In our new series celebrating local businesses, we interview business owners to learn about their business and also what makes them tick. Every business’s story is different, as are their goals and plans for the future. We’ll delve into the story of how the business came about – from it’s humble beginnings to today. We’ll also find out what words of advice these businesses have for new business owners. In this edition, we’re talking to Alex Kain, the Co-Founder and CEO of Human Pixel.
Interview with Alex Kain from Human Pixel
1. To start, what does your business do and what does your role at Human Pixel involve?
We are about making a difference in other businesses, and we do that through software. We aim to deliver an outcome that’s going to make a significant difference in the lives of the business stakeholders including owners, staff and customers. The focus for Human Pixel is on the human part of technology. As the CEO, along with my co-founder Adam, we really try to differentiate ourselves in the software development industry by focusing on people and the impact that the software we build can have on people.
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2. What was the motivation behind you starting your business?
Looking at the marketplace, there are tonnes of software developers out there. A lot of businesses clench their teeth at the thought of having to go through a whole software development project, because there’s often a disconnect between what the business wants and what is ultimately delivered or is understood. We try to put ourselves in our client’s shoes and understand what is needed and why it is needed? If we don’t get that right, we could deliver the perfect solution to the wrong problem. It is about understanding what our clients need and making a real difference.
3. What does an average day look like at your business?
We have over 70 staff, with some offshore. From the beginning of the day, we’re working across the globe with different teams. We start off the day by understanding what work has been achieved overnight, and then meeting with clients during the day, as well as involving our teams in those meetings and then continuing development through the night. Whilst this hybrid model allows us to be developing 24 hours a day, we maintain certain functions such as project management locally.
4. What is your biggest achievement/ what are you most proud of?
We’ve worked with businesses ranging from start-ups, through to multinational enterprises, governments and not for profits. There are many great stories there. But I think my greatest success is the impact that we’re having on the people that work with us. To see people who love coming to work and doing what they do and embracing the philosophy of thinking about our clients first and trying to make a difference in the world through the projects that we do. The greatest success we have is our people.
5. What are you most proud of so far?
I can’t say it enough – it’s about trying to make a difference in the world. At the end of the day work is just a job, but we are trying to improve people’s lives. We want people to feel that they’re doing something meaningful in the world. Just building technology for technology sake, is not really enough. I think it’s about the journey and the people that you take on that journey with you.
6. Which business leader(s) do you seek inspiration from and why?
I personally like Richard Branson and have been fortunate enough to meet him. I like his zest for life. He is a people person and I appreciate that most about him. I admire some aspects about Elon Musk, especially his ‘nothing’s impossible’ attitude.
7. What’s next for your business?
We are constantly evolving as a business and we have grown quite significantly. For our next phase, we want to utilize the knowledge and experience we have gained in technology based businesses and apply it in assisting other businesses. For start ups, we’ll be focusing on getting a select group of them off the ground as the early days are hard and getting the required resources is tough. We will be looking to assist them with their software development but also assist with business advisory.
8. What words of advice do you have for budding business owners?
Make decisions based on data. Start-up businesses often make decisions based on a gut feeling or an assumption. That’s going to be the starting point of something because you’ve got to have a thought first but then you need to validate the thought. So, my tip is to go to the data and try and use that to inform your decisions. a business can be tough, so make sure and look after your health: physical, mental, and financial.
