10 Things You Didn’t Know About Paul Stovell
Paul Stovell is an Australian businessman and entrepreneur who serves as the current CEO of Octopus Deploy. The company is a fintech firm that helps companies automate their deployments with unique software solutions for business. Stovell has been successful in the tech industry. If you’re not familiar with him and his contributions to the fintech arena in The Land Down Under, here are 10 things you didn’t know about Paul Stovell.
1. Paul Stovell is the founder of Octopus Deploy
According to his LinkedIn profile, Stovell not only leads Octopus Deploy, but he is also the founder of the company. He has a background in software development that inspired him to develop a unique deployment solution for businesses.
2. He doesn’t have a college degree
When we researched Mr. Stovell’s educational history he listed the fact that he attended Whyalla High School. There were no other listings under this category, which suggests that he didn’t pursue a formal education at institutions of higher learning after completing his high school studies. This further suggests that he is self-taught. Under his skill and endorsements category, he lists that he is proficient in Software Development, .NET Framework, and ASP.NET.
3. His first job was as a Junior Developer
Paul was hired by Mercantile Systems Pty Ltd in Sydney, Australia in January of 2005. He spent 1 year and one month building a Windows Forms debt and debtor management product. He was already a skilled software developer at the time he accepted the position, but it gave him good experience with hands-on development experience.
4. He left Mercantile Systems for career advancement
When the opportunity to advance in his career presented itself, Paul Stovell took the opportunity. In January of 2006, he began a new job as a Developer for the SSW company in Sydney. He continued to work on a Windows Form consignment management solution for a company called Hills Trasport. This assignment lasted for 5 months. When this job was completed there was another job waiting for him that was yet another step up in his career.
5. Paul worked as a Senior Consultant and specialist
In May of 2006, Paul was hired by Readify at its Sydney location as a Senior Consultant and WPF Technical Specialist. While on the job, he served as a developer, trainer, and consultant for a variety of clients in multiple industries. Some of the most notable include the Australian Su marine Corporation, the government of Queensland, Xstrata, Microsoft, the ATO, Commonwealth Bank, Microsoft Australia, Towers Watson, and many more. He architected solutions, led teams, designed and taught the company’s WPF training course, and built and shipped software. This position gave him a ton of useful experience. He reminded employed with Readify until July of 2011, serving at the post for 5 years and 3 months.
5. He worked as a contractor
When Stovell left Readify, he went to work for Credit Suisse, in London, England. he joined the team in August of 2011 as a WPF Developer under contract. He stayed at this job for 11 months, leaving in June of 2012. The job included using technology to build a UI for exploring trading risks in the financial services and trading industry. Within 3 months of this assignment’s end, he launched Octopus Deploy in October of 2012 and has remained the CEO for the past 8 years and 7 months.
6. Stovell has a solid yet unique business model
According to his official blog, Paul Stovell has developed a unique business model. The customers are the investors for the company. When a business purchases the Octopus Deploy software, the proceeds are used to finance the development of the next products that the company is developing in advance. In a sense, the customers are the investors in the company because it is their money that funds the next developments and expansions that happen.
7. Paul is transparent in his business dealings
Stovell is open about how the money that Octopus Deploy brings in is spent. He offers a justification of the business cost of $2,300 for the product by clearly stating that some of the money goes toward the development of the next products, working out the kinks in the current software, paying the salaries of the workers at Octopus Deploy, and paying the overhead costs for web hosting, cloud hosting, and related overhead costs. He makes it clear that the company is a for-profit business and it does take a share for its profit margin. This is an honest way of doing business that inspires confidence from customers.
8. He doesn’t borrow money against the business
You won’t find any investors involved with Octopus Deploy. Paul Stovell has not sought angel or venture capital assistance to fund the company. He puts the profits he makes from software sales back into the business. This means that he is the sole owner of the business with no requirement for offering others a stake in the profits from investments.
9. He has kept his company small
According to SSW TV, Paul Stovell has built a successful deployment service company that serves thousands of customers throughout the globe. He has kept the size of the business small, employing just 8 people in the beginning. The number of staff has now grown to 40.
10. He is a brilliant entrepreneur
Stovell offers presentations to help other entrepreneurs to start their businesses. He shares his journey in creating Octopus Deploy long with the lessons learned from the mistakes and how he built a profitable company from scratch, without the help of investors. He shares his formal for success freely and offers advisement on how others can do the same. He maintains a transparent dialogue that openly discusses the future of his company, along with tips about how to best use the software solution. Paul Stovell goes the extra mile to ensure that clients understand the full potential of the tools he offers and how to best use them.
