WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.859 Welcome to the Innovation Conversation, a podcast 00:00:02.859 --> 00:00:05.419 about innovators, both in business and real life. 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:08.380 Hosted by myself, Ricardo Rescual and Harry McCona. 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:11.699 This podcast is also sponsored by ODEV Tech. 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:14.640 ODEV Tech is your premier software development 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:18.019 partner. Make sure you check them out at odev 00:00:18.019 --> 00:00:22.399 .tech. The podcast is also sponsored by Notion 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:25.359 .so. Notion is offering six months for free for 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:27.839 new users. Make sure you check out our website, 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:30.600 thestoreofevents .co .uk to read in the software. 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:34.399 Hi, and welcome to another episode of the Innovation 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:37.119 Conversation. Today we are joined by Annie Ciara. 00:00:37.340 --> 00:00:39.700 Annie, welcome to the podcast. Thank you for 00:00:39.700 --> 00:00:42.159 having me, Ricardo. So it's a pleasure having 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:44.060 you here. Annie, would you like to introduce 00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:47.380 yourself to the audience, please? Yes. So I am 00:00:47.380 --> 00:00:51.500 the CEO and founder of One Way X. And what we 00:00:51.500 --> 00:00:55.079 do in a nutshell is we are an immersive commerce 00:00:55.229 --> 00:00:59.009 platform for brands and retailers. And how do 00:00:59.009 --> 00:01:00.229 you get started in all this? Cause it's, it's 00:01:00.229 --> 00:01:01.950 quite complex. What do you do? I've had a look 00:01:01.950 --> 00:01:03.789 at the website. So it's very interesting what 00:01:03.789 --> 00:01:06.469 you do, how to get started with this. Fantastic. 00:01:06.829 --> 00:01:09.890 So let me just explain a little bit more what 00:01:09.890 --> 00:01:14.769 immersive commerce are. So we all know what websites 00:01:14.769 --> 00:01:19.629 look like. It's 2D interface and The website 00:01:19.629 --> 00:01:22.750 consumer experience has changed very little over 00:01:22.750 --> 00:01:25.769 the last 20 years. So what we do is we really 00:01:25.769 --> 00:01:30.670 bridge the offline, in -store retail experience 00:01:30.670 --> 00:01:36.520 into a digital world, into the immersive. retail 00:01:36.520 --> 00:01:39.799 commerce, if that makes sense. How I got started 00:01:39.799 --> 00:01:44.079 is a, well, my career started in the casino or 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:46.980 integrated resort industry. And I used to work 00:01:46.980 --> 00:01:49.640 for a company that sells software and hardware 00:01:49.640 --> 00:01:53.359 into casinos. Especially I was looking after 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:56.019 the new business development sector. Um, which 00:01:56.019 --> 00:02:00.060 means that in my lifetime, I've had the opportunity 00:02:00.060 --> 00:02:03.099 in the opening project of some of the greatest 00:02:03.099 --> 00:02:06.219 casinos in the world, such as Venetian and Wynn. 00:02:06.379 --> 00:02:09.520 And as like an entrepreneur slash entrepreneur, 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:12.620 I'll always have a side hustle. So in my side 00:02:12.620 --> 00:02:16.139 hustle, those days was bringing ideas to the 00:02:16.139 --> 00:02:19.379 casinos in driving foot traffic to their property, 00:02:19.780 --> 00:02:22.860 doing more promotions and events. So I don't 00:02:22.860 --> 00:02:25.919 know if you remember, you remember Pokemon? Yes. 00:02:27.319 --> 00:02:30.139 So one of the ideas we brought to the casino 00:02:30.139 --> 00:02:33.039 is if you want to increase foot traffic into 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:37.319 your retail stores, why don't we create like 00:02:37.319 --> 00:02:41.539 a Pokemon Go like app in WeChat because at that 00:02:41.539 --> 00:02:44.860 time I was in Macau and Macau predominantly attracts 00:02:44.860 --> 00:02:48.300 overseas travelers from mainland China. So the 00:02:48.300 --> 00:02:52.599 app they use is WeChat. And so I'm very entwined 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:55.340 with what is going on with the consumers, what 00:02:55.340 --> 00:02:58.759 the consumer behavior is. And I do a lot of like 00:02:58.759 --> 00:03:02.379 deep research. And when I had a look at retail 00:03:02.379 --> 00:03:05.360 and the shopping experience per se, and where 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:08.900 the consumers are heading and that those are 00:03:08.900 --> 00:03:12.439 generation Zed, Jen Alpha, the younger generation. 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:16.719 The way they consume information is a lot different 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:19.860 to how we consumed information 20 years ago. 