Annette Presley: Don’t be shy, don’t stand back, stand up and shout your strengths
Annette Presley knows how to start businesses, and how to successfully exit them.
She’s created three successful internet and telephone companies on both sides of the Tasman, including New Zealand’s largest internet service provider.
With a dream to own her own company by the age of 25, she reached that goal at 24. That came after initially starting her career working with computers back when they were the size of a room, and attending the ‘school of hard knocks’ to develop her entrepreneurial skills.
Indeed, Presley keeps a post-it on her computer telling her to “feel the fear”, as a reminder of what it takes to achieve your dreams.
After moving to Australia in 1992, she co-founded Call Australia which grew to be a $100 million company employing more than 200 people. A few years later she sold it, headed back to NZ and co-founded CallPlus, which was sold in 2015 for more than $200 million (Presley held a 33.55% stake at the time of the sale, according to the NZ Herald).
Now Presley helps women in business by funding female founders through the Wellington based Lightning Lab XX program.
Recently we caught up with Presley to find out a little more about her journey, and her ideas for getting more women involved in technology careers.
We discovered she decided to pursue a career in tech after her father told her programmers in the United Kingdom could earn a lot of money, and it was the way of the future. While she initially studied programming, she wound up working a number of jobs instead before founding an IT recruitment company.
Why is diversity so important in the tech sector?
To create balance in decision making and processes.
To see issues and projects from many points of view not a one sided point of view.
Because the market is diverse and so tech must address its market. To do this it has to have diversity in its decision making and processes.
Technology is simply systems created to enable humans to live life better – in order to do this it must have representatives of all its community to be effective and efficient.
Tell us about your proudest achievement so far in tech?
It includes creating 3 successful internet and telephone companies on both sides of the Tasman, including the the first free internet provider in Australasia, and dimensioning an ISP to handle 150,000 subscribers in six weeks.
Also creating a billing system that could decipher information from Telstra Australia and create value and increased productivity in businesses, on both sides of the Tasman, that started as a spreadsheet billing system.
What do you want all girls and young women to know about careers in tech?
It’s not whether you are a girl or a guy that matters. All that matters is how much passion you have, how hard you are prepared to work, and how many excuses you don’t entertain. Its up to you what you do and where you end up …stand up, be counted for and put yourself forward for roles and projects you aren’t sure you can do – fake it until you make it. Don’t be shy, don’t stand back, stand up and shout your strengths, and if you aren’t passionate about what you are doing, leave and do something else.
What do you personally do to raise your profile and voice as a woman in tech – use social media, speak, network, participate in industry events etc?
I am not particularly into raising my profile but I am interested in helping other young women, hence I am involved with Lightning Lab XX. I speak a lot to schools and young women and boys about life and living it to the best of their ability.
How can we get more women speaking at technology-related events?
Make it more interesting and sexy, which it really isn’t now.
What does your ‘daily juggle’ look like? Can you run us through an average day in your life?
Impossible to say as each day is totally different. Wake up. Coffee. Emails. Talk to staff. Maybe travel and speak, or a board meeting.Lunch meetings. Girls camp for my teenagers. Look after my teenage daughter. Travel. Manage investments-. Look at my startup investments progress. Review other companies I am involved with. Speak with managers. It depends on the day … might be lie on the beach!
What more would you like to see the tech industry doing to better support women in the field?
IBM used to do an internship that meant it took in many young people and taught them all areas of the industry and they were a real champion in this area and it made a difference to getting women into IT and Burroughs and some of the other companies did this also – it would be great if some of the large companies could expand what they are doing in this area and take onboard more interns.
It would also be great if the teaching establishments were holding more informative and targeted workshops and nights that really motivate young women to see what their possibilities are in the tech industry, with role models and details on where they can go and what they can become. Also, I would love to see a more targeted entrepreneurial model for teaching our students in education how to harness the entrepreneurial spirit.
Finally, who are your tech-related role models?
Lisa Buchan who was the CEO of Centron when I was young and Robyn West who was the CEO of DEC.
Theresa Gattung and Rosemary Mcleod who were CEOs of Telecom NZ and Telstra NZ.
Steve jobs and Richard Branson … oh and the Dalai Lama.
