Meet Scott: The ICON Recipient Transforming Customer-Centric Strategies

Scott Obara is the sole founder and CEO of Traceably, a web-based evaluation and design platform that aids organisations to better align their business goals with the needs of their customers.

“How many times have you had an experience with a product or service that made you ask ‘Why is this so terrible? This should be so obvious to fix!’ The reality is that what so often seems obvious to customers gets lost in the sea of complexity and decision-making when organisations design these products and services” explains Scott.

This is where Traceably comes in, helping organisations work more effectively to deliver what matters most.

With a career spanning over 18 years across multiple countries, Scott has worked in many roles across the digital product design and delivery lifecycle, with the last six years focused on strategy and design consultancy.

Scott has always been drawn to the creative process, complex problem solving and opportunities to make a positive difference for others.

“What drives me is the ability to make an impact for people at scale, helping those who design products and services, which ultimately benefits the people who use them” continues Scott.

Traceably stemmed from a unique insight into aligning business strategies, solution delivery, and human-centred design into an easy-to-use tool. When he found no such tool in existence, he decided to create it himself.

“I was always passionate about solving the big challenges, developing new methods and teaching others”.

Thinking back to the initial stages of his idea, Scott recalls engaging in networking and discussions about his target audiences issues with web processes and outdated design.

“Through multiple research interviews, I found the same challenges coming up over and over again, and the excitement people shared at the idea of what I believed Traceably was capable of achieving”, explains Scott.

In 2023, Scott received an Innovation Connect Grant which helped him kickstart his innovation journey.

“Within the next five years, we want to get Traceably to a stage that enables anyone with a great idea to design experiences their customers will love” says Scott.

Scott hopes to utilise the ICON grant funds to pursue this goal by enhancing Traceably’s digital security infrastructure and obtaining global digital security standard accreditations.

He plans to allocate most of the funds for business logistics to generate revenue and allocate the remainder to ongoing research and development.

“The Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN) has been a huge help in my personal journey. I highly recommend anyone considering applying for an ICON grant to get involved with CBRIN programs that match their current business stage and needs.”

Scott has been actively engaged with the Canberra Innovation Network community for many years, participating in workshops and events. Recently, Scott transitioned from casual coworking to going full-time in Traceably, which is a testament to the success of the business.

The ICON grant has enabled Scott to develop his “Beta” solution and is just beginning to onboard early-stage customers for testing

Scott has three asks:

1. “We are looking for customer-focused enterprise organisations interested in participating in research interviews or testing of our Beta solution”. So, if you are in industries such as finance, travel & tourism, telecommunications, healthcare, government or services consulting, Scott would love to hear from you.
2. “We also are planning a pre-seed/seed investment round later this year and are actively holding discussions with interested parties”.
3. In exciting news as well, Scott is planning to expand his team! “We are accepting early expressions of interest for Chief Technology Officer, Head of Marketing and Design, Product Development (junior/mid-level)”.

Make sure you reach out to Scott if you think you would be the right fit either through the website or connecting on LinkedIn.

Thank you, Scott, for sitting down with us and chatting about your business!