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Dan Crane
Digital Specialist
Innovator
Technologist
Privacy and Decentralisation advocate

Dan Crane

Digital Specialist, Innovator, Technologist.

Currently CTO at Eternus - providing technology services to the Eternus group globally.

Previously VP of Digital at gDEX, COO of Horizon State blockchain voting and Chief Online Officer, Tatts Group.

What I Do

Blockchain Innovator

In my various blockchain roles, I've looked deep into blockchain tech - not just at its potential for use as a currency, but what smart contracts can do to disintermediate many aspects of modern society.

Futurist

My aim is to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to the use of technology in society, and the potential changes that may come from it. I think that a polymath approach to education is best served to adapt to exponential changes.

Digital Innovator

I've held senior digital and innovation roles across several businesses, and have grown both startups and assisted ASX top 50 companies in positioning themselves to better suit customer needs in a digital age.

Founder

I founded Ultim as I was attempting to start keto way of eating and found that it was so hard when away from home. So much food out there has hidden sugars and refined carbohydrates, and I kept slipping out of ketosis. Taking on a founding role on my own was its own kind of challenge, when you have no-one to rely on you quickly became adept at tasks outside your comfort zone.

Testimonials

I've had the pleasure of working with Dan on-and-off for almost 15 years. His capacity to stay—seemingly effortlessly—on the pulse of technology, as well as foresee technology's social and economic impacts, has made him the best person throughout my career to think big with and look ahead in time with. Dan's ability to apply this knowledge and foresight to business problems and strategy has always quickly solidified him as thought leader and amongst his peers, one of incredible philosophical and bottom line benefit. As a people leader, Dan is remarkably rational, diplomatic and emotionally intelligent. He is a leader I hope to work with again in the future.

Jamie Skella

Jamie Skella

Horizon State

In my role as GM - Online Strategy & Services at Tatts Group, I had the pleasure of reporting directly to Dan, and working closely with him every day. Dan is a level headed leader with an extraordinary eye for emerging markets, particularly in the digital space. He is a passionate technologist, with a strong awareness of cutting edge technologies and how they can be best applied to deliver innovative new experiences to his customers. Dan is able to strike a balance between technology and commercial/product strategy that is extremely valuable in our increasingly digital world, and he is a capable champion for projects that might otherwise be considered challenging or difficult. His ability to maintain close and amiable relationships with his staff and stakeholders is also an extremely valuable asset.

Matthew Lynch

Matthew Lynch

Tatts Group

Dan's the type of guy you meet at computer club and instantly go "I want to hang out with him more" as he's fascination with not just the latest tech trends but then how they apply to the context of the day is exceptionally insightful. I counted on Dan not just as my manager but also a friend & professional peer - and will continue to do so - and found that he was able to challenge me often on my ideas & approach to problems. Dan has a lot of layers to his approach to leadership and doesn't miss details no matter how many times I watched folks attempt to slip past him. He's not quick to punish but at the same time he'll not take laziness or incompetence as an acceptable approach to work being asked to perform. I also watched Dan under pressure and that is when you really see the leaderships come out strongly, as not only did he stand at his post when I'd argue many would have quit, he was able to shape and augment the panic or stress in a way that altered its course towards resolutions and/or peace within the ranks. I've worked with a lot of strong leaders and i'd work with Dan again, in fact I hope to again.

Scott Barnes

Scott Barnes

Liquid Interactive

Companies

Eternus
gDEX Metaverse
Horizon State
Ultim
Tatts Group
Skrilla

Resume

20 Years of Experience

Career History

1985

At the age of 11 I received my first computer.

An Apple 2e. I was furious, everyone else had Commodore 64's! I learnt to accept it, and indeed loved it. Things really opened up when I joined the local Apple user group and each month they lent out a 300 baud modem. I still remember my first connection to Telstra's (Telecom at the time) "Viatel" service. When I handed the modem back I had rung up several hundred dollars worth on my parents phone bill...
1990

Running my own BBS from home

I convinced my parents to get a 2nd phone line and started my own BBS connected to FidoNet. Great learning experience that introduced me and my naturally curious mind to the world of Hacking and phone Phreaking. Overseas BBS's had the best "text files" from which to learn from, and I became friends with the "Sysop" of "Info Addict" - the largest repository of text files in Western Europe. I later stole the name (it was cool).
1997
Octa4

Joined the ISP "Octa4". First job - translate centrebet.com into 4 Scandinavian languages.

