CIO Leadership Live New Zealand with Sam Daish, Chief Technology Officer at Blackpearl Group

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Kerry
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Everyone, welcome to CIO Leadership
Live, New Zealand.
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My guest today is some day chief
technology officer at Black Pearl Group.
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Sam has held a number of technology
leadership roles at well-known
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New Zealand startups, including Curious,
which was bought by Spark and Xero.
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Hi, Sam. Lovely to meet you.
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Hey, Kathy.
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Hey, everyone.
Thanks so much for having me.
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Great, great.
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Great to have you on.
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Senior leadership live today.
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And so let's get into it.
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Tell us, give us a brief history
of your career today
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and how did you get your start in it?
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Yeah, I have a probably a fairly unusual
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background
for someone who's a CTO at the moment.
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So my original career
was actually in teaching.
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So I trained as a secondary school teacher
but didn't do that for very long at all
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the hours too long
and the workloads to hide
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the students.
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Awesome set up that side of it.
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But from there I joined
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National Bank
at that time and Human Resources
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and they got moved to the strategic
planning function
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and they moved to the UK and got involved
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with Ernst Young and KPMG
and they moved to a private equity firm.
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And the private equity firm is where
I first heard some machine learning
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driving their technology function
and then had a baby daughter.
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And so I wanted to come back
to New Zealand and worked
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for Kiwibank as effectively
the CIO and I think
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was called enterprise information
or something like that
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and moved to zero
to come GM of data innovation.
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And then as you said,
it moved to Curious Lady Day.
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I function there
and then moved to Blackpool.
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So yeah, I do not have a computer
science degree.
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I am not a doctor in mathematics
or anything like that, but I hope that
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what I bring is a real kind of person
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and human focused approach to technology.
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And also, you know, reportedly for CEOs
and other, you know,
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audience out there,
a strategic perspective.
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So, you know,
I really got into that from a strategic,
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you know,
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angle rather than focus on keyboards
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and in the latest application
or anything like that.
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And very interesting career trajectory
there.
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And I love that,
you know, you started out in teaching
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and then made your way into technology
through that route.
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And it is quite interesting,
speaking to a number of CIOs,
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you've actually had quite a few different
pathways into I.T., so you're not alone.
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I've spoken to a few
who started out in the police force
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and economics, marketing,
finance, and ended up in I.T.
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Great that you have
those different perspectives there.
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So, look, electro group is a relatively
new addition to New Zealand startup scene.
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So can you give us a bit more background
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on its purpose and who you're
targeting with your products?
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Yeah, so
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Blackpool is all about delivering growth
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through data and AI and technology
to small medium sized businesses.
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So and where we're focused
on the US market. So
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for us are small, medium sized businesses,
anyone up to a thousand people.
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So and the New Zealand context,
reasonably large.
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But yeah, we really try to have our data
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and our technology
have a direct line to growth.
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So there's no kind of fuzzy matrix
about it.
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You can very clearly see that
my sales team are using this
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to make more sales, or I could see how
this is adding to my top line.
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And so that's where we are focused, that's
where our products are focused,
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that's where our technology is focused,
that's where our data is focused.
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So as
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CTO, then, you know,
you delved into a little bit of it there,
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but how are you really and the rest
of the team enabling that mission,
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your work?
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What I love about working
for a smaller company like Blackwell,
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although definitely had us, Xero
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and Kiwibank as well, is
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really starting with the customer
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and everything flows from there.
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So at Kiwibank
you have a very clear vision
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of making New Zealand
a more prosperous place
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within a new Zealand owned bank
and have a real focus.
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Their Xero had a really clear focus
on, you know, making accounting,
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paying less, sorry but joyful for,
you know, small business
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who did not get in the business
to do accounting
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and make it a wonderful tool
for accountants.
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And so like Palu,
I really try and bring all of that
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experience around that customer focus.
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And then the starting
point of our technology.
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So, you know, what
data does a small business owner
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or a Cyrus laid out or a marketing leader,
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they need to help grow their business.
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How do they want to interact with that
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and what tools do they want
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to integrate was because,
you know, as we noted,
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technology's an enormous space
and there's lots of tools out there.
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And sometimes you just want something
to plug into something else that
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that you use.
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And so
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from a technology perspective,
how did the customer in mind
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hold some good outcomes
for our shareholders of mind?
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And then how can technology
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enable that to happen?
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And you can come up with quite a few,
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you know, innovative
ways of approaching that problem.
