The Achieve Podcast - Alex Ferguson (RequestRocket)

Welcome to another episode of the Achieve Podcast, the show where we highlight leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs— those who are building meaningful businesses, shaping their industries, and having an impact. I'm Taylor Baker Baker, your host, and excited today to be joined by Alex Ferguson, the founder and CTO of Request Rocket, and you can find them at requestrocket.com. Alex, thank you for joining us today.

It's my pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Absolutely. And so for those getting to know you and the company and the niche you guys are in, give us the backstory on how you got into this space and who you're serving.

Sure. Well, I started building integrations for different companies more than 10 years ago, and one of the main problems that we dealt with while doing that was having to connect to a lot of different systems. And all of these systems, they, they connect differently. They have different kinds of authentication. Some are legacy, some are new. And so that variety is something that you have to deal with day in and day out. And it's a problem that big enterprise also has where they have lots of different systems that their engineers and developers need to talk to. So RequestRocket came about as a means of simplifying how we connect to those systems. It offers the ability to translate, if you will, from one type of authentication to another. And in addition to that, we realized that a lot of the times when you're talking to these different systems, they offer up too much information, too much access through the access that your customers might give you. And so in addition to being able to simplify how you connect to different platforms, we also offer the ability to layer on top of the existing platform levels of authorization and control that you would need to downscope and restrict what people can do with that access that they have. This becomes very relevant today in the, in the age of AI, where we now see AI is actually connecting to these systems and we want to control how they access them.

Yes, that is a very big concern. And so how big is the team and the organization right now?

So we have a number of offshore developers, about 5 or 6, who mostly work on the user experience and front end. And then we also have onshore about 2 or 3 senior engineers who are working on the product.

That's awesome. And for you guys right now, what would you say is driving growth for the team and the organization?

Well, I certainly think that AI is a big driver for growth, particularly, you know, a lot of customers, they have, they're sitting on a wealth of data and, you know, they say that the data is the new oil, right? That saying's been around forever. That's even more relevant today when people are trying to connect their AI models and AI systems to the platforms that they already have. We're seeing that as a big uptake in terms of the, the kind of connections people are wanting to make through our platform, but also the traditional. So, you know, automation and integration customers who have a lot of disparate systems and particularly ones that they don't own are looking for easier ways to connect to those platforms.

That makes a lot of sense. And is there a certain ideal business or client type that works best Yeah, for sure.

You know, enterprise customers and mid-market and above, essentially where you start to look at building automations, integrating AI, as I said, looking at how you integrate different systems. You know, they're all looking for productivity improvements. And so those productivity gains come by connecting the different platforms that they might have in their business together, eliminating, you know, dual entry into systems that people have, you know, the double data entry problem and allowing them to connect those platforms together helps move their business forward.

Gotcha. Now, looking back for you, what turning points have molded the way you think about running the organization?

Ah, yes. Well, you know, as a startup, there's a lot of different changes that occur as you're building a business, right? You know, starting from your first hire, from who you're going to partner with in terms of bringing your business to life. We started this business probably 3 years ago. The story of starting it in a garage is a little bit different in Australia. You know, we actually started in the back shed, just a mate of mine and I, you know, looking at what we would build. And so the business has kind of evolved quite considerably from there. We've been through an accelerator program. And so at each one of those stages, I think we've learned different lessons about the product and where we want to go as a business. Probably the biggest changing point for us was when we put the product out the very first time and we had all of our trusted friends and developers getting into the platform and getting the feedback from them around what works, what doesn't work. It was pretty raw at that point in terms of what the platform can do and being able to rapidly respond to that whilst also having another day job, as in that stage of the business was quite hard as well. So I think we've been through a lot of different changes and what you need in the business changes from time to time. And probably the main lesson for me is learning to recognize those signals as like, this is the time at which we need to make a hire, or this is the time at which we need, and what do we actually need in order to go faster in the direction where we're headed.

Yeah, I can see that. Now, when it comes to your outreach, your marketing systems, What's been working well to attract and retain good clients and customers?

