Where did your passion for digital come from?
Showing my age here but my love for tech/digital started when my dad bought me a ZXSpectrum 8bit personal computer in the early 1980’s where I was able to programme and play classic games such as ‘Manic Miner’ and ‘Jetpac’. In the late 1980’s I was fortunate enough to be a designer in an advertising agency when Apple MacIntosh brought out the MacPlus with 1mb of Ram – drawing lines on artboard with a ruler and pen became a thing of the past! In fact, there has been an Apple Macintosh product in my house or pocket for 32 years now and I love that I have been part of their development as much as they have been part of mine.
What’s your favourite thing about the industry?
It never stays the same.
Any new products, services, events coming up for your business?
ByteToken and our partners are constantly innovating in transportation. We won the ‘Ticketing Technology of the year 2018’ award in January for our ‘frictionless’ Bluetooth ticket solution and we see this type of technology shaping connected mobility around the world.
We will be part of the Siemens Mobility team attending the InnoTrans trade fair in Berlin 18-21st September within the Siemens Stand. This show is huge, the biggest of its kind in Europe, with a unique outdoor track display area where trains and trams of all shapes and sizes are displayed.
We are also excited about the forthcoming launch of our first Dutch app for RET in the city of Rotterdam where you will be able to use our app to buy tickets for all modes of transport such as the tram, train, Metro and water taxi as well as venue ticketing to see shows and concerts.
If you could give one piece of advice to an emerging business/startup, what would it be?
Having started up and run my own businesses and being part of ByteToken as a startup, the best advice I could give to an emerging business/startup Is, always have a plan. Have a well thought out and thoroughly scrutinized business plan and try to stick to it, you can always tweak it at a later date to suit changes in markets and technology. This will set out your business goals and aspirations and kept up to date, it will give you an invaluable document when the investors or buyers come knocking on the door.
What’s your favourite thing about your job?
I am very fortunate in the various roles I fulfil at ByteToken that allow me to sell and market our ticketing and payment solution as well as offer ideas on the future product offering. If I had to choose, the best part of the job is by far, seeing our apps being used in the public domain.
If you were speaking to a classroom full of 3rd year high school students how would you pitch the industry as the best place to be?
Every company I speak to, ourselves included, are experiencing a worldwide shortage of mobile app developers. I would suggest that a degree in computing with a view to finding employment in this industry would be a smart course of action. Job opportunities are plentiful, wages are high and you get to wear jeans and a t-shirt whilst listening to your favourite music on your headphones, all day!