Accelerate your understanding of bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
What We Do
Collective Shift is a platform designed to help you understand and navigate the world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. It plays host to our free Knowledge Centre for early-stage learning and a Member Platform for more dedicated enthusiasts. We deliver top-tier crypto analysis through our exclusive research reports, resources, daily insights, community discussion, and much more.
Meet the Team
ben simpson
Founder & Managing director
Ben leads the business in creating and executing on core strategies that drive business growth, with focusses ranging from Strategy, Growth, Product Development, Brand & Marketing, Finance and Operations.
Ben left college at 17 to found a profitable custom sports apparel e-commerce store, shipping to sporting teams across Tasmania. In his down time, Ben loves watching sport, travelling, investing and drinking coffee.
matt willemsen
Head of Research & Content
Matt oversees a team of researchers, writers, editors and designers to produce quality content on cryptocurrency and open finance.
He has worked in the crypto space since 2017 as a writer, reporter and independent researcher.
Matt holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Monash University, double majoring in accounting and economics.
When he’s not deep down the crypto rabbit hole, Matt enjoys hiking and running as well as spending time with friends and family.
megan steicke
Head of MARKETING
Megan oversees all things digital marketing—from strategy to planning to execution—and leverages her SMB social media marketing experience to optimise the reach and impact of Collective Shift content.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in business from APM College of Business and Communication, majoring in marketing.
Outside of work, Megan is a passionate home-cook who’s big on podcasts, reading and barracking for the Bombers!
Nicholas Sciberras
SENIOR Research Analyst
Nicholas performs in-depth cryptocurrency research to ensure members remain at the cutting edge. He also helps contextualise key events and narratives for members by staying attuned to the latest crypto and macro developments.
He holds a double bachelor’s degree in arts and commerce from Deakin University as well as a master’s degree in public policy and management from the University of Melbourne.
Prior to Collective Shift, Nicholas worked as a chef for several years as well as a policy researcher.
He enjoys researching stocks, collecting records, attending live music and is a huge fan of VR.
sarah petty
Editor
Sarah contributes to the team by creating resources, writing articles and editing content in her role as an Editor.
She is a Monash University graduate with a Bachelor of Business (Banking & Finance) and a Bachelor of Arts (Journalism).
Sarah is passionate about writing, both as a career and hobby, having travelled the world to pursue journalism.
She also enjoys cooking and attending live music events in her spare time.
mark drever
design & creative services
Mark creates a number of visual brand elements for Collective Shift social media and member-facing channels. Among these are website design, advertising material, internal documentation and reports.
With an advanced diploma in digital media, Mark has spent over 12 years working as a graphic designer and branding specialist with brands in gaming, tech, finance, manufacturing, construction and healthcare.
Whenever he can, Mark enjoys going to the footy and surfing.
Nathan Gurr
SENIOR Research Analyst
Nathan contributes to each platform by conducting high-level research into all things crypto. He records the Crypto Research Calls, writing Crypto Valuation Reports, publishing Daily Posts and much more.
A dual Australian–U.S. citizen, Nathan has lived in California since high school and currently resides in Los Angeles. He graduated from the University of San Diego with a Bachelor of Accountancy (Accounting & Finance) and is a Certified Practising Account (CPA).
Nathan was introduced to crypto in 2017 when working in valuations at equity fintech startup, Carta. His interest continued growing in the years since, so much so that he started a YouTube channel and Discord community in mid-2020.
William Xiao
Community coordinator
Will aims to ensure members have an enjoyable user experience in his role, especially overseeing Collective Shift Crypto Community. His responsibilities include responding to member enquires, moderation and collecting member feedback to communicate back to the team.
Will is a graduate from RMIT with a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Entrepreneurship. His interest in the crypto ecosystem began about a year ago, and he’s been down the rabbit hole ever since!In his spare time,
Will enjoys gaming with friends and loves to travel when he can
Rafael Kimberley-Bowen
Chief Financial Officer
Raf contributes to the team by advising on financial management and strategy in his role as Chief Financial Officer.
He is a qualified accountant with a MBA, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Raf loves working with early stage companies and technology businesses, as well as cooking, travelling and playing lego with his kids.
travis thomas
Strategic advisor
Travis provides strategic, operational, and growth advice to Collective Shift whilst also leading his company Team Buffalo as Managing Director.
He started Team Buffalo with a deep belief that there can be a space for conscious, leadership-driven organisations that also generate strong financial returns—places we’d all love to work with a real purpose.
For over a decade, Travis has been building and growing businesses and leaders from rapidly scaling tech companies to Fortune 500 and ASX 100 companies. He’s passionate about building successful businesses that are great places to work.
Tim Swiss
Lead Developer
Tim puts his natural ability to solve problems to work every day at Collective Shift and loves to share the odd dad joke around the office.
He has always had a passion for anything tech-related, including djing on the side of his role as Lead Developer.
Originally from the UK, Tim has made Australia his home along with his wife and 2 kids since 2001.
David Bowen
Finance Manager
David’s vast experience in business includes working for the ATO, a not-for-profit sporting organisation, and running his own consulting services business for 10 years.
In David’s spare time, he loves to keep up with AFL and all things basketball.
His hero is his daughter who battles with cerebral palsy. He finds strength in her resilience and ability to overcome any obstacle in her way as well as encourages him to achieve great things in his own life.
Expert Contributers
Checkmate
On-Chain Analyst
Checkmate is an analyst for both on-chain market analytics platforms, Glassnode and Ready Set Vision, and contributor to the Collective Shift Member Platform.
Multiple times a week, Checkmate records member-only videos in which he breaks down the on-chain metrics and trends he’s tracking.
He also spends time in the Collective Shift Crypto Community helping members understand the nuances of analysing Bitcoin and Ethereum’s on-chain activity.
Checkmate also spends his time discussing all things fundamental, technical and on-chain about Bitcoin and Decred in his shared podcast, ‘Rough Consensus’.
Eric Hartono
Community Contributor
Eric has an extensive background in all things data and technology, currently head of data at the start-up AgFinTech in Sydney. His passion for Bitcoin began in 2017, which led him to developing a personal finance strategy and working on blockchain projects.
Migrating to Sydney from Indonesia in 2006, Eric completed his Masters in Information Technology at Macquarie University followed by his MBA in 2016.
Outside of work, Eric enjoys sharing his crypto experience with the community and keeping up-to-date with the fast-paced crypto market and blockchain technology.
