First Nations businessman Cleveland McGhie has no regrets about passing up big contracts over the years because he has remained true to his core values and ethics.

The proud Wiradjuri man and his wife, Wiradjuri woman Tanieka Riley, started up Yaali Collective just under five years ago because he wanted to give First Nations kids an authentic cultural experience.

The New South Wales-based company uses resources and workshops to support people in learning about Aboriginal cultures in an interactive way that allows them to use their imagination.

"We were on a road trip to go and see family and just talking about our kids," he told the Indigenous Business Review.

"We wanted our kids and other kids to be allowed to engage with culture through education – not just in learning materials but also in different resources and products to engage and use at home or other environments.

"We wanted it to be culturally authentic, and I'm not just talking about an artwork slapped on a puzzle piece and calling it a toy."

It wasn't long before the (now) 29-year-old realised that several companies wanted to work with them because they wanted to 'tick the right boxes'.

But Yaali refused to engage with the businesses despite missing out on millions of dollars.

"We turned down over $250,000 a year contract, based on them taking one thing away that we say is our core, which is to empower our mob," he said.

"It's probably been one of the biggest challenges, as organisations aren't ready to move to a transformational model and move beyond transactional-based work. We've stuck so strongly to our core values and our ethics, that it's led to, I guess, the demise of a lot of opportunities, although it is what enabled us to start Yaali Collective.

"I will just openly say, many organisations want this tick box approach, just another transactional piece - they're not looking to transform or embed more culturally authentic and appropriate matters into their companies and organisations."

The parents of three have also faced some barriers because they perceive that a micro-business wouldn't be able to manage large partnerships.

But he continues to pivot the business and be proactive without "selling" out his core values.

"We're currently working with Play Group New South Wales and working towards a more formalised partnership and doing some co-designed resources with them as well, and hoping that we'll form a bit more of a formal partnership with them," he said.

"We have also worked closely with another state-based organisation in New South Wales, YARPA Hub.

"We are certainly open to doing collaborative co-design work at a transformational level, not just slapping an artwork on the back of a deck of cards but doing a resource where users can see, feel and connect to cultural learning as well."

Despite the challenges of running a small business, Yaali Collective is determined to keep the company going because he's passionate about connecting mob to their culture and we have an abundance of resources yet to share, we are certainly not gatekeepers.

He has some stern advice for any young First Nations person wanting to start up a business: connect to your culture and let it be what guides you, as it has and will continue to guide us.

"We can put our hand on heart and say, we haven't sold out our culture," he said.

"We know it's also been a bit of a lost business opportunity for us because of it.

"But we know that we make an impact on our culture that's been lost and disconnected, and the opportunity hasn't been there for our people, our mob every day to connect with their culture in fun, educational ways, as we are providing."