I was thrown into the deep end at Octa4! I joined the company as a Web Developer and I very quickly learnt about the special Scandinavian characters and how to use them in HTML . This was the beginning of my journey with online gambling websites.
1998
Octa4

Established an online gaming service.

"Gamers@Octa4" was a first for the company and helped tap into the burgeoning online video gaming scene that was happening at the time. I ran all the gaming servers and online forums in my spare time, as well as ran several LAN parties based out of the office. Once Octa4 was sold to iiNet, I took the community and setup Gamers Underground, which went strongly for more than 10 years.
1998
Octa4

Centrebet.com has its' first soccer world cup.

At this stage in the online gambling scene there were only a few players, with CentreBet being one of the biggest. Octa4 had coded the website using an obscure scripting language with a single threaded pipeline to the back-end. We thought it would be cool if when a bet was placed the server would audibly play a Mac OS system noise (the "quack") - it really helped explain to the boss how much money he was making! Once the event started, we were swamped. The site was maxed out most of the time with constant "quacks". This was the start of something big, and I was prompted to the role of Web Project Manager (but in reality it was also Product Manager and Lead Developer) with primary responsibility to enable CentreBet to handle the load of the next big event.
2002
InfoAddict

Freelancing as InfoAddict Online Solutions.

Once Centrebet was sold I decided to move on from Octa4 and did some freelance work for the team that used to own Centrebet. Myself and Jamie Skella designed and created multibet.com and updated the design and UX for centreracing.com.
2004
Multibet

Here comes the Russian Mafia!

In 2004 Multibet.com was hit by a large DDoS attack from the Russian mafia that took out the site and nearly crippled the business (we were even featured on Four Corners!). The research I conducted into how to handle these situations in the future was to become invaluable.
2005
Multibet and Centreracing

Going full time for Multibet and CentreRacing.

With Multibet and CentreRacing taking up so much of my time, I decided it made more sense to just work for them, and took up a role as their Technology Manager, working remotely to administer their server infrastructure and update their digital presence (just web at the time, although we did dabble in those early days in SMS betting). My most memorable experience in this time was completely re-doing the entire server stack (Linux/Apache/MySQL at the time) and creating customer monitoring tools that meant I was alerted before an issue rather than after.
2009
Tatts Group

The start of the Tatt's journey.

In 2009 Tatts Group bought CentreRacing and offered me a job as Head of Online Strategy. My purview was to amalgamate and provide direction to the current fragmented digital footprint of Tatts Group. Our first task was to establish a fixed odds bookmaking capability for Tatts (previously they had been only reselling Tabcorp's product) utilising our knowledge of the corporate bookmaking world.
2010
Tatts Online

The formation of Tatts Online

Myself and my boss at the time, Mike Miller, developed a proposal to start a new shared service for Tatts - bringing all the pockets of digital expertise throughout the business to one place. The existing Technology division was large and stifled, so being a seperate team seemed to be the best plan. The board approved the move and Tatts Online was formed.
2010
Tatts Online

Creation of UNiTAB.com and update of Tattersalls.com.au

Our first task was to bring the online presence of UNiTAB into the 21st century. At this stage, the website was still looking very "90's" and desperately needed a refresh. We aided both the wagering and lottery online teams to ensure a common technology was utilised, meaning both teams could help each other.
2011
Tatts Online

Became head of Tatts Online and launch Tatts.com

With the departure of Mike Miller in May of 2011, I was offer the role of CEO of Tatts Online. The directive from the top was that all digital staff were to move underneath myself and were were to work on a "common wallet" that meant that you could use your digital account to buy from either the wagering business in UNiTAB or the various lottery businesses we owned - all seamlessly. Tatts.com was born.
2012
Tatts Online

Tatts Online growth.

In the years that followed, the team grew from its roots of 3 people, to over 50 - rapidly expanding with the new incoming CEO, Robbie Cooke and his focus on Digital. The native mobile apps team integrated lotteries sales into the product and we became the first company in the world to offer a native lotto experience all the way through to purchasing. The team had your traditional web developers, but also BA's, Product Managers, Project Managers, a UX team and a Digital Marketing team focusing on SEM and SEO. We had a one stop digital shop brewing.
2013
Tatts Group

Robbie Cooke and the separation of Tatts.com

With Robbie's arrival and the ramping up of digital staffing levels also came an independent analysis of both the wagering and lotteries business and if they should remain coupled in the form of Tatts.com. The result was a resounding no - wagering people never really played lotteries unless there was a big jackpot, and lotteries people did not want to be associated with wagering. The decision was made to create individual websites for both sides of the business. At the same time, the structure of the group was updated and my title changed to Chief Online Officer (my responsibilities stayed the same - just with more people!).
2014
Tatts Group

Digital Transformation

With the online team growing at a rapid rate, the online team were the ideal candidates for the Agile transformation taking place at Tatts. We split into product teams aligned to each business unit and formalised our agile tooling and methodology.
2015
Tatts Group

UBET is born!

