From Scotland to Sydney: Andy Watt on Leading Nearmap’s Global Growth

Speaker A: It was one of those, we need to, you know, we need to introduce these guys. What we're going to see, how are we going to kind of break the ice here. So cut to aj, who's sitting, uh, where were you?

Speaker B: Were you home office? I was in my home office couch because it was Covid.

Speaker A: It's Covid, right?

Speaker B: Yeah. And I had Covid. So I'm sitting there. That's why I couldn't be there with you in person.

Speaker A: Yeah. And behind you there's the Kiss poster.

Speaker B: Oh, Rush.

Speaker A: Rush poster. Sorry. Yeah, yeah. And you just, uh, double neck guitars.

Speaker B: Neil parts like 360 drum sets and

Speaker A: you were the least private equity guy I think the new Map has ever seen.

Speaker C: Welcome to Thoma Bravo's beyond the Deal. I'm Orlando Bravo, founder and managing partner at Thoma Bravo. Today, Thoma Bravo senior partner AJ Rohde, along with Thoma Bravo principal Peter Hernandez. Sit down with the Near Map CEO Andy Watt. These three have a great dynamic. Listen along as, uh, they talk about Andy's path from Scotland to Australia and what it's like building a global tech company from Sydney and the behind the scenes moment that helped our team win the Nirmap team's hearts and minds. Then it's time for AJ's Lightning Round covering everything from culinary debates to rock bands.

Speaker D: Welcome back, everybody. Uh, we are here with Andy Watt and AJ Rode. Uh, and this is our episode of beyond the Deal and we're excited to get into it and maybe tell our listeners a little bit more, uh, behind the scenes on what we didn't get to last time.

Speaker B: Andy, thanks for coming in, bud. We will start this and we're gonna keep this fun, light hearted. You know, this is sort of the time where we can take the temperature down a little bit. Maybe Peter, you, you know, I'll start and then I'll kick it to you. Um, you know, coming to Oz from Scotland, you did it for a job. You stayed with your family, you know,

Speaker A: they stayed with me, actually.

Speaker B: They stayed with you. Yeah. Yeah. Congratulations. M. Tell us about your experience in country and how you've seen the country evolve and what do you think the future holds for the Australia? Yeah, for Australia.

Speaker A: It's a fascinating country. It really is. Ah. Like I say, I fell in love with the people and the lifestyle as soon as I got there. Um, and there are plenty of times and reasons we could have moved elsewhere or gone back to the UK or wherever. We still got family and friends there, obviously. But the place is hypnotic. It grabs you and it Shakes you and you become part of it. And that's what I love about it. It's uh, a country that's going through a lot of change as every country is. It's on the periphery of most things. It's a long way from everything is an obvious statement to make. Therefore it tries twice as hard to kind of make itself relevant and to, to do things well. And um, I think that's to its credit and I think uh, it's going to be an interesting place. It's a country that's kind of evolved around mining and banking and so on. But I think there's a realization that it needs to expand its horizons and look for new ways to um, evolve and grow as an organization. And I think NeoMap's a great example where there's a thriving uh, technology community over there now that uh, really is beginning to bed in fact that we've got such huge talent in Australia for AI. I think there's just that good immigration policies too. It's opening uh, now it had pretty closed doors for a long time, but it's opening its doors now. It's much more open again. It wants to be included as part of the world kind of discussion. Uh, and it's becoming more relevant as I say. And I think it's being deliberate in doing so. It's been thoughtful in doing so as well. Um, so it's a fascinating place to be.

Speaker D: Well, it's so fun for us too to help you build a global company that's technology led, technology focused from M Australia just because there's not many of them. It really is something that I feel like is rare and special when we go spend time down there. From your perspective, what's that like to be the head of a global company? Talk about that.

Speaker A: Yeah, it's cool. It's humbling honestly is what it is to begin with. Uh, but it's an amazing kind of position we find ourselves in now. We've put a lot of hard work into getting to that position. So we're incredibly proud and passionate and pleased with the journey we've come on. So look, even though a lot of our critical masses now here in terms of employee base through acquisition, uh, know, through our revenue and so on, we still have very strong roots in Australia. We're still passionately Australian at our, at our heart. And I think we'll always have that kind of sense of DNA that, that ties itself back to Australia. I don't think we ever want to lose sight of that. And I'm sure We will never lose sight of that. So that's, that's exciting as well. And the Australian team are super excited about the growth opportunity for nearmap as a global organization. I think it's, it's a feather in the cap. It's a success story and I think we're all just passionate about it. We're all excited about it.

