Meet the Team: Matt O'Halloran

We might be a bit biased, but we reckon our team is pretty awesome.

We're proud of our people and we want to show off how cool they are, so we thought we would start a series of interviews to help you get to know Cotiss and our team a little better.

Welcome to Meet the Team, first up: Matt O'Halloran - Co-founder & CTO.

Why do you do what you do?

As a self-proclaimed nerd I have always been optimistic about the impact technology can have on our daily lives. For me, I love the creative challenge of building tools that strip the mundane from our day-to-day. We are in the information age - how could you not want to get involved?

Who are your heroes?

It's hard to overlook the brilliance of Elon Musk. He took the 'fail fast' attitude of Silicon Valley and implemented it in the most capital intensive business in the world - Aerospace Engineering. Literally blowing things up to test, learn, adapt and re-develop. Selling all his property to free up time and focus on his passion shows a level of dedication I aspire to reach.

What's one thing you're passionate about outside of work?

Family. In a world where soo much is transient, a close knit family has provided the bedrock I need to pursue my ambitions.

What's your "weird flex, but ok..." brag?

I've always been frustrated by the inefficiencies of one-way bridges in New Zealand. One summer I wrote an algorithm to optimise the flow of traffic on one-way bridges with a temporary traffic light system. The model predicted you could reduce wait time by up to half, depending on the number of cars, speed approaching the bridge and length of the bridge. And it's a lot cheaper than replacing the 7,567 one-way bridges in NZ.

If life were a video game, what would be your favourite cheat code?

An investment with a 10% return per annum doubles every 7 and half years. If you want to retire early, invest early, re-invest always and let compound interest work it's magic.