Job Title: CEO
With over 20 years’ experience in the IT and software industry, Karl Breeze has always been inspired by what a small but passionate team can accomplish. Wanting to be in charge of his destiny, he joined Matrix Booking halfway through the pandemic as the company separated from Keytree Ltd, a leading SAP consultancy, and began its journey as an independent SME. Since then, it’s added over 100 large new clients, grown from 15 to 40 staff and revenues have soared by 300%, from less than £1m annual recurring revenue (ARR) to over £4m ARR today. Breeze’s background of running a diverse set of companies in the Software-as-a-Service sector helped him navigate the challenges around the ‘new-normal’ office environment while managing a sudden influx of organisations that needed help to adapt and embrace the changes that the global pandemic presented.
What was the most valuable piece of career advice that you received? No advice as such, but a couple of famous quotes always spring to mind in this regard. Mark Twain’s, “If you enjoy what you are doing you will never have to work a day in your life” and Katharine Whitehorn’s, “Find out what you enjoy doing most, then get someone to pay you for doing it” are my all-time favourites.
What was the worst piece of business advice that you received? I have been lucky to not receive specifically bad advice, but personally I find that people who like to offer advice are not the best people to listen to.
What advice would you give to someone starting their career in IT/tech? Try lots of different things, do not be afraid to make mistakes, and be open and honest about everything you do. Making mistakes is the only way you will properly learn and anyone that has not made mistakes is either not trying hard enough or not being very honest!
Did you always want to work in IT/tech? Yes. I have always enjoyed problem-solving and I am fascinated by the latest technology. I found that IT/tech just makes more sense to me than it does to most other people. So, it was an obvious career choice for me.
What was your first job in IT/tech? During the university holidays in my first year, I started to work as a software developer for a tiny software company that happened to be close to my parent’s house in the North East of England – I found them in the Yellow Pages! That then carried on as a holiday job, and in the third year of my degree, I had to ask my tutor if I could take a week out of my studies during term time.
I needed to travel to Italy to install marine software that I had written on Ro-Ro ferries sailing between Italy and Greece – in the days before the internet and when software could only be installed from floppy disks. The boats were about as unglamorous as software installations can get, but it was an exciting thing to do and be responsible for. I was the envy of my course mates, and it gave me a very real sense of the sort of opportunities that could come from working in the IT/tech industry.
After graduation, I took a full-time position with the same company and for the first four or five years of my career, I wrote software for the marine industry – and got to travel to the US and the Middle East doing software installations on cruise ships that were very glamorous.
What are some common misconceptions about working in IT/tech? Many people think that you need to be a super-clever nerd to work in IT. In many IT roles that certainly helps, but being able to understand the people and processes that you are dealing with is paramount. The non-technical soft skills are much more important than most people imagine and there are lots of IT/tech roles that are very well suited to people without STEM qualifications.
What tips would you give to someone aiming for a c-level position? Do not be afraid to take responsibility. Instead actively seek it. Always treat people fairly and with respect, and embrace the fact that there will always be things you do not know and therefore, how you keep learning and building a growth mindset.
What are your career ambitions and have you reached them yet? I have never been one to set specific goals or think about bucket lists and the like. I simply try to ensure that whatever I do is challenging, enjoyable and rewarding.
Do you have a good work life balance in your current role? Yes. But what makes a good balance is different for different people. I think that many people who do not feel that they have a good work-life balance struggle with the ability to switch off from work – so even if they do not work long hours, work dominates their thoughts so they feel work dominates their life. And remote working exacerbates that as there is no commute to punctuate the day! Work is important, but family is always the most important thing – and as much as the role of a CEO can be 24×7 from the perspective of being on call for anything that might require an ultimate escalation, I have always been good at switching between the two and keeping them separate.
What, if anything, would you change about the route your career path has taken? I would not change anything. I have learnt many different things from all the different industries, roles, and responsibilities that I have worked in, having met lots of great people along the way. I would not want to give up any of that for the want of having done something differently.
Which would you recommend: A coding bootcamp or a computer science degree? I did the latter, so I have always had a bias towards university education. But the current cost of university education is now such that I am very unsure as to whether I would make the same choices today. Some of the best people I have worked with in IT did not read computer science; in fact, some did not go to university at all. So a coding bootcamp is an eminently sensible option for many people.
How important are specific certifications? Very – it is always something I look for on the CV of any technology/developer roles and I have done several cloud-based technical certifications myself. They are a wonderful way to learn new skills, demonstrate competence, and from an employer’s perspective knowing that a candidate has valid relevant certifications significantly de-risks the technical side of an interview process.
What are the three skills or abilities you look for in prospective candidates? Communication. Intelligence. An open minded / can-do attitude.
What would put you off a candidate? Typos and mistakes in CVs are inexcusable.
What are the most common mistakes made by candidates in an interview? How can those mistakes be avoided? Not being enthusiastic or sufficiently inquisitive about the role or company they are interviewing for. Displaying a positive attitude, an ability to adapt and learn where there might be a potential skills gap, and showing that you have done some research into the company you are applying to will always play well in any interview situation.
Do you think it is better to have technical or business skills – or a mix of both? In the IT/tech industry, it is very possible to build an excellent career with only one or the other, but people who can do both tend to do better as they can cover more bases and communicate well with people in either group.