With the split of Tatts.com it was seen as a good time to assist with the brand confusion in the marketplace around TattsBet (which was UNiTAB and is branded TAB in retail - the same as Tabcorp in NSW/VIC). After a long branding exercise, UBET was decided upon as the new brand for the wagering business. Out job was to create brand new digital apps for the business; web, mobile and tablet. iOS and Android. Using the latest tech, we created a responsive website and new apps and launch in April of 2015.
2015
Tatts Group

The merging of Technology and Digital and the move to Innovation

Once the Agile transformation for the digital team was done and the UBET site launched, the decision was made to move the team back into the Technology division (which was now under new management and undergoing its own transformation). After dragging the digital presence of Tatts Group from a handful of people to staffing levels of nearly 70, and with the responsibility of digital assets turning over more than a billion dollars a year for both wagering and lotteries, my journey was complete and I was looking forward to the next challenge. After discussions with Tatts management I decided to take a role heading up a newly formed Innovation team. Our goal was to not only provide a mechanism for innovative ideas to flourish at Tatts, but to head up investigation into some key "edge" projects to ensure the business stays in front of the competition.
2016
Tatts Group

eSports research project

Whilst heading up the Innovation team at Tatts, I was asked to also lead the research into a potential new business unit within Tatts - dedicated to eSports. We spent 6 months delving into great detail what the eSports scene was like, with Australia as our specific focus. We found that there was a large supply gap in the AU market, and the potential was certainly there for a new business. We had a 4 hour pitch session with the CEO, CIO and CMO which was extremely well received, but just after that news broke of a potential buyout from TABCorp (whom already had a presence in this space) and the idea was put on hold.
2016
Tatts Group

Mergers, buyouts and uncertainty

With the business in a holding pattern, and no clear time-frame for when a decision would be made on the eSports business idea, I decided to move on and focus my time on the startup idea I had been working on external to Tatts. It had been an interesting ride at Tatts and I learnt so much there, but was glad to be moving on. I had started as a minor player and moved all the way to the C-level, and at the same time modernised the digital capability at the business to a stage where it could compete - not only with others in the market, but internally as well, showing the business the way forward truly is digital.
2017
Ultim

My side project finally gets focus - and goes live!

During the last year at Tatts I began work on what is now know as Ultim. Ultim is a ketogenic meal replacement shake, that marries the convenience of a shake with the ability to stay in ketosis. The last few years at Tatts had not been kind on my body, with stress and a lack of time leading to poor eating choices and an unflattering waistline! I decided to attack this problem like any other I encounter - do the research and find the optimum solution. The ketogenic diet seemed to be the best, and was increasingly being validated by all the newer reports coming out. Put simply, I had to come up with an easy way to stay in ketosis (75% good fats, 20% protein, 5% carbs) as I found there were so many hidden sugars/carbs in the food that was readily available to me. The end result is a shake that allows me to perfectly hit my macros, that taste good and is easy to consume, and has a few added benefits with the addition of certain nootropics that work well together with a brain fed by ketones. I was losing a kilo a week without any exercise and because of the satiating nature of this way of eating, I was never hungry. That's when I decided to share this and sell it online, and we are in the process of setting this up now.
2017

Blockchain is the future

With Ultim underway, I began to renew my focus on my technology passion areas - focusing extensively on the burgeoning world of blockchain. I gravitated towards the Ethereum chain, given the power and flexibility of smart contracts, and starting researching everything I could. Being such a new tech space, things are changing rapidly - which I love. I've now been mining for more than a year, have invested in various chains and tokens, and have done a deep dive into the world of ICO's (Initial Coin Offerings - similar to an IPO but in the blockchain space). The potential for disruption not only to existing businesses, but to society as a whole is huge with this tech, and I can't wait to see what it all holds.
2017
Skrilla