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So I'm sure everyone who is listening,
you know, AI
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is a big part of our focus at the moment,
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and that enables
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a lot of simplicity for end user,
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but that enables a lot of
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work to be done behind the scenes
and then have a really nice
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for you simple workspace for a user.
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So I guess what
I and my team try to bring to Blackpool
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is that experience and technology,
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but applying that to very clear
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business problems
or business opportunities
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and the problems
that customers are facing day in, day out.
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So I don't I don't think, you know,
the team is unusual that way.
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I think a lot of technology firms would
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describe themselves
as taking that approach.
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And what I like about Blackpool
and the size that we are is,
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is there's no line really between us
and the customers.
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So, you know,
I am interacting with customers every day
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and a bunch of my team
are interacting with customers every day.
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And so that gives you a nice insight
into actually what is working for them.
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What I thought was super simple
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they thought was slightly
confusing and difficult.
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And you know, what I regard as confusing
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and difficult in that
regard has been very clear.
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So, yeah, getting as close to
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the customer as possible is really
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what I push the team to do
or lead the team to do,
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and then applying their incredible
expertise in relation to that.
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So given what you've just said there,
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it sounds like,
you know, as CTO that you really have
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a role
in influencing the organization, then
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I expect the wider leadership team as well
would that be fair to say?
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Yeah, I'm super lucky because
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I guess
maybe as my background indicates, but
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I'm interested in lots and lots of things,
so I'm lucky enough
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to be a genuinely kind
of curious curiosity about stuff.
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And so being CTO at a company
like Blackpool,
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I get involved
in all of the technology stuff obviously,
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but also thinking about how do we resource
the entire organization,
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what does our go to market
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product strategy look like?
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I even take a look at the ads
and the marketing that we've gotten.
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What's the customer onboarding process?
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How do we process staff?
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How are we going to talk to investors?
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So I'm
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really fortunate that for me,
I get to play.
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I get so many fingers and so many pies
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and apply some of that experience.
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I've got through working at Zero
and Kiwibank private equity
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and consulting firms
and professional services firms.
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I think all of that provides useful
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battle scars that you can draw on
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about things that you've messed up
in the past that you don't want to repeat.
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So yeah, so it's a very rewarding role.
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I have.
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Yeah, very, very fortunate.
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And of course, and with that
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focus on the US,
I, I know that you have an I.t team
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that's based in various places
around the world
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and so can you talk to us a bit
about the challenges
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of having an I.T
team spread across the world
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and what are those challenges
and what are the benefits?
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Yeah, it's a common situation now.
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A 2 to 4 teams
distributed across the globe
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and so I'm always really interested
in other people's experiences
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with that as well.
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And I try to touch base with
as many people that are in the situation.
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So I think the the main thing for us
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is to not think of the teams
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as being outsourced, but rather
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they are fully part of the team
just in a different location.
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And so, you know,
we have some of the team here in
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Wellington,
we have some of them in New Plymouth.
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We had some of them in Dubai,
we had some of them in India
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and we have some of the US.
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And so there is no difference
between those teams.
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None of them are outsourced teams.
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They are all just in a different location.
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But to make that
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like Rio rather than just an airy
fairy comment,
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I think the some of the trucks
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or trips that I've had
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and that we carried through on
is about time zones.
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So time zones are difficult
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or they present an opportunity
and depending on what you're
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trying to achieve.
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So that's you're trying to achieve a 24
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seven operational coverage.
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Then having people in different time
zones is actually super helpful
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because someone doesn't
have to get up at 3 a.m.
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to restart something.
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And then if you're in that situation,
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what you really need
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is some very clear processes
so that everyone approaches the problem
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in the same way for the same problem
and some very clear escalation.
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So as they do get into an area where it's
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outside their knowledge,
they know who to draw.
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So it can be a real advantage
from from that perspective.
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And I think looking at it as an advantage
is the right mindset to
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then if you've got more of a
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product team
where you're really trying to,
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you know, generate lots of ideas
and having lots of code
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working and working on the same problems
at the same time,
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where possible, try to align
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the working hours or at least have,
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you know, 3 hours
where everyone is online at the same time
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and can have a conversation like this
rather than just relying
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on email or Slack or whatever
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your messaging platform of choices.
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And you probably need to either
communicate.
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So whereas you might just be on a swap
some ideas at the office,
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you actually need to write those out
so that everyone is on the same page.
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One of the habits that we have got into
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is using video recordings
more than I ever have done before.
