What I am proud of.

ACGoff
6 min readApr 23, 2024

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Perhaps instead of a CV, I can have a space to list out what I believe really help me grow and hence I am super proud of.
Please allow me this self-indulgence.
Please know that these things are built on a huge number of peoples tutorship, help and support.

Vula

I have found my ikigai, the cross over of what I am good at and what can make a huge impact. Vula.

I am proud of:

  • Making a strong friendship with Nic which is also challenging us both to do more better
  • Building a group of supporters that can see what we see
  • Building technology that saves a huge number of SMEs time (in matching grants and loans, instead of searching; in writing applications, by Vula drafting answers).
  • Building technology that saves a huge number of SME Funders time (some tasks reduced by 80%)

ClimateAligned

Getting to work and learn from Aleksi and Krista, the Cambridge Applied Research team and everyone else I have forgotten to mention.

Getting to be first employee as a company moves through its first steps was a fantastic lesson, as was the opportunity to be trusted to explore, learn and deliver new tech with the users.

My advice: try to find a similar role.

Treemeals

Did you know orange juice is worse for the environment than bacon?

The important thing to know is serving sizes and carbon content — as it can help you make better choices. I don’t think we can expect a huge number of people to go vegan. I do think we can expect people to make better choices and habits, if they had a sense of their foods emissions.

“I’ll have a chicken burger, instead of beef. I am in a competition with my friend!”

I was a solo founder and dev, my first mobile app, all built on a bootstrapped budget, grew to 450 users, but only 1% converted into paying users and I failed to raise money. But it did teach me to focus on the business, not just the tech.

Compairbnb

15th on Product Hunt that day, but a good fun hacking project that got me some attention and ultimately some freelancing work after someone read how my product thinking and the double diamond method of search.

https://www.producthunt.com/products/compairbnb#compairbnb

Freelancing

They say that the number of moon shots you have in your career is directly related to your wealth. Some get 3, the richer get 5 or 6.

Freelancing was a good hack for me to get more shots. It meant experience in a new working world while also getting paid.

It was terrifying to leave a salary, to know I had to do my own taxes, to have to find work. Frankly, it still is. But it is worth the stress.

Running away from London in COVID to be nomadic

We stopped our tenancy, bought a car and hired an Airbnb for 6 weeks at a time and travelled across the UK, France and Spain. The only person I saw was my partner, and we had the best time.

I am so proud we could and did take the opportunity. It made me focus and be so much more effective at what I do, while creating the best relationship with my to-be-wife.

70.3 Ironman Triathlon

I have been known to eat 6 Cadbury Creme Eggs in one day and when I was 18 I couldn’t swim.

Oli from DCA challenge me to do a sprint triathlon. I found a new joy. In that time I have got to 19min 5k runs, swimming at 1:45/100m and managed to finish a 70.3 Ironman

1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run.

Everyhour

This is the true rocket fuel, silver bullet, big change.

I tracked every hour of every day for 6 years. The categories changed as my life changed, but it:

  • showed me where I was wasting time,
  • how to think about goals and progress,
  • convinced me to change jobs from a job i hated 87% of the time,
  • and ultimately (with help) taught me how to code

RBS, IBM

I jumped from a mechanical engineer who liked tech into an AI senior consultant in 2 years. I worked with some huge global and national brands and did some great work, but I am most proud of my work in Scotland.

I got to sit in a Royal Bank of Scotland call centre in Greenock with the people on the phones surrounded by folders. When I left, the folders went in the bin, the staff had an AI assistant and the NPS jumped up. They loved it so much that they wrote Valentine’s day cards to the AI we built together.

I met people who really invested in me (Linda, Greg, Andy, and more) and ultimately helped me move to Dunnhumby later to do more of the same.

Consulting isn’t for everyone and isn’t always good advice, but I didn’t know what I could do and it helped me try some things and find my way.

DCA

The best product design company in the UK, with an unmatchable culture. I was lucky to get in.

I was lucky to work on so much cool stuff: insulin pens, fun ice cream projects, and designing the interiors of trains that I now regularly use!

I owe so much to so many there (David, Oli, Zoe, Sophie, George) who helped me, showed me a different way of living, and help me get into groups with likeminded people, like the Royal Academy of Engineering ELS.

Cardiff Racing

I am not a typical engineer. I don’t tend to get dirty. I didn’t care about cars.

But I saw the Formula Student team as an opportunity to actually do something.

I pushed for school engagement — trying to point out we should spell the word ingineering as the word comes from ingenuity, trying to stop others missing out on the career.

I then saw it as an opportunity to mimic running a businesses, became CEO of Cardiff Racing, designed a race car from scratch, then built it and then became the first UK team to win the Silverstone racing event. I couldn’t be proud of what we did as a team and am proud to say they are the best friends today.

EPQ

This life above was never going to be my way.

I was going to be a police man.

It was my A levels that changed that. I did an extended project qualification (EPQ) at college.

It showed me I hated long form writing, that I did not want to study criminology and that I was dyslexic.

That sparked chaos around what on earth I was going to do with my life, and ultimately pushed me to take the who Physics A level in one year while doing my other subjects and showed me that I enjoyed making things better — something I keep chasing today.

Shovelling coal, pushing trolleys and cutting up fish.

I did a year of each of these jobs. 4am starts, double pay on a Sunday, and in return a work ethic that enjoys working on things where my mind can run.

This was the grit that started everything that happened after. Don’t get me wrong, I had no shame in doing this job. In fact, pushing trolleys in summer is the best job to have in some ways. But it did shape me.

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