Skrilla ICO

I've been brought in as an adviser for the Skrilla eSports ICO. Given my background in digital wagering, my research piece on eSports and my analysis work on blockchain and ICO's, this is a perfect fit. Skrilla is the only licensed, eSports-focused bookmaker, operating a skill based Daily Fantasy eSports (DFS) platform globally. The ICO - SkrillaCoin (SKR) - is being created to address issues inherent in existing centralised betting products. The benefits include; improved trust and transparency, enhanced liquidity through global player pools, reduced fees, and incentivised behaviours (participation, referrals, and social sharing) that grow the network effects for the benefit of all members.
2017
Horizon State

Formation of Horizon State

I was a foundation member at Horizon State, and began work in an research and innovation capacity in its formative days pre-ICO. Horizon State is leveraging blockchain technology to redesign the way that opinion is solicited, votes are cast, and decisions are made. Building atop of distributed ledger technology, we’ve created a digital ballot box which cannot be hacked, and is many multiples cheaper to run than traditional voting processes. Our technology underpins the world's first public blockchain based voting system in wide use, developed for use by MiVote members.
2019
Horizon State

Horizon State - 18 months in

After the hype and chaos of the ICO, I settled down into being the primary point guy for all things "HST" token. This involved ensuring we were showing up properly and branded in the crypto ecosystem, and making sure the token economics were functioning as intended. Apart from this, my main focus was making sure the token was trade-able on exchanges around the world. This called for a listing strategy, 3rd party engagement, regulatory checks and dodging companies of lesser reputation. The culmination of this work was the listing of HST on Bittrex. The full story from this period of time in my working life can be found on my medium post here.
2020
Horizon State

The new Horizon State

Whilst a disagreement between founders led to the demise of the first version of the company, a group of passionate supporters banded together and formed a new company and purchased the IP and brand assets.

In an effort to kickstart the new business, they offered me the Chief Operating Officer role. My mission was to follow lean start-up principles and lean on my extensive digital experience to take a fresh look at the company as a whole and find our ideal fit in the market.

Working with the CEO, development, devops, sales and customer delivery, I streamlined the internal processes and automated many of the manual procedures to ensure we were ready to scale.

My main ongoing responsibility post kickstarting of the business was the product roadmap and ensuring both a steady platform improvement and concurrent remove of past technical debt to ensure modern methodologies were being used. If we had to scale up to handle a large election, we needed to be ready.

2021
AnRKey X

Head of Digital

In June of 2021, I took the role of Head of Digital at AnRKey X - one of the first of a new breed of blockchain companies, pushing the boundaries of the DeFi Gaming space with Play to Earn gaming.

In 2022, the company expanded to include a new arm of the business, the gDEX Metaverse; a platform for gamers and creators alike to own their own slice of this emerging ecosystem.

2022
Eternus

CEO

In July 2022, I moved into a role leading the technology arm of Eternus Group, as CTO.

Eternus is an integrated property management and development group creating exceptional accessible homes. We’re on a mission to redefine accessible living, setting a benchmark for quality and design, in the places people want to live.

Our goal is to establish ourselves on both the local and global level as an innovative and socially responsible technology company, intelligently ensuring sustainable growth.

What appeals to me

Working with good people on interesting things.

It seems simple, but in reality its not often in our careers where you have an achievable challenge in front of you and you are just able to tackle it with common sense and intelligence. There is nothing worse than seeing smart people hamstrung.

Solving unique problems.

I love working with teams "breaking new ground". It is so satisfying to know that you are creating something that has never been thought of before and is completely untested in the market. That is where true innovation lives.

Doing something you can be passionate about.

There's nothing worse than getting up in the morning and dreading going to work. You need to believe in what you are doing.

Has to be cutting edge Digital.

Given my background and passion for the space (both at work and in my spare time - its all the same!) I have to be working with the latest and great tech. It's moving so fast now that you need to be on top of things to keep up.

Creating something from nothing

The biggest buzz I got from my experience at Tatts was growing a large team from just the seed of an idea. It is immensely satisfying looking back knowing that you were right, it was a good idea!

My Personality

Wise

I've been around the digital revolution from the start. This isn't a career for me, its what I do and who I am.

Fair

I love to abide by the rule of common sense. It's amazing how often this doesn't happen. If you are fair and open to people, you get the same in return.

Passionate and Inspiring

If you truly love what you do, you cannot help but be passionate about it. You fight for it.

Visionary

We are living in exponential times. This is a concept that many find difficult to grasp, but it is critical to understanding where we are heading.

