DevReady Podcast

DevReady Podcast E30 - ’Sweat Equity’ and Real Value with Paul Lange

On this episode of DevReady Podcast, Andrew and Anthony speak with Paul Lange, “Business Growth Accelerant”, about working in private equity, the life of buying companies to scale, and the importance of understanding how to grow your business.
When looking to draw investors, what you really need to be able to do is demonstrate that you can sell what you want to sell. “Sweat-equity” is great but investors care about real valuation.
Paul lays out a 9-point strategy for growing your business and prepare for success from the perspective of an investor:
1. Figure out ways to minimize your risks.
a. Find out what’s in it for you.
b. “Where’s the exit?”
c. “Show me the money”: demonstrate the capital-building potential.
2. Taking money (because you cannot really “make” money).
a. Structures: get the structures of your company right.
b. Systems: the balance of formalized and personable.
c. Scalability: so you can grow beyond your local market.
3. Making it happen: all about people.
a. Who’s on the team?
b. Where’s your niche? (The target market.)
c. Traction: Why, what, and how you do what you do
Some tips from Paul:
1. Spend one day writing out your plan, and get it on paper.
2. Iterate, iterate, iterate.
3. It has to be good enough to start — and then start!
The strategy for implementing all nine of his points: ask yourself the question, answer the question, and question the answer. Rinse and repeat until you really like what you have.
Topics Covered:
● Private equity firms.
● Managing buyouts.
● The dizziness associated with taking on a multi-million dollar portfolio.
● Money should be the last thing that’s “in it for you” in your business.
● Your vision needs to extend beyond your business.
● The effectiveness of collaborative campaigns.
● How to minimize the risks in your business.
● The importance of understanding the marketplace.
● Folding a business into yours to mutually grow.
● Understanding how much it costs to scale even a small business.
● Sweat-equity is not nearly as valuable as real valuation.
● There’s no right or wrong about structures: just put some thought into it.
● The result of systems is that they put the focus on your values.
● Small business owners need to divide and conquer.
● Hire based on values not skills.
● Think about who you really want on your board.
● Define very clearly who you add value to.
● Measuring traction.
● The experience is what keeps people coming back.
Key Quotes (Time Stamps):
❏ “I don’t want to fly C-130s: I want to be Top Gun!” - (6:30)
❏ “Before you get into anything, you need to have your exit strategy nailed down.” (8:00)
❏ “I tell most people: ‘how about you try selling your way out of your funding issues.’” (9:45)
❏ “Business is not built to last -- think about where your exit is gonna be.” (15:15)
❏ “At the end of the day, an investor and an business owner are looking to put money into their wealth account.” (19:00)
❏ “Whenever possible, we will put the smallest amount of money on the table.” (22:45)
❏ “I know people who have bootstrapped a business on a grand.” (30:15)
❏ “To really be random and fluid, you need a solid structure underneath you.” (36:40)
❏ “You cannot effectively scale without the systems in place.” (43:45)
❏ “There are different levels of exit.” (47:10)
❏ “Passion is teachable.” (49:50)
❏ “Even the Catholic Church doesn’t have 100% of the religious market.” (55:10)
❏ “If you can’t measure it, you can’t demonstrate it.” (1:02:35)
❏ “A restaurant is only as good as its last meal.” (1:07:45)
❏ “Perfection is procrastination.” (1:10:50)

DevReady Podcast E29 - Suits and Sneakers: Strategy and Technology Combined with Anne Miles

In this episode, startup founder Anne Miles talks about her journey with her company, Suits and Sneakers — where she started, what has worked and what hasn’t, and where she’s headed in the future. The name “Suits and Sneakers” comes from the essence of her business: the combination of strategic people like project managers (suits) and the technology, creative, and production people (sneakers).
Suits and Sneakers was birthed so that advertising and marketing specialists don’t get lost in the shuffle and was, at the beginning, intended to be a directory. Through a series of events, Anne ended up setting up a format so that people could tell her directly what they need and she has been doing manual matching since then. Anne talks about where her company fits in the market; somewhere between a directory and a PR agency with hands-on services.
The three discuss the advantages and disadvantages of investors and Anne shares why she hesitates to have them and is instead leaning toward an advisory board. They also talk about the pros and cons of Wordpress, how to use technology in light of your customers, beta testing, and IP rules.
At the end, Andrew and Anthony ask Anne what advice she would give herself two years ago and they provide a bit of their own advice as well.

