Investor, advisor, director – Trent’s done it all and Creative HQ has been there since the beginning.
Optimal Usability Origins
Trent and his co-founder Sam Ng met during their time together at Unisys back in the early 2000’s. Their respective backgrounds in computer science and industrial design, coupled with a shared fascination for human-computer interaction, sparked the idea to create a consultancy called Optimal Usability. The venture aimed to improve the digital experience by closely observing and refining how users interacted with websites and technology.
Instead of bankruptcy, the business started to flourish. Creative HQ began its own journey around the same time as Optimal Usability, and it was in the Creative HQ space that Trent and Sam spent their startup’s early years. This facilitated their access to a community of fellow entrepreneurs, fostering camaraderie, shared learning and a lot of fun too.
Trent’s early entrepreneurial journey was characterised by a steep learning curve, from learning how to manage and grow teams, to understanding business operations and the importance of transparency and networking.
“The theory was that we would go into organisations that had websites (apps weren’t really a thing back then) and we would do observational research to find out all the things that were confusing, annoying and frustrating and make recommendations for improvements. We went into it thinking we would be bankrupt after year one!”
“A big thing that I learned was, when you ask for help, people often give it”.
Many years later, Optimal had some 30 staff across Auckland, Wellington and Sydney and was eventually sold to PwC in 2014.
“An 11-year ‘overnight success,’ as they tend to be.”
Evolution of a Founder
Trent’s reflections on his journey emphasise the importance of recognising and maximising the seasons of life and business.
“If I remember when I was running Optimal, there was a season where sales was really important. There was a season where people management was something that I really needed to learn, and there was a season when strategy, vision, values, culture was the most important thing.
The same idea applies to a career, there are times when things are up and times when things are down. And I think with the benefit of hindsight and a few years under my belt, there’s something to be said about not hurrying the season that you’re in, just acknowledging that’s where you’re at. And trying to maximise and squeeze the juice out of that season, and trying to learn as much as you can.”
