This week’s Founder Friday, we sat down with Hyun Choi, co-founder and CEO of Altis Consulting, alongside her husband and co-founder, Gavin Cooke.
My advice to someone wanting to start their own business is to first understand the true purpose behind their venture. If the goal is solely to chase financial wealth, the likelihood of failure is high.
At 2am in a Surry Hills studio, Hyun Choi and her co-founder Gavin Cooke were grabbing bites of Italian takeaway between all-nighters, racing to finish a feasibility study for Sydney Airport before their two-week deadline. Neither of them had ever run a business before. Both were under 30. It was, by Choi’s own admission, a slightly naive bet on an industry they’d only just discovered how much they believed in.
That bet became Altis Consulting, an Australian-owned data and analytics consultancy that now employs more than 175 people across Australia and New Zealand. The company helps businesses, institutions and government agencies make sense of complex data, offering everything from advisory and AI services to consulting, managed data services and training. Its work spans industries, but the underlying pitch has stayed the same since 1998: turn data into decisions that actually mean something.
A front-row seat to data
Choi and Cooke’s partnership started long before Altis did, back when they were both working as business analysts at Optus on a strategic customer churn project. It’s also where they met as a couple, going on to become both co-founders and spouses.
Choi says that early experience reshaped how she thought about data entirely.
“We were working with technologies that were at the cutting edge of data and analytics in Australia at the time, and the experience completely changed the way we thought about the role data could play in organisations.”
It wasn’t just about dashboards and reporting, she realised. Done properly, data could shape strategy and give leaders real confidence in tough calls. At the same time, she and Cooke had a front-row seat to how fast the industry was moving, fielding introductions through vendors and industry contacts to organisations hungry for expertise that barely existed yet in the Australian market.
“It became clear to us that while many organisations understood that data mattered, they didn’t always know how to turn it into insight, action and value.”
That gap, paired with a fair amount of youthful confidence, was enough to convince them to try. “We were both under 30, entrepreneurial by nature, and perhaps just naive enough to think, ‘Why not give this a go?'”
Their first real shot came when they were asked to put together a feasibility study for Sydney Airport. What followed was two weeks of barely any sleep, dashing to the airport for interviews on lunch breaks, then returning to Choi’s Surry Hills studio to work through the night.
“Two weeks later, we were a little sleep deprived, but we delivered what we promised and the client loved it. It was approved by the Board and then they asked us to deliver the project for them.”
For Choi, that was the turning point.”That was when we knew we had something worth building.”
Finding mentors, taking risks
Landing the work was one thing. Knowing how to run a business was another problem entirely, and Choi is candid about how steep that learning curve was. “Neither Gavin nor I had any experience running a business. We knew data, but we certainly didn’t know how to build and scale a company.”
The Sydney Airport CIO who first took a chance on them became an early mentor, and his influence shaped how Choi thinks about growth to this day. “His guidance in those early years was instrumental, and it taught us an important lesson: surround yourself with good people, seek advice and never stop learning.”
That philosophy carried into how Altis built its team. Rather than hiring at speed, Choi and Cooke brought on people they trusted and already knew shared their values, prioritising culture as heavily as capability.
“We wanted Altis to be a place where talented people could do meaningful work, continue learning and feel connected to both their colleagues and clients.”
The same long-term thinking shaped how Altis approached its clients too, favouring depth over volume.
“From the beginning, we wanted to be genuine partners to our clients, helping them navigate a rapidly changing technology landscape and delivering outcomes that made a real difference to their organisations.”
Taking on the Big Four
One of the biggest risks for any long-standing business is becoming too attached to past successes.
Growing a consultancy in Australia comes with its own structural headwinds, and Choi doesn’t pretend otherwise. High employment costs, a small domestic market and global firms occupying much of the industry’s dominant ground all make it a hard environment for a homegrown player to break into.
“Competing against established firms like the Big Four requires us to build credibility over time, which is a gradual and demanding process.”
What worked, she says, was staying selective about who they partnered with, choosing clients who cared more about outcomes than brand names.
“We have found success by connecting with clients who were genuinely focused on achieving specific outcomes. This alignment allowed us to build strong, trust-based relationships that were crucial for our growth.”
Nearly three decades in, Choi says the thing that’s kept Altis relevant isn’t a single strategy so much as a refusal to get comfortable.
“One of the biggest risks for any long-standing business is becoming too attached to past successes. We’ve always challenged ourselves to question the status quo rather than protect old ways of thinking.”
For anyone considering starting their own business, her advice starts well before the business plan.
“My advice to someone wanting to start their own business is to first understand the true purpose behind their venture. If the goal is solely to chase financial wealth, the likelihood of failure is high.”
And once that purpose is clear, she says the rest still comes down to fairly unglamorous fundamentals.
“Key lessons I would share include the importance of common sense, courage, and resilience. These qualities will help you navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship. Additionally, commit to continuous learning, as the business landscape is ever-evolving.”
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