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:23.000 And what that looks like are, you know, a lot 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:26.620 of social media, but also very immersive social 00:03:26.620 --> 00:03:29.879 media. So such as like live streaming, but a 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:33.259 lot of the younger generation are also on gaming 00:03:33.259 --> 00:03:36.189 engines like not gaming engine, gaming platforms 00:03:36.189 --> 00:03:38.789 like Roblox, for example, right? And that's how 00:03:38.789 --> 00:03:41.590 they interact with brands. That's how they interact 00:03:41.590 --> 00:03:44.189 with their friends. So how One Way X really come 00:03:44.189 --> 00:03:47.210 about is, well, if we have a look at where the 00:03:47.210 --> 00:03:49.669 consumers are going or who the future of consumers 00:03:49.669 --> 00:03:52.830 are and how they consume information, how does 00:03:52.830 --> 00:03:55.370 the brand interact with them and have a look 00:03:55.370 --> 00:04:00.250 at what we have now? And we are still utilizing 00:04:00.250 --> 00:04:03.590 2D interfaces, that's going to have to change 00:04:03.590 --> 00:04:06.610 as soon as possible. Otherwise, those brands 00:04:06.610 --> 00:04:10.330 that are still operating on 2D website are going 00:04:10.330 --> 00:04:13.770 to lose the interaction with the younger generation 00:04:13.770 --> 00:04:16.470 of customers, if that makes sense. It does. How 00:04:16.470 --> 00:04:18.009 did you come up with this idea? Obviously, you 00:04:18.009 --> 00:04:19.649 found an issue in the market. You kind of found 00:04:19.649 --> 00:04:21.509 that there was a gap for it, but it must have 00:04:21.509 --> 00:04:24.589 been scary moving from a nice steady job to being 00:04:24.589 --> 00:04:26.769 an entrepreneur. So how was that journey like? 00:04:27.719 --> 00:04:33.040 Yeah, it's interesting because I did, any entrepreneur 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:36.220 did speak to customers, but I started with the 00:04:36.220 --> 00:04:39.439 end consumer in mind. What do the end consumers 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:43.160 want? Because essentially our company, we interact 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:45.480 with the brands and retailers and we have to 00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:48.660 help them succeed, which is attracting their 00:04:48.660 --> 00:04:52.620 customers. So I stood in front of Harrods for 00:04:52.620 --> 00:04:57.459 a couple of days and any cool, trendy, young 00:04:57.459 --> 00:04:59.959 shoppers that came out. I just go, can I borrow 00:04:59.959 --> 00:05:02.379 five minutes of your time? How was your shopping 00:05:02.379 --> 00:05:05.560 experience? Who do you love to shop the most 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:10.939 and why? If you can dream of the ideal world 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:13.600 of a shopping experience for you, whether it's 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:15.120 online and offline, what does that look like? 00:05:15.180 --> 00:05:18.079 And it's really gathering the consumer insight 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:22.860 that gave me the idea to start One Way X. That 00:05:22.860 --> 00:05:24.399 must've been a fun experience I would imagine. 00:05:25.259 --> 00:05:29.120 Super fun. And I think as a startup, you always 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:31.339 have to kind of go back to the base camp, right? 00:05:31.379 --> 00:05:34.459 You always have to then go back to speaking to 00:05:34.459 --> 00:05:37.220 the end consumers. What value can we add to them? 00:05:37.220 --> 00:05:40.019 And then pitch back to, you know, predominantly 00:05:40.019 --> 00:05:42.379 our clients and go, Hey, these are the customers. 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:45.000 These are what the customers want. And we see 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:47.620 a gap in your business. So and so, and then, 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:50.259 you know, put it into our product development 00:05:50.259 --> 00:05:53.050 pipeline, I guess. It's a big lesson when it 00:05:53.050 --> 00:05:55.009 comes to product market fit, because I don't 00:05:55.009 --> 00:05:56.670 think that many entrepreneurs are willing to 00:05:56.670 --> 00:05:59.209 actually go and sit for four days in front of 00:05:59.209 --> 00:06:01.189 hairs and ask people a bunch of questions, right? 00:06:01.350 --> 00:06:03.250 They're probably too shy or just think, no, no, 00:06:03.250 --> 00:06:05.490 this is going to work. We don't need to do any 00:06:05.490 --> 00:06:07.910 research or anything like that. So yeah, it speaks 00:06:07.910 --> 00:06:10.189 volumes. And how are you finding the market itself? 00:06:10.470 --> 00:06:12.689 Are people very receptive? Are companies willing 00:06:12.689 --> 00:06:14.810 to take the risk and actually adopt this new 00:06:14.810 --> 00:06:18.759 technology? Yeah, really great. What we are seeing 00:06:18.759 --> 00:06:23.379 is more and more of predominantly the luxury 00:06:23.379 --> 00:06:27.800 and the mid -luxury brands are adopting to this 00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:31.980 experience because it is critically important 00:06:31.980 --> 00:06:37.420 for that market to storytell. We are all consumed 00:06:37.420 --> 00:06:40.399 with so much information, so much brands, so 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:44.149 much products out there, right? So that brand 00:06:44.149 --> 00:06:47.050 storytelling, that connecting, the emotive connecting 00:06:47.050 --> 00:06:51.629 with the consumers are critical. And as we all 00:06:51.629 --> 00:06:55.170 know, customer acquisition cost, especially advertising 00:06:55.170 --> 00:06:58.009 on social media is getting more and more expensive. 