Meet our Founder and CEO, Cameron Woodford. Some of his achievements include conceiving, funding, then creating Britain’s most successful dating app by the time he was 23. As well as winning Vevo’s 30 under 30 award. He is an inspiration to many with a clear vision of Appello Software being the world’s best app developing company.
How do you see Appello changing in two years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?
Appello has moved from strength to strength in recent years. We’ve been quietly laying the foundations for what’s to come. If the past is any indication of the future and our remote-first approach to working together, solving problems is at the forefront of technological innovation in software, then this is just the beginning. We have the skills and the ability to move quickly whilst maintaining the highest level of service for our clients positioned around the world, this will continue to be our driving force for the next two years and beyond. Amongst every one of our team members, is industry-leading experience, cultural learnings and ambitions to be a part of something bigger. Appello as a brand embodies this, and together we will more than triple the size of the company in the next two years.
What Are Your 3 Biggest Accomplishments?
My biggest accomplishments are seeing Appello’s vision come to life with our founding team, our company becoming recognised as the tech leader in software development in Australia two years in a row and personally winning Vevo Tech 30 under 30.
What other CEOs do you look up to?
I appreciate the persistence of CEO’s like Bill Ackman, Elon Musk and Cathie Woods who all have the ability to visualise the future in the short and long term. They provide valuable problem-solving skills to the world of finance, technology and human innovation.
How have you overcome the barriers you’ve encountered in the past to attaining company goals?
The most challenging part of growing a company from nothing to where we are today is ensuring everyone involved (from our Clients to Team Members) are satisfied (along each growth stage) on a personal and professional level. Success is about what each of us achieves every day, and more importantly how we get to relax in our downtime. When we’re aligned together in achieving our company goals then our results are significantly better; this is made evident in the quality of our working output. During the early stages of Appello’s growth, we experienced many flaws within our process, and over the years we’ve collected our learnings and continuously invested in improving them.
What drives and motivates you?
My drive is in knowing that what we do at Appello improves people’s lives every day, via the technology we build for our customers, to the lifestyle and opportunities provided to our employees. We’re seeing the future of work unfold before our eyes, unrestricted by international borders, presenting an amazing opportunity for expansion and growth. Life is about being happy and achieving bigger things than ourselves, and together we do that. What motivates me is seeing Appello grow, attracting the smartest of minds the world has to offer, whilst solving real-world problems by providing the best service to our clients.
Which technology are you most excited about?
Healthcare technology. A proactive approach to wellbeing is one of the most exciting developments in technology.
When looking at SMEs and larger enterprises in Australia, how can they improve their digital transformation strategy?
Focus on quality, not quantity. Own the whole process from marketing, sales, design, development, or find a partner who already does, a.k.a. Appello!
What do you think are the biggest challenges organisations are facing regarding developing new technology solutions?
Government regulations, resource bias and the ability to get things done without talking about it too much. Starting small, and growing from there, from solutions to projects, not fitting everything into one basket.
Which industry do you think has the most potential to expand thanks to technological innovation?
I think the education industry has huge potential for technology innovation, mainly due to the flexibility which remote-learning can offer, whilst enabling students to learn at their own pace, whilst making information immediately accessible and easier to digest.
How do you think companies should decide which technology partner to select?
Firstly learn about their products, research the feedback from their clients and speak directly to them, along with their team members. If you manage to check all these boxes then you should be in a better position to make an informed decision.
What does Appello do better than other software developers? and where is the opportunity to grow?
Appello isn’t just a software development company, we are a movement in the creation of technology, a label, a brand and a reason. We create solutions based on many different industry challenges, allowing us to apply our cross-industry knowledge, from multiple perspectives, to solve problems and create new solutions. One of the secrets of our growth is our ability to own our processes, to communicate clearly via good design and information architecture. We do this at scale, unlike other software companies which only focus on one aspect of the development lifecycle.
If you would like to have a consultation with Cameron for a project, get in touch!