Speaker B: So how many flights do you take a year? Um. And how many miles do you fly? Yeah.

Speaker A: Ah, I should know the miles, right? I don't know, but I, uh, Like, I'm here five or six times a year, so. And it's.

Speaker B: I said earlier, but you're always here for two weeks.

Speaker A: I'm always here for two weeks.

Speaker B: You're going across the country, meeting with customers. You're in Jacksonville now with itel, of

Speaker A: course, but it works. Well, it gets, you know, four times a year with you guys for board meetings. But then I'd be here anyway talking to, say, the employees are out with customers and so on. So it's, uh, it's time well spent. And, um, it's great. And half our executive team here, half the executive in Australia, it's a great opportunity for us to connect in person. And I'm still one of those old fashioned guys that likes to actually talk to people and all that sort of stuff, so. So, yeah, so, look, it's a lot of travel and, um, my family are very accommodating about that, I think. I think they actually enjoy it when I go.

Speaker B: I have one of those too.

Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I think, I think. Yeah, exactly. But no, it's, it works.

Speaker D: One of the things that we love to do is we love to come down to, you know, your neck of the woods in Sydney, which we've done a couple times, actually. We try to do it at least once a year. We do a board meeting down there and we meet the team. Um, I would love actually, Andy, for you to tell our listeners. Could you describe the first town hall that we had? Uh, and maybe to put AJ on

Speaker B: the spot, explain to us you were there in person and I was.

Speaker A: It was, it was, it was, it

Speaker D: was the start of us winning the hearts and minds.

Speaker A: It was us winning the hearts and minds. But look, it was a big announcement, right? There's a few of us knew, obviously in advance, and then there was a big announcement that we were going private and Thoma Bravo investing. And everyone's going to. Who are these Thoma Bravo guys? Private equity douchebags. What's going to be. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's going on here. So, uh, most of the board came down, which, to be fair, and I'll just come back to the AJ story. You guys, you say have made a habit of coming across, and that is so well received because actually knocking out the kind of stigma and uh, whatever might be attached to the private equity, having you guys visible, and not just visible, accessible to the team is really, really important. It's not just even in Sydney, you guys attended our, uh, kickoff events in the US as well. So having a presence and a profile is, uh, really important. So you're not just the kind of suits behind the money, behind the deals that were. So that's really important. But yes, to your point, Peter. Uh, it was one of those we need to, you know, we need to introduce these guys. What are we going to say? How are we going to kind of break the ice here? So cut to aj, who's sitting, uh, where were you?

Speaker B: I was in my home office couch. Because it was Covid.

Speaker A: It's Covid.

Speaker B: Yeah. And I had Covid. So I'm sitting there. That's why couldn't be there with you in person.

Speaker A: Yeah. And behind you there's the Kiss poster.

Speaker B: Oh, Rush.

Speaker A: Rush poster. Sorry. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you just, uh, double neck guitars,

Speaker B: Neil parts like 360 drum set.

Speaker A: And you were the least private equity guy, I think the neomafas I've ever seen. But it was great. You talked with passion, you talked with excitement. You were fun, you were engaging. And, uh, for that moment, it was kind of a bless.

Speaker D: I think it was the best juxtaposition to myself and Samir, who's co lead on this investment as well. Samir and I were there in person, uh, and, you know, probably wearing the uniform, you know, blue shirt and the suit jacket. And then I'll never forget, AJ comes on the screen and it's probably this big projector in the cafeteria in the near my room, and this massive Rush poster behind him. And immediately m, you can just hear everyone in the crowd, like, saying, this guy's awesome.

Speaker A: It was fun to see people every now and then. Yeah, yeah, no, that was great.

Speaker B: All right, can we do the lightning round?

Speaker D: Let's do it.

Speaker C: All right.

Speaker B: This is super fun. So every time we do this, uh, we ask some questions and we ask you to choose between two options.

Speaker A: Do you have to explain it or just choose?

Speaker B: Uh, you just have to choose.

Speaker A: All right.

Speaker B: Okay, I'm gonna ask you five questions. Okay? So sit tight for a sec. All right, ready?

Speaker A: Yep.

Speaker B: Now, a lot of this is gonna Play on this theme of Scotland versus Australia, and I might ask you to pick between the countries because you have a fondness for both, but I'm asking you to pick between cultural elements of each country. How's that? Okay, ready? Highland Games or the AFL Grand Final?

Speaker A: AFL Grand Final.