Yeah, look, I think initially we started with just this very basic concept of, you know, we'll do the social media, we'll try for organic reach. Fortunately, I have enough connections on LinkedIn to make that viable for me. You know, talking about what we did was initially a really good way of getting interest from the connections that we already have in the industry. But, you know, to scale that out, you know, no one has millions of followers, not a lot. Well, very few people do. I'm sure your podcast does. But no, you know, being— it will, hopefully it will for you. You know, but these kind of conversations like the ones we're having now are incredibly important for businesses to be out there. And I think I definitely ascribe to the fact that every business needs to be a marketing business in its outright as well. So that, that has been really helpful in getting the initial traction. That we're looking for. Beyond that, I think, you know, having a really good website, a place where people can go to understand what your product is doing. We— our initial website was, you know, a very basic website that just kind of said a few things about what we did. We had the messaging all wrong. We didn't get much conversion from there. We've made some big improvements this year on our website to illustrate what the platform does and how it does it so that people aren't guessing. And so that when they do come in from sources like Google or LinkedIn, they know exactly what they're getting. And so yeah, we've seen an uptake in just self-registration on the platform as well as a result.

That makes sense. Yeah, your website does look great. Now, thank you. When you look at sales and marketing, where do you still see more opportunity on the table?

Well, definitely we're, we're looking at the different channels. At the moment, and messaging still. So we, we advertise on a number of different channels at the moment. So LinkedIn and Google Ads have been the initial sort of staple for us. We're expanding that into places like Reddit where we know developers and, and solution architects and the people who might use our platform exist in those spaces. Conferences and, you know, attending different events are also on, uh, at the forefront of our thinking around where, how we can engage with the industry and in particularly because we are a security product in that API space, looking at, you know, where are those, where are the watering holes as where, you know, you can go and meet people who might have a need for your product. Those are all things that currently we look at expanding into more and more over the next year or so.

That makes a lot of sense. And where would you like to see things in the next 12 to 18 months?

Well, look, we're currently doing proof of concepts with a large cloud service provider, you know, something that we're very keen to make sure that we, we do that right with them and also with the clients that they might take us to. We have a number of enterprise customers who are currently talking to around the product, seeing those through to, you know, a commercial outcome I think would be valuable for them, but also for us. And in particular, you know, we're looking at the airline industry, we're looking at the health industry, traditional industries that have a lot of systems that, that, that need to be integrated, but but also critically have, you know, that PII, that personal information, your health records, those are sensitive things that need to be protected. And in many cases, the legacy platforms don't quite cut it.

Yeah, yeah, it is becoming more and more of a problem. So with all the AI and automation, where have you guys found ways internally to utilize it?

Oh, look, from the outset, I would say, you know, the product that we have built does not exist today without AI. It is so integral to how we have worked in terms of coding and development. You know, we're able to get so much more out of and productivity out of engineers and developers through using tools like Claude, like Cursor, for example. And they are fundamentally a day-to-day tool for us now. So, you know, Beyond that, we have AI in terms of ideation around strategy, around go-to-market, around social media content as well. So I think in every aspect of our business, there's an element of AI being used. I, you know, I'm actually a member of the Queensland AI Hub board of of advisors. And so for me, AI is, you know, it's something that, that I am very passionate about. And what we're looking at now is also how do we further integrate AI into the product as well, but in a meaningful way, not just a bolt-on that we're seeing so many products today build into their own. Yeah, so, so it's very important for us.

That makes a lot of sense. Now, when you think about the trajectory of the business, if you had to focus on one constraint the next 90 days to solve, what would it be?

Wow. Well, certainly I don't think it's technical, a technical restraint at all. I think the greatest challenge in the kind of industry we work in is the human element and scaling the relationships that you need with people. Right. I get, I get a lot of cold outreach offering cold outreach. And, you know, in many cases with the kind of product that we're building, there is the, the whether or not you're even having a seat at the table is just built around the personal trust that you might have with a particular client. So our biggest focus at the moment is on is on figuring out how we can scale our go-to-market, that sales process, where it's very heavy in terms of relationship-driven and still, you know, very much driven by the human touch and understanding of the customer's problems.

Yeah, that's such a crucial point, that human touch, the human element. Like, AI can assist, but it can't replace.

That's right. And, you know, everyone knows what a terrible email campaign can look like. You all get them in your inboxes every day. Going down that road isn't something that we consider in terms of how we connect with people. We think that there's a better way, and it's definitely the human way.

Yeah, it is. I love the emphasis on trust. It's becoming a very valuable currency in some ways.

Yeah, I mean, in fact, the platform itself is built around trust, right? So, you know, if you look back at the history of how people build integrations, you'd be surprised at how much is reliant on the trust of other humans. You know, the fact that many of the integrations I've built in the past, you know, your client will give you a key and that's basically the key to their kingdom. Now with that key, then you hand that to a junior developer and then 6 months later your junior developer goes to work at another company. Well, you know, those are the scenarios that companies are truly worried about. You know, we've seen a lot of security breaches over the years, some much larger than others. The largest ones are almost entirely driven around API security these days. And we're seeing that more and more with AI coming into the fray as well. So So for us, trust is kind of foundational, both in the platform but also in how we, you know, build relationships with our clients.