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So rather than trying to write down
everything that you want to communicate,
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actually do a three minute
video just like this. And
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that allows you
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to capture that tone of voice
that you don't get
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on a written format
that allows you to issue expressions.
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You know, for someone to know
when you're having a laugh, you know,
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when you're being a bit sarcastic
or ironic, which
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which might not come across at any level
or a slight message.
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So yeah, the shared working times
and where you need to communicate
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outside those shared work
at times using a variety of mediums,
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voice, video, writing stuff down.
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We use a lot of
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we use me around the locks
or mapping out a process
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and people
being able to comment on a asynchronously.
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But I think at the heart of it
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is really a mindset around
how do you think about people
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that are not working
in the same place as you?
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Do you regard them as a fully fledged
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member of your team
or do you regard them as someone
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who is working in a different way
somewhere else?
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Yeah, absolutely.
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And look, how do you attract talent then,
given that it is a start up?
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You know, it's not a household name. Yes.
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Although given that you've worked
at places like Xero and Curious
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and maybe at a household name
in the next few years,
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how do you attract talent
when it is not a well known organization?
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Yeah, the easiest way is through
a personal network like that.
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That is by far
the most effective and the easiest.
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So, you know,
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I work with a guy, David Hunt,
a contractor with us, who I used to work
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at Zero was
and there's a few other people like that
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where we've had the most successful hires
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is where it's a personal recommendation
from someone with worked
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with within the past
or someone that's currently in the team.
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So that that's the easiest
it's the most effective.
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If you could do that
every time, that that would be brilliant.
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But you know, in New Zealand
we get a lot of success
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just through straight advertising.
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I think as long as you articulate
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the opportunity that you've got,
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people will respond to that opportunity.
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If that's something
that they want to get involved in.
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And I think technology
is one of those spaces
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that not being a household name
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is maybe an advantage like.
00:16:13:10 - 00:16:14:23
So it feels like in
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you are doing something
that's a bit different, that's a bit new.
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I that that is attractive to many people
and many people
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want to be part of a start up vibe, right?
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Absolutely.
00:16:27:03 - 00:16:30:03
So just, just,
just on that then, you know,
00:16:30:03 - 00:16:34:05
New Zealand is has some very well-known
startups studies
00:16:34:07 - 00:16:37:07
that are household names
and indeed you worked at many of them.
00:16:37:08 - 00:16:39:17
So do you think it's a good place?
00:16:39:17 - 00:16:42:06
And in terms of supporting startups
00:16:42:06 - 00:16:46:04
and if not, is there
anything that can be done better?
00:16:46:06 - 00:16:48:07
Yeah, I think yes and no.
00:16:48:07 - 00:16:52:05
So I think the the advantages
00:16:52:05 - 00:16:55:05
we've got,
there's some amazing people here.
00:16:55:07 - 00:16:59:22
You know, they're they are really smart
people, was really good experience
00:16:59:22 - 00:17:06:00
who are really well connected
and know how to take an idea and turn it
00:17:06:00 - 00:17:11:12
into something that is a viable business
or at least is worth a shot.
00:17:11:14 - 00:17:12:23
And Wellington is
00:17:12:23 - 00:17:16:01
small enough
that there are a lot of networks
00:17:16:01 - 00:17:19:19
and connections
where you can draw on these ideas.
00:17:19:21 - 00:17:23:21
And I think as New Zealanders,
we're quite willing
00:17:23:21 - 00:17:27:22
to share our ideas and our experience.
00:17:28:00 - 00:17:32:12
And so it's not hard to, you know, ping
someone as I could,
00:17:32:12 - 00:17:34:08
we catch up for a cup of coffee
00:17:34:08 - 00:17:37:13
and then have a chat
and can I bounce this idea of you?
00:17:37:15 - 00:17:41:10
So I think A it's a real advantage
00:17:41:10 - 00:17:44:14
when it comes to testing an idea.
00:17:44:16 - 00:17:47:05
I think it's hard to raise
00:17:47:05 - 00:17:50:05
money in New Zealand at the moment.
00:17:50:10 - 00:17:53:02
So, you know, if you're looking for a bit
00:17:53:02 - 00:17:57:02
seed capital
that that can make it difficult.
