International Women’s Day 2018 #PressforProgress Interview with Amreeta Abbott

Continuing our series of interviews with impactful women for International Women’s Day, Dyean Moodley spoke to Amreeta Abbott about her passion and determination to succeed.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m a 40 something CEO and founder of NowInfinity. I travel up and down the eastern seaboard of Australia during the week and return to the Gold Coast on weekends to catch up with loved ones and repack for the following week.

I’m a fanatic lover of travel flying to the North & South Poles and everywhere in-between. Above all, I’m extremely passionate about resolving pain points within businesses through the use of technology and love seeing businesses, my team and family thrive as a result of this.

2. Tell us about your current business?

NowInfinity is one of Australia’s leading legal documentation, corporate compliance and Trust management cloud based platforms. Soon to be the leading cloud based Estate Planning solution for advisers.

We have transformed processes that once took days, into a simple 30 second deliverable which also feeds data to other platforms to save users time working between their preferred solutions.

It has transformed a once delayed advice market to one that delivers in real time powered by harnessing the transformative power of cloud technology. The platform I have created has since grown into one of the leading technology platforms for the establishment of Trusts, Partnerships, Companies and SMFS’s creating up to 3,500 documents per day.

In addition to NowInfinity being the nucleus for the creation of entities, we have developed tools, functions and features as part of an entity management suite at any given time, connecting to ASIC, ABR and Xero.

Our objective is to bring efficiencies to the accounting and financial services industry providing a robust foundation that enables practices to appear from the depths and burden of data entry, duplication and administrative tasks allowing the opportunity to engage with their clients on a more strategic and meaningful conversation that will have a greater impact on their lives and successes.

3. Share your entrepreneurial journey?

It’s hard to know the exact moment when you consider yourself or be referred to as an entrepreneur. That said, on reflection I guess it started with my simple drive at the age of 16 to become a millionaire and own a BMW, this milestone in my mind had to be accomplished by the age of 30, failure was never an option.

Millionaire I became although I settled for a Mercedes instead 😊. Reaching this invalidated goal led me to invest my adolescent years reading stock market and property books, putting my knowledge to reality and I purchased my first property at the age of 21.

Channelling my passion and sheer dedication to achieve “materialistic goals” into business opened the flood gates in exploring and developing better ways to do business. Every position I landed became yet another stepping stone to owning my own technology company opposed to an accounting/ SMSF advisory business (as I had set out to do). My father always questioned me on as to “why climb the corporate ladder when you can own it” – this philosophy stuck.

As a result, one of the most surreal moments I endure is when the question is asked “What do you do” “who do you work for” and I hear myself answer “I own a fintech company” and you say to yourself, how and when did that happen?? It’s quite amusing to reflect upon, but one that I’m so grateful to have created.

4. What has been the most challenging part about your entrepreneurial journey?

It can be a very lonely world when you are leading and striving for change. I assume life would be much easier to chase someone else’s ideas and interpretation of their vision for the industry we are in – one I refuse to fall victim to. Why would I, when I know no boundaries and not wish to be restricted to other’s imaginary limitations?

Very early in the piece I made the decision not to review or analyse a competing product in any way. I figured if I wasn’t using a readily available product on the market than I wouldn’t have felt so compelled to create my own solution and offer it to the those seeking the same.

Another aspect of the journey is the inability to switch off, your mind is the battle ground, buzzing all day longing, seeking, searching with excitement to find another way, a better way. It’s a tormenting gift to have I can assure you.

5. What has been the most rewarding?

Rewarding moments? I’ve had the privilege and great gratitude to experience a multitude of successes, trials and tribulations. I personally feel the most joyous when a practice (accounting) or the likes of a cloud partner such as Xero instantly recognises and articulates their understanding, appreciation and value NowInfinity is bringing to them and an industry as a whole.

