Speaker: Ryan Forss
What inspired you to pursue a career in your current field, and how did you get started in your role at GigaComm?
Ryan Forss: I came from a background of running sales teams, for energy and telecommunications providers. And through that the telecommunications industry really something I've actually gravitated towards, I then actually set up my own telecommunications business. And from then it's sort of just grown. I think it's an exciting space to be in, it's a commodity item. It's always got to be there. It's not fleeting and really being on the edge of the next generation of technology is quite exciting and helping shape what the future of Australia's internet looks like.
What are some of the most rewarding aspects of your job?
I'd say the most rewarding aspects of the job are to really see the development and growth in the business. But also the people in my team as well to be able to in such a fast growing, fast scale up environment to sort of really take a step back and see what we've achieved in such a short period of time is really exciting. And now starting to see that the generation of team that I've sort of recruited and developed to start taking it away themselves and them forming what we're doing and strategy and plans moving forward. So really seeing the fruits of the labor come to bear are probably the most rewarding parts of the role.
What's your vision for the part of the business you're doing?
So the vision for the part of the business is to really continue to develop and grow. What we're currently doing to do that at a larger scale, refine it. But then also start to look at other avenues of the business where we can grow our sales and revenue generating capacity. And it's quite exciting, I think there's no shortage of ideas. It's how do we take that sort of thought pool and mobilise it into a way that works in an efficient manner and helps the business grow and continue to grow into new markets.
What advice do you have for others who are interested in pursuing a career in your field, and what skills and qualities are more relevant?
My advice would be to not be overwhelmed by the technology side of it. I didn't come from a tech background myself. It's really, well, it's something to get your head around, but it is a pretty straightforward concept once you get into it, really, it's about understanding how to communicate what it is we're doing to people that don't understand it. Or probably are coming from a level that they're not overly au fait with how the technology piece works. So, really the communication side of it being able to empathise and understand people's owns concerns around what might be happening and really working in partnership with whoever you're working with, whether that's a retail customer or a strata manager or an owners corporation to work on getting a mutually beneficial outcome.
If you were to create a GigaComm-themed cocktail or drink, what would be the ingredients and what would it taste like?
I would probably just rip off a cocktail. So I'd go with a snake bite, which is one part beer. So that would probably represent, we're a relatively down to earth group of people. One part cider because we're a little bit, eccentric. And then we'd have some black currant juice in there to more than likely represent the left of center thinking that we sometimes have, which has helped us carve the path to where we are now and hopefully where we go in the future.
