In this episode, host Reece is joined by Lucy Bourne, Co-Director of Oaka Studio and a long-time veteran of the Microsoft Business Applications space.
Show Introduction & Guest Background
[01:49] Reece introduces the show as "light entertainment" based around the Power Platform community.
[02:05] Lucy Bourne introduces herself as a Co-Director at Oaka Studio, a company dedicated to supporting Microsoft Business Applications partners. Their goal is to help partners scale their presence, understand their messaging, and build delivery practices.
[02:48] Previous Roles: Before Oaka, Lucy worked at Microsoft managing the "recruit channel" for ISVs and System Integrators. Prior to that, she was at a scale-up partner working with Dynamics and Power Platform back when it was still called "Project Sienna".
[03:22] She notes this is nearly her 16th year in the "BizApps" space.
[04:21] Lucy recalls her first real community experience at a Dublin event (around 2015/2016), organised by Janet Robb. She "blacked" her way onto an MVP-only dinner without knowing what an MVP was.
[05:17] Life-Changing Connections: Lucy credits the community for changing her life entirely. She met her partner (Lee) through it, and they now have a three-year-old son, Ralph.
[05:43] They discuss other "community couples," such as Andrew Bibby and Anna.
[06:05] The Lockdown Story: Lucy shares a hilarious story about Andrew Bibby moving to the UK from the US during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown (August 2020). He moved into Lucy and Lee's empty flat to quarantine.
Because he couldn't leave, they delivered his shopping.
Andrew, unfamiliar with UK supermarkets, requested "Canned Chicken" on his shopping list. Lucy refused to buy it, opting for fresh chicken instead, and they still tease him about it to this day.
Travel & Adventure
[10:35] Lucy discusses her love for travel, inherited from her adventurous mother (who was in Vietnam when the pandemic hit).
[10:54] Downsizing: Lucy and Lee sold a "ridiculous renovation" project to downsize to a small bungalow, freeing up funds to travel more.
[11:27] The Camper Van: They bought a camper van during lockdown (literally three days in) after finding it on Auto Trader. They have since sold that one and are currently kitting out a new one from scratch.
[14:20] Baby’s First Trip: Lucy vowed to go on every work trip Lee had during her maternity leave. This led to taking her 8-month-old son to New York (HSO’s office in the Empire State Building) and later to Scottish Summit in Glasgow.
Presenting & Events
[25:30] Lucy reminisces about the "good old days" at Hitachi Solutions with Chris Huntingford, Will Dorrington, and Kyle Hill.
[26:04] Keith Watling Story: She recalls organising an early hackathon in London. She invited Keith Watling (after seeing him interviewed by Satya Nadella) to join.
Prior to this, Keith had saved her on a client demo by jumping on a call to fix a Canvas App issue.
To thank him, she promised him a fancy breakfast in London on a Sunday morning. However, nothing was open in the city, so she ended up buying him a McDonald's McMuffin at Liverpool Street Station—a moment she is still mortified by.
[33:41] The "Battle Royale" Story: Lucy shares a chaotic presentation experience in Amsterdam with Neil Parkhurst.
They were presenting on "Dynamics Marketing vs. ClickDimensions".
The room was initially empty, but minutes before starting, the entire Microsoft Product Team for Dynamics Marketing walked in.
Moments later, the entire Senior Management Team of ClickDimensions walked in and sat on the opposite side.
The session turned into a shouting match between the two sides ("No, we have that feature!"), while Lucy and Neil watched like spectators at a tennis match.
Quick Fire Round
[46:15] Favourite Power Platform Service: Power Automate.
[46:25] Favourite Conference: Scottish Summit (partly because Janet Robb organises it, but also for the memories).
[47:11] Last Music Listened To: Bastille – specifically their new history-themed album & (Ampersand). Lucy calls the live show the best gig she's ever been to.
[48:07] Podcasts or TV: Podcasts, specifically the Off Menu podcast with James Acaster and Ed Gamble.
[49:12] TV Show: The Gentlemen (Guy Ritchie series).
[49:56] 2 Hours Free Time: She would go on her mountain bike with headphones on (loud music), cycle to a bar, have a cocktail, and then get Lee to pick her up.
[50:40] Books or Audiobooks: Kindle Books.
[50:50] Glass Half Full or Empty: Half Full.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF_PRKxTch8
