In this episode, we sit down with Phil McCaw from Business Chamber Queensland to unpack how AI is being used to solve a very real executive problem: time lost in governance reporting.

As part of an AI Investment Fund initiative, Business Chamber Queensland is building a solution to automate and enhance monthly reporting processes—freeing up leadership time while improving the quality and depth of insights.

We explore how AI can connect data across teams, reduce manual effort, and ultimately drive better decision-making across an organisation.

If you're thinking about AI in your business, this is a practical, real-world example of where it delivers measurable impact.

Key takeaways:

• AI can save weeks of executive time by automating governance reporting processes
• Centralising data across Excel, Word, and other tools enables better visibility and consistency
• Understanding variance vs plan is critical to maintaining control of business performance
• AI helps uncover hidden relationships and insights across departments that humans often miss
• The goal isn’t reducing headcount—it’s freeing time to improve KPIs and team performance
• Outputs from AI should always be validated by subject matter experts (AI is ~80% accurate baseline)
• Strong governance, security, and training are essential foundations before scaling AI
• AI adoption can become a competitive advantage and inspiration for members/customers

Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction to the AI Investment Fund
00:24 – What Business Chamber Queensland Does
01:30 – The Problem: Time-Heavy Executive Reporting
03:19 – Quantifying the Time & Cost Impact
04:47 – How AI Will Solve the Problem
05:03 – The Importance of Variance Analysis
06:04 – The AI-Powered Reporting Experience
07:36 – Seamless Adoption Across Teams
09:45 – Defining Success & ROI
12:41 – Turning Time Savings into Business Impact
14:11 – Supporting Members Through AI Leadership
15:36 – Governance, Security & AI Readiness
16:50 – What Happens Next (Roadmap & Rollout)

First Focus has been selected as an SMB channel partner with OpenAI, joining a small group of experts trusted to help mid-market businesses get real returns from AI.

In this episode, we break down what the partnership means, why adoption matters more than licenses, and how to make sure your business isn't falling behind.

Why this matters for you

Most businesses are already using ChatGPT in some form. Executives are paying for personal licenses. Teams are copying and pasting company data into free tools. The problem? None of that is structured, governed, or delivering a measurable return.

OpenAI knows this. They also know they can't reach every 50 to 200 seat business in Australia themselves.

So they've built a channel partner program, selecting a small number of trusted providers to sell, implement, and support ChatGPT Business for the mid-market.

First Focus is one of those partners.

This isn't a badge we bought. It's recognition of the work we've already done, the AI and automation projects we've delivered, and the investment we've made in getting ahead of where our clients are in this space.

Key takeaways

✓ First Focus is now an official SMB channel partner with OpenAI, selected for our track record delivering AI and automation projects for mid-market businesses.

✓ ChatGPT Business is available on a month-to-month basis. No long lock-in required. You can turn it on and trial it with your team.

✓ Buying a license is just the start. The return comes from adoption, tailoring, integration, and ongoing education, which is exactly what our Core service is built for.

✓ Your AI platform needs governance. A managed rollout gives you data controls at the business level and reduces the risk of staff using unapproved tools.

✓ Adoption is the leading indicator of ROI. If people aren't using it, dig into why. Relaunch and iterate.

✓ Start capturing clean data now. Even if you're not ready to build automations today, the data you collect now is what will power them later.

✓ Think ecosystem, not just model. The best AI platform is the one that connects to the tools your team already uses.

Timestamps

00:00 Big news: First Focus is an OpenAI SMB channel partner

00:36 How OpenAI changed the way businesses work

02:37 The gap between personal use and enterprise AI

04:05 Licenses vs real ROI

05:02 What changes for First Focus clients now

06:23 ChatGPT Business alongside Microsoft Copilot

07:24 Why every business needs to act on AI now

09:01 What partner access means for our team

10:07 The OpenAI ecosystem and integrations

12:02 What makes an MSP an AI expert

14:09 AI governance and security risks

17:00 Employee experience and the right tools

19:23 Adoption as the metric that matters

22:47 Is AI foundational for SMBs?

