Brendon Ha is the co-founder of Stylefit, a 3D furniture software company enabling shoppers to view items in their own home on their mobile device.
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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?
Growing up, I had a range of jobs, which the work ethic came from my single parent mum raising two boys for us to have the best opportunities in Australia.
First job was at McDonalds at the age of 16 then from a mechanic, porter at the star to Woolworths as a packer.
School was never my forte, my mum’s dream was for me to finish school and uni. I finished my degree and entered the corporate world at CBA. I started as a collections officer in 2016, then worked my way up into working on a project as an analyst.
I knew I had more potential to be something greater so I decided to take the leap and start my own digital marketing agency at the end of 2017. I grew the agency from working with one client to now over 30 established brands in both local and global markets.
Through my digital marketing agency, I met many awesome business owners, including my now business partner (Benjamin). We launched StyleFit, a 3D/AR visualisation company designed to help shoppers make faster and more informed purchasing decisions by enabling shoppers to view furniture in their own living space through their mobile device.
The idea of StyleFit was when we both were struggling to make a decision while shopping for furniture. The combination of my sales and marketing skills and Benjamin’s experience with 3D rendering of commercial/residential buildings, enabled the birth of StyleFit.
From the idea stage to now working with major retailers – Boori, Johnny’s Furniture, Life Interiors, One World Collection. This business grew rapidly and we recently completed our first round of funding to scale the business.
Currently, I’m full time in scaling up StyleFit with Benjamin as I was able to hire the right people, create processes/systems in place for Social X to also continue to grow.
2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?
Wake up, currently unable to go to gyms (COVID) so I’ll do either a HIIT workout or mobility stretch exercises followed by a cold shower then listen to two main podcasts (What the Flux and Mindset Mentor by Rob Dial)
I’ll work on my daily planner – what are my goals for the day, 3 key focuses and any appointments to write them down.
Morning calls with Benjamin to debrief on our key focuses for the day as well as to raise any potential bottlenecks or problems so we can discuss solutions.
Daily meetings (stand ups) with our development team in Vietnam (Team of 6) and Art Team (Team of 4) as we are currently finalising the build of our SAAS platform for our clients and 3D artists to use.
Updating our current clients on the progress of their 3D models and having discovery meetings with potential clients.
We are also in the process of seeking further investment, so having calls/chats with wholesale investors, VC’s, capital raising companies to scale the business further and grow our team.
I end the work day with a review / debrief for the day.
3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?
I’m a person that loves to be in the office so we thrive on the energy to get stuff done and the ability to bounce ideas off each other when we see each other in person makes it a lot more effective in my opinion.
Working from home due to COVID has changed my routine a little but I ensure I check off my daily habits to exercise, cold showers and listen to my podcasts to have a consistent morning routine.
4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?
Work-life balance means to me that it isn’t just about the hustle and grind but doing the hustle/grind to enable the opportunity to build meaningful relationships inside/outside of work, travel, hobbies, etc.
I aim to achieve this by putting in my progress planner when milestones are hit or I’ve had a successful day, there is a reward out of it.
5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?
I started taking cold showers. There’s many scientific health benefits to this but it’s more of a mental game that I’ve done the hardest thing first thing in the morning so that the rest of the day any problems faced, it doesn’t seem to be bad at all!
6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?
Yes! My favourite book that I’ve read is Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It as in life everything involves negotiation and this book teaches how to prepare for it.
7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?
Spotify to listen to my favourite podcasts: What the Flux and Mindset Mentor by Rob Dial.
8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?
Definitely those who built empires – Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Jack Ma
9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?
We can never buy back time, so I’ve been constantly reflecting on the deeper “Why” not just surface level to make money because everyone does. But what are the reasons that enable the opportunities to have a balanced life. Hope everyone can pause for 30 minutes to try and take the time to do so!
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