00:06:58.649 --> 00:07:01.750 So actually retention and building customer loyalty 00:07:01.750 --> 00:07:04.949 is going to be far more cheaper and far more 00:07:04.949 --> 00:07:08.250 affordable for brands and retailers to invest 00:07:08.250 --> 00:07:11.850 into that, then keep pumping in money on advertising, 00:07:12.149 --> 00:07:16.509 on meta and TikTok per se. Which obviously absorb 00:07:16.509 --> 00:07:18.089 a lot of the costs and that's actually what you 00:07:18.089 --> 00:07:19.290 don't want to do, right? Because then you end 00:07:19.290 --> 00:07:21.189 up with the cost per acquisition and lifetime 00:07:21.189 --> 00:07:22.990 value if the customer just goes down the drain, 00:07:23.389 --> 00:07:25.209 which is exactly the opposite of what you want 00:07:25.209 --> 00:07:28.449 to do. How are you finding the investors and 00:07:28.449 --> 00:07:30.610 stuff like that? Are they very receptive? Are 00:07:30.610 --> 00:07:33.209 you struggling to fundraise? How is that journey 00:07:33.209 --> 00:07:37.970 like? No startup journey is going to be as smooth 00:07:37.970 --> 00:07:40.470 as you want to be. There are a lot of hurdles. 00:07:40.629 --> 00:07:43.329 There are a lot of roller coasters. So I wouldn't 00:07:43.329 --> 00:07:46.430 say our, both our product market fit, trying 00:07:46.430 --> 00:07:48.870 to find product market fit or investment journey 00:07:48.870 --> 00:07:52.649 has been smooth sailing. But one thing, as you 00:07:52.649 --> 00:07:55.149 know, as you speak to a lot of entrepreneurs 00:07:55.149 --> 00:07:59.449 and founders, persistent and consistency is definitely 00:07:59.449 --> 00:08:02.329 in our DNA. And we just have to keep knocking 00:08:02.329 --> 00:08:06.310 on those doors. I think also finding investors 00:08:06.310 --> 00:08:09.149 is one thing, but finding the right investors 00:08:09.149 --> 00:08:13.089 is another thing. So we have been quite lucky 00:08:13.089 --> 00:08:17.149 in finding some strategic investors that are 00:08:17.149 --> 00:08:20.889 on our cap table. Not only do they bring their 00:08:20.889 --> 00:08:24.949 expertise, being a founder themselves who have 00:08:24.949 --> 00:08:28.170 exited their business, but also understand the 00:08:28.170 --> 00:08:32.309 industry. So I guess what to answer that question. 00:08:32.779 --> 00:08:35.879 Has it been easy? No, it hasn't been easy, but 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:39.179 it's also about continuing those conversations. 00:08:39.419 --> 00:08:43.159 And what I find is that if we continue to update 00:08:43.159 --> 00:08:45.440 those investors that we have spoken 12 months 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:49.639 ago, we might've been too early then, or we haven't 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:52.539 found our product market fit, or we didn't have 00:08:52.539 --> 00:08:55.620 enough traction. It doesn't really mean that 00:08:55.620 --> 00:08:59.779 that no can. cannot turn into a yes. So continue 00:08:59.779 --> 00:09:03.200 those conversations, keeping the investors updated. 00:09:03.299 --> 00:09:05.860 I mean, they are seeing so many portfolio companies. 00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:09.100 So keeping just being in their presence, keeping 00:09:09.100 --> 00:09:12.299 them updated on our progress can lead to future 00:09:12.299 --> 00:09:15.779 conversations. Now, you mentioned on something 00:09:15.779 --> 00:09:18.720 which I always quite like, which is grit and 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:21.139 the ability to keep on pushing forward even though 00:09:21.139 --> 00:09:22.840 when things don't look up, what do you say to 00:09:22.840 --> 00:09:25.259 yourself on those moments when things are not 00:09:25.259 --> 00:09:26.620 looking up and you still need to push ahead? 00:09:26.840 --> 00:09:30.940 So what do you say? What drives you? What drives 00:09:30.940 --> 00:09:35.460 me is I think I have a very clear vision of where 00:09:35.460 --> 00:09:40.200 I want to go in life. And bluntly say, I want 00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:43.080 to create generational wealth. I think I've heard 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:45.620 one of your podcasts, we talk about being immigrants. 00:09:46.019 --> 00:09:49.320 So I'm Hong Kong born, raised in Australia and 00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:53.220 had hard working parents in Australia as immigrants. 00:09:53.659 --> 00:09:56.960 And we see that them working two or three jobs, 00:09:57.240 --> 00:10:00.330 it is not easy to raise them. a family, and I 00:10:00.330 --> 00:10:03.850 think that drives me to become successful one 00:10:03.850 --> 00:10:06.389 day. Quite transparent about it as well. Some 00:10:06.389 --> 00:10:07.929 people just say, oh, I just want to change the 00:10:07.929 --> 00:10:10.029 world. Well, let's just say, you know what, I 00:10:10.029 --> 00:10:11.970 just want to make some money out of this, which 00:10:11.970 --> 00:10:14.210 is, to be honest, it's gold for any investor 00:10:14.210 --> 00:10:15.610 listening in, right? Because they know, okay, 00:10:15.710 --> 00:10:17.129 you know what, our focus is on the right place, 00:10:17.210 --> 00:10:18.909 which actually lets create a company that makes 00:10:18.909 --> 00:10:20.450 a lot of money and everyone's happy in the process. 