Dermot Daly, CEO, Tapadoo
Dermot is the founder of mobile app specialists Tapadoo. Tapadoo was founded in 2009 just after the release of the iPhone SDK. They have a strong focus on mobile app development (iOS and Android) and primarily work in the sectors of Fintech, MedTech, Pharma and Utilities. Tapadoo has clients in Europe, the US, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
What is your favourite social media platform?
My favourite social platform is Twitter. It was where I made initial connections back when I was getting started. In 2009, Twitter was a very helpful place. I've retained many connections made in the earlier times with Twitter. I fear now however that it is a very different space now, and I find myself tweeting much less than I used to. I find my use of social networks very compartmentalised. For example, on my Facebook account, I keep in touch mainly with extended family, so I keep work updates to a bare minimum there.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
My current role involves running the company. From day to day, I work on sales, contracts, hiring, and strategic initiatives. But I guess it is worth pointing out that when you run a small organisation, the CEO often takes on tasks that they'd prefer not to ask team members to do. So, I'm the person who ensures we have the office cleaned, stationery available and the other day to day stuff that nobody needs to stop to think about how it happens.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
Mobile apps is a creative process. So, we begin with design and let the design lead the process. My background was always in software development, but taking on apps meant having to care about how we make a task simple for the user. Focusing on user experience was somewhat new to me, and now I take great joy in sweating the details. Primarily though, my goal has been to build a company I'd like to work for, and I feel we're accomplishing that.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
That's a tough one. But a good friend of mine who was building a product company said: "Just keep swimming". Ha. It's a line from Finding Nemo, but if things get difficult, it is great advice. Running a company is a solitary task. Sometimes it can be tough, and you need to find some resolve to decide how to keep going. "Just keep swimming" is a succinct way of putting it.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
Inspiration comes from a lot of places. It can be a great app that gets released or a new interaction that someone develops for an app. But it can just as easily come from a great presentation or some photography or artwork. I'm lucky that though Úll, a conference I ran with Paul Campbell and Sasha Wilson, we got to know some real well-known talented members of the iOS and Mac development and design community. When you've witnessed their work first hand, it always makes you want to do your own job better. I think motivation and inspiration are very different things. I'm motivated by responsibility; I'm responsible for my family, and I'm responsible for my team at Tapadoo. So that's what drives me; Wanting to continue this amazing journey.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
My family and my company. I've three children who are all teenagers at the moment; They're happy and healthy, and that's all a parent can hope for. I'm proud of Tapadoo; It's a really strong team, and the proof of this is the length of time we've worked with most of our clients. We have a lot of clients that we have worked with for over 5 years. I get a great buzz when a client drops me a note to let me know that an individual from the team has done something that has impressed the client. Clients are happy, and the team are happy. I think this is something to be proud of.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
The absolute best was running my own conference. I did this for five years with Paul Campbell (who runs Tito, an online ticketing platform and Vito, a collaboration space for online conferences) and Sasha Wilson (who started by offering to help with the conference and ended up working at Tapadoo). Úll was described as a conference aimed at iOS and Mac developers and designers. We did some really experimental ideas that made it different from a typical sit-down-and-watch-the-speaker conference. Running the conference brings massive challenges, but it also meant I got to know every speaker, many of whom I've kept in contact with. Now, when I visit, for example, Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, I'm generally going to meet up with a lot of Úll friends. If I hadn't run a conference, though, I'm not sure I'd have the same approach to them. Generally, I'm not crazy about entering a busy room and trying to meet people. I don't like the forced nature of it. (This was something we tried to address at Úll); but I do attend industry body events, and it does work quite well. Having said all this - I'm a big fan of personal introductions; I try to make them whenever I can, and I love when someone does it for me.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
Ha. When asked, I tell people that if you scratch below the surface of this CEO, you'll find a programmer. I often refer to myself as an "accidental CEO". But I do put stock in authenticity; So being honest is something that is important to me. I believe that this has served me well - I'm honest with clients and with staff. I don't believe, for example, in low-balling a quote in the hope of making it up in change requests. Or, If I have to have a difficult conversation with people, I believe in just having it so that we can go from "problem" mode to "solution" mode. It works really well over time, as you build up relationships where people know that they can trust what we tell them.
What do you wish you had known when you started?
