful that I have had the opportunity to work with some of the most talented software engineers from all over the world who wish to contribute to the New Zealand economy.

Our software engineering clients are down-to-earth, driven and with a mission that is clear and measurable. They look after their people and their suppliers, and I am grateful to work with them.

CEO - Software Tech Recruiter

Defense Task Force

Being an Indie team, we have to wear various hats. My role at Defense Task Force is to make sure we get our Tower Defense PC Game across in front of Game Publishers, News and media personnel, to raise funds through crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter to get the game to its finished stage. The end goal is to have a successful launch on the Steam Gaming Platform. Day to Day my work involves connecting with Media Personnels, YouTube Gamers, Kickstarter Backers, Social Media Planning, Advertising and Project Managing our Game Development Cycle.

Marketing Director

Worked on Commission only with a Recruitment Firm

The job market is going through a complete change. My role as a Recruiter is to work with High Tech Cloud Companies, Software Development teams to find their next developer, tester, lead developer, software development manager, business analyst. If you are looking to work with a company that values you for you, gives you flexibility, understands work life balance then drop me a line and I shall seek to place you in some of New Zealand's thriving workplaces. If you are working for an amazing company that values their people and if you are seeking to fill a role with exceptional talented human beings, then I may be able to connect you with that person you are looking for. You will never know until you seek.....

IT Technical Recruiter

Zap Strategy Ltd

Zap has been an amazing place for me to work with. Having started this business with my best friend, it was fun and our sole purpose was to find consulting work. Zap had no big Vision or mission. It was setup with the prime motive to find contract jobs.

Today after so many years I am thankful that I went down the consulting path as it taught me what to do and what not to do in business. It enabled me to appreciate that working long hours and thinking I will be able to live my life of abundance is folly. Consulting gave me insights that I have everything right in front of me, it taught me when to walk away from toxic environments and who not to work with. Through this experience Zap began to change in personality and values.

Today Zap Strategy for me is not an entity it's my virtual friend who offers very specific services:
Internet Marketing for Entrepreneurs and medium size businesses
Cloud Computing business applications
Coaching for Small to medium size businesses on setting up businesses the right way
Finding the right talent for Entrepreneurs who are seeking staff

What's my Role:
I am involved in being an enabler for my entrepreneur buddies and small to medium size owners. I hire the right talent that will enable me to move forward in life and train my team to handle a large portion of the day to day activities.

I also reach out to find the right partners to partner with so that we are not reinventing the wheel to offer business mentorship to our clients

Director

ChillX Limited

When we started down the path to create a social network presence in India, it was patriotism and giving back to my nation that got me on this journey to start ChillX. It was to connect fellow Indians to their roots. I did not realize the competition we would have with the mighty gods. I would just be another small fish. When we launched most people who came across us laughed and said why should we be part of your social network when all our friends are already on a different network. We got into the circle of being compared. It's amazing how emotion can take the better of us. Having an MBA and having done the right steps in a business plan the numbers for ChillX as a social network were not massive for a country like India. 

This created a flow on effect to attract advertisers and ChillX was suffering in the early stages for 2 years.As a team we had a choice to downscale our dream or to move forward. We took the path to move forward and re brand our service with a purpose. We accepted that we could not serve those who laughed at us or who wanted us to prove our worth especially for a free service. We embraced those members who took time to register and communicate with others on the network. Today ChillX enables people in India who may be introverts, shy and struggle to find friends. It enables people who struggle to move out of their villages to the metros for a better life. It enables people who are being abused to seek help.

So what's my role at ChillX

Understanding the needs of our members.
Researching what personality books could help our members to change their mind perception
Find out what areas our members struggle with e.g. relationship issues, toxic marriages, finding a job to pay their bills, self confidence, communication etc
Providing customized tailored solutions to our members to uplift their lives by partnering with people around the world who have in depth knowledge in their respective field e.g. clinical psychology, marriage counselors, etc

Director - User Experience

Express Couriers

Business Analyst

Sovereign

Ferrit.co.nz

E-Commerce Business Analyst

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise

Played a significant role in the Online Trade Portal for the government. This Trade portal allowed buyers to submit tenders and enquiries to Exporters of New Zealand.
Generated new development deals, Comprehensive database management, capturing business requirements, etc

Online Service Consultant

My mission is to spread one simple concept: keep life simple, enjoy life while building wealth. There is power in designing a life that you truly enjoy. 

