Kyle Grattan | AI-Integrated Full Stack Developer Delivering End-to-End Solutions
Originally from the UK, full stack developer Kyle Grattan moved to New Zealand with his family five years ago.
His career in the industry has unusual beginnings: Kyle is a musician who turned to creating websites as a way to fund his path to playing more music. He quickly grew to love solving big problems with simple solutions, and when the Covid-19 pandemic hit (and with live gigs off the table), Kyle threw himself deeper into programming, finding it just as creative as music.
He’s since studied at Queenstown Resort College and the Southern Institute of Technology, developing his knowledge of Python, AI, and machine learning.
Kyle Grattan's LinkedIn Profile picture - AI Generated
SQL: Tell us about what you do and how you got started
Kyle: I really got into programming and coding when Covid hit. One of my first proper applications was for a river boarding company. They were using Google Forms and spreadsheets… it was a UX nightmare. So, I built out an application so that all their data was in a centralised space, and they didn’t have to go on as many websites.
Off the back of that, I began contracting and studying – I’ve had some great mentorship, and that’s guided my career. I’ve recently made a water safety application, and I’ve just made an offline mobile app for campgrounds. Essentially, for anyone who is using spreadsheets and has data entry issues, I enjoy finding a better way around it for them. I like to say it is ‘big problems solved for little money’.
Kyle and his team placed 2nd at Startup Weekend Queenstown 2023.
SQL: How did you get involved with Startup Queenstown Lakes?
Kyle: I attend as many events as I can. In all honesty, I’m a real geek. But I understand that I have to have soft skills, too, and turning up is a big part of the job. In a small town like Queenstown, that’s nestled away, it’s not exactly about ‘who you know’ – but it is about being there to support each other. And that’s how I went to some of SQL’s events in town.
Down here, there are not as many opportunities, yet there are some incredible ones. It’s great to meet people who are building things. So I go to listen, to hear about what people are doing, what problems they are solving and how they’ve been successful.
SQL: How has attending SQL events impacted your business?
Kyle: It has made me aware of how people think and how ideas come to life. I went to an event recently where John, who started Magic Memories, talked about how he was initially printing off photos at the pharmacy; he talked about out-of-the-box thinking and the importance of actually, really understanding your customers. It has made me come to the realisation that Queenstown is a good testing pool. There are opportunities to join something, to create and try new things. There are a lot of pioneers here, especially at Startup Queenstown Lakes.
I did Startup Weekend last year, too, which was really good, and it gave me exposure to certain people who I can now speak to and pick their brains! I can’t stop asking questions.
SQL: What is next for you and your business?
Kyle: I’ve just done an interview with Matt at First Table, where I’ll be contracting for a while. I met Matt through Startup Queenstown Lakes.
I’m looking forward to going into a more full-time tech-based role to understand how startups work. Especially First Table, because it really is the flagship of startups in Queenstown.
I’ll still be building out my own things, too. I enjoy user testing and sorting out systems. I find the really boring things really exciting.
In future, I’d like to make products for the tourism industry. I think one of the biggest problems we have is staff retention, and if you have outdated systems, knowledge gets passed out. I want to make some functional applications that can change tourism businesses and bring them up to date, as well as their staff because there are a lot of things that don’t get done because outdated systems make it hard. I’ve worked in tourism before and have been handed these big, paper handbooks – it’s a nightmare. So, I’d like to work out how to centralise that and make it user-friendly.
SQL: How would you describe SQL in one word?
Inspiring.
Story written by Startup Queenstown Lakes.