Geoff McQueen // Serial entrepreneur and Founder of Ascendius Inc
Community and Background
Can you tell us a bit about your journey to the Coledale community? How did you end up here and what attracted you to this community?
I grew up in the Wollongong area and went to Figtree High and UOW. I dropped out to start my first company, Internetrix, which went on to be the leading digital agency in the Illawarra winning Business of the Year and serving clients from local small businesses to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
In 2011 I and three team members from Internetrix launched AffinityLive, a SaaS platform to manage all of the client work in a professional service business. I then moved to San Francisco and led that company to over $14M in ARR and eventual exit to private equity in 2024.
After meeting my wife Carrie in SF and moving to Denver where we grew our family to have three wonderful daughters (aged 8, 5 and 2) we considered moving to Australia. Things then got serious last Christmas when, staying at a friend’s AirBNB for a couple of weeks in Coledale, we toured a house for sale, made an offer, and the rest is history.
I’m excited to be back in a place I care about – the Illawarra – but building a new life with my family in a new community here in Coledale. And of course, taking the family on day trips to Berry and Picton as much as we can 😉
Business and Entrepreneurship
Tell us about your work. How and when did you decide to start it, and what motivated you to take the plunge into entrepreneurship or remote work?
These days I’m building my fourth company, Ascendius, and our first product is WorkSights AI.
The plain-English version: it’s an intelligence platform for your whole business. It connects to the tools your team already works in and uses AI to understand what’s actually happening across the company, then tells you what you need to know before you think to ask.
We’re still in beta, but our users tell us they’re running fewer status meetings, making more confident decisions, and getting fewer nasty surprises.
The idea came out of a frustration I’ve lived first hand. When the team is small and in the same room, you’ve got a “feel” for the business – you know who’s stuck, which client has gone quiet, where the good work is happening. As you grow, or go remote, you lose that peripheral vision. The standard response is KPIs, dashboards and a lot of meetings to be “kept up to date”, but KPIs get gamed, dashboards only ever show you what already happened, and meetings that communicate without deciding anything are pure drag. So you end up managing instead of coaching, reacting instead of leading. It’s why founders yearn for the early days when they couldn’t quite make payroll but genuinely loved running the company.
While this is a tale as old as time, what’s changed is AI. Most of us have now had the experience of AI working alongside us as individuals – it’s genuinely brilliant, and it’s everywhere. But nobody had built the equivalent for the business itself: something that carries the memory of how your company actually operates and comes to you unprompted with what it noticed, the way a good senior advisor would. That’s the gap we’re building into. Importantly, it’s about illuminating how the business is working, not watching individual people – that distinction matters enormously to me and it’s baked into how we’ve built it.
As for what motivated me to take the plunge – I’m not sure I ever consciously decided. I grew up in the Illawarra watching what happens to a region when the big employer stops being the answer, and the lesson I took from it is that technology and global forces will disrupt whatever they’re going to disrupt, and the only people who build the prosperity on the other side are the ones willing to start something. That’s why I’ve kept starting companies, why I’ve spent the last fifteen years mentoring founders through Startmate, and honestly why I’m delighted to be building this one from a desk in the Illawarra rather than in San Francisco or Denver. Our small team is spread across the EU, US and Australia, which means we’re our own first customer – and after fifteen years away, I’d very much like the work to happen here.
One last thing: we’re in beta and actively looking for people to put it through its paces. It’s free while we’re in beta, so if you’re curious there’s nothing stopping you – come grab me, or find us at worksights.ai.
What does work-life balance look like for you? How do you manage the demands of work while ensuring time for family and personal life?
My family is my priority but I tried being a stay at home dad and it drove me around the bend. So, being able to focus on work is good for everyone and I make sure I’m there to help however I can on the home front.
In your industry, what recent disruptions or transitions have had the most significant impact on your business?
I’m in tech and built my last company as a SaaS pioneer, so I’m in the middle of the first sector to be disrupted by AI. Starting again on startup #4 Now with the power of AI is incredible and exciting, but it also means while you can do more, so can everyone else, so competition for attention and wallet is intense.
Personal Life
Outside of work, what are your hobbies and passions? How do you like to spend your time when you’re not focused on business or family?
The kids are young so they keep me pretty busy. I’m excited to get some more riding in as the days get longer (and the kids get older) and would love to get a sea kayak and “work from waves” some time 😉
I’m staying healthy – and sane – by getting down to Coal Coast Fitness most mornings at their 6am strength classes, along with quite a few other locals!
Are there any books or podcasts you’ve found particularly inspiring or informative recently? Any recommendations for the WorkLife community?
My fav book lately is The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity. It does more to explain the current political moment than anything else I’ve read. It is short and you can nab a PDF copy at https://cdn.bookey.app/files/pdf/book/en/the-basic-laws-of-human-stupidity.pdf
How do you maintain boundaries between work and personal life? Any top tips?
I tend not to since I don’t like cutting my brain in half 😉 I grew up in a home where the highs and lows of entrepreneurial efforts – mostly lows given it was Amway – were shared in the open and we were always welcome as kids to ask questions and learn. And so while I don’t come home and share lots about my day, I still try and involve the family in successes and failures as both lessons for the kids and opportunities for me to be human and vulnerable with my family since I think that if there’s good or bad things happening it isn’t healthy to pretend otherwise and create “boundaries” between work and personal life.
Home and Lifestyle
What is your taste like? Do you have a favourite item of furniture or object in your home? Anything that has special significance or tells a story about you?
I’m pretty boring on this – I’m very utilitarian.
What do you like/appreciate about the design at WorkLife? Any favourite touches or things that make you feel at home when you are at work?
The balance between the functional modern fit out – desks, chairs, concrete floor – and the ever growing garden Charlotte maintains is really nice!
If you were to showcase the best of the local lifestyle to visiting friends, where would you take them and why?
The whale watching platform at the kid’s school followed by a beer out the front of the RSL. And in the morning, Earth Walker – feels like the best cafe for 50kms+.
Productivity and Time Management
What’s your go-to productivity hack? How do you stay organised and efficient, especially with multiple responsibilities?
Notion + Claude. It gives me a persistent external brain and the power to get 10x more done than I could before.
Benefits of WorkLife Membership
Lastly, what’s been the most valuable aspect of being a member at WorkLife for you and your work?
With young kids, getting out of the house is essential to getting work done. So, proximity to home and then the quality of the setup is clutch.
