Meet Andrew Owen: Business Owner / CEO / Consultant / Mentor
Image: Andrew Owen CEO at Moonward Apps
Well, there isn't too much sexy going on here - I don't have a massive Instagram following or a Lamborghini in the garage (Yet!) — but, what I do have is years of experience in Business, having built a multi-million dollar Software Development Agency, built 100’s of Software Products and mentored Businesses in over thirty different industries.
From the humble confines of my bedroom to scaling Moonward Apps, a Digital Software Agency generating millions in yearly revenue. I've also recently launched my own private community, Scalable Founders Club, for Business Founders looking to break through the struggles of small business and reach that $1M+ mark.
So How Did This All Start?
After two failed years at University, spinning my wheels and trying to figure out what to do with my life, I was presented a lifeline — I was offered a commission-only job at a National Sales Company. Within my first two weeks, I signed the largest contract the company had ever seen with Sky City Casino in Auckland, New Zealand. Two weeks later, I completed the highest volume of transactions the company had ever done at Tip Top, New Zealand. In just four weeks, I went from a confused second-year History student to finding something I was truly passionate about.
Not Sales — Business.
I realised that I loved identifying problems and presenting solutions. While working at my Sales job and earning great money for a 19 year old, an idea came to me. I set my sights on my first venture: The Konnect App. The concept was to connect (see where the name came from) local businesses with local people. An app, promoting offers, events, loyalty programs, and more (nothing revolutionary, I know). With zero tech knowledge, I learned to write code in the evenings while working at my Sales job during the day. Within a few months, the first iteration of The Konnect App was ready to go live. After some back and forth with the Apple Review Team, we launched on St. Patrick's Day in 2017 to the grand total of 98 users. After banking my first $200 pay check from a business that wanted to advertise to the mighty Konnect App user base, I quit my day job, burned the boats and jumped in full-time. What followed for me was a career of failures, lessons, experiences, heartbreak, success and plenty of fun. In that first year, I generated just $17k in revenue as I struggled to stay above the poverty line. I did whatever I could to meet local businesses, identify their challenges and propose a software solution.
If we fast forward a few years to 2018, I decided to jump over the ditch and set up my company in Brisbane, Australia — essentially starting again from scratch. Straight away, one of the greatest lessons I learned was understanding my value. I quickly went from selling $250 Apps to $500 Apps to $5,400 Apps (In 2024, our average App is $100k — how times change!) With each new project I took on, my clientele, product, and service improved.
By 2019, my partner (now Wife) was working part-time in my business doing graphic design, while I spun the business wheels during the day and project-managed offshore developers at night. After many nervous conversations, she joined full-time and shortly after we officially hired our first employee in mid-2020. This change skyrocketed our business in so many ways.
We moved out of our home office into a shared working space and within six months, grew from 1 to 9 full-time employees. We ditched the offshore development team and focused on building an amazing in-house culture centred on growth, ambition, and success. On the outside it looked like we were kicking goals, but on the inside the ground was unstable. We faced plenty of challenges over the next couple of years: losing our two biggest clients within forty five minutes of each other, dealing with our first resignation, and many sleepless nights worrying about project delivery, cash flow and sales. But hey, the challenge is the creator of the method.
Our next big leap came when we rebranded ourselves to Moonward and moved into our very own bespoke office space. Initially the office was $40k outside our budget, but with some creative negotiations and aggressive goal setting, we made it work. With over 18 team members and a five-star office, Moonward really began to take off.
All of our hard work continued to build into 2023 when we completed the acquisition of one of Australia’s leading App Development Agencies. A deal that netted us a ROI in the space of a week.
Today, I’m formally the CEO of Moonward. We’ve scaled from a business solely reliant on me to having employed over 50 dedicated team members, collaborating with leaders in 30+ industries, and delivering over 100 bespoke software products generating millions in annual revenue for our business. Along the way, I've faced plenty of adversity, from scrambling to get enough cash to run payroll, hiring our first employee, mediating tough situations and signing our first $100k contract.
Importantly, without my own close network of mentors, I wouldn’t have been able to navigate the tough times and fully enjoy the good ones. This is why in 2024, I have created this website and our community the Scalable Founders Club - to share all the lessons I've learned, give back to those who are earlier in their business journey and provide a supportive network for other ambitious Founders.
Check out all the free content on my website or join us at SFC and gain access to the insights and guidance that have been crucial in my journey. It’s my hope that you can use them to overcome your own challenges and create success.
