Michael Nuciforo – Using AI To Automate Financial Admin For Small Businesses

I worked in banking for over 10 years both in Australia and in the UK. I loved my time in large banks, but I always felt a little bit like an ‘outsider’ in regards to the speed, agility and ambition I had compared to my colleagues. Over time, I started to gravitate my work to engaging with entrepreneurs and potential collaborations between the organisations I was at, and emerging fintechs. I then realised that I really enjoyed working with the startups and their ‘can do’ attitudes was quite refreshing. Over time I thought there was more to me than working in a bank, so I decided to start Parkhound, which addressed a shortage in affordable parking. I ran that business for 4 years prior to it being acquired by Spacer. I then worked at a scale up after moving to New York, which was a great experience to see how a fast growing US business scales. I then returned to Melbourne to start Thriday, which is looking to solve the problem of financial admin for small business owners.

Oprah once quoted ‘You’ve got to follow your passion – You’ve got to figure out what it is you love – who you really are. And have the courage to do that. I believe that the only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dreams.” Please share, how you had the courage to follow your own dreams.

I believe courage can be earned by testing yourself, failing and succeeding and trying again. My courage, or trust in myself, has grown significantly through the various experiences I have had, whether that was moving to live in London and New York, or moving from corporate to startup. Each of these experiences, whilst challenging, allowed me to build confidence in my ability to handle difficult situations and not only persevere but ultimately thrive.

Tell us what the word “Entrepreneur” means to you?

What has been the biggest lesson you have learned from being an entrepreneur?

Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Starting a business is hugely challenging, and many things can and will go wrong, but to get through it, you need to see the opportunity from every failing. If you don’t, the losses will gradually pile up in self-pity, but if you do, you are always learning and improving.

What inspired you to start your own business, and how did you go about identifying a need in the market that your business could address?

There was two major themes that collided for me. I had a corporate career at a number of large banks in Australia and over in the UK, and I could see that they really under serviced the needs of small businesses. I then ran my first startup, Parkhound, and I had to wear the CFO hat for that business. I found it extremely challenging to set up accounting software and keep my books in order. In addition, I had to pay an accountant a small fortune. I thought there had to be a better way. To validate the problem, my co-founder and I interviewed over 40 small businesses, and we then did a paid survey with 180 business owners across Australia. This highlighted to us the extent of the problem, and that’s when we decided to pursue Thriday.

What is your favourite quote about “following your dreams”?

There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to start their own business?

Get comfortable with failure, that’s the only way you can make your business a success.

Connect with Michael here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelnuciforo/

https://twitter.com/m_nuciforo?lang=en