Category Archives: startups

The SEO Challenge with Alan Byrne from Cogmotive (S2E11)

SEO challenge

In this podcast, we’re hailing from TechCity in London! We interview Alan Byrne, co-founder of Cogmotive. Alan is a Sydney transplant now living abroad in London. We’re super excited to interview Alan as he is also a moderator of the Sydney Startups Facebook Group. I found out that when we met up that he’s running a SaaS business, so we had to interview him for the podcast!

Cogmotive’s vision is to create tools to make SysAdmins and IT Managers’ lives simple – or at least simpler – by equipping them with the data they need while saving them time. Cogmotive is the leading global provider of enterprise level reporting and analytics applications for Office 365. They manage over 4 million seats & are used in 200+ countries.

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Reflections on 2016 & notes to self for 2017

I write my final 2016 blog post to you from London whilst sitting in my brother William’s apartment. Outside, the sky is completely grey and the trees have all been stripped naked of their leaves. The streets are empty, save for a few souls that dare brave London’s blistering winter weather. A few times an hour, a red double decker bus whizzes past to add some colour into my view.

Every year, this is a post I want to write. But I may not get around to doing it. I do think about my reflections for 2016 and my goals – aka hopes/dreams/fears for the next year. I do it with a good friend of mine where we’ll meet up during the year to talk about it. This post is as much for me as it is for you. Thanks to my friends Fiona Chan & Samantha Low for writing their reflections which helped to inspire me.

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Agile toolkit for product teams – Podcast Show Notes S1E9

In Season 1 Episode 9 of This Mobile Life, I sit down with my good friend Alwin Chin. The topic we discussed was “The Agile Toolkit For Product Teams”.

Alwin’s background

Alwin Chin is a Start-up Entrepreneur, Software Engineer/Architect with a passion to see IT craftsmanship come to life in the business world. A true technical specialist with numerous years of experience in Web technologies and eCommerce applications development. Alwin loves not just technology, but Agile processes and methodologies like Scrum, XP and KANBAN bringing together teams for a common good. He has experience working at Macquarie Bank, NBN, Transport NSW and as the founder of the startup Stampii.

Agile toolkit for product teams
Podcast summary

We discuss the following on the podcast:

  1. Background of agile software development
  2. Agile process – standups, retros, estimating, showcases
  3. Agile, scrum, or lean?
  4. How to manage a software team
  5. Can agile work with mobile apps?
  6. Can non-tech people hire developers effectively?
  7. Do 10x developers exist?
  8. Working with a remote development team

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All advice is wrong

I get asked for advice by a lot of people. These range from startups, tech companies, people interested in mobile, business people etc…I also have been the recipient of a lot of advice.

I’ve started prefacing a “disclaimer” when I speak to people who ask me for advice. What worked for me may not work for your situation. If you receive advice from an adviser, its based on what worked for them. It is what worked in a particular circumstance, in a particular industry, in a specific point in time. Every industry, every situation has its own dynamics. Advice that worked for one particular circumstance may not work in another. Even if you have seen similar pattern in different industries or in similar companies, it doesn’t mean its going to automatically apply to your situation.

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Great products have restraint

One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in building products is the exercise of restraint. The other day I started using a new product which was an early version available to the public and I thought “wow this is really good”. Someone has made a conscious decision as to what to include and what to exclude. This is product restraint.

Other times, I’ll start using a product and think “this is really confusing! I can’t figure out what to do”. I have to jump through a lot of hoops. They’ve added too many features to the product.

A challenge that all product creators would have come across is figuring what to put into the product. Product management is about building the right thing at the right time. This is incredibly hard to do. An art and a science.

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