Speaker B: Now, why

Speaker A: I have to explain the audience. Highland Games is very much caber. Uh, tossing and filling hammers and wearing kilts and, you know, it's quite a unique experience. Ah, afl, uh, Aussie Rules Football, uh, is again, one of these uniquely Australian sports, but it is massive. It is a day out for the ages. And so if you ever get a chance to come down, you got to go to it. But, uh, it's a phenomenal sport. A lot of fun. Both are good.

Speaker D: No? I think we're going to try to do it in October.

Speaker A: There we go. There we go.

Speaker B: All right, back to my music theme. Acdc, uh, Australia or Simple Minds Scotland.

Speaker A: Well, Simple Minds was part of my childhood and growing up, so I would probably say Simple Minds. Yeah, stick with it.

Speaker B: Yeah, I might agree. Um, I think I'm going to pronounce this right, but if I don't, let me know. Haggis, neeps and tatties.

Speaker A: That's pretty good.

Speaker B: Or versus Vegemite.

Speaker A: Haggis, neeps and tatties.

Speaker B: So what are haggis, neeps and tatties?

Speaker A: Haggis. Ha.

Speaker B: Ha.

Speaker A: Haggis. Haggis is a, uh, a unique Scottish dish. Again, it's the innards of a sheep offal wrapped with oatmeal wrapped in a sheep's stomach, which you boil and then serve with mashed potatoes. Neeps. Sorry, Taddies. And mashed, uh, turnips. Neeps. And it's served, uh, on any time, really. But there's a specific occasion. Burns Night. Robert Burns Night, 25th of January. So I've just come from Burns Night and just had haggisleeps and stuff.

Speaker B: Oh, really? Okay.

Speaker A: Tremendous.

Speaker B: Is there a Scott expat community that will eat this stuff? There is. Okay. All right.

Speaker A: It's demand for it. When you come down Australia, I would

Speaker D: jump in and say neither of those, but I love the tam.

Speaker A: The Tim tams.

Speaker D: Those are so great. Every time we show up in Australia, I think Henry's got, like, a box for us. We always take them back.

Speaker B: And kangaroo meat. Do people eat that?

Speaker A: They do. Who? It's not common, but you can.

Speaker D: Crocodile.

Speaker A: Um, there's a bunch of stuff. Yeah.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: You guys are hardcore.

Speaker A: We'll barbecue anyway.

Speaker B: Yeah, totally. Totally. Okay. Summer, um, in Glasgow or Edinburgh or summer in Queensland.

Speaker A: Oh, that's so easy. Summer in Australia. All day long. All day long. That is why I'm in Australia. And, uh, summer in Glasgow is like winter in.

Speaker B: It's like summer in San Francisco. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker A: Maybe you're right. Maybe you're right. No, but, no, the climate. Australia is pretty cool. So. Yeah, I'll take that.

Speaker B: Okay, last question. The Australian public markets or any other public market venue?

Speaker A: The Australian public markets. The Australian public markets, like, they're. It's, uh, a. It's a. It's a good community down there, and they know us well.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker A: So I think they'd be interested.

Speaker B: And you have a retail following because people know Map browser. They used it. You had a retail following before.

Speaker A: Right. And I get. Look, I still got so many bankers and investment funds. Just want to know what's happening when you're not. Because we were part of that kind of growth journey. We got to, you know, ASX 200 at a point in time, and people liked who we were and are just interested to see where we've gone. We disappeared.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: But they want to know what's happening. So it's kind of. It's kind of nice to know we're still. We're still thought of.

Speaker D: Well, we were saying before, it's just such an iconic company in Australia. Like, the fact that even just walking down the street, everybody stops us and they say, oh, like, how do you know? Near map to AJ was telling a story earlier. Like, I think that is. That is so special.

Speaker B: There you go. Yeah. Any other final comments, guys?

Speaker D: No, nothing for me, other than just to say it has been an absolute pleasure, Andy, to be working with you, be your friend, uh, be your thought partner as you build this big global company, um, that we've all just really, really enjoyed the ride. So thank you for entrusting us to be your partner and really picking us from the start, um, to help build it. It's been an absolute joy, and we love it.

Speaker B: Thanks for convincing me to buy it, convincing both of us to do it.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: Pleasure, guys.

Speaker A: Thank you, guys. No, I appreciate that. And you said the word friend there. That's important as well, I think. It's not just a business relationship. This is way more than that. And I appreciate it. And that's what keeps us going. Right? That's what I enjoy it.

Speaker B: Same. Onward, onward. Thank you, guys. Appreciate you being here.

Speaker C: Listen to Thoma Bravo's beyond The Deal Season 4 on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.