Yeah. Wow. So when you look at your own journey, the wins, the mistakes, what lessons stand out to you?

Well, as my personal journey, you know, I've been through a lot of different types of organizations from large enterprise in an engineering consultancy through to digital advisory and into software over the course of my career. I think for me, I've landed in the right place. The traditional engineering, you know, more than 10 years ago when I left the industry, just wasn't innovating fast enough. And I think technology is kind of the place where we see a lot of innovation happening today. And that for me was a turning point, was moving from you know, working in, in sort of engineering consulting into, into software development and, and where we are today. So, um, so yeah, I think understanding what drives you and what gets you out of bed in the morning, uh, and being honest with yourself about that, um, can help you pivot your career at different stages in your life. And so, you know, I think there's, there's opportunities, yeah, every 5 years or so to have a rethink about where you are in your career and where you want to be.

I love that. That's a good way to put it. It's like every 5 years, what drives you? What are your priorities? So Alex, last question. When you think about the next stages of the business, what are you most excited about?

Look, I think, I think AI is, um, is this huge, uh, moving feast, uh, for a lot of different businesses. And I know that the industry is really just getting started. And so what we see, you know, if we look back over the history of the internet, and I know we've seen those different charts where, where, you know, what the internet looked like back in the 2000s and now 2020, it's like 5 times bigger. I think AI is going to be exactly that. Like, it's, it is the new next generation of how we connect and how we communicate with different systems as well. So what I'm excited about is being an enabler in that, in that ecosystem, enabling people to build better things and enabling AI to communicate things with, with other platforms in a more secure way.

Yeah, I love that. And it's such a needed thing because people are just uploading all kinds of random things to public forums bank statements and, and you still think, ah, it's easy, it's convenient, let's just save it. And yes, yes.

And you know, API keys in GitHub now are being publicly available for everyone through the AI. So there's a lot of, there's a lot of work to do in that space, um, still yet. And I think, uh, security has to be that foundational thing. Uh, unfortunately for most businesses, I think AI is just moving so much faster than they can move at this point in time. Yeah. In terms of its capability as reach and depth. So the challenge for small businesses, how they can keep up with that and can get— use it as a tool to get ahead. But you can't do that at, you know, at a pace that would, you know, be at a detriment to the security of the information that you hold. You know, your customer data can't be something that is released to public, right? And so those are the kind of things that I think businesses are struggling with at the moment. And those are the things that, you know, for a tool that can help them solve that problem, we're one of many tools that they need to think about as they grow.

Yeah. So any final thoughts for our listeners or those on a similar journey?

Look, I think it's never going to be easy to start a business. And so don't be fooled by the billionaire entrepreneurs who have made, you know, their billions off of a really good idea. But I do know for an absolute certainty that you don't go from zero to one, as you will, by doing what you have been doing, right? You've got to get outside of your comfort zone and try new things. And so if there's any kind of advice that I offer anyone at any stage in their career, it's try new things. Things. Try it out, give it a go. And not a, you know, a cursory look, but rather, you know, really get— roll up your sleeves and get in and give it a good go. Because some things take time, and I think it takes a lot of perseverance to be successful at the things that you're interested in. So, you know, take that perseverance and apply it to something that will help you in the future and, you know, give it 100%. Those are the kind of things I think about every day.

I like that. And so for those who want to learn more, they want to reach out, LinkedIn, obviously, requestrocket.com, anywhere else you want to send them.

Well, those are our two main platforms at the moment. So yes, watch the website is a great place to go if you're interested in the product. It's free to get started. You know, we're very transparent about everything on the site in terms of what we do. So please do check out our website and follow me on LinkedIn if you want to hear more.

That's wonderful. Thank you. And thank you so much for coming and sharing, Alex, your insights.

It's a pleasure. Thank you.

And thank you to our sponsors of today's episode, Achieve Fractional, which provides fractional executive leadership for growing businesses. And if you enjoyed the episode, share it with a friend, with a colleague. If you're not sure about your data and how to protect it, reach out to Alex and the team. They'll show you far more effective ways that can keep up with this ever-changing AI wave that's been hitting everybody. So reach out to Alex and the team, and we'll see you in the next episode of the Achieve Podcast.