If we know the kind of lifestyle that makes us happy, then re-engineering exactly the career/ business that can support that lifestyle  becomes simple👋 

I have adopted a Minimalist Life and document what I learn along the way. These are topics on the power of the subconscious mind, habits, and self-discipline. 

These are learnings that ancient minds in history practised to build empires, conquer battles, and build wealth with clarity.

I document these learnings as short videos or written posts for another fellow being who may be on the same path.

As Buddha graciously defined, " What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.😊 

For work, I run 2 ventures.

❤️Zuricka - A Minimalist Entrepreneur - Through this initiative, I enable a solopreneur/self-employed professional to design their life and then re-engineer how to structure work that makes that lifestyle possible. I share how to reprogram the subconscious mind and build a working schedule to make this happen.

❤️StraightUp Tech Recruitment - This project enable software engineers aiming to live + work in New Zealand to find meaningful work with thriving New Zealand tech teams. Instead of the vanilla recruitment model, I share with software engineers how to market their skills to find work in thriving, happy workplaces. I work with a selected few tech teams .

In my personal life, I have adopted the core principles of 
❤️Minimalism - For me, minimalism is having more peace, focus, and wealth & less worry, confusion, and overwork. That, to me, is power.

🚀 My ultimate aim is to unlearn chaos and let go of superficial metrics. Through living this way of life, I hope to inspire others too. 

🔥Some Work Accomplishments so far :
- Failed in 5 business initiatives that allowed me to pause and rethink
- Bootstrapped a recruitment software firm from scratch to making it profitable in 3 years as a 1-person business with 2 freelance team members.
- Enabled 80+ global software engineers to find work in awesome workplaces within New Zealand.
- Enriched 100+ professionals, solopreneurs, small business owners, startup founders, to go from inconsistency to having a clear execution plan.
- I am a daughter, sister, partner + friend and animal lover.

*For Software Dev Recruitment visit www.straightup.net.nz
⭐If you need help with simplifying your professional work life, or goal setting - you are welcome to message me.

Zuricka Azavedo

Woolworths New Zealand

Senior Business Analyst - Contract

Senior Business Analyst Contract

Lagom

Gap Analysis and costs for business case for Auckland Council

Requirements for login profile of the various users involved for the Flexidesk project that would minimize login time and allow any person to use any desktop or laptop.

Data collection and optimization for the Printer consolidation project and recommendations for an optimal number of printers where legacy insurance applications required direct mapping to a specific tray on a specific printer.

The above pieces of work reduced the infrastructure costs by a great percentage.

Watercare Services Limited

Watercare Services Limited (Watercare) had decided to replace its current public website with a new customer centric website. Customer experience was the key.
The primary focus of the new website was to ensure that the existing self-service features available currently are improved and to introduce new self-service online capabilities, in addition to providing structured easy-to-understand general information about Watercare and its services.
                                                                                                                                               
Successfully delivered:
•	Analysis of existing self-service capabilities of the web site – in the absence of up to date documentation on the existing capabilities, created fresh documentation of existing features, processes also including a list of issues with features, processes and suggestions for improvement
•	Requirements for the self-service capabilities for the future website and process maps
•	Worked with the vendor in the design of the wireframes
•	Business sign-off for the requirements, wireframes and complete set of rules for each of the wireframes
•	Mapped the integration of the web site self-service functions with Hansen billing system, payment gateway 
•	Defined the specifics for newer online capabilities and the processes for managing the online requests / updates

Also completed initial analysis of incoming calls and call centre processes to implement a ChatBot for the website.

