Ray Bradbery: From IT Tycoon to Greek Café Owner—the Power of Saying Yes

Designing Successful Startups

Summary

Ray Bradbery, a former IT professional and entrepreneur, shares his journey from working in the IT department of a major bank to starting his own consulting practice and later owning a cafe and restaurant. He emphasizes the importance of understanding customers, doing thorough research before starting a business, and having the grit to overcome challenges. Ray also discusses the lessons he learned from his time at Borland, including the power of saying yes and the importance of product management. He shares stories of successful entrepreneurs he has worked with and highlights the need for optimism and resilience in the startup world.

Takeaways

• Do thorough research and understand the market and customers before starting a business
• Have the grit and resilience to overcome challenges and keep pushing forward
• Say yes to opportunities and be open to trying new things
• Product management is crucial for getting the product right and understanding customer needs
• Optimism and a positive mindset are important traits for entrepreneurs

Sound Bites

"Sure, why not? I've never done it before, but how hard can it be?"

"So I started to look at how Borland operated. And the thing that I think was the first eye opener was they had this thing called team B."

"Because we don't do what you tell us to do, we do what we think is right."

Links

Ray's current startup: https://www.datalynx.com.au/

Please leave us a review: https://podchaser.com/DesigningSuccessfulStartups

Tech Startup Toolkit (book): https://www.manning.com/books/tech-startup-toolkit

Jothy’s website: https://jothyrosenberg.com

Jothy's non-profit: https://whosaysicant.org

Jothy’s TEDx talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNtOawXAx5A

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

03:04 Transitioning from IT to Entrepreneurship

08:05 Lessons from Borland and Building a Consulting Practice

14:06 Understanding Customers and Overcoming Challenges

19:09 The Importance of Product Management in Startups

25:04 Grit and Resilience: Keys to Success in Entrepreneurship