DevReady Podcast E28 - The Journey from Idea to Product with Philip Nowell

In this episode Andrew and Anthony get to know Philip Nowell of Ontogo. Philip shares his knowledge of entering the medical device industry.
With his experience as a surgeon and passion for medical devices, Philip began working in the private sector. In 2003 he led and developed Cook Medical, a medical device company based in the United States. Once he retired and moved to Australia, Philip saw a demand for guiding others through the regulatory world of medical devices or along the journey of creating new commercial products. That’s how Ontogo came into being.
Ontogo is a network of professionals who have practiced their knowledge base, not theorized it. And with their expertise, they give real guidance to clients struggling to see their product ideas realized.
Philip tells Andrew and Anthony how to start off right, when creating a new product. From testing your product idea, evaluating the market, and preparing for investors, Philip gives detailed steps to save you time, money, and help you avoid common mistakes.
The best take away from this episode: understand your market acceptance. Is there a market for your product? Is there a problem and have you solved it? If not, you are only investing in an idea not a product.

DevReady Podcast E27 - Ins and Outs of Startup Investing with Angel Investor Hamish Hughes

On today’s episode, Andrew and Anthony speak with angel investor Hamish Hughes about how he got his start as an investor, and how the process of seeking investment rounds actually works.
After a short stint in politics, he was drawn to the VC world based on how popular it was in the UK. Moved by how under-developed the industry was in Australia, he took up investing work there.
Hamish discusses the role that investors play in the early stages of startup development and takeoff, and he shares some of his own stories. He explains some of the things that startups really need to consider before even approaching an investor, how to contact investors successfully, and how to scale after funding the founding of the company.
Andrew and Anthony also pick Hamish’s brain about the world of VC investing, what makes companies successful, and how to avoid failure (if you’re in the 10% of companies that succeed).
The best takeaways from today’s episode are centered around demystifying the investment process, as well as some of the tips Hamish offers up to debunk investing myths. Best practice is to have a good idea, don’t worry about others stealing it, and don’t expect investors to buy into something if the potential for return is not high.
And above all: be actionable. There are a hundred million dollar ideas—but only some are executed.

DevReady Episode 26 - The FinalCall Startup Journey with Paul Arnost

On today’s episode, Andrew and Anthony speak with CEO and founder of FinalCall, Paul Arnost. Paul’s interest out of high school was initially as a heavy metal vocalist, proving you can be anything. Shortly after, he worked his way into a career in the banks before starting a career in the tech world.
Over the course of this episode, Paul and the hosts get into many different topics related to success as a startup. Paul explains the concept of designing processes, business agility, and the need to communicate better.
Paul is the founder of a company that helps real estate agencies connect homebuyers to their respective homes while saving them time and money. He goes into the ins and outs of the conception of that idea, some of the roadblocks he hit along the way, and how he was able to find success, even amid the COVID pandemic.
During their conversation, Andrew and Anthony also get into many of the issues that plague tech startups in general, including workflow, project management, and delivery problems. They also list some red flags to look out for in the beginning phases. Paul laments working with many companies who struggled on the delivery front, and he opines that delivery is paramount to making the client happy. If you can just commit to always delivering the product, a lot of the other things will fall away. They also spend a little time talking about investors and how people manage to get their startups off the ground.
Paul signs off with some advice on how to stay motivated as an entrepreneur. The risks are real, and the stress is high, but the rewards are great. Paul has left us his email for anyone who wants to reach out to him.

