Ever hit that point where everything you’ve been faking suddenly stops working? Yeah, me too. What came next? Let’s just say it involved some unexpected career detours, a lot of self-reflection, and maybe a meltdown or two.

In this talk, I’ll share a story that’s part comedy, part cautionary tale—what happens when you realize the path you’ve been on might not be the one you actually care about. If you’re in tech, feeling stuck, or wondering why your career doesn’t feel as fulfilling as it should, you’re not alone.

Let’s explore the fine line between ambition and burnout, and how sometimes the best thing you can do is just stop pretending.

In fast-paced tech environments, true innovation often struggles to coexist with the demands of stable, scalable core systems. Enter the Labs Team — a focused, flexible unit designed to experiment, explore, and build without the usual constraints. In this talk, we’ll explore how labs teams can drive meaningful innovation, accelerate productivity, safely test new technologies, and even embrace failure as a strategy. Whether you’re part of a startup or an enterprise, you'll learn how to structure, support, and leverage a labs team to become a true engine of progress in your organisation.

In fast-paced tech environments, true innovation often struggles to coexist with the demands of stable, scalable core systems.

Enter the Labs Team — a focused, flexible unit designed to experiment, explore, and build without the usual constraints.

In this talk, we’ll explore how labs teams can drive meaningful innovation, accelerate productivity, safely test new technologies, and even embrace failure as a strategy. Whether you’re part of a startup or an enterprise, you'll learn how to structure, support, and leverage a labs team to become a true engine of progress in your organisation.

This talk digs into the weird stuff I do for work, and how all of it required me to be fairly unreasonable about my approach to things. I could have done a lot of things that would have been perfectly fine with far less time and effort and struggle — but I instead chose to keep pushing toward my Big Ideas™ even when no one could see the point except me. And now I'm doing a job that I love and that I'm pretty sure is unique in our industry. All because I chose to be unreasonable and do things the hard way.