Nine years at APositive seems to have flown by, but when Robin Dosser reflects on his career—from his early days in a shared working space with APositive CEO Danny Marlow to his role in the tech team today—it tells the story of personal growth, professional milestones, and the pursuit of innovation.
Modest beginnings
Back in February 2015, Robin began his APositive journey. It was very different back then; just him and Danny, getting off the ground in the competitive world of invoice finance. Robin brought with him a decade of experience from various companies, but stepping into APositive opened a new chapter of challenges and opportunities. As Robin says:
“I wanted to be part of something from the ground up and watch it grow. I didn't want to be part of a big organisation, where I didn't have much influence over outcomes.”
The invoice finance industry is notorious for its tight-knit community, yet Robin and Danny had never crossed paths before. Their partnership, which started with a job application on Seek and a shared vision for making it easier for recruitment businesses to get funding, set the stage for what would become a remarkable chapter in their lives and the company's story.
The duo started in a modest shared office, with Danny focusing on taking APositive to market and winning new business and Robin managing those initial clients. In such a small operation, Robin wore many hats—in addition to managing clients he began introducing processes and systems that, though they may seem crude in hindsight, laid the foundation for the business today.
"I was a client manager and an all-rounder, taking things off Danny's hands he didn't have time to do. He was the sole salesperson at the time and I allowed him to go out and sell, while I was servicing the clients he was putting on."
The transition to tech
This knack for optimisation and a deep understanding of the business landscape eventually catapulted Robin into a pivotal role within the tech team. After 4 years managing clients, Robin transitioned to a business analyst. In this role, he helps to bridge the gap between operational needs and technological solutions, ensuring the products and services the business rolls out meet the highest standards.
"I was going to use my experience and expertise on what I had done for the last 10/12 years and help them translate that into better tech processes, procedures and builds."
BOUI+: A testament to innovation
Among his most significant contributions was his involvement in the development and launch of a platform we call BOUI+ (pronounced booey-plus). It’s our in-house invoice finance platform and it features a client dashboard, where business owners can manage their cash flow and an admin portal where our client managers can help run their facilities.
"It was amazing to be a part of that. It’s great to sit back and look at it everyday and say that I was part of it."
Prior to BOUI+, APositive was using third party software and its development was a real game changer for the business, offering bespoke features tailored to the recruitment industry and showcasing our capability to innovate from within. Seeing BOUI+ in action every day serves as a constant reminder to Robin and his team of their achievements and their impact on the company’s progress.
To many more years of innovation
More recently, Robin and the tech team have been working on another exciting project, digitising and streamlining processes behind our APayroll product. This is a project which will deliver back-office efficiency, reduce errors and save time for our client managers, allowing them to focus on making client’s lives easier.
From managing a handful of clients to playing a significant role in a company that now boasts around 40 employees, Robin's story is not just about personal success; it’s a narrative of APositive’s evolution. It's about the growth from just Danny and Robin in a tiny office to being a leading and respected operator in the recruitment and labour hire industry.
“Seeing it grow from me and Danny sitting in an office to what it is now. It's been amazing. I want to keep going on that journey as well. It hasn't stopped at all for me, the excitement.”