23:40 AI vs automation: understanding the difference

25:37 Why your data strategy matters now

26:44 Choosing your AI ecosystem

About Core

Core is the future of managed services at First Focus. It's a productivity-as-a-service offering that ensures your team has the support, education, and ongoing iteration needed to make AI and automation a real part of how your business operates.

If you're investing in ChatGPT Business or exploring AI more broadly, Core is how you make sure that investment delivers.

Want to talk about what this partnership means for your business? Get in touch with your Technical Account Manager, or reach out to our team to learn more about Core here: https://www.firstfocus.com.au/services/core/chatgpt/

First Focus is funding a $20,000 AI project with Australian swimwear retailer Seafolly.

The goal: build a prompt-based AI knowledge agent that gives casual retail staff instant access to the operational info they need, so they spend less time searching and more time with customers.

The problemSeafolly runs over 30 stores globally with a highly casual workforce. New hires and existing staff regularly lose time hunting through SharePoint, group chats, and scattered process documents for answers to everyday questions. That pulls people off the shop floor and puts pressure on support teams.

What we're building

First Focus and Seafolly are developing a custom AI agent tailored for retail staff. Team members ask a question in plain language and get accurate, up-to-date operational guidance on the spot, without needing to raise a support ticket or chase a manager.

What this means for the business

- Faster onboarding. New casual staff get to answers quicker without waiting on someone to walk them through it.

- More time on the floor. Less time searching means more time serving customers.

- Fewer repetitive queries hitting the support desk.

- Better documentation over time. The system tracks unanswered questions, highlighting gaps in internal content.How the rollout works

The AI agent will be tested across five stores over three months. The team will measure adoption and accuracy before deciding on a wider rollout across the full retail network.

Learn more about First Focus CORE: https://www.firstfocus.com.au/services/core/

How do you scale property development to 1,500+ apartments without scaling your headcount at the same rate?

In this episode, we sit down with Peter, Head of IT at Billbergia, to unpack how a leading Australian property developer is using AI to transform defect management, improve customer experience, and drive measurable ROI through the First Focus AI Investment Fund Initiative Billbergia’s customer lifecycle can span up to 10 years — from first sales engagement through to the six-year defect liability period.

When a building launches, hundreds of residents move in at once, triggering a surge of defect tickets. The challenge? Triage them quickly, accurately, and without increasing admin overhead.Instead of starting with high-risk sales automation, Billbergia focused on backend AI-driven defect triage to prove value fast In this conversation, we explore:

- Why backend AI can be the smartest first step

- How AI triages defect tickets and routes them automatically

- The role of human-in-the-loop validation

- Leveraging 10 years of defect photos and data

- Measuring ROI through FTE efficiency and scalability

- Why adoption risk is lower than you think

If you're exploring AI in construction, property development, or any high-volume service environment, this is a practical blueprint for implementation.

⏱ Key Chapters

00:00 – Introduction to Billbergia & The Growth ChallengePrivately owned developer scaling high-density projects across Sydney and Brisbane

02:00 – The 10-Year Customer Lifecycle ProblemWhy fragmented systems and manual processes create friction

05:00 – Why Start with Backend AI (Not Sales)Proving ROI quickly through defect and liability automation

06:30 – AI Defect Triage in ActionRouting tickets, filtering non-defects, integrating booking systems

08:00 – Quantifying ROI: Headcount vs ScalabilityHandling greater ticket volumes without linear FTE growth

09:30 – Image Recognition & 10 Years of DataTraining models using historical defect photos

15:00 – Human-in-the-Loop & Continuous Improvement Accuracy safeguards and building a long-term AI knowledge asset

If you're all-in on AI — or soon will be — this episode demonstrates how to move from experimentation to operational impact.

🔔 Subscribe for more AI Investment Fund case studies

In this episode, Nandita from Lipman Burgon & Partners, a private wealth advisory firm serving ultra high net worth clients, shares how they’re transforming their investment due diligence process using AI

.Lipman Burgon & Partners were selected as one of the winners of the First Focus AI Investment Fund initiative, with this project being supported and delivered in partnership with First Focus. Together, we’re building a human-in-the-loop, Azure-based solution designed for accuracy, governance, and measurable ROI.