00:17:57:04 - 00:18:02:23
And I think one of the other things that
00:18:03:01 - 00:18:06:00
New Zealand makes a little bit
difficult is
00:18:06:06 - 00:18:11:06
I think our larger enterprises
who have the money to buy these startup
00:18:11:06 - 00:18:16:05
products and services
and our government departments
00:18:16:07 - 00:18:20:09
tend to opt for the known name
00:18:20:11 - 00:18:26:03
and that tends to be an incumbent
and that tends to be an overseas provider.
00:18:26:05 - 00:18:30:22
And so, you know, it just feels safe to go
with some of those bigger names
00:18:30:22 - 00:18:33:22
that is now well-established names,
00:18:34:00 - 00:18:36:19
whereas there could be a huge benefit
00:18:36:19 - 00:18:41:01
of working with a startup
who's willing to adapt their processes
00:18:41:01 - 00:18:45:20
and their product and their services
and work super hard for you
00:18:45:22 - 00:18:49:00
as an enterprise And man,
00:18:49:01 - 00:18:54:23
there is so much open tech
and as a service tech
00:18:55:01 - 00:18:58:18
out there
that like you're not using lower grade
00:18:58:18 - 00:19:02:23
technology or anything like that
from the start ups also knows
00:19:03:01 - 00:19:07:04
the based on us, the most innovative,
the most leading edge that
00:19:07:08 - 00:19:11:05
some of the incumbents have kind of quite
got round to turning on to a product.
00:19:11:05 - 00:19:16:04
Yeah so so yeah there's some incredible
advantages, you know, around the people,
00:19:16:04 - 00:19:20:21
the connections, the talent,
the mindset, the culture.
00:19:20:23 - 00:19:24:09
But then there are some difficult things
around raising money.
00:19:24:11 - 00:19:29:01
And if you're focused on the enterprise,
getting the attention
00:19:29:01 - 00:19:34:15
of those larger enterprise
customers can be can be hard.
00:19:34:17 - 00:19:36:16
Now, you mentioned culture there.
00:19:36:16 - 00:19:39:22
And of course, you know, startup
culture is something that attracts
00:19:39:22 - 00:19:43:14
a lot of people to work for for a startup.
00:19:43:16 - 00:19:46:06
But what's that transition like when
00:19:46:06 - 00:19:50:08
when a startup starts scaling
and becomes a big player like Xero?
00:19:50:08 - 00:19:53:12
Now is do you lose
some of that startup culture
00:19:53:12 - 00:19:55:16
and not knowing,
you know, people by first name?
00:19:55:16 - 00:20:01:13
And how how do you plan to hang on to
that as you grow black pro
00:20:01:15 - 00:20:02:11
Yeah, yeah.
00:20:02:11 - 00:20:05:11
It's and there's some good things
about moving
00:20:05:11 - 00:20:08:11
to enterprise kind of scale.
00:20:08:11 - 00:20:12:02
You know,
there is some additional robustness
00:20:12:02 - 00:20:17:14
and maybe, you know, you're able to use
a bit of time to, to establish
00:20:17:14 - 00:20:22:04
processes around how to do stuff,
which makes onboarding people easier.
00:20:22:06 - 00:20:26:06
And so it's some of that stuff that as you
grow,
00:20:26:08 - 00:20:31:15
you want to embrace like some of the good
stuff you want to embrace.
00:20:31:17 - 00:20:34:00
I think the the main
00:20:34:00 - 00:20:39:12
thing that I hear
and probably experienced, I guess around
00:20:39:14 - 00:20:42:14
a larger organization versus a startup
00:20:42:16 - 00:20:46:09
is simply the pace of decision making.
00:20:46:11 - 00:20:51:05
But the more layers
there are an organization,
00:20:51:07 - 00:20:55:18
the more information gets lost
as you move between layers.
00:20:55:20 - 00:21:00:17
And that makes it harder for everyone
to make a good decision
00:21:00:19 - 00:21:04:00
and it makes it easier to all
rather than make a decision.
00:21:04:00 - 00:21:05:12
I'll ask a question
00:21:05:12 - 00:21:09:12
which then has to go through several
layers before you kind of get an answer.
00:21:09:14 - 00:21:11:22
So I think, you know, the trick
00:21:11:22 - 00:21:14:23
really to capturing that kind of style
00:21:15:01 - 00:21:18:23
and spirit and energy and momentum
00:21:19:01 - 00:21:24:07
is keeping organization Super Slack's,
you know, as flat as possible
00:21:24:09 - 00:21:29:05
and having very direct lines
of communication
00:21:29:07 - 00:21:32:20
rather than having barriers
to communication.