00:10:20.950 --> 00:10:24.179 So, yeah. Yeah, I think it's one step at a time. 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:26.240 You do want to change the world, but without 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:29.340 any money, you can't change the world. So maybe, 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:32.039 you know, once we, the founders that have exit 00:10:32.039 --> 00:10:33.919 out, I mean, I speak to a lot of exit founders 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:38.000 and they are so great in giving me their time, 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:41.620 their advice, their, you know, strategic thinking. 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:45.120 So I know it kind of always comes back around 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:47.580 and I know that one day I'll be doing that as 00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:50.679 well. So not changing the world yet. Exactly. 00:10:51.019 --> 00:10:54.159 Are you just fundraising in UK or some fundraising 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:57.440 internationally as well? Yeah, so we are currently 00:10:57.440 --> 00:11:00.539 fundraising. We are currently fundraising our 00:11:00.539 --> 00:11:03.899 pre -seed round on a safe note and we are speaking 00:11:03.899 --> 00:11:08.700 to both retail investors here in the UK as well 00:11:08.700 --> 00:11:12.120 as overseas. Predominantly our customer database 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:15.139 or our clients that we speak to are across Asia. 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:18.840 and as well as the US. So it makes sense for 00:11:18.840 --> 00:11:22.019 us to have investors there because that can also 00:11:22.019 --> 00:11:24.519 open different opportunities and network for 00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:27.519 us in those regions. I was just about to ask, 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:29.639 are you finding major differences between the 00:11:29.639 --> 00:11:32.179 UK market and all the others or pretty much the 00:11:32.179 --> 00:11:36.200 same top of mindset and questions? That's an 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:38.299 interesting question because I went back home 00:11:38.299 --> 00:11:41.559 a couple of months ago to Australia and found 00:11:41.559 --> 00:11:43.919 myself in like startup events and just asked 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:46.580 species, how is the fundraising landscape looking 00:11:46.580 --> 00:11:49.120 over there? And it seems like every country is 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:51.139 different. I guess it's, you know, different 00:11:51.139 --> 00:11:54.379 market, different personality. What I have consumed 00:11:54.379 --> 00:11:58.879 is that the US investors are a lot more, what 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:01.399 is that word? A lot more gutsy, I would say. 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:04.240 UK investors are a lot more conservative and 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:05.159 Australia investors are a lot more conservative. 00:12:04.840 --> 00:12:09.019 investors are a lot, lot more conservative. So 00:12:09.019 --> 00:12:12.340 it really, different market have different outlook 00:12:12.340 --> 00:12:15.580 on things when it comes to their investment. 00:12:16.500 --> 00:12:18.639 Interesting. Now we kind of touched upon your 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:21.019 motivations, but when you're having a horrible 00:12:21.019 --> 00:12:24.620 day, what do you say to yourself? The worst day 00:12:24.620 --> 00:12:26.259 like you ever had in business, what do you say 00:12:26.259 --> 00:12:32.590 to yourself to keep on pushing forward? I generally 00:12:32.590 --> 00:12:37.929 take a step back. I think there was a quote from 00:12:37.929 --> 00:12:41.429 Barbara Corrin, the real estate agent who is 00:12:41.429 --> 00:12:43.570 in Shark Tank. And she said, if you're having 00:12:43.570 --> 00:12:47.250 a shit day, just close your laptop, go out, have 00:12:47.250 --> 00:12:50.870 some fun, clear your brain, come back the next 00:12:50.870 --> 00:12:54.889 day and start again. And I found that quite interesting. 00:12:54.929 --> 00:12:56.889 And I was like, yeah, that's actually a really 00:12:56.889 --> 00:13:00.159 good idea. So if I'm having a really crap day, 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:02.940 I will just go out, get some fresh air, go for 00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:06.679 a walk, you know, clean my head, take a notepad 00:13:06.679 --> 00:13:09.580 and just restart again. I mean, tomorrow is always 00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:12.100 a new day and it's, you know, the startup journey 00:13:12.100 --> 00:13:14.539 is very much like that, right? Monday, you're 00:13:14.539 --> 00:13:18.399 having the most fantastic successful day. Tuesday, 00:13:18.820 --> 00:13:21.100 everything is going wrong from your product to 00:13:21.100 --> 00:13:24.100 your client's project, to investment, to anything. 