DevReady Podcast E25 - Stewart Bird

On today’s episode, Andrew and Anthony speak with Aurecon’s Digital Futures Leader, Stewart Bird. The three talk about forging client-focused initiatives, dealing with challenges in the corporate world, and looking into the future to adapt for a digital and automated world.
In addition to the world of automation, Andrew and Anthony hear from Stewart about how mindset might be the number one change agent in business. The learning mindset, or the growth mindset, is what pushes business to improve their processes and continue to find ways to add value to their brand. “By doing, you’re learning,” they say. They incorporate McKinsey’s Three Horizons to group and plan their research and development.
Stewart also talks a good deal about this idea called the “Prosumer”: that customers are moving away from business that still happens transactionally. They are instead looking for relationships to connect in a human way with their partners. This kind of thing comes as a challenge, but Stewart spends a good portion of the rest of the interview describing some tactics for how to do that, including streamlining your processes internally and looking for ways to incorporate technology that will make your job easier.
Finally, the hosts ask Stewart to share some parting wisdom. He ultimately says to listen to your customers. If you don’t have a “finger on the pulse,” you’re going to be dead in the water. This means being flexible to adapt to change. It means looking for ways to automate processes and checking for faulty designs. It means going out in the field to see what your customers really want. That’s the only way you can truly add value to your brand. And you have to trust them. Think externally: what will this lead to? Prepare for those changes as your projects develop and your ideas come to fruition, because you’re going to want your customers to keep coming back to your business. Make it easier on them. Show that you care about who they are. And deliver your best work possible.

DevReady Podcast E24 - William Strange

On today’s episode, Andrew and Anthony speak with William Strange about his company, Sports Performance Tracking (SPT), his history of entrepreneurship, and the future of tech.
From Melbourne, Will got his start in real estate, he saw successes in the industry and moved over to the property development side of things. Not long after, in 2013, he founded a subscription-underwear business for men. He was able to land an investment on Shark Tank for his subscription company Three65. Ultimately, he ended up selling Three65 shortly after his appearance on Shark Tank.
Will explains that in order to be successful, you need to build your processes so that anyone can do it. Create the infrastructure that will allow the buyer down the road to jump on production with little friction.
Andrew and Anthony discuss the stages that an entrepreneur must walk through, including the conception stage, research and development, and testing the prototypes for the initial product delivery. Born out of the idea of GPS tracking bikes and cars, William developed the GPS tech necessary to track the movements of high-performing athletes. Ultimately, this required him to develop his own hardware because vehicle-based GPS was limited in its ability to monitor precision movements.
Unfortunately, Will didn’t have the software, either. So he not only needed to develop the hardware, but the software as well. Trying to deliver this product proved to be more difficult than he imagined at first. Will also goes into how the COVID pandemic has impacted his cash flow and his team. Beyond this, Will discusses how the business world is likely going to be changed by the impact of the COVID-19. Most businesses are going to reevaluate their expenses when it comes to office space and overhead because most are still able to work from home and keep the company alive. There is some concern about monitoring employees, however.
In conclusion, the hosts reflect with Will on the future of business in the tech industry and look forward to more conversations about the marriage of tech and sports.

DevReady Podcast E23 - Terry Wilson

In this weeks episode of the DevReady Podcast, we spoke to Terry Wilson from Chat Metrics | Conversation as a Service - CaaS | Live Chat | Lead Generation.
When developing a #Saas product, we can sometimes focus all our energy on the building the tech. But in the end, like every other business, we need to understand how to market, nature and convert our leads.
Chatbots is a new piece of tech that many businesses have begun putting in the corner of their websites. If you have a chatbot, have you considered the experience that your customers and prospects are having with the bot?
Terry is an advocate for live chat, having real people talk to your customers and helping them engage and interact with your webpage and service offerings.
Love to hear your thoughts below.
Would you prefer to talk to a bot or a real person?

DevReady Podcast E22 - Miriana Taflaga

In this week's episode of the DevReady Podcast, we were joined Miriana Taflaga, Principle - Experience Design from Symplicit.
During this episode, we explored how Human-Centred design can dramatically increase your likelihood of success.
In simple terms...
Work with your users!
Throughout our journey of designing and developing software solutions, we have heard this time and time again.
"We want it to be perfect before we show users."
Are you making the same mistake?

DevReady Podcast E21 - Adam Jacoby

On this week's episode of the DevReady Podcast, we interviewed Adam A. Jacoby, founder of MiVote, Chairman Esport Mogul (ASX:ESH), 2 X Codex World's Top 50 Innovator, Director Global & Strategic Innovation Swinburne University of Technology Innovation Precinct.
This story of a non-tech founder describes what it takes to deliver upon a moonshot idea.
Through MiVote, Adam's objective is to reimagine what democracy could be when delivered through a startup company.
In this episode, you will learn about the highs, lows and everything in between for a startup entrepreneur.