Cade Witnish: From “Not Likely to Get In” to Co-Founding PlayHQ

What happens when you're told university probably isn’t realistic for you? Maybe it comes from a teacher, a report card, careers counsellor, or from someone who thinks they’re being helpful. In this episode of More Than a Score, we sit down with Cade Witnish — co-founder of digital marketing agency Loud & Clear and sports technology platform PlayHQ — who heard exactly that just months before his final exams. Growing up in regional New South Wales, Cade was labelled as someone with “potential” who didn’t quite apply himself. He was advised to consider alternative plans because he was not seen as likely to achieve the score required for university. Then his ATAR surprised everyone. But this conversation is not about proving people wrong. It is about something deeper. It is about how low expectations can shape who we think we are, the influence of a determined mum who believed finishing Year 12 and “getting a ticket” to opportunity mattered, and the teacher who saw something in Cade before he saw it in himself. And it is about discovering that you are far more capable than any label placed on you. Today, as a successful entrepreneur and business leader, Cade reflects on growing up first-generation tertiary educated, navigating comparison and self-doubt, and why growth is often uncomfortable but necessary. What You’ll Hear in This Episode • What to do if you or your child has ever been told university may not be realistic • How to navigate the label “has potential but doesn’t apply themselves” without letting it define identity • Why finishing Year 12 and “getting a ticket” can mean more than just a score • What first-generation tertiary education looks like in real life • How one teacher’s belief can shift a student’s entire trajectory • Why exam pressure can sometimes reveal strengths you didn’t know you had • The difference between surviving school and truly understanding how you grow • How to help young people build resilience without comparison • Why confidence rarely arrives all at once and often develops years later • How choosing growth and challenge over comfort builds long-term success This episode is a powerful reminder that potential is often misread in the moment, and that the trajectory of a life is rarely defined at 18. One score does not define you, but one sentence of belief can change your whole trajectory.