Life after Ausbil: Q&A with Adam Lancaster
It's been four years since Adam Lancaster left Ausbil, after more than a decade with the firm, to travel, adventure and 'step out of the mainstream' for a while. He's since turned his hand to an array of consulting projects, both in and out of the industry, using the considerable skills gained in his career so far. He tells Industry Moves what he's learnt, what he plans to do next, and about the significant influence of a gentleman named Ray.
It's been four years since Adam Lancaster left Ausbil, after more than a decade with the firm, to travel, adventure and 'step out of the mainstream' for a while. He's since turned his hand to an array of consulting projects, both in and out of the industry, using the considerable skills gained in his career so far. He tells Industry Moves what he's learnt, what he plans to do next, and about the significant influence of a gentleman named Ray.
What have you been up to work-wise since leaving Ausbil in late 2014?
My immediate objective was to make the most of 52 weeks of annual leave...so a lot of travelling, both with the family and as a willing sidekick for friends' bucket-list adventures.
Work-wise - if you can call it that - has been largely a by-product of allocating the family investment portfolio (aka liability matching their expense base) in a cross section of lower maintenance investment funds and higher involvement direct investments. A couple of those direct investments have subsequently evolved into consulting gigs; advising on marketing, sales process design, business structuring, capital raising etc.
At the moment, I'm doing some project work with a venture capital group called CapitalPitch - with whom I was initially an investor - to help build their internal investment management infrastructure (ie. finetuning the investment process and compliance regime, LP reporting, presentation structuring etc). Their first ESVCLP fund has just started investing and is unearthing some really promising startups.
What have been the key skills/learnings that you've taken from your executive work into your consultancy work?
From a portfolio construction perspective, applying the wisdom and disciplines I've learned working with a bunch of talented investment professionals; fund managers, asset consultants and fund executives. Cutting through the BS and translating that into a long term portfolio (full of uncorrelated high alpha opportunities balanced with sensible steady-state options). I'm a huge believer in alpha, especially where insight can deliver it sustainably.
The key learning from the industry I've taken to consultancy is the importance of delivering a clear offering; in startup parlance, your "USP". It's a universal discipline, regardless of whether it's an investment product, small business or a SaaS solution. Define the benefit/s and elucidate why you are uniquely placed to consistently deliver them. Applying the insights that made Ausbil a success - the close-knit camaraderie and a culture of accountability with the client at the centre - are essential for any small, dynamic, focused enterprise.
Tell us more about inflight entertainment system and flight tracker, Inflighto, and how you became involved?
We have all stared out from the window seat of a plane and wondered "what/where is that?" only to be frustrated by the lack of detail on the moving map or, worse still, no seat-back screen. Two long-time friends (one a Qantas pilot and the other a digital media executive) saw an opportunity to answer that question with a context-rich app-based solution - called Inflighto - that leverages the airlines' newly minted inflight wifi. You can even track boats, icebergs and get detail on current natural events happening on the ground (volcanoes, floods etc). The app has generated some great press globally, leading to approaches from the airlines themselves! Inflighto are seeking pre-seed funding to fast-track their growth and, in that capacity, I've been helping them hone their pitch deck and message delivery (as well as pointing them in the direction of various potential funders).
"I admire anyone who is genuine, skilled and cares about the outcome."
What's next for you?
Part of the infrastructure build at CapitalPitch is readying them for the next fund, which they want to also introduce to the institutional market. It's encouraging for the asset class as a whole that the likes of HostPlus, First State and the Future Fund are making allocations, reinforced by VC funds delivering some great early exits. It's an exciting time in the space; high quality dealflow is coming through and a strong ecosystem is developing locally.
I'm open for more permanent opportunities back in the industry. Stepping out of the mainstream has been a huge learning experience and very refreshing. I've remained in contact with a heap of people across the industry since leaving Ausbil and still get the daily missives from the trade press.
"...no one ever lay on their deathbed wishing they had spent less time with their family or travelled less."
When we last spoke, you were looking forward to getting stuck into your to do list. What were the most satisfying of these tasks?
The list that never ends... Having the freedom to get involved in a collection of very different things has been enormously satisfying, as has being at the investor coalface and contributing to growing businesses. And no one ever lay on their deathbed wishing they had spent less time with their family or travelled less.
Who do you most admire and how have they influenced your career/life?
Reminds me of the quote "Never touch your idols: the gilding will stick to your fingers." So many people that have influenced me in different ways. You try to cherrypick the good and understand the complexity of individuals inadvertently comes with flaws.
I admire anyone who is genuine, skilled and cares about the outcome. Whilst generally loathing the breathless adoration afforded to sports stars, Michael Hooper is someone I've recently been very impressed with. Humble, focused and busts his arse every single game.
Somewhat obscurely, I worked at DJs suit department to fund my way through university. Impeccably spoken and presented, the semi-retired 60-something patriarch of the department was a gentleman called Ray Smith. Ray's application and dedication to his craft and customers and the unflappable grace in which he performed it set an amazing benchmark. I still reflect on "what would Ray do".
What advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
Stretch and do the exercises your physio tells you to.
Beyond that, I wouldn't know where to start. There are a few pretty dopey choices I'd suggest would be wise to re-think, but it's a bit like retrospective investment - everything seems so obvious after the fact. And whatever my decisions and mistakes, it got me here, which isn't a bad outcome.
With two young sons, I fully expect that the lifetime of wisdom imparted upon them will be only loosely implemented. Which I can live with. As long as they have health insurance.
Read our previous Q&A with Adam Lancaster