Futurist

The future isn't some abstract concept we used to hear about, we are now living it - and it's changing everything. What a time to be alive.

My Traits

Knowing the right course of action in any situation.

I'm not one to stand on ceremony or make decisions by committee. I like getting things done and seeing the results (and therefore learning from them).

Relating to people on both an intellectual and emotional level.

Having a decent level of emotional intelligence is critical in managing diverse groups of people like you find in the Digital space. A UX person is doing to respond differently from a high end developer or graphic designer. It's just human nature. The key is understanding that each situation is unique.

Enjoying myself.

If you aren't having fun with your work, you probably shouldn't be there. You need to see every day as an awesome opportunity to do something new and exciting.

Management of large teams.

Managing Tatts Online was a rewarding journey. I strongly dislike micromanaging and feel that if you need to get involved down to that level, you probably don't have the right people in the role. Hire good people and let them do what they do - you should just understand the bigger picture and remove any roadblocks.

Nerd Stuff

I've built large transactional websites from scratch, as well as completely architected and ran the server infrastructure on which the site lived. I've done everything at and ISP except data comms, and have setup complex system monitoring arrays to ensure I could control everything remotely. That was fun, but what I want to do now is help the next generation realise their potential in this every change space.

How can I help?

Learn how I can help take your business to the next level.

My life has revolved around technology and innovation since I got my first computer. With over 20 years experience in roles - ranging from highly technical to the c-level - managing large and diverse teams, through to burgeoning start-ups; I always ensure I stay on the cutting edge of new technology and how it can best be used inside any type of business.

From working with teams on applying new tech ideas to seemingly disparate products, to innovating with existing processes - I've guided many businesses through the discovery and blue-sky thinking through to implementation.

During this process, I've shuffled between remote collaboration and working through to in-house team work, and am familiar with demystifying new tech to those unfamiliar.

Contact me to find out more about how I could assist  your company on its journey.

What I can help with

Digital Product Innovation

I specialise in coming into a company, evaluating their product-set, researching the overall market and thinking of unique and new ways that modern technology can work to reinvigorate a product offering.

Process Automation

These days there are so many tools that can be used to assist us with our daily routines, and ensure we are completely focused on the task at hand - but they are often all sitting in their own silo-ed existence. The ability to link and integrate tooling is one of my core strengths and passions.

Innovation Framework

In many companies, the best ideas can often come from the most unlikely of places. Ensuring a proper process of both receiving and evaluating these ideas is crucial if you want to stay competitive. I can help implement an open innovation framework that enables a way to sort, test and move on only the best potential ideas for your business - ensuring you are always ahead of the market.

Blockchain analysis

Once you get past the buzzword of blockchain and crypto, and really dive into what is possible, the potential for disruption to businesses across the globe is quite stark. As with any new innovation, you need to ensure that you are either moving with the times and potentially disrupting yourself, or be left behind.

Remote working

Help your business setup remote work

With modern requirements increasingly calling for working flexibility, the remote working concept is being embraced more and more.

Whilst not all work is suitable, there is a wide array of IT work that is perfectly suited - and in fact, sometimes even more productivity can be had by having workers take more ownership over their time and working situation.

The old fear of worker slacking off has been debunked by most researchers in this space - especially when you are dealing with industry professionals - but there are best practices and automation tooling that can be put in place to ensure your business can get the most from this arrangement.

I've worked in various businesses, from large corporate environments to startups, and have spent many years working in office, completely remotely, or a hybrid of the two - as such, I have learnt many of the lessons on what works, what doesn't, and how a company can turn this aspect of their business into a real draw-card for employees.

Contact me to find out more about how I could help.

What I can offer

Tooling

The combination of tools, and even more importantly, their integration with each other, is absolutely key to streamlining the process and ensuring that workers are not left wondering where to find things.

Automation

With a properly integrated setup many manual tasks can be automated, and soon you can find your focus is laser sharp, and not being pulled in too many directions at once. Ideally a central comms tool would pull in all your other tooling to give a one-stop-shop workview.

Hardware

Knowing what is required, and what is not is important. This will also need to be catered to the type of work a staff member is undertaking.

Home routine

Routine is a key factor is this kind of work, and while it can radically depend on the staff member in question, there are learnings to be had on best practices, and what works best. The upside of this work is that once you have your routine setup and customised to your own needs, you are often far more productive that before.

Contact

Get in Touch

How Can I Help You?