So how did Matt end up in our western suburbs?

Matt said that “when you visit a place and experience it, there’s an element that often deeply resonates with you”.

Matt told us he fell in love with Adelaide whilst on holiday in Australia in 2000 when he got the opportunity in 2004 to relocate from the United States, he took it and has never looked back.

With more than 20 years of experience in starting and running high-growth tech companies, especially in the areas of machine learning, predictive analytics, and decision optimisation, the next step was to start a business.

They decided what the business would do based on what customers needed in the market.

From 2005 - 2012, Matt was the co-founder and CEO of SolveIT Software, a supply chain optimisation business he grew from zero to almost 180 employees and $20 million in revenue before selling the business to Schneider Electric.

I asked Matthew about the company’s growth and whether he used the goal pyramid detailed in his book ‘Life in Half a Second’. This tool of mapping the path to success by breaking down goals into milestones can make a goal more manageable.

Matt says ‘I often share and communicate my goal pyramid with my staff’ as a way of showing them the direction and the vision’

About Complexica

Complexica is a leading provider of Artificial Intelligence software applications that can optimise sales, marketing, and supply chain decisions, particularly for organisations that are complex. They currently have 60 full time staff based at their head office in West Lakes.

I was interested to learn that artificial intelligence is almost 70 years old evolving over time. His own interest in it was sparked many years ago when sitting in his father’s office and listening to conversations about machine learning.

‘AI makes companies more productive and does not necessarily mean a loss of job. It helps to improve decision making – and good decisions create value.’

The company has gone from strength to strength, supplying big company names such as Costa, Lion, DuluxGroup and Pfizer. Their award-winning Artificial Intelligence engine called Larry, the Digital Analyst, was named the Australian Innovation of the Year in 2018 and Australian Software Innovation of the Year in 2019. They were more recently named Winner of 2020 Australian Business Award for Business Innovation and Digital Transformation.

Opportunities in the manufacturing sector

Governments are supporting local manufacturing through a number of initiatives. I asked Matt if he saw upcoming opportunities.

‘Absolutely! Manufacturing processes typically exhibit complexity through logistics, inventory, and elements of selling. They are well suited for this kind of software. We can provide solutions that optimise resourcing, inventory control and predictive demand planning.’

The biggest challenge running Complexica since COVID-19

I asked Matt about his biggest challenge running Complexica during COVID-19 and Matt tells us that whilst the majority of the business hasn’t been affected, their sales and marketing activities stopped overnight because all large companies like to buy in person. Plans for Complexica to set up in the United Kingdom and then New York were also delayed.

What’s next for Complexica

Complexica have a definite plan to globalise but their ultimate goal is to float on the stock exchange in the next 3 years.

With Matt’s track record I am sure that even COVID won’t stop him achieving this goal!

Matt also says he is keen to support and work with other entrepreneurs to pass on his experience, share stories and learn from each other. We look forward to learning more from Matt as one of the leading entrepreneurs in our local community.

For those interested in learning more, Matt has provided us with links to the first two chapters (each with a video) of his upcoming book “The Rise of Artificial Intelligence” to be released in March 2021.

Chapter 1: What is Artificial Intelligence?

Chapter 2: Artificial Intelligence as Applied to Decision-Making