I started a business as I was turning 40, in the middle of a big recession. My one regret, if you could call it that, was not doing it sooner. It turned out to be not as difficult as I thought and very rewarding.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
The obvious choice is Apple, but it isn't about the commercial success; It is about the attitude to the product. I truly believe that they focus on the best product and only release it when it is good enough. We see glimpses of this when on the very odd occasion, they pre-announce something and then never release it. It suggests they couldn't get it good enough, so rather than release it, they kill the project. Each of their products is designed down to the finest of details, so they put this over a wider range of products. Of course, it takes very deep pockets to be able to do this. I also admire their stance on privacy, which I think is the approach we should all be taking. Ironically, a lot of US sites have been dismissive of EU GDPR, stating that it overreaches, but Apple's stance is more aligned with GDPR than anyone else I can think of. Closer to home Paul Campbell takes a similar approach to his work. I could see this during our work at Úll. He often took decisions that knew we were making something more difficult for ourselves, but he knew that it would make it better for the attendees. This approach of taking onboard more (be it a hassle, work, cost) in the pursuit of better is laser-focused.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
I'm Public Relations Officer for St Vincents GAA, our local Gaelic football team. My two boys play for them, and a couple of years back, I was asked if I wanted to help out. Gaelic Games are all amateur, so everyone who works with the club does so on a voluntary basis. My role involves running all the social media, reporting on fixtures and results. The club has over 40 teams, so it is usually quite time-consuming. During the pandemic, we were closed, but recently we went back to training. This was a busy time for me, as there was a lot of information to get out to families about the return to play protocols. It also involves writing a weekly newsletter based on submissions from mentors and so forth; this has been challenging while we were closed but ramping back up. This role has real importance to me - It gives me a chance to do something in the community; We cater for children from five years old right up to adults. The club was formed in 1931 and has been very successful, so there's a heritage and tradition to uphold. I love being part of it.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you been managing it?
We actually had a good year through the pandemic. At the start of it all, we took to remote working, and in one week, I had five calls about work we were prospecting on, all of whom said, "we aren't going to make a decision on this". I thought we were staring into an abyss. Our orders were strong, but I feared a potential for it to dry up. As it turned out, as people realised that this change of working habits would continue, they started talking about doing projects again. It turns out all five came back. We did four of them. One got away. We put in place a morning remote stand up, which we do over Google Meet each day at 9:30 am. It means that everyone gets to say hi to their colleagues and update them on what they are working on. This has worked really well. In addition, we do a monthly company update, and we've added a social aspect to this; each month, someone has to take control of a social event, and this has been great fun. We've done quizzes, virtual escape rooms, virtual treasure hunts and so on.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
I've worked with a couple of mentors over the years. I find they are useful for phases of personal growth; I had a sales mentor in the early days, which was great to have. More recently, I had an executive mentor from "The alternative board", which was great. I've mentored once or twice myself, usually caused by someone with an app idea that I may have helped them. They may not necessarily become clients, but I've been happy to help where I can.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Everything takes longer than you think. You rarely get the manage decision timelines, so you have to learn to juggle work. In the early days, I was often concerned about having too much work on, so I would turn stuff away when we were busy. What I didn't always realise was even when a project is given the green light, it may take time to ramp up (on the client's side). So, you have to learn to handle a lot of uncertainty. This means agreeing to projects when you are busy and then managing the transition between the end of one project and the beginning of another. Now, we run multiple simultaneous projects and have people who are responsible for this very problem, but at the start, it was quite daunting. You also have to embrace the stuff you don't like or aren't good at. Get someone to do it, or learn and get on with it. For example, very early on, I got help with managing bookkeeping. I learned how to stay on top of it myself; now, we have a very good view of finance and cash flow at any given time. I was never a big fan of accounting in school, so I was shying away from it. Once I knew enough, it meant I could stay in control of it. Knowing how much you owe, how much you are owed, and cash flow is key to being able to sleep at night!
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
We've been operating for over 10 years, and a lot of people have approached us with their idea for the next thing in apps. "Uber for <Anything>" was touted to us so many times. And Dublin has a very vibrant startup scene, so we've seen a lot come and go. I think the most common reason for failure has been a lack of awareness of what it takes. I don't think or mean "has the person got the right stuff", but for a business to be successful, they need so many things to go right, and this needs varied skills. A real common thread we used to see was someone with an app idea and nothing else; no capital, no industry contacts and no knowledge of the industry. Just a belief that "if you build it, they will come". And usually, a few basic questions would illustrate how little they understood what they were getting themselves in for. Those that work are often bringing a lot to the table. They come with a person who knows the industry where their product will be sold, an industry veteran with a lot of contacts, a CTO who can manage and understand the tech, and a marketing person who can build awareness. At various stages, some may be busier than others, and this can be difficult in a startup scenario, but for success, all of these skills are required.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
Nope!
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
Apple, Intercom and Stripe.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience?
Success is personal. Different people have different views on success. I fear most of us think it's just a short way away! I think the big lesson is to realise that you are on a journey, and the destination isn't always obvious. You may set yourself a goal but find that once you get there, you've already replaced it with a new goal. So, the thing I've learned is that you have to stop to "smell the roses". If there are wins along the way, savour them and celebrate them.