What was the inspiration behind your company?

I love innovation and hate the idea of simply doing something the same way because it’s always been done that way – it might just be that someone hasn’t thought of a better solution yet. Growing up in a rural town at a time when world changing technologies like mobile phones and home internet were becoming ubiquitous was both a blessing and a curse. The world had become smaller and more accessible but at the same time much harder to navigate due to the rapid changes in careers. I was lucky enough to find amazing mentors and this really helped me both, personally and professionally grow.

At OK RDY we don’t think it should just be luck that determines your career or if you can thrive – our aim is to make it just a little bit easier to achieve your goals through mutually beneficial mentorship!

What has been your biggest challenge since starting your company?

The long sales cycles of enterprise and government was an initial challenge. While we had already developed great partnerships and found motivated internal champions that loved our innovation – we’d underestimated the time it would take to navigate the machinery of large organisations. We chose to turn this into an advantage and continually improve our user experience through user feedback while our partnerships become formalised; resulting in a better and more accessible release.

Tim’s Top Tips

• Do deep research on existing incumbents and emerging competitors before investing any money into your idea.
• Validate your business idea with the right users; is it a business to consumer-business to business-business to enterprise play?
• Identify who will pay for your product/service and how their sales cycle works.
• Find a team that can complement your strengthens and have an early conversation about expectations.
• Budget the estimated resources required to determine when you can transition from a weekend hobby to a full-time founder.

How has the Canberra Innovation Network helped you?

The Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN) is a very welcome complement to Canberra’s innovation ecosystem. There are already some inspirational businesses and fantastic leaders here but it’s great to have a space that is deeply focused on helping businesses get off the ground.

I have personally grown and professionally benefited from participating in CBRIN programs and events. The CBRIN team really helped us with our business approach and practicing our 1-min pitches was scary but a great skill to learn!