00:21:32:22 - 00:21:36:06
So, you know, exactly indexed everywhere.
00:21:36:06 - 00:21:41:07
So you know, I developed I should feel
completely comfortable talking to the CEO
00:21:41:09 - 00:21:46:06
and the CEO should feel very comfortable
talking to a developer in this case.
00:21:46:08 - 00:21:50:06
I think one of the good examples
that I've experienced
00:21:50:08 - 00:21:54:16
of that is when I first joined Xero,
00:21:54:18 - 00:21:57:12
there
were these things called broad boards
00:21:57:12 - 00:22:02:04
where Rod Jury would swing by your desk,
ask you what you're working
00:22:02:04 - 00:22:07:02
on, show me something cool,
and then fire three ideas that you about.
00:22:07:02 - 00:22:09:04
You know what you should do differently.
00:22:09:04 - 00:22:14:14
And sometimes that's like super
uncomfortable and some people hate that.
00:22:14:16 - 00:22:18:00
But the, the amazing thing about it
00:22:18:02 - 00:22:23:03
is, you know, the CEO of the space company
00:22:23:05 - 00:22:26:18
understood what you were working on
and in that moment had
00:22:26:18 - 00:22:31:19
some ideas about it, which could be bad
or could be, you know, game changing.
00:22:31:21 - 00:22:36:19
But an either way, there's
an exchange of ideas and information.
00:22:36:21 - 00:22:38:04
And so I think that's
00:22:38:04 - 00:22:41:19
that's the kind of thing that happens
naturally in a small organization.
00:22:42:00 - 00:22:46:20
It is hard in a big organization
and simply,
00:22:46:22 - 00:22:51:08
you know, you need to get out there
and have conversations
00:22:51:09 - 00:22:55:09
with people and not fall into those
00:22:55:11 - 00:22:57:17
layers of communication.
00:22:57:17 - 00:23:01:00
And absolutely my $0.10
00:23:01:00 - 00:23:05:05
or so look, I has very much been
00:23:05:05 - 00:23:09:17
the buzz word of 2023, you know, even
though it's been around for a long time.
00:23:09:17 - 00:23:13:12
And of course, you've worked in roles
for many years, so
00:23:13:12 - 00:23:17:16
and keen to get your thoughts on
how you see it evolving.
00:23:17:16 - 00:23:20:20
And, you know, is it
that productivity silver bullet
00:23:20:20 - 00:23:22:14
the companies have been looking for?
00:23:22:14 - 00:23:29:04
And is there anything you think CIOs should be cautious about when it comes to? I
00:23:29:06 - 00:23:31:00
Yeah, it's exploded, hasn't it?
00:23:31:00 - 00:23:35:23
It's really exploded
into the public consciousness.
00:23:36:01 - 00:23:40:11
And yeah, I was lucky enough
to be involved in what we call a machine
00:23:40:11 - 00:23:45:18
learning back then,
which is a different kind of buy
00:23:45:20 - 00:23:49:02
in 2010
00:23:49:04 - 00:23:50:09
or 2008.
00:23:50:09 - 00:23:56:00
So I had a private equity firm
where we were trying to identify
00:23:56:00 - 00:24:00:21
the really relevant news stories
to the targets that we were going after.
00:24:00:21 - 00:24:07:00
And those are and summarize
all of that information.
00:24:07:02 - 00:24:11:22
So yeah, I'm kind of lucky in that
I've been living on the air.
00:24:11:22 - 00:24:16:18
I will say, you know, ten years
00:24:16:20 - 00:24:18:19
so I can understand how challenging
00:24:18:19 - 00:24:23:00
it might be for someone
that is just being asked to look at it.
00:24:23:02 - 00:24:26:04
So it is radically different.
00:24:26:05 - 00:24:32:04
But the the difference between
pre check GPT,
00:24:32:06 - 00:24:35:15
if you like, is the most recognizable
and post
00:24:35:17 - 00:24:39:08
GPT t is truly different.
00:24:39:10 - 00:24:46:06
It is truly a different world and people
shouldn't downplay the difference.
00:24:46:08 - 00:24:46:22
One of
00:24:46:22 - 00:24:50:11
the differences
is the ease of using the tool.
00:24:50:16 - 00:24:53:18
So previously to build
00:24:53:23 - 00:24:56:21
a tool like that or use a tool like that,
00:24:56:21 - 00:25:02:10
you had to be a developer
in some way or a technologist in some way.
