MQ Incubator Lunch & Learn: The Psychology of Entrepreneurial Courage

Entrepreneurial Courage explores why fear, uncertainty and self-doubt are a normal part of building something new — and why waiting to feel confident can keep us stuck. Drawing on his background in psychology and neuroscience, coupled with observations of hundreds of entrepreneurs through the years, James’ talk examines how avoidance reinforces fear, while taking small, deliberate actions builds self-efficacy and confidence over time. Importantly, courage isn’t about recklessness: we need to learn to distinguish fear that signals genuine danger from the discomfort that comes with rejection, uncertainty and growth. The central idea is simple: confidence often comes after action, not before it — so feel the fear, interrogate it, and when it’s discomfort rather than danger, do it anyway. Who is this talk for: • Startup Founders – Early stage and beyond • Researchers thinking about commercialising their work • Anyone with big goals but needing more confidence • Procrastinators – Young and Old • Students/grads looking to kickstart their careers • People with big dreams but not knowing where to begin • People with a growth mindset that want to improve themselves About James James Linton is the Incubator Manager at Macquarie University Incubator, where he works with students, researchers and founders to turn ideas into scalable ventures. With over a decade of experience across research, innovation and partnerships, James has built a strong track record in driving collaboration between universities, industry and startups. He is passionate about embedding entrepreneurial thinking into diverse sectors and has played a key role in developing programs that build commercialisation capability and startup skills across multidisciplinary communities. At the Incubator, James designs and delivers training in lean startup methodology, design thinking, and pitching, helping founders validate ideas, engage customers, and communicate their value with clarity. He works closely with early-stage teams through workshops, mentoring, and pitch consulting—supporting ventures from concept through to market readiness. This is a hybrid event held at 8 Hadenfeld Ave and via Zoom. For online attendees, the meeting link will be sent in your confirmation email. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Incubator team at [email protected]. Please BYO lunch.