While on a sightseeing trip to Japan in 2024, guitar teacher Cameron Smith came across a local woman selling tarot readings. Perched up in a little alleyway, she offered him a seat and a glimpse into his future.

Cameron saw the experience as a bit of harmless fun. But whether you believe in the art of divination or think it’s all ‘woo-woo’, the fortune teller’s prediction did indeed come to pass.

“I remember sitting on a chair too small for me, surrounded by a mix of old buildings and towering skyscrapers. I asked for a general reading on what the rest of my year would hold,” he says.

“One of the things she told me was that I’d have a serious business decision to make that November, and if I trusted my instincts, they would lead to great things.

“I listened with interest, paid her for her time, and moved on without giving it too much thought.”

Cameron’s passion lies at the crossroads of music and psychology. Nothing brings him greater joy than seeing music resonate with students’ emotions.

He’d been working on an app that would streamline teaching for fellow educators and their students before heading to Japan for some R&R.

By the time November rolled around, Cameron had completely forgotten about his overseas brush with clairvoyance … until he happened across an ad calling for app ideas, and fell down the ‘vibe coding’ rabbit hole.

“I suddenly remembered my experience in Japan and noticed that the timing lined up, so I went for it,” he says.

“I threw myself into short courses on AI-generated code and built a prototype app. That app landed me a spot in the GRIFFIN Accelerator program at Canberra Innovation Network, which was the catalyst for bringing our business to life.”

And so MojoDojo was born.

Cameron and co-founder Daniel Sims spent the next three months in one of CBRIN’s newly refurbished co-working spaces, learning how to grow their offering, fine-tune tech, and develop pathways to customers.

CBRIN’s GRIFFIN Accelerator program pairs local entrepreneurs with expert mentors to unlock opportunities and achieve sustainable business growth. Image: Canberra Innovation Network.

MojoDojo now stands as a mobile-first platform that handles lesson scheduling, progress reporting, and communication for music teachers, their students, and parents.

“Australia is home to between 10,000 and 15,000 private music teachers generating an estimated $434 million per year,” Cameron says.

“The overwhelming majority are self-employed, running their own small businesses with no purpose-built software. That’s our primary market, and it’s largely untouched by meaningful competition.”

Of MojoDojo’s 300 alpha testers, 91 per cent used the app daily. The average session lasted 17 minutes, and 75 per cent of teacher testers indicated they were willing to pay for the product at launch.

Insights like these show the true value of innovation support through programs like GRIFFIN Accelerator. But the wider benefits of co-working also stood out to Cameron during his stint at CBRIN headquarters.

“I’m a big people person, so the opportunity to work collaboratively really resonated with me,” he says.

“There’s always someone who knows more than you or has overcome a similar challenge. Everyone was happy to offer advice or simply bounce ideas back and forth.

“It wasn’t just about mentorship either; sometimes the best sounding board is someone completely separate from your field.”

As for the future, Cameron says a return to CBRIN headquarters may be in the cards.

“MojoDojo certainly wouldn’t be as far ahead as we are now without our time there.

“We’re on track to be fully deployed to all major app platforms by mid-July this year. We intend to market internationally as well, so definitely watch this space!”

The next GRIFFIN Accelerator round kicks off in September – applications close at the end of July.