Platform Diaries with Shane Williams

Bonnie and Clyde delve into my first book 'The Platform Owner's Guidebook' uncovering key themes and practical tips on mastering platform ownership. This episode covers navigating enterprise software like CRMs and ERPs, and highlights the critical role of a platform owner akin to a ship's captain. Learn about zero-based capacity planning, building compelling business cases, and leveraging networks, as well as the importance of understanding company culture during system implementation. They discuss my four levels of platform maturity - and explore the career journey of a platform owner. 00:00 Introduction to the Platform Owner's Guidebook 00:34 Meet Bonnie and Clyde: Your Reviewers 00:53 Navigating Enterprise Software: The Ship Captain Analogy 01:50 Building Your A-Team: The Key to Success 02:17 The Importance of Company Culture 04:20 Irreversible Decisions: Getting It Right from the Start 05:48 Purpose-Driven Implementation 07:03 Zero-Based Capacity Planning 09:37 The Power of Your Network 09:55 Learning from Others' Mistakes 10:48 Building Internal Relationships 11:54 The Concept of Dogfooding 13:31 Rewards of Platform Ownership 13:55 Shane's Platform Maturity Model 14:08 Level One: Rationalize 14:56 Level Two: Realize 16:26 Level Three: Amplify 18:09 Level Four: Becoming Missionaries 19:18 Conclusion and Call to Action Bonnie and Clyde are AI generated characters. Their voices and their review were created using Google NotebookLM. I've made no edits; and it's not entirely correct but I think an interesting listen. Get the Platform Owner's Guidebook - https://www.shanewilliams.com.au/book

In this special "lost episode" of Platform Diaries, host Shane Williams sits down with Nathanael Small, Leadership Adviser and Founder of Work2Live, to explore the art of sustainable business growth. Recorded in August 2022 this episode is packed with timeless insights on how founders can scale their companies without losing sight of their core values. Nato shares his expertise on achieving fast yet sustainable growth, the key transition from small founding teams to "teams of teams," and how exceptional customer experience can drive word-of-mouth success. If you're looking to scale organically and avoid the pitfalls of unsustainable growth, this episode is for you.

You’ve scaled your business and its time to sell; how do you find the right buyers and get the best price? Lowell Ricklefs has decades of experience in selling B2B SaaS businesses; both as an entrepreneur and as an M&A advisor. Lowell shares some of the common mistakes to avoid as well as his secrets to success. Lowell Ricklefshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/lowellricklefs/ SHANE’S FREE E-BOOKThe Platform Owner’s Guidebookhttp://www.platformdiaries.com/founders See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Few founders or investors like the prospect of devaluing a business; but with market sentiment cooling how do you raise enough to continue to run and grow the business while avoiding a down round? Melissa Widner, CEO at Lighter Capital, is an experienced entrepreneur and investor who has lived life on both sides of the equation. We discuss the concept of revenue-based financing and how it’s being leveraged by businesses to enable continued growth between valuations. Lighter Capitalhttps://www.lightercapital.com/ SHANE’S FREE E-BOOKThe Platform Owner’s Guidebookhttp://www.platformdiaries.com/foundersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’re a founder who’s hired a bunch of sellers to help you drive revenue, but the business is still overly reliant on your ability to sell. How do you successfully scale your sales capability? Mark McInnes, sales capability consultant and founder of Sales Development As A Service, shares the common mistakes founders make in scaling their sales capability and the simple 3-step method to success. Sales Development As A Servicehttps://sales-dev.com/ SHANE’S FREE E-BOOKThe Platform Owner’s Guidebookhttp://www.platformdiaries.com/foundersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’re going to scale, no matter what kind of business you are in, you need to know how much money it is costing you to deliver each $1 of revenue. Michelle Kvello, Founder and MD of Lantern Partners, discusses why keeping an eye on margin is critical to scalability, what numbers investors care about, and her tips for where to focus for both service and product businesses. Michelle Kvellohttps://michellekvello.com/  SHANE’S FREE E-BOOKThe Platform Owner’s Guidebookhttp://www.platformdiaries.com/foundersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Motivating employees to join and stay with your business is a challenge. Employee Share Options Plans are increasingly being adopted in Australia but do founders and employees really understand them? Steve Grace, founder and CEO of The Nudge Group, joins us again to try and demystify ESOPs and share’s his lessons from implementing them in his businesses. The Nudge Group – https://thenudgegroup.com/ SHANE’S FREE E-BOOKThe Platform Owner’s Guidebookhttp://www.platformdiaries.com/founders See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s not uncommon for founders to assume their founding team will be with them for the entire journey; but the reality is that some people move on, and others hang around that shouldn’t. Steve Grace, founder and CEO of The Nudge Group, shares the lessons from his three businesses about how to successfully navigate the team transformation from startup to scaleup. The Nudge Group – https://thenudgegroup.com/ SHANE’S FREE E-BOOK The Platform Owner’s Guidebookhttp://www.platformdiaries.com/foundersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia is experiencing record employment rates. The competition to secure the best software engineering folks is pushing salaries out of reach for many scaling businesses. Aidan Scott, co-founder of Resync Digital, shares his perspective on how to successfully and cost effectively leverage offshore resources to enable scale. Aidan Scott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aidanscott/ SHANE’S FREE E-BOOK The Platform Owner’s Guidebook http://www.platformdiaries.com/foundersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Australia there’s a lot of investment terminology that’s perhaps misused or open to interpretation. Cam Walshe Co-founder and MD of Pitch VC sheds some light on what the investment round terminology really means, how he helped Mr Yum with their US$65m Series A, what investors look for in a startup, and his tips to securing your next round.   Cam Walshe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cwalshe/Pitch VC: https://www.pitchvc.co/   SHANE’S FREE E-BOOKThe Platform Owner’s Guidebookhttp://www.platformdiaries.com/foundersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.