Downer New Zealand

2 weeks contract to scope details for integrating further streams in Downer's job management system with Chorus' iTools (I was the BA on the integration of 2 main streams previously at Downer)

Senior BA (Contract)

Auckland Council

The New Core Programme is a key part of Auckland Council’s journey towards delivering the value of one Council, and a transformed customer experience.  It will:
•	Consolidate Council’s core customer-facing systems (including customer and property related data) used to support customer interaction, regulatory services and rates
•	Simplify and standardize the customer and business processes which use these systems
•	Create efficiencies to accommodate increased volumes (e.g. rise in building and resource consents) within the existing rates envelope and customer expectations of ease of use / timeframes
My Achievements – Won a performance award in May 2014
                                                                                                                                                     
Successfully delivered:
•	Current state process for LIM, Property File Product, Building Consent & Resource Consent Subscription Lists, Other Custom Reports (for the 7 different legacy regions of Auckland Council)
•	Future state mapping for all the above products
•	Consolidated requirements (for the 7 legacy regions of Auckland Council) for online ordering and payment of the various Property Information Products
•	Consolidated requirements for the internal lodging of the Service Order in SAP CRM
•	Requirements for the processing, remediation and dispatch of the products using a variety of delivery methods
•	Blueprints, detailed design documents for the content of the products
•	Gap analysis and training needs for the products across 7 different legacy regions
•	User access and security profile mapping for the products across 7 different legacy regions
•	CIT and SIT scripts + involvement in testing / defects analysis / prioritisation
•	Analysis of migrated data, mapping to test cases

Senior Business Analyst

Several projects in the Downer telco space

Successful completion of a variety of projects delivering Business and Functional Requirements, Process maps, Workflows, including full involvement in test scripts & testing, with involvement in Business Cases:
•	Job Management and Workflow system for the Telco Design & Build jobs
•	Integration of Downer’s Job Management System with Chorus iTools 
•	High level requirements and product features analysis for a new Job Management System
•	Telco Design Tools using ArcGIS
•	Business Reporting requirements and data analysis / extraction
•	SharePoint based Logistics Warehouse Tracking Register
•	Click minimize travel optimization for workforce
•	Initial investigation of timesheet issues
•	Initial investigation for a Trouble Tickets System

Fonterra

SharePoint based Decision Support System - Regulatory & Compliance requirements interpreted and stored in SharePoint Lists, Nintex workflow to support the requirements Interpretation and Review processes. 
Requirements data from SharePoint Lists along with Product Specifications data from SAP systems provides decisions on materials vs destination countries.

I have been instrumental in creating functional specifications and leading design workshops, also assisting with functional and system testing.

Contract Business Analyst

Air New Zealand

GUI based Contact Centre application being reverse engineered to an upgraded GUI applying current trend in usability, navigation and intuitive wizards for common process flows.

I have been instrumental in completing design flows, introducing appropriate template changes for documenting the design requirements.

I took over the Test Management  role at a critical time when testing activity was not going well, managing functional and end to end testing activities with 12 test team members, ensuring appropriate allocation / prioritization of testing, prioritization and negotiation of required defect fixes / releases, coordinating environmental changes that impact testing.

•	I am an enthusiastic results oriented Business Analyst, superb at end to end involvement from RFP, business case to cut-off challenges on go-live.

I have been in a variety of industries/ domains, in a variety of projects.

•	if you need a proper mix of soft skills and technical skills, hire me to prove the quality of what I can contribute.

•	Vast experience with Software Product companies, Software Consulting / bespoke Software projects as well as in-house Software Projects with end-to-end involvement in SDLC, in autonomous roles as well as team management roles.
•	I am suitable for a Senior BA / Lead BA type roles, with or without team management responsibilities or Project Leader type roles to manage a team of BAs or run a small or medium sized project.
•	Have been on agile projects, projects following iterative, time-boxing and waterfall methodologies
•	Have always had a strong internal relationship / rapport built as well as with external vendors throughout my career. 

SUMMARY of SKILLS 
 
	Business Case, Scoping
	Requirements Gathering / Analysis (high & detailed levels)
	Process Mapping
	Workshop facilitation 
	Problem Solving  
	UML & Use Case Modeling
	SDLC – Agile, Iterative, MoSCoW / Time Boxing, Waterfall 
	External Vendors Management
	SQL & report writing skills
	Test Lead / Analysis, QA - UAT, regression and functional testing
	Clients / stakeholder engagement

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Zuricka Azavedo

Charukesi Rajakumar

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