In 1992 Dan Pollard started his plumbing apprenticeship straight out of school through ATT and in 1996 he achieved his Award of Excellence in Plumbing and his NZQA qualifications. So how does someone progress from being a plumbing apprentice to CEO of an innovative software company?
The answer is in knowing the industry inside-out and from the bottom up. As Dan says “I was knee deep in the trenches, running my own trades business. After pretty much going bust once and burning out once, I figured out that a trades business needs proper systems in place to keep it running – without running its owner into the ground. My epiphany was how technology could help me to work smarter, not harder. Fergus Software specialises in job management for tradies like me.
Dan Pollard, founder of Fergus Software
“I’m delighted with the progress of Fergus, in the ten years since I first developed this system the world has changed a lot. It’s great to hear how tens of thousands of users from around the world tell us how the software has changed the way they do business, making it easier for owners to focus on the important stuff. When I explain it to someone new I say that in a nutshell it’s a streamlined work process that reduces paperwork, all through the cloud, which is designed to maximise profit for businesses.
“I started with ATT in 1992 as an apprentice and went through the 5000 hour scheme, a full year at Unitec and two years on the tools. I then started Dan Pollard Plumbing and learnt the ropes of how to run a tradie business in the real world. It wasn’t easy and I learnt from my mistakes the hard way. By 2005 It was time to start a third plumbing company and I went through a few names, Mt Albert Plumbing and then to Your Local Plumber before everyone followed suit!. This was a great move and I grew the company from one staff member, me, to 25 employees across two sites. I learnt a lot about what is important in a tradie business. There is so much to know from job tracking, scheduling, admin, communication, H&S, HR, accounting, business management, planning, marketing and so much more.
“I looked around in 2007 to find a software solution that suited tradies but couldn't find one so I decided to create my own system. I found a guy who knew more than me about computers and Jobsheet was started, believe it or not we were a world first being totally web based from the start-up in the market. After the first two years in, technology had changed so much and we had to start again so I started Fergus and began the journey of doing another start-up as well as growing a plumbing company and having a young family, it was a very gruelling time for many years.
“It is hard to underplay how much grit it took to build the software system out of nothing, yet I don't know how we would have grown the plumbing company to such a size without also building the software, it was the systemisation of the plumbing business from the software system that allowed it to grow and also mean that Fergus was ready for the trades industry. We’re now in expansion phase in exporting our Fergus system to the world. We’ve grown from a small business to a team of over 70 staff with operations in NZ, Australia and the UK with sales worldwide.
“As the CEO I was in control of all aspects of the business to make sure that engineering, customer, product, sales, marketing and operations are aligned to achieve our company vision and business plan targets. These are all complex issues that need to be well managed in real time – and they are the same challenges that all businesses face, which is why Fergus works so well.
“Not too bad for a simple plumber! This job is a lot of fun. If I have advice for anyone starting out it’s that an apprenticeship is certainly worth considering. The great thing about a tradie apprenticeship is that it gives you a solid start with on-job work experience. You don’t have to stay on one path for your whole life, a good grounding and qualification will set you up for a career that can take you anywhere in the world and be a base from which to spread your wings. An apprenticeship with ATT is a great way to start. It’s the best of both worlds, you’re in a team who lead in the trades industry, in an industry that is in-demand worldwide and, most importantly nowadays, is stable and low-risk – everyone needs plumbers!”