00:25:02:12 - 00:25:04:18
And now you know it's a text.
00:25:04:18 - 00:25:09:05
You and everyone can type
into a text field
00:25:09:05 - 00:25:13:02
or just about everyone
could type into a text field.
00:25:13:04 - 00:25:16:14
And so it's that how
00:25:16:16 - 00:25:19:10
that has also radically changed
00:25:19:10 - 00:25:23:19
those now freely available to everyone.
00:25:23:20 - 00:25:27:01
And that's the big difference.
00:25:27:03 - 00:25:32:07
And so I think, you know,
I like many people and probably almost
00:25:32:09 - 00:25:34:21
all of your listeners use
00:25:34:21 - 00:25:39:19
these tools on a daily
or at least weekly basis,
00:25:39:21 - 00:25:43:15
and it does enhance work productivity.
00:25:43:15 - 00:25:49:14
You know, what could have taken me an hour
or something to sift through the net
00:25:49:14 - 00:25:56:16
and learn something churchy
pretty can summarize for a very rapidly.
00:25:56:18 - 00:25:57:16
So I think
00:25:57:16 - 00:26:00:06
the trick really is trying to work
00:26:00:06 - 00:26:03:06
out, well, how am I going to use that
00:26:03:07 - 00:26:06:06
for the benefit of my customers?
00:26:06:06 - 00:26:11:12
You know, what would make a difference
to a lot of my customers
00:26:11:12 - 00:26:15:05
to be able to do something like that?
00:26:15:07 - 00:26:18:03
And what is the difference
that I can provide or
00:26:18:03 - 00:26:22:02
my company can provide
that is not just cheap too.
00:26:22:04 - 00:26:25:10
So anyone can sign up for free
to check everyday.
00:26:25:12 - 00:26:26:10
So just see.
00:26:26:10 - 00:26:29:10
As I say, that is not adding any value.
00:26:29:10 - 00:26:33:15
What is the difference
that I could do around that?
00:26:33:17 - 00:26:38:02
And that's where I think
you need to bounce around a lot of ideas
00:26:38:04 - 00:26:42:06
with the team that you have,
but also talk to quite
00:26:42:06 - 00:26:47:09
a wide range of people
to get different perspectives on it.
00:26:47:11 - 00:26:49:19
And this
00:26:49:19 - 00:26:53:05
is where talking to people
that truly understand
00:26:53:08 - 00:26:57:04
AI is really beneficial because there's
00:26:57:04 - 00:27:00:04
some things that I'm really good at
and there's some things
00:27:00:04 - 00:27:05:13
that it's not very good at and often
those are slightly counterintuitive.
00:27:05:13 - 00:27:10:07
I think it would be good at something
that's not.
00:27:10:09 - 00:27:16:02
And so getting a realistic view of
that is super useful.
00:27:16:04 - 00:27:20:16
I have one of my pet peeves
00:27:20:18 - 00:27:23:22
is when I was at a large organization
00:27:24:00 - 00:27:26:23
and the CEO would
00:27:26:23 - 00:27:31:01
say would come to me and say, Hey,
I had this presentation from these people
00:27:31:01 - 00:27:36:10
when they tell me that we can do this,
so we should do that.
00:27:36:12 - 00:27:40:05
And you kind of go, Yeah, in theory
they're right.
00:27:40:07 - 00:27:42:07
Then our situation is that
00:27:42:07 - 00:27:46:13
is these problems, are these
the things that we would need to overcome?
00:27:46:15 - 00:27:49:11
But it's being presented in a way
that makes it sound
00:27:49:11 - 00:27:53:21
just easy and super attractive
and is super attractive.
00:27:53:21 - 00:27:57:10
It's just not as easy
as it's been portrayed lately,
00:27:57:16 - 00:28:00:06
especially when they don't know
what's involved
00:28:00:06 - 00:28:03:06
to integrate the flashy thing
that's being presented.
00:28:03:11 - 00:28:04:11
Yeah, that's right.
00:28:04:11 - 00:28:09:14
And so it's not that the TV is bad
or anything like that, but you need
00:28:09:16 - 00:28:11:23
some realism in there
00:28:11:23 - 00:28:14:21
to understand where your business is today
00:28:14:21 - 00:28:17:15
and what differences you can make.
00:28:17:15 - 00:28:20:21
It always tied back to a difference
00:28:20:21 - 00:28:25:06
for a customer
or a difference for another stakeholder.