00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:28.950 And it's just. It just keeps showing up every 00:13:28.950 --> 00:13:31.070 day. I was just explaining to someone the other 00:13:31.070 --> 00:13:32.789 day what it feels like to be in the startup. 00:13:33.710 --> 00:13:36.690 And the way I put it was, I deal with more chaos 00:13:36.690 --> 00:13:39.570 in the week than most people deal with in a single 00:13:39.570 --> 00:13:41.850 year. And they will call that a bad year. I call 00:13:41.850 --> 00:13:44.889 that a normal week. So I think it's a bit like 00:13:44.889 --> 00:13:46.669 that. You keep on struggling. You never know, 00:13:46.870 --> 00:13:48.429 oh, am I going to be completely out of money 00:13:48.429 --> 00:13:50.610 this week? No, no. Okay. Tomorrow is the next 00:13:50.610 --> 00:13:52.750 day. I have something. It's just, it's absolutely 00:13:52.750 --> 00:13:56.149 crazy. It's also a lot of fun. But yeah, that's 00:13:56.149 --> 00:13:59.230 the fun part, right? About being your own boss 00:13:59.230 --> 00:14:01.190 rather than working for someone else. That's 00:14:01.190 --> 00:14:03.610 the fun part of it. It is, but it's also the 00:14:03.610 --> 00:14:05.370 challenge, isn't it? Because you never know how 00:14:05.370 --> 00:14:08.409 things are going to go. But you also know that 00:14:08.409 --> 00:14:11.429 depends on how much energy you put into things 00:14:11.429 --> 00:14:14.529 and you know you can always find a way. Like 00:14:14.529 --> 00:14:16.789 every time I have a problem, I'm thinking, I 00:14:16.789 --> 00:14:19.330 can fix this. I'm a problem solver. And having 00:14:19.330 --> 00:14:21.559 that mindset and that attitude, makes a world 00:14:21.559 --> 00:14:23.600 of difference. Because even if I'm not able to 00:14:23.600 --> 00:14:26.299 fix it straight away, eventually are we also 00:14:26.299 --> 00:14:28.360 happy thoughts, you know, happy actions and all 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:31.179 that then it kind of works. Exactly. And you 00:14:31.179 --> 00:14:33.440 always have to explore different avenues. Like 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:38.179 there is never a dead end, I would say. Um, even 00:14:38.179 --> 00:14:41.080 if you think, okay, we've explored that avenue, 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:44.220 you know, I think as entrepreneurs as well, like 00:14:44.220 --> 00:14:46.820 we think very creatively, is there anything else 00:14:46.820 --> 00:14:49.379 we can do? Is there any one else we can speak 00:14:49.379 --> 00:14:51.980 to? And you just never know doors will always 00:14:51.980 --> 00:14:54.259 open if you just keep knocking on them. Exactly. 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:56.379 It's, it's called pivot, right? That's how you 00:14:56.379 --> 00:15:01.179 pivot. eventually something will work out. What 00:15:01.179 --> 00:15:03.360 do you wish you knew when you get like, like 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:06.019 if you could look back at Yanny from, I don't 00:15:06.019 --> 00:15:08.279 know, five years ago, what would you tell her? 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:13.480 Yeah. Well, this funny thing is this is my second 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:17.860 startup. My first startup was a, um, event and 00:15:17.860 --> 00:15:21.299 promotion company. So we did a contracted event 00:15:21.299 --> 00:15:24.620 and promotions, uh, for casinos because, um, 00:15:24.620 --> 00:15:27.440 that was my kind of industry that I fell into. 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:35.320 Looking back. Looking back at that time, I was... 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:37.740 still in my early 20s and just kind of went in 00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:39.659 blind. And looking back at that time, I said, 00:15:39.659 --> 00:15:42.779 I am never going to do this again. I think I 00:15:42.779 --> 00:15:46.740 aged about 10 years. I went from 24 to 34. And 00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:49.019 I said, if I ever going to do this again, it 00:15:49.019 --> 00:15:51.679 has to be in a big enough market. It has to make 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:54.960 money when I'm asleep. It has to solve a really 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:58.460 critical problem. And so that's, I took all of 00:15:58.460 --> 00:16:02.700 those learnings from that business into OneYX, 00:16:02.820 --> 00:16:05.340 as well as all of the experience that I have 00:16:05.340 --> 00:16:07.700 learned along the ways working with corporate 00:16:07.700 --> 00:16:10.039 companies, working with family business companies 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:14.019 into this. So I didn't, I, you know, the idea 00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:16.360 came to me, but I didn't start this slightly 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:20.559 for One Way X. I knew how hard and how much it 00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:25.399 was going to take to do this. And with those 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:28.399 three that I have just mentioned, if that, if 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:31.179 one of them didn't align, I would never start 00:16:31.179 --> 00:16:35.070 One Way X. And also, you know, and again, that 00:16:35.070 --> 00:16:38.750 persistency like is key to driving the business 00:16:38.750 --> 00:16:42.750 forward. And why the UK? Because from your story, 00:16:42.929 --> 00:16:45.350 you were born in Australia, then you were also 00:16:45.350 --> 00:16:48.230 working in Macau, then some, you know, Wynn Casino 00:16:48.230 --> 00:16:50.690 and the Venetian is, they're both in Las Vegas, 00:16:51.009 --> 00:16:52.289 but they could have something in Macau. I'm not 00:16:52.289 --> 00:16:54.230 sure about this one, but it seems like you travel 00:16:54.230 --> 00:16:56.009 all over the world. So why did you manage to 00:16:56.009 --> 00:16:58.409 settle or how did you make the decision to settle 00:16:58.409 --> 00:17:01.460 in the UK and why? Yeah. UK is my home now and 00:17:01.460 --> 00:17:04.539 has been my home for the last eight years. And 00:17:04.539 --> 00:17:07.740 when I first came into the UK, I left the casino 00:17:07.740 --> 00:17:10.960 industry and didn't really know what to do with 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:13.980 myself. And I joined a prop tech, a property 00:17:13.980 --> 00:17:17.279 technology startup that was very successful and 00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:21.559 was acquired. And that's where I really got my 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:25.480 tech innovation buzz. And I'm still friends. 00:17:25.900 --> 00:17:28.660 I had lunch yesterday with one of my ex colleagues 00:17:28.660 --> 00:17:31.019 from the company. We are still very close. We're 00:17:31.019 --> 00:17:34.319 still close friends from that. And just thought, 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:38.660 you know, the opportunity that UK gives to entrepreneurs 00:17:38.660 --> 00:17:42.660 and founders, especially with the SEIS and EIS, 00:17:43.019 --> 00:17:46.099 Innovate UK, you know, yourself that are in the 00:17:46.099 --> 00:17:48.779 startup scene and there are many other. Thank 00:17:48.779 --> 00:17:55.819 you. Well, you support. Oh, yeah. I don't think 00:17:55.819 --> 00:17:57.839 I'm a national treasure just yet, but who knows. 00:17:58.380 --> 00:18:01.359 Well, I'm naming you the national treasure. Thank 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:04.160 you. That's very kind of you. You have my badge. 00:18:04.859 --> 00:18:06.660 I might get an I -hood sometime soon. Yes, thank 00:18:06.660 --> 00:18:13.420 you so much. So, yeah, I mean, I don't feel like 00:18:13.420 --> 00:18:17.420 I would start a company elsewhere because I've 00:18:17.420 --> 00:18:20.079 made this my home. And what would you change 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:21.779 if you could change anything? What would that 00:18:21.779 --> 00:18:26.259 be? I can change a lot. You can because you're 00:18:26.259 --> 00:18:28.539 an entrepreneur. Have a thousand clients sign 00:18:28.539 --> 00:18:33.259 up. No. How do you mean change in what sense? 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:37.779 I mean in your journey, because we all kind of 00:18:37.779 --> 00:18:39.259 struggle with a couple of things, right? What 00:18:39.259 --> 00:18:40.799 was the one thing that really pissed you off? 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:42.599 And you kept on thinking, you know, I need to 00:18:42.599 --> 00:18:45.480 change this because I wish it could be better. 00:18:45.700 --> 00:18:49.759 Something. Yeah, I think on top of mind that 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:52.519 there have been two lessons that I've learned 00:18:52.519 --> 00:18:56.640 over the last 12 months in my journey. And one 00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:00.440 of them was spending too much focus and too much 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:04.099 time on the product and tech. um, at the early 00:19:04.099 --> 00:19:07.859 days and not enough time on clients. So we had 00:19:07.859 --> 00:19:10.720 to pivot that very quickly. That's one thing 00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:12.700 I've learned. The second thing I've learned, 00:19:12.700 --> 00:19:17.819 um, has been the second thing I've learned has 00:19:17.819 --> 00:19:21.900 been not speaking up sometimes. Like, I don't 00:19:21.900 --> 00:19:24.619 know, it's strange because I want my team to 00:19:24.619 --> 00:19:30.079 have bring in their ideas and to bring in, you 00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:33.839 know, their thoughts and they're planned on the 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:37.079 table. But there was a couple of times in my 00:19:37.079 --> 00:19:39.539 gut, I just thought, this is going to steer away 00:19:39.539 --> 00:19:41.940 from the vision, but I'm just going to let them 00:19:41.940 --> 00:19:46.079 do that. And it was incorrect. And I just, so 00:19:46.079 --> 00:19:50.539 that I've learned that you have to be very stubborn 00:19:50.539 --> 00:19:53.519 on your vision and not the path, not how you 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:56.779 get to that. Right. So you still have to give 00:19:56.779 --> 00:20:01.180 your team. the freedom to explore and to make 00:20:01.180 --> 00:20:05.700 mistakes on their end, but it has to stick to 00:20:05.700 --> 00:20:08.720 number one company's goal and company's vision. 