Tackling Tomorrow Today: ‘New ways of working need new tech’

Technology to support hybrid and remote working will be a key focus in the years ahead, according to Eileen Burbidge, an investor, and the London-based founder of Passion Capital. Speaking on Tackling Tomorrow Today webinar hosted by Protiviti and Robert Half, she said that new working patterns had accelerated ‘pandemic winners’ like Zoom, but also highlighted the need for other, more subtle, tools.

It’s not just about the technology that delivers services,” she said, at the event on 7 June 2022, . “How does an organisation measure employee satisfaction, for example? Before, people could walk around the office and feel the vibe, — they would have qualitative measurements. Now, they can’t do that. So, what tools should be in place to gather feedback? How do companies make sure everyone feels included? There’s technology to enable communication and collaboration, but underlying technology to address the ramifications.”

In a wide-ranging discussion with Michelle Moody, a managing director at Protiviti, and the audience, Burbidge also shared her views on diversity (“By the time we’re all working age, it’s too late”); inclusion (“hybrid working will have a ‘net positive’ effect"); environmental, social and governance, or (ESG): (“Iit’s a no- brainer’brainer”); and what she looks for in new investments (“It’s people”). Her story has clearly influenced her professional thinking in multiple areas.

From Silicon Valley to London

Burbidge, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, grew up in the U.S., she said, in search of education as a “route to social mobility.”. Under her parents’ watchful eye – they would support her choices, but a degree should come first – she studied engineering and specialised in computer science; becoming a lawyer or a doctor would take much longer. 

In the early ‘1990s, after graduating from the University of Illinois, Burbidge started working in the telecoms industry and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, she said, “before it was referred to as Silicon Valley.”. She spent time working at Apple, Sun Microsystems, and start-up Openwave Systems (then Phone.com), which went public in 1999.

The dot- com boom, and the subsequent bust in 2001, showed the importance of professional fulfilment, even in the tough times: international experience beckoned as a result, and Burbidge flew to London in 2004 to work for Skype. The little-known start-up was beginning to roll out, and she was part of a small team in shared workspace on Shaftsbury Avenue.

The dot- com boom, and the subsequent bust in 2001, showed the importance of professional fulfilment, even in the tough times: international experience beckoned as a result, and Burbidge flew to London in 2004 to work for Skype. The little-known start-up was beginning to roll out, and she was part of a small team in shared workspace on Shaftsbury Avenue.

Burbidge remembers convincing people to call it Skype, instead of ‘Skypee, observing the benchmark of the platform achieving its 10,000th and plans to move into markets based on broadband penetration. It was a “phenomenal experience” to be one of five people, before the team grew into hundreds, then thousands. But she left just before the sale to eBay in 2005 to join Yahoo and decided to stay in the U.K. after meeting her then husband.

“It’s important to colour my frame of reference and talk about my family,” she said. “I have given birth to four British citizens; the eldest is 16, and the youngest recently turned 10. Now, I have a stepdaughter with a subsequent partner, who’s six.

“Even though my children were born and raised in the U.K., they think of ‘tech’ as largely an American domain: — Netflix, Google, Apple, of course, — but occasionally I’ll remind them the special effects for Harry Potter were done by British companies, for example. I am informed by my children’s views and what I want the British technology sector to make available as they become adults.”

In 2007, after leaving Yahoo, Burbidge started making investments on behalf of the founding engineers at Skype. Just over 10 years ago, she co-founded Passion Capital, and, since then, she has backed more than 80 start-ups, including digital challenger bank Monzo, payment platform Go Cardless, and SME banking platform Tide. She chaired Tech Nation between 2015 and 2020 and remains close to the U.K. government as H.M. Treasury’s special envoy for fintech.

Ask a tech investor...

What follows are five talking points from the event, expanding on the themes shared at the beginning of this article. Burbidge was quick to identify trends that mattered and explain why she believes they are important. Her upbringing, her journey through the U.K. technology industry, and her lens on the business landscape provide a unique and thoughtful perspective on the challenges – and some of the solutions as well.

Hybrid working is here to stay

“I don’t see a return to offices like we had in 2019. It was already the case that companies were testing remote working and meeting free days, for example. The largest trial of a four-day working week has started in the U.K. with multiple organisations. The pandemic has helped leaders to think about the best way to foster productivity and collaboration, while supporting people to bring their best selves to work.”

Everyone is the same size on a video call

“When you’re in an office, and people file into a meeting room, who’s got a seat at the table? Who’s sitting around the edges? Who’s speaking loudly and commanding attention? It’s a lot to do with physical cues and presence but it’s overbearing for others and they are drowned out. On video calls, everyone’s the same size on a grid. It’s still up for individuals to be proactive engage and contribute but absolutely I think it’s more inclusive — maybe not completely level, but more level.”

I can’t tell you how important diversity is

“Sitting around a board table, there’s much we can do — we should always look at diverse candidates. But we need the pipeline to be much greater — we need representation at all levels. My emphasis is on younger people because what starts early is just going to manifest what happens later — I’m sure of it. When we talk about technology and innovation and we want greater diversity, we need to have more participation at a young age.”

Demand is far outstripping supply

“The talent shortage is global — there’s not a single tech hub that isn’t experiencing it. I don’t think we helped ourselves much with Brexit, in terms of access to talent from across Europe, and freedom of movement. But you go to Silicon Valley, it’s even more aggressive, and New York City. The answer includes immigration policy that attracts talent. It also comes down to educational pathways: There are whole social classes who don’t think about careers in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) subjects.”

ESG is becoming a no brainer, but political forces matter

“Companies that don’t take it seriously might not suffer in the near term, but I think over time, they’ll become obsolete. Those that engage on these topics will be rewarded by customer loyalty. The tricky thing is, thinking about government and policy makers, and what drives the economy: access to natural gas, resources — the big companies end up contributing to political parties. It’s difficult for governments to be more aggressive because of political concerns, with a little ‘p’. There is always more that could be done, but also an opportunity cost, which affects climate change, sustainability and ESG, 100 per cent.”

As if to confirm what matters most in business today, Burbidge was also asked what she looks for in a good investment. Her response: Financial opportunity, business proposition and commercial viability, of course, but her core focus is “people, people and people.”. She explained: “There are countless companies we’ve invested in where what they have set out to do is completely different than what they’re doing now. The confidence of investing in a team is about this fact: They will respond in ways that investors have confidence in. They will navigate their sector, competitor landscape and customer requirements better than anybody else.”

For more information on the Tackling Tomorrow Today event series, please click here.