00:28:25:08 - 00:28:29:20
So, you know, one of the project
that I was really excited about,
00:28:29:22 - 00:28:34:17
really keen on Curious,
was where we were using machine vision.
00:28:34:20 - 00:28:38:06
So computer vision
and there was lots of that.
00:28:38:06 - 00:28:39:19
Like we also got asked
00:28:39:19 - 00:28:44:00
to produce something and it was quite easy
to produce a proof of concept.
00:28:44:02 - 00:28:48:12
But the reason why I liked this one is
I was working with a waste management firm
00:28:48:14 - 00:28:52:01
who operated landfills
and they had recently
00:28:52:02 - 00:28:57:00
had an incident where someone had seen,
I think it was a bicycle and the landfill
00:28:57:00 - 00:29:01:14
would decided to jump on the landfill
and try and retrieve the bicycle.
00:29:01:15 - 00:29:06:01
And there are these enormous
various movers driving around.
00:29:06:01 - 00:29:08:03
And so that could have killed it.
00:29:08:03 - 00:29:11:21
And so identifying
when someone was getting too close
00:29:11:21 - 00:29:18:12
to that barrier or breaking down
like that is a very quickly,
00:29:18:14 - 00:29:21:03
you know, benefit that you can solve
00:29:21:03 - 00:29:25:19
for the customer and the health and safety
and the staff at that site.
00:29:25:21 - 00:29:28:21
So it's not just all
we should use solution,
00:29:28:21 - 00:29:32:04
it's actually
we're trying to make the area more safe.
00:29:32:06 - 00:29:34:15
How might we do that with AI?
00:29:34:15 - 00:29:37:22
So, you know,
you start with some problems,
00:29:37:22 - 00:29:41:15
bring in some people that really know
the tech and have a really good
00:29:41:15 - 00:29:45:11
free flowing conversation.
00:29:45:13 - 00:29:47:03
But yeah,
00:29:47:03 - 00:29:51:23
this whole large language model space
that is at the interface
00:29:52:01 - 00:29:56:17
that is really like AI is literally going
to transform businesses.
00:29:56:19 - 00:29:58:05
Yeah, absolutely.
00:29:58:05 - 00:29:59:17
It's so fascinating.
00:29:59:17 - 00:30:01:08
We don't know where it will end up.
00:30:01:08 - 00:30:04:20
You know what
it will like this time in 2024.
00:30:04:20 - 00:30:10:01
It's it's going to be a fascinating space
to watch and look and some
00:30:10:02 - 00:30:13:23
you are also responsible
for black crows i.t.
00:30:14:01 - 00:30:19:04
And so, you know, you spoke earlier about,
you know, the flashy presentations
00:30:19:04 - 00:30:22:10
and people not really understanding that,
yes, in theory
00:30:22:10 - 00:30:26:03
something looks good, but in practice
there's a lot more to consider.
00:30:26:05 - 00:30:31:07
So what do you value then when it comes
to dealing with vendors or partners?
00:30:31:07 - 00:30:35:05
For Black Pearls, it
00:30:35:07 - 00:30:39:04
Yeah, that's a really good question.
00:30:39:05 - 00:30:41:20
Transparency is probably the main thing.
00:30:41:20 - 00:30:46:01
Know like if you can have a nice,
transparent, forthright conversation
00:30:46:03 - 00:30:49:19
with people that then lets
you know very quickly
00:30:49:19 - 00:30:51:08
whether you're on the right space.
00:30:51:08 - 00:30:54:01
So you know,
00:30:54:01 - 00:30:59:02
I like to share where Blackpool was at
and what we're trying to do
00:30:59:02 - 00:31:04:16
and what challenges we have and where
we don't think we have challenges
00:31:04:18 - 00:31:07:13
and be pretty open about that
00:31:07:13 - 00:31:11:07
and, you know, not share in a saying
that's
00:31:11:09 - 00:31:13:22
commercially sensitive,
you know, because we are listed.
00:31:13:22 - 00:31:17:18
So there's various things
that you can talk about but be as open
00:31:17:18 - 00:31:21:17
and honest
as you possibly can about what problem
00:31:21:17 - 00:31:25:09
it is you're trying to solve
00:31:25:11 - 00:31:27:00
and really push
00:31:27:00 - 00:31:30:07
the the vendor
or the person you're working with
00:31:30:09 - 00:31:34:13
to be equally transparent
about what they can help with.