1. “Choosing NowInfinity to be a part of Xero HQ was an easy decision for Xero, we equally share the same vision to bring together a curated best practice application and their strength in technology and legal services provides for this. NowInfinity’s leading corporate compliance software ‘Corporate Messenger’ has been connected with XPM for many years and is now amplified through Xero HQ taking care of your ASIC and NZ Companies Office needs” – Rod Drury, CEO of Xero
2. “The cost savings and efficiency gains have been enormous across structuring and compliance.
   I can’t imagine having to go back to how it used to be done (nor do I want to think about the old way either” – Shaun Costello – Director CHG

Additionally, is team participation, to witness your team energised, engaged and also striving to make NowInfinity the best it can be is always heart-warming and extremely rewarding as is client feedback and peer recognition.

6. Is there anything that you would you have done differently?

Trick question? If I knew what I know now, I would suggest most people wouldn’t even contemplate what NowInfinity has achieved. it’s not an easy feat and requires resilience, patience and a lot of sweat and sometimes tears to keep going. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and being naïve is so blissful in the creation of your own destiny.

I tell myself to breathe a little more, enjoy the fruits of the efforts we have all put in, yet to do so.

Overall, I wouldn’t change it per se, hmm actually a few more sales personnel to keep up with the demand would have been nice.

7. What accomplishments do you consider to be the most significant in your journey?

• Being asked to contribute and recognised for International Women’s Day 2018 #PressforProgress is a massive compliment and accomplishment I will forever be proud to say the least.
• Raising and providing for my sons whilst on the quest for building a better business.
• Numbers don’t lie, when you see the statistics of growth, that validates that you are doing something right and it is resonating with many.
• Chosen as a Xero partner, it was a real honour to be a part of a new global product release for such a renowned and successful company.
• Being selected to work with NZ regulatory body to develop a platform they can take to market.
• Supporting a large team, seeing them grow providing more opportunities to reach their goals, witnessing their ability to support their loved ones based on something we have created. This is again a huge accomplishment.

8. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

A stronger, wiser version of me now.

I would hope that I’m involved in organisations that promote “women that code” “females in tech”. It is such an extraordinary and exciting industry to be in, women are fully equipped with all the ingredients to play leading roles in every tech domain from QA’s, developers, analysts – there is no limit to what can be reached.

9. How do you motivate yourself?

Complacency drives me insane and is the motivational driver for me to keep growing, researching and looking for solutions. I’m forever pestering clients and colleagues to share my vision and constantly asking and seeking validation as to why they are still doing it “that way” full well knowing how inefficient and purely frustrating the old way is that they have become accepting of.

10. Who do you admire the most and why?

Admiration comes from so many sources, family, team members, peers, clients, Elon Musk. I love an underdog, the hard, persistent, passionate and simply kind people that are ruthless in the pursuit to succeed whatever that looks like for them and I would do anything within my reach to help to achieve this.

11. Why did you choose your career?

I chose accounting, I chose SMSF’s as a career unbeknown to me this was to be my foundation in creating a Fintech company. I still don’t entirely know what I want to be when I grow up, follow your passion and your career will be forever changing.

12. What advice would you share with business owners gearing up to scale?

Technology is only one piece of the puzzle, it’s a significant contributor to scaling, however your mindset and actions have to think big. Asking yourself if the measures you are putting in place is bringing you closer or further away from reaching a scalable business is a pretty honest question most businesses will know the answer to.

And simplicity, there is no reason to over complicate the trajectory of scale. I often see this as a sought-after goal in modern practices only to find staff and partners getting bogged down in complex processes, systems and to do lists. The team ends up exhausted by the time they turn their focus on winning more clients or retaining to reach their scale objectives.

13. What would you like to be most remembered for in business?

Passion, endurance and persistence. I don’t want to be remembered for building a successful business for the sake of it. My determination and leadership, I hope shines through every day and to know that I’m a good person in business and outside. I tend as many, to have a dislike for rude, angry, bullies that cannot lend themselves to mentorship, support and guidance to others.