Soloist Spotlight: John Debrincat, a 50-year business veteran on a mission

Our Soloist Spotlights showcase the services our amazing Flying Solo Business Class members offer to customers in Australia, and take a peek behind the curtain of their day-to-day lives. This week, meet John Debrincat, Principal Consultant of eCommerce strategy and development agency, Shaped Logic.

John is a small business veteran with over 50 years’ experience building and supporting businesses. He is currently Chair of the board of the Australian Computer Society Foundation and Foundation Jobs. He is also a keen environmentalist, co-founding the International Environmental Weed Foundation with his wife, Bev, and supporting local tourism in Madagascar to help break the poverty cycle for the Malagasy people.

It’s clear John is one business leader who puts his money where his mouth is. You’ll find links to all of the above at the bottom of this article, but first, let’s dive right in and find out what drives the man behind the mission.

What is your business all about?

At Shaped Logic, we focus on providing businesses with assistance to plan, manage, review, and select their eCommerce platform and strategy. We can work with any sized organisation, but typically the business profile is a medium to large company, where the client usually already has a website and may already sell online.

What inspires you the most about your work?

Seeing the projects and advice that we provide clients lead to great outcomes.

What was your first job – and did it lead into a career in business?

My first job was working in my father’s retail shop after school and during holidays. Then I got an IT job after leaving school at the NCR data centre in Harris Street, Ultimo, operating NCR 315 RMC computers.

I always had the idea that I wanted to start my own business, but my career led me to some amazing companies and places. So my own business came later in my career.

What’s the best thing about being a soloist? And the worst thing?

The best thing is you are your own boss and can really determine what it is that you do.

The worst thing is “the buck stops here” …

Share the biggest challenge you face at work?

Keeping up with technology and the changing environment is by far the biggest challenge.

Tell us about your proudest moment

I would say it was helping a small team of people get the ACS Foundation started. The foundation provides scholarships to people who want to enter the information and communication technology (ICT) industry. It was started in 2001 and I was one of the founding directors. I have been the Chairman for around 20 years. We survived through COVID and have gone on to become stronger. We have now provided almost 10,000 scholarships and raised over $70 million dollars.

What would you say is your greatest strength or weakness?

Strength: I do my homework.

Too many companies and people treat their job as a cookie-cutter exercise. But each company and project are different. One of the greatest strengths that any organisation or individual can have is to differentiate themselves from their competition.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned this year?

This is a really tough question because every day is about learning something new. Often it is the small things that make the biggest difference.

Recently, we have been looking at how we might improve eCommerce in businesses through the use of Regenerative AI. Sounds pretty spacey, but it’s just another tool.

The best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given?

Over the years I have been grateful to so many people who gave me so much great advice. It is hard to pick one item and hold it above all others.

But the best piece of advice, that is true at every level, is to put yourself into your customers’ position. In other words, look at issues from your customers’ perspective. Sometimes it can be very hard, but you end up with more wins and happier customers.

Is your business taking part in any sustainability, diversity, or ethical business initiatives?

Yes, we have been engaged in a number of charitable and ecological initiatives. The ACS Foundation is one such charity.

My wife, Bev, and I also started a not-for-profit focused on the restoration of native habitat and environment. Bev runs the International Environmental Weed Foundation and the Habitat Network and they have funded many great projects. She has been instrumental in restoring small bird habitat around some local Sydney reserves, built a community nursery and run a number of events and projects developed for school children.

We recently spent some time in Madagascar and the poverty there is hard to understand. After spending a few weeks on the road with locals, we saw how large the poverty gap is. We decided to help by building a website for the local guides that helped us during our visit. Vintsy Tours is now up and running and delivering new opportunities for them.

And finally, what would be your advice to aspiring soloists?

Firstly, if you know roughly what you want to do, then write down a plan. It can simply be on your iPhone Freeform app, or on a notepad or napkin if you like, but write it down. I have found the Freeform feature on my iPhone is great for logging ideas that need to be reviewed.

Then, get a small group of trusted friends or family and present your plan. Take all the feedback and remember – it’s not an argument.

Secondly, engage with people who have similar ambitions. A website and forum like Flying Solo is a great way to help you do this.

Find out more about Shaped Logic!

• Flying Solo Directory
• Website
• Facebook
• Shaped Logic on LinkedIn
• John Debrincat on LinkedIn