By using AI to ingest, collate and summarise large volumes of factual investment information, the team expects to:

- Significantly reduce due diligence turnaround times

- Increase coverage of fund managers and investment opportunities

- Enable analysts to focus on higher-value evaluation and decision-making

- Deliver projected efficiency savings of more than $100,000 per year

KEY CHAPTERS:

0:00 – Introducing Lipman Burgon & PartnersOverview of the firm and why rigorous investment due diligence is central to their value proposition

.1:26 – The Due Diligence Challenge (2–4 Weeks per Investment)Breaking down the current process: high-level screening, deep dive analysis, and reviewing hundreds of pages of reports.

3:01 – Quantifying ROI: From Weeks to Cost Savings. How they calculated the potential efficiency gains and projected $100K+ annual savings.

4:46 – Scale & Leverage: What AI Actually Improves. How AI enables broader coverage, deeper analysis, and better decision-making — without increasing headcount.

6:01 – The Technology Stack: Azure, Copilot & Human-in-the-Loop Controls. Why governance and experienced analysts remain critical in high-stakes financial decisions.

15:22 – Driving Adoption: Co-Designing with the Investment Team. How empowering end users from day one improves buy-in and practical implementation.

17:21 – Measuring Accuracy, Managing Risk & Knowing When to Pivot. Handling the “80% problem,” avoiding hallucinations, and defining clear success milestones.

AI projects don't just finish when the initial build is delivered. That's why we created CORE.

CORE is our managed AI and automation service, designed to help organisations go beyond traditional IT and turn AI initiatives like these into long‑term productivity engines.

Learn more about CORE here: https://firstfocus.com.au/core

In this episode, Brendan Ritchie sits down with Ross Sardi to unveil our new service offering 'CORE' and unpack how managed services need to evolve as businesses go all-in on AI, automation, data governance, and security.Rather than bolting AI onto old infrastructure-led MSP models, this conversation flips the thinking completely, starting from a clean slate and designing managed services around outcomes, ROI, and real business enablement.- Why traditional MSP models are no longer fit for purpose- What “AI-first managed services” actually mean in practice- The role of data governance, security, and compliance in AI adoption- How automation and AI should reduce effort, not add complexity- Why enablement and training matter more than tools- How to turn your technology spend into a revenue driver, not just risk mitigation- What businesses need to do to ensure ROI from AI platforms and LLMs- What our CORE offering entails

We’ve just completed our 14th MSP acquisition, with more already in motion!In this episode of M&A Focus, Brendan and Ross discuss the exact playbook we use to ensure two things happen every time we acquire a business:- The people who join us feel respected, supported, and excited about the future, and- The customers we inherit become 10/10 fans within six months of integration.Get the real conversations, lessons learned, and the behind-the-scenes mechanics of making acquisitions work for humans and for business outcomes.We cover the staff experience, customer expectations, cultural alignment, the pod model, the integration timeline, and how we communicate through a period where people often feel the most uncertainty.If you're growing through acquisition, or preparing to be acquired, this is your playbook.🔖 Chapters00:00 – Why We Bought This MSP: Staff + Customer FitWhy cultural fit and ICP alignment are the real reasons behind every acquisition — and how that shapes the entire transition.02:34 – Supporting Staff Through an AcquisitionHow we help employees who didn’t choose us understand who we are, where we’re going, and why they matter. Respect, clarity, and real career opportunity.06:40 – Customer Reactions & Reducing UncertaintyWhat customers worry about on Day 1, how we communicate when communication is limited, and why many end up relieved they now have access to bigger capability.10:55 – The Pod Delivery Model ExplainedHow we keep the “small MSP feel” while providing big-MSP resources — and why pod GMs are critical for client experience and stability.14:17 – Events, Connection & Culture After a SaleHow we use shared learning, in-person events, and community to help staff and customers feel part of the broader First Focus family.16:50 – The 6-Month Integration RoadmapA peek into our dedicated integration team, tool cutovers, communication cadence, and how we ensure every customer is fully transitioned and supported.