00:31:34:13 - 00:31:39:07
And what they can't help was because
if you're on the wrong page about that,
00:31:39:10 - 00:31:42:10
it's going to come unstuck at some point
00:31:42:11 - 00:31:45:08
in better not to waste everyone's time.
00:31:45:08 - 00:31:47:01
And if
00:31:47:03 - 00:31:50:14
you'd like, let's try and get past that
00:31:50:15 - 00:31:55:06
in all sounds that you know,
over the long term or the medium or long
00:31:55:06 - 00:31:59:14
term, you come back to those transparent
00:31:59:14 - 00:32:02:14
and honest and forthright people,
00:32:02:15 - 00:32:07:05
even if you go, Hey,
actually that's not going to work today.
00:32:07:07 - 00:32:11:03
But if you've had a good conversation
with them, you keep them in mind
00:32:11:03 - 00:32:14:06
and you come back in three months
time or six months time when you
00:32:14:06 - 00:32:18:06
now have that problem
that they were able to solve.
00:32:18:08 - 00:32:21:20
So, so much of it is about that honesty
00:32:21:20 - 00:32:25:08
and transparency.
00:32:25:10 - 00:32:29:22
I have a bit of a preference
for New Zealand startups,
00:32:29:22 - 00:32:33:13
so where possible,
I like to give their first bite
00:32:33:15 - 00:32:36:21
of the cherry
about solving a problem for me.
00:32:36:23 - 00:32:43:15
And I guess it's because as a as a personal drive, I want to see that New Zealand's
00:32:43:17 - 00:32:47:03
I want to see New Zealand prosper,
00:32:47:05 - 00:32:49:09
an incredible place to grow up
00:32:49:09 - 00:32:52:17
and love and work with us.
00:32:52:18 - 00:32:56:21
The reason I came back from
the UK is the reason that we decided to
00:32:56:23 - 00:32:58:21
bring our daughter here.
00:32:58:21 - 00:33:02:19
You know, I just want,
you know, that requires companies
00:33:02:19 - 00:33:06:20
like Blackpool
to spend money in New Zealand
00:33:06:22 - 00:33:09:15
and that doesn't make you take
a substandard solution.
00:33:09:15 - 00:33:11:02
I'm not saying that at all.
00:33:11:02 - 00:33:14:15
But yet you have give New Zealand startups
00:33:14:15 - 00:33:19:03
an opportunity to,
you know, and say why they can do stuff.
00:33:19:03 - 00:33:21:11
We absolutely.
00:33:21:11 - 00:33:25:08
So look, and as we head into 2020 for some
00:33:25:10 - 00:33:29:15
what's important for you in the year
ahead.
00:33:29:17 - 00:33:30:09
a few things.
00:33:30:09 - 00:33:33:15
So on a personal level
00:33:33:17 - 00:33:37:14
my daughter starts high school so yeah,
00:33:37:20 - 00:33:44:19
that'll be a big attraction
for me and our family.
00:33:44:21 - 00:33:49:06
I'm also determined to up my fitness,
00:33:49:06 - 00:33:53:01
so I'm going to spend a bit more time
doing that.
00:33:53:02 - 00:33:55:22
And from a business perspective,
00:33:55:22 - 00:33:59:22
you know,
we will be launching an additional
00:34:00:00 - 00:34:03:19
AI powered product in Blackpool.
00:34:03:21 - 00:34:09:09
And so that requires us
to have some new capability
00:34:09:10 - 00:34:14:12
and that's really exciting
that gives the team an opportunity to grow
00:34:14:14 - 00:34:18:00
and opens up a whole new customer
set for us
00:34:18:02 - 00:34:20:03
and we need to be really on point
00:34:20:03 - 00:34:25:04
was how customers interact with it
and the quality of their
00:34:25:06 - 00:34:29:08
AI powered solution
that we're going to be providing.
00:34:29:10 - 00:34:33:16
And of course we need to get the marketing
right product right to go to market,
00:34:33:18 - 00:34:37:15
the customer support, the onboarding,
all of that as well.
00:34:37:15 - 00:34:42:10
So this is an exciting time
to launch a new products and
00:34:42:12 - 00:34:45:09
2024, a good time for that.
00:34:45:09 - 00:34:46:06
Here's hoping.
00:34:46:06 - 00:34:49:11
Well, we wish you all the best with it
some day Chief
00:34:49:11 - 00:34:53:11
technology Officer Black pro group
thank you so much for your time today.
00:34:53:13 - 00:34:54:20
Thanks, Casey. You really enjoyed it.