Ups and Downs

I have recently returned from what should have been a restful holiday back home on Islay with family. Ordinarily, this would be just the medicine to recover from the stress of the relentless grind I usually find myself in at the end of tax year end production. This year it all feels a bit too much. I feel so disillusioned and let down by the industry we are striving to improve after a year of some fairly substantial setbacks, and it is difficult at times to see past this particular disappointment.

In addition to the general stress of balancing these aspects, our own Abi Ostler has had a health scare recently. A recent mammogram provided some unclear insights and following two painful procedures to ascertain more information she has been advised to undertake preventative breast cancer surgery, which is happening today, and she will be out of action until October, all being well. It's rocked us, quite a lot if I am honest and I am definitely struggling to focus today. Whilst the care Abi has received and the pace at which she has been seen is great, it really hammers home just how fragile life itself is and how quickly things can change. The KAWC journey would not be what it is without her unwavering support, and I hope she has a speedy recovery. She has been the strongest person I know and even when dealing with uncertainty with her health, has gone out of her way to ensure everything is in order, well as much as you can when it's a small company! But this plays in massively to why the next few months will be a little less progressive on the software side (if we are already having a conversation about how TIARA can help you, it is likely you will not be impacted by any of this at all based on expected timeframes etc)

We are still able to progress just not at the pace we would like. Self-funding in this space is so much tougher than it should be, especially when the unexpected happens, seemingly repeatedly (we have had a fairly bad run of luck!). And with our first v.2 client delaying unexpectedly, we will be using the next 3 months to regroup - it has been so busy across all our clients and with the development that we have struggled to put our mid/long term plans into action, and at this stage in our development it is critical we get the timing right for expansion to ensure we continue servicing clients effectively.

I realise this is a fairly negative update - it is not really seen in the market that vendors admit their struggles, but since we have always strived to act with honesty and integrity, it seems only fair that we provide an update as to where we are at in our journey, especially to those that have been extremely supportive and excited by what we are building. I think it would also be quite hypocritical of me to pretend everything is brilliant when that duplicity contributes substantially to the numerous issues seen in the transformation space across the industry, we are absolutely committed to bringing the changes to the industry that the industry desperately needs.

Please continue to keep Abi and her recovery in your thoughts.

World's Biggest Coffee Morning 2022 | Macmillan Cancer Support

Prevent Breast Cancer Charity UK | Predict Prevent Protect