Maddalena disrupts the ice cream industry with Australia's first handcrafted oat milk soft serve, Future Swirl, while navigating the growing threats of cyber attacks on small businesses.
When Maddalena Easterbrook was in high school, her dream job was to be a journalist, or more specifically — a war correspondent.
After graduating from university, Maddalena worked her way up in media and eventually landed a role at the ABC.
It sounds as though everything was on track… almost.
Just like many people during the COVID-19 pandemic, Maddalena had a shift in perspective and became more aware of the impact that some foods had on the environment. She made the personal decision to swap to a plant-based diet and quickly realised there were a few favourites missing from the shelf. The biggest one being delicious, plant-based ice cream – Future Swirl.
Dairy-free delights
She already loved oat milk in her coffee and this is where the first seed (or oat?) was planted for her small business: Australia’s first handcrafted oat milk soft serve ice cream.
Dairy-free delights
She already loved oat milk in her coffee and this is where the first seed (or oat?) was planted for her small business: Australia’s first handcrafted oat milk soft serve ice cream.
Eager to start her business as quickly as possible, Maddalena launched Future Swirl at the end of 2022, just a year after she first had the idea.
“We started doing markets, and it’s grown from there,” she said. “It’s been such a joy seeing kids enjoy their first soft serve or people with allergies discovering something for them.”
With success at a local level, she’s ready to level up and will be opening her first manufacturing operation in Canberra and also serving up tubbed ice cream to independent grocers by the end of April.
“I love what I do now, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I never thought being an entrepreneur would be on my path, but I honestly love it,” she said.
Impact of cyber attacks
Opening a small business hasn’t been without its challenges, with Maddalena already having had some run-ins with cyber attacks.
Impact of cyber attacks
Opening a small business hasn’t been without its challenges, with Maddalena already having had some run-ins with cyber attacks.
“I’ve had my business credit cards skimmed in BIN attacks on two occasions and thousands of dollars were stolen.”
“You put your blood, sweat and tears into your business and I want it to succeed. If it was to all unravel because I didn’t put in the necessary cyber security measures — I’d be devastated.”
Thankfully, Maddalena was able to work with her bank to recover the funds, but it’s made her more alert to future risks.
“Doing the Cyber Wardens course has been so helpful to inform our company policies and looking around our business to minimise cyber risks,” she said.
“We’re focussed on enabling multi-factor authentication, being cautious about who has access to what accounts, thinking twice about the links we click on and monitoring emails being sent and received.”
Now with cyber protections in place, Maddalena can focus on the big goals for her business and feel confident cyber criminals won’t be getting in the way.
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