Foundry founder builds on foundation years
THE COPPER ANNIVERSARY: TIME TO REFLECT
It must be Foundry’s anniversary again – our PI insurance has just been renewed and LinkedIn is sending me lots of e-mails. This one is special, however, because it’s our 7th anniversary and now feels like a good time to pause for a moment to see whether any itches might need scratching.
STARTING OUT IN BUSINESS
I can’t believe that it’s been 7 years since my first day at Foundry, when I sat down, more than a little bit apprehensive, with a new laptop and phone in the front room of my house. What a crazy ride it has been since then! From just three clients, we now have closer to a hundred. From just one attorney working in his front room, we now have four attorneys, spanning pretty much all technology areas and working out of offices in the Brisbane and Sydney CBDs (although WFH finds me back at the same desk in my front room – déjà vu, but with a paranoia of persistent dry coughs).
It’s been a real challenge, on a number of fronts. Running a small business is full on and I sometimes reflect on my naivety in the early days. I have really come to appreciate what partners at Griffith Hack said back in the day about things that made little impact on me at the time. Cashflow, what’s that? Debt recovery, what’s that? Payment terms, why are they important? (And I’d like my salary deposited fortnightly into this bank account please, preferably after a pay rise).
HOW MANY LAPS DID YOU SWIM IN YOUR FIRST YEAR?
The idea that because you work for yourself you can go for a mountain bike ride or a run whenever you like was also soon dispelled. “Worksforjerks days” became something that other people do, people who didn’t have reminders to send or line accounts to reconcile in those precious few “free moments”.
I can honestly say that I have never been busier, sometimes to the detriment of my family and my intention to remain fit and keep doing at least some of my fave sporting activities – climbing, swimming and mountain biking. But it’s a good kind of busy, lots of challenging work for great clients doing good things, combined with the ever present juggling act of balancing current workload with the need to procure future work.
HIGHS AND LOWS OF FOUNDER LIFE
Highpoints have included the camaraderie that I discovered still exists between attorneys at the small end of town, the discovery of the international conference scene and the joys of running an efficient small business. Low points have included lost hours spent forensic accounting when the books don’t balance, the worry that comes with knowing that it’s your butt on the line and lost friendships.
NEXT STEPS
So, after 7 years hard at it, I can honestly say that I’m rearing and ready to go for the next seven years. And then another 7 after that, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves…
Stay well everyone.
Photo: Hussain Badshah on Unsplash