Get to know… Cam!

So, you’re the Big Cheese at Vovia. What’s it like to run a company full of really good looking geeks?

We’re pretty lucky at Vovia – everyone is ambitious, gung-ho, and gets along really well. I suppose everyone is geeky about something, but you don’t really notice it because we are all so personable.

What are the most significant changes to online you’ve seen in the last decade? 

The biggest changes are actually happening right now. I’d probably have to say the most significant is cloud computing as the easy availability of hosting and cloud resources has resulted in unprecedented innovation. Without cloud computing there likely wouldn’t be a Netflix, Foursquare, Pinterest or Airbnb.

What online trends will be most critical for business in the coming decade?

Social and mobile are the biggest ones. Mobile is pretty obvious—having an internet connected computer in your pocket all of the time is already changing how we shop, socialize and pass on recommendations, all of which are important for businesses to tap into. Social networks have been around for a while now and have drastically changed our lives already, but that change has only just begun and it’s much more difficult to see where it’s headed. Social networking is the one thing every business could be doing better.

We heard that you made a choice between deciding to start an SEO company and investing in a laundromat.  Do you wish you’d gone with the laundry?

Ahhhh, the laundromat. It’s a great cash business if you like carrying quarters everywhere, but laundry seemed a little too safe. Online is the future and constantly changing. Besides, laundry doesn’t scale well.

We heard that you really like robots…what’s the story there? 

Who doesn’t like robots? They’re helpful, they’re smart, and they have fantastically corny senses of humor. But probably the real reason is I detest manual labour and secretly yearn for an army of robot helpers. I have one Roomba so far, but it’s not nearly as helpful nor as intelligent as I’d hoped as it’s always getting stuck under our sofa.  You think it would learn eventually. It’s supposed to be a robot after all.