Tech startup Skipt to share its scaling journey at Startup Stories at Honeysuckle's I2N

Where were you raised and what influenced your career?

I grew up in Port Macquarie on the north coast. The original dotcom boom was underway as I was finishing school so IT was only just becoming a mainstream career path, but computing was something that I enjoyed and excelled in.

Why did you choose to study computer science at UoN?

The University of Newcastle appealed to me because of its focus on students from regional areas. It made me feel I would be more welcome at UoN than the Sydney universities that didn't really reach out to regional students at that time.

Your first role was with Qvalent, where you stayed for 16 years. What were your roles?

I started in quality assurance role, testing new software before it was released to customers. Over time I gained experience in many areas of IT such as customer support, software development, and customer onboarding.

You were an application product manager at nib Group. What is that role?

You are responsible for the planning, implementation, and release of new IT initiatives as well as people and stakeholder management duties.

You co-founded Skript in March 2021. What prompted that?

All 3 Skript co-founders had many years of experience in finance technology so we could see the huge potential of Open Banking and knew we had the right skillset to make the most it.

What is Open Banking and how does it link to what Skript does?

Open Banking is an Australian Government initiative where banks are legally required to share a customer's banking data with accredited third parties when they receive consent from their customer to do so. The availability of this data allows Skript to create bank-agnostic financial technology solutions that had not been possible in the past

What is Skript's bread and butter work, and who for?

We use Open Banking data to create financial technology solutions aimed at businesses in the financial services and lending industry, who want use this data to provide a more streamlined service to their customers. For example, we are implementing solutions that allow Open Banking data to be integrated with other customer data such as identifying documents in an easy to use online platform to streamline administrative process such as applying for loans.

What regulations are there to ensure consumer privacy?

Open Banking is the first implementation of the Consumer Data Right which operates on the principles of consumers knowing exactly which data there are sharing and exactly who they are sharing it with. The CDR is overseen by the Treasury and managed by the ACCC who require any recipients of consumer data to go through a comprehensive accreditation process that imposes strict security measures that are very similar to those required by banks and other institutions that hold a large amount of sensitive customer data such as credit card details. There are rules that govern which data we are able to provide to our own customers based on their industry of level of information security.

The most challenging aspect of your role?

Being the founder of an early-stage start-up with a small team means you need to wear many different hats. As well as the day-to-day tasks of running the company which I share with my co-founders, I am also the primary front-end developer (the code that generates what you see in your browser window) and writer of requirements for the development team. It is a lot of work to give each function I perform in the company enough attention to make sure it is done to a high standard.

And the bit you enjoy most?

We are lucky to have an experienced and talented team at Skript and I love learning new things from them as well as sharing ideas for getting the most out of Open Banking. Getting back into software development after spending a lot of time in planning and management roles is something else that I have really enjoyed.

What is in the pipeline?

2022 has been all about getting our Open Banking accreditation, developing our solutions, and working with our early customers to refine our offering. Next year Skript will be releasing our initial Open Banking solutions to the wider market. We are a keeping a close eye on current innovations in the finance and open data space to ensure we are among the early adopters of any initiatives that can deliver an even better experience for consumers.

Are there any benefits to being based in the Hunter?

There's a strong sense of community amongst IT professionals in Newcastle which is an asset when hiring staff as word of mouth goes a long way. UoN also does an amazing job of supporting local start-ups and the IT industry through initiatives such as the I2N hub and the Work Integrated Learning program. Skript is passionate about giving back to university and Newcastle IT community via mentoring and work placement.

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