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Ricky Gush had already been working on Canopy for some time before joining the City of Perth Plus Eight Pre-Accelerator. The idea was there and so was a prototype.
What Ricky wasn't yet sure about was how to turn it into a viable business.
Canopy is an enterprise software platform designed to help smaller organisations capture their processes and knowledge without the complexity and cost typically associated with Enterprise Architecture tools. It is designed to scale alongside a business, helping organisations work towards best practice while capturing what makes their business unique.
For Ricky, joining the City of Perth Plus Eight Pre-Accelerator was an opportunity to bring the idea out of the home office, connect with other founders at a similar stage and give himself some structure to work through what came next.
From building to listening
When Ricky started the program, the core idea behind Canopy hadn't changed.
What did change was how he approached developing it.
Previously, much of his focus had been on building the capabilities of the platform based on what he assumed would be valuable. Through the program, Ricky began spending more time speaking with potential customers and understanding their experiences and challenges.
The biggest surprise was how universal the problems were.
Every founder and business owner Ricky spoke to understood the importance of documenting the information and knowledge held within their organisation. The challenge was finding the time to work out how that information should be structured and where it should live.
Those conversations have helped Ricky get a clearer picture of where Canopy can create value and which problems the platform needs to solve.
Another unexpected discovery was how advanced some startups already were in their use of agentic AI. This led Ricky to recognise that giving organisations a structured way to capture the work AI agents perform within a business would be an important part of Canopy's development.
For Ricky, it has been a shift from simply asking “What can I build?” to asking “What does the customer actually need?”
Finding his feet in the startup world
One of Ricky's biggest challenges has been adjusting to how different the startup environment is from the established corporate world he's used to.
The program has introduced him to mentors who have helped him navigate that shift and challenge his thinking along the way.
“Plus Eight has been fantastic at introducing me to mentors who have helped guide my discovery in an unbiased way.”
For Ricky, that support has been particularly valuable. Having trusted people who can provide perspective while he works through the early stages of building Canopy has helped him navigate the transition into the startup world.
He's also found value in being surrounded by other founders.
“I'm taking away a renewed energy and drive to deliver Canopy to solve real problems for organisations in Australia and beyond.”
A different way of thinking about the product
Perhaps the biggest change for Ricky has been how he thinks about building a business.
When he started the program, he thought the biggest challenge would be developing a functional product.
Now, he sees things differently.
“The biggest challenge is delivering a product that solves the customer's problem, and discovering how to show the value of solving that problem.”
It's a lesson that's already shaping the next stage of Canopy.
Rather than continuing to develop the platform based purely on assumptions, Ricky is using conversations with potential customers to help guide what comes next.
One example of how Canopy could work in practice is employee onboarding. An organisation could map out each step of the process, linking those steps to the software and AI agents involved. Canopy can then help identify opportunities to simplify the process, save time or consolidate software.
For Ricky, the value lies not just in documenting how an organisation works, but in using that information to understand where improvements can be made.
What's next for Canopy?
Ricky is now preparing for pilot deployments across Australia and is looking to connect with organisations willing to test Canopy and provide feedback.
The pilots will give him an opportunity to put the platform into a real-world environment, learn from how organisations use it and continue shaping the product around genuine customer needs.
It's a natural next step for an idea that started with a prototype and a question about whether it could become a viable business.
“When I started the program, I thought the biggest challenge to building an organisation was developing a functional product. Now I realise that the biggest challenge is delivering a product that solves the customer's problem, and discovering how to show the value of solving that problem.”
The next stage for Canopy is about putting that thinking into practice, working with real organisations and continuing to build around the problems they actually need to solve. To learn more about Canopy you can visit their website here or connect with Ricky via LinkedIn here.
See Ricky pitch Canopy at our upcoming City of Perth Plus Eight Pre-Accelerator Showcase on October 1st. Register here!
The City of Perth Plus Eight Pre-Accelerator is a Spacecubed program delivered by Plus Eight, supported by City of Perth and the Town of Victoria Park.