00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:11.539 Interesting. Now you actually touched upon a 00:20:11.539 --> 00:20:13.759 very interesting subject here, which is leadership 00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:15.680 and especially leadership in a very small company 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:18.500 because it's key to be able to lead people on 00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:20.559 the right path. Did you always have that? Did 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:22.980 you kind of learn as you went along? Tell me 00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:26.319 a bit more about the challenges of being a leader 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:30.430 within the startup. Yeah. So in my previous experiences, 00:20:30.450 --> 00:20:34.349 I've had the opportunity to lead a team. So I've 00:20:34.349 --> 00:20:38.230 learned, um, a lot within that, but you know, 00:20:38.430 --> 00:20:40.990 being your own startup, being your own boss, 00:20:41.329 --> 00:20:45.230 it's a lot different, um, than working for another 00:20:45.230 --> 00:20:47.890 company. And I think it's one of those things 00:20:47.890 --> 00:20:52.710 you think this is how you supposed to lead or 00:20:52.710 --> 00:20:56.440 become that. leader, but you also learn along 00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:58.539 the ways, like what I've said, you know, what 00:20:58.539 --> 00:21:01.720 I've, what I would change or what I would, what 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:04.859 I have learned over the last 12 months is these, 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:07.480 because I know, for example, spending too much 00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:10.059 time on product and tech, I, we've lost about 00:21:10.059 --> 00:21:13.980 three months and three months is massive in startup, 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:15.940 right? And we've lost about three months and 00:21:15.940 --> 00:21:18.319 I will never do that again. And I think because 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:21.660 of that lesson that I've learned, it would apply. 00:21:21.869 --> 00:21:26.210 You just get better at it, I think. For the young 00:21:26.210 --> 00:21:28.150 listener listening into this and just about to 00:21:28.150 --> 00:21:30.869 launch their business, what advice would you 00:21:30.869 --> 00:21:34.869 give them? Or how many advices would you give 00:21:34.869 --> 00:21:39.690 them? Also a good question. I think if you have 00:21:39.690 --> 00:21:42.869 the entrepreneurship in your bone, just start. 00:21:43.190 --> 00:21:47.900 I mean, there is no such thing as I mean, we 00:21:47.900 --> 00:21:51.900 fail every day and the only way you fail is you 00:21:51.900 --> 00:21:56.960 don't get back up and try again. Right? So if 00:21:56.960 --> 00:22:01.039 you have an inkling of an idea, go out, speak 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:05.460 to clients, go even get an internship to learn 00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:09.000 how other people to speak to clients. One thing 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:12.319 that I've also learned in my previous company 00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:15.980 is problem solve for clients, because it's very 00:22:15.980 --> 00:22:18.680 hard to sell something if you're not solving 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:21.920 a client's problem. And just have the guts and 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:24.980 just start, even as a side hustle. Interesting. 00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:26.720 You know, when it comes to uncertainty, because 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:28.059 obviously there's always going to be tons of 00:22:28.059 --> 00:22:30.539 uncertainty. How do you personally manage all 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:32.640 that uncertainty? Because you kind of never know 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:34.400 what's going to happen tomorrow. we have a lot 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:36.339 of wishes like we wish that would happen but 00:22:36.339 --> 00:22:38.299 in the end it's anyone's guess if it's going 00:22:38.299 --> 00:22:40.059 to happen or not so how do you deal with that? 00:22:40.809 --> 00:22:43.829 Yeah. For me personally, I always have a plan 00:22:43.829 --> 00:22:47.069 A, plan B, plan C. Plan A is this is what we 00:22:47.069 --> 00:22:50.849 want to get to. And if we can't get to that by 00:22:50.849 --> 00:22:53.990 X, Y, Z, then plan B looks like this. And so 00:22:53.990 --> 00:22:57.029 you know, you have contingencies and you know, 00:22:57.269 --> 00:23:00.730 you have different avenues to explore if one 00:23:00.730 --> 00:23:04.329 doesn't work. And that helps me, you know, number 00:23:04.329 --> 00:23:07.539 one, like plan with my team, if this doesn't 00:23:07.539 --> 00:23:10.240 work, we'll go with that. Also too, it doesn't, 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:12.539 I don't have a dead end because I know, okay, 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:16.039 if this is a no -go or if my thesis or if my 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:18.720 thinking is incorrect, then I