Complexity doesn't scale. Simplicity does
Alan Shields is an entrepreneur, author and startup adviser with more than 25 years' experience building businesses in data, technology and financial services.
Alan never set out to be an entrepreneur. After studying physics at the University of Birmingham and the Université de Bordeaux, he joined Thomson Reuters in London and was soon analysing wealth management markets in Singapore. At Datamonitor, he discovered a passion for turning data into stories, and in 2004 he moved to Australia to lead the company's Asia-Pacific financial services business.
In 2006, Alan and a colleague left to start RFI, working from their homes in Sydney. Over the next seventeen years, RFI became RFI Global, a leading provider of customer insights and analytics to banks, fintechs, payments companies and lenders, with offices in Sydney, London, Toronto and Singapore. The business bootstrapped for ten years, hired more than 400 people, served over 500 of the world's leading financial services and technology brands, and featured in the BRW’s Fast 100 list six times.
Alan held almost every leadership role along the way, including Managing Director, Chief Product Officer, Global Head of People and Culture, Group COO and Chief Data Officer. He led RFI through capital raises, acquisitions in the US and Australia, and a fully remote transition within weeks of the pandemic. Following the sale of a majority stake to private equity, Alan stepped back from day-to-day leadership and now serves as a non-executive director.
In 2024, Alan founded Titan Advisors, a boutique advisory firm that helps founders prepare for fundraising, unlock growth and improve execution. He is a mentor with Startupbootcamp, a non-executive director of Epilepsy Action Australia, an advisory board member at FootprintLab and a member of Hart Bioenergy's Expert Advisor Panel. He has also lectured at the UTS Transdisciplinary School.
Alan's book, The Startup Handbook: A Founder's Guide to Building a Business, published in October 2024, distils the lessons of building RFI into practical principles for anyone starting or scaling a business. It is the book he wishes he had read before he started.
Talking Points
The Startup Handbook: From the Kitchen Table to Four Continents
In this signature keynote, Alan tells the story of building RFI from two founders working from their kitchens into a global business. He covers bootstrapping, scaling, acquisitions and the sale to private equity. He doesn't offer a victory lap or a get-rich-quick formula. Alan shares the principles that mattered and the mistakes he would warn anyone about, drawn from his book The Startup Handbook. Audiences get an honest, often funny insider's view of the founder journey, from the first client to knowing when to let go, and practical lessons they can apply whatever stage they're at.
The Startup Handbook: From the Kitchen Table to Four Continents
Is There a Market in the Gap?
Many startups fail because they build something nobody wants to pay for. Drawing on two decades in customer research, Alan shows founders and innovation teams how to test an idea before betting the business on it. He explains why chatting with friends and family isn't validation, and why "that sounds great" is not the same as "I'll pay for it." He also shows how lightweight, low-cost research can reveal who has the problem, what they'll pay and how they buy. Audiences leave with a simple loop they can start this week: test, learn, adjust, repeat.
Is There a Market in the Gap?
Raising Capital: When, Whether and How to Tell Your Story
The startup ecosystem pushes founders toward venture capital from day one, but funding is not one-size-fits-all. Alan helps audiences decide whether to raise, when the timing is right, and what type of capital fits their goals. He covers the warning signs that it's time to raise, what investors really want in return, and why most information memoranda miss the mark. He also explains why cash flow, not profit, decides how long a business can keep going, and why every founder needs a forecast before they need investors.
Raising Capital: When, Whether and How to Tell Your Story
Stories Stick: The Art of the Pitch
Founders, investors and sales teams sit through dozens of pitches a week, and most are forgotten by the next meeting. Drawing on more than 3,000 presentations to executives and C-suites of major banks and financial services brands, Alan shows why the story matters more than the slides. He cuts through the noise of pitch-deck checklists to show how to build a narrative people remember and repeat. He covers how to explain a business simply, how to order the pieces so they draw listeners in, and how to avoid the buzzwords and walls of text that lose a room. Audiences leave knowing how to tell their own story, whether to investors, clients or their own team.
Stories Stick: The Art of the Pitch
Building the Team, Culture and Change That Scale
Alan hired more than 400 people and served as Global Head of People and Culture. In this session, he shares what he learned about building teams that outgrow their founders. He explains why "no budget" is not the same as "no need" when hiring for key roles. He covers hiring for curiosity and attitude over a perfect CV, and building a culture that rewards simplicity. He also covers how to lead both everyday improvement and sudden step change, including how RFI moved four offices to fully remote within weeks of the pandemic. The session suits founders, leadership teams and corporate audiences alike.
Building the Team, Culture and Change That Scale
Fantastic presentation as usual. The data is formatted into easy to digest information and the commentary provides great insights and take always. ... keep reading ANZ
Alan is a fantastic presenter and the content was right on point as to our business objectives.
I've recommended our whole team view this session. Really valuable. Al is able to provide insights that directly improve our ability to make decisions on approach.
