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The Gold Coast’s thriving IT sector pumps a consistent stream of budding young entrepreneurs.
Given the perpetual connectivity that allows successful business to sprout up almost anywhere, it makes sense that the Coast can match it with the best in the game.
In his own words, Insane Technologies founder David Rudduck ‘fell into’ business and has since grown his company from a one-man operation in his mother’s basement to turn over more than half a million dollars with seven staff.
Rudduck has identified a generational attitude shift towards a holistic, integrated approach to service and away from sales and the ‘traditional businessman mindset’.
He says challenges arise for young IT start-ups when expansion forces a quick lesson in HR and upper-management skills.
“I was a typical geek in high school and whenever someone had a computer problem it was always me fixing it,” says Rudduck.
“It’s easy for a lot of young IT people like me to go out and be ‘on the tools’ and earn a reasonable income for themselves and this may be why there are quite a lot of people my age and younger doing just that.
“The difficulty comes when you want to do simple things like take a holiday when you’re a one or two-man band. This is when you have to decide whether you’re going to expand; that’s when you have to learn about leading and mentoring others, budgeting and setting and measuring clear goals for the company and your team.”
Insane has been operating for more than a decade and for 32-year-old Rudduck it’s a continual learning experience.
Last year he completed a $100,000 contract for the company’s largest client, Village Roadshow Studios.
“I was managing three to 400 people as the head technical engineer on the Warner Brothers production The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” he says.
“Working seven days up to 80 hours a week on that project, while also trying to manage the business was really tough work. I’d love to do it all again but the experience nearly killed me.
“The contract was really good for us from a cash flow perspective but I took a fair bit of time off once that job finished and I decided that I couldn’t take that much focus away from the company again.”
After bolstering Insane’s expertise with three new technical staff over the last three months, the IT service provider will open the doors to a new Bundall office early next year.
Anticipating at least 25 per cent revenue growth, Rudduck’s long-term expansion goal is to have a strong presence in all Australian states within five years.
“I guess that’s why we’re so excited about 2011,” he says.
“With the advent of our new corporate presence in Bundall, potential expansion into other states, it really feels like the company is evolving and is on the precipice of being something truly amazing.”
David Rudduck
Insane Technologies
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Age: 32
Business Est: 2000
Staff: 7
Growth: 25 per cent
Turnover: $575,000
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