know to explore 00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:23.359 that. So yeah. Sorry, go ahead. Yeah. So like 00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:25.559 I said, you know, sometimes I will go out for 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:28.480 a walk and take my notebook and it's just brainstorming 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:31.240 all of this kind of stuff in a notebook and just, 00:23:31.240 --> 00:23:35.079 just clear your head and yeah. It feels like 00:23:35.079 --> 00:23:37.140 you guys are in the right track, in the right 00:23:37.140 --> 00:23:39.000 track and path, if that makes sense, both of 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:40.579 these things. Annie, if people want to reach 00:23:40.579 --> 00:23:42.440 out to you, what's the best way of doing so? 00:23:43.240 --> 00:23:45.859 Yep. So you can reach out to me on LinkedIn. 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:50.160 It's Ciara, A -double -N -I -E -S -I -A -R -A 00:23:50.160 --> 00:23:53.279 or my email address, Annie, A -double -N -I -E 00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:57.700 at onewayx .com. Now, before we go, and we only 00:23:57.700 --> 00:23:59.779 have the details here, let's swap the format 00:23:59.779 --> 00:24:02.400 a little bit, which is... What's the last book 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:04.680 you read or the most impactful book you read 00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:06.460 in the last 12 months? I knew you were going 00:24:06.460 --> 00:24:08.140 to ask this question because I've listened to 00:24:08.140 --> 00:24:11.240 your podcast. So I've been reading a lot of marketing 00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:13.920 books and the last 12 months, I can't choose 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:16.720 one book, but I love the Peter Till book from 00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:20.680 Netflix. I thought that was a really good book 00:24:20.680 --> 00:24:23.980 for any entrepreneurs and any startups. But right 00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:28.880 now I'm reading All Blacks, The Legacy. Oh, interesting. 00:24:31.860 --> 00:24:35.059 That is a book I would not imagine that would, 00:24:35.059 --> 00:24:37.960 you know, that you pick up, if that makes sense, 00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:41.019 unless you're very much a rugby fan. I am a rugby 00:24:41.019 --> 00:24:44.019 fan and All Blacks is one of my favorite team. 00:24:44.440 --> 00:24:47.279 I am a bit trader here and not go for the Australians, 00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:51.220 but I do love the Huckers. But this book is actually 00:24:51.220 --> 00:24:55.700 teaching about business, consistency, the persistent, 00:24:56.119 --> 00:24:59.500 treating your team or treating your how to lead. 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:03.359 trading your team fairly, how to become a leader 00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:06.619 and so on. So this is a really good book. Like, 00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:09.019 and did you learn the Hakkas already or? Yeah, 00:25:09.140 --> 00:25:11.559 I'll show, I'll demonstrate it to you next time 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:15.400 we meet. Imagine! I don't think, I don't think 00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:18.500 my Hakka move will translate through a podcast. 00:25:19.079 --> 00:25:20.660 You'll be surprised, it'll make a great clip 00:25:20.660 --> 00:25:22.839 for social media though. You'll be the first 00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:25.059 guest doing a Hakka, so you never know all these 00:25:25.059 --> 00:25:28.769 things. I know, right? Although then all of your 00:25:28.769 --> 00:25:31.289 fellow Australians might be slightly upset. I 00:25:31.289 --> 00:25:35.029 know, I can't. Please cut that out. But yeah, 00:25:35.289 --> 00:25:37.809 it's interesting. All right, Annie, we have all 00:25:37.809 --> 00:25:41.430 the information from your startup and also your 00:25:41.430 --> 00:25:43.569 journey. It's been an absolute pleasure talking 00:25:43.569 --> 00:25:45.130 with you today. Thank you so much for your time. 00:25:45.890 --> 00:25:48.089 Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure. 00:25:48.609 --> 00:25:53.779 Thank you. Notion is offering six months for 00:25:53.779 --> 00:25:56.259 free for new users. Make sure you check out our 00:25:56.259 --> 00:25:59.059 website, the startupevents .co .uk to read them 00:25:59.059 --> 00:26:01.940 this often. This podcast is also sponsored by 00:26:01.940 --> 00:26:05.299 startupnetworks .co .uk. Startup Networks, it's 00:26:05.299 --> 00:26:07.960 an online forum where you can find all the resources 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:10.400 you need to run your startup, from grants to 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:12.779 investors to tips and tricks on how to be successful 00:26:12.779 --> 00:26:15.759 in your startup. This podcast is also sponsored 00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:19.299 by Odev Tech. Odev Tech is your premier software 00:26:19.299 --> 00:26:21.210 development partner. Make sure you check them 00:26:21.210 --> 00:26:23.990 out at odev .tech.