In October 2025 I left Collecting Cars to try something new. Four months later, I’m back. The other role didn’t land how I’d hoped, and in that time I realised how much I missed what we have here: the team, the platform, and yes, the cars. I’ve rejoined as Head of Engineering. Thank you to … Continue reading Back at Collecting Cars
The Agile On The Beach replays are live! Since speaking, I’ve had time to reflect on what’s changed, what I got wrong, and how fast AI-first software engineering is evolving. The replay of my AI at Collecting Cars AMA is here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHBEBt_a7H4 What I Got Wrong On stage, I implied I didn't trust or use … Continue reading AI at Collecting Cars, AMA Replay
Around the 1st of September I usually reflect on my year. It’s a natural time in the UK for reflection, the end of summer, start of the new school year. This time, it’s a month late, because... After 3 years and 1 month, it’s time to move on from The Collecting Group [TCG]. I’ve had … Continue reading Moving On: From TCG to Cognito
Building on my gambler or scientist post… One of the most rewarding parts of leadership is carrying the accountability for your team’s work. Accountability isn’t good or bad, it’s simply the responsibility for outcomes; the wins and the losses. On balance, it’s hugely rewarding. But it also means you’re the one delivering bad news to the … Continue reading Not all experiments succeed
I recently joined the team at Hypr Live for a conversation about how we’re using AI in engineering at Collecting Cars and The Collecting Group. It was great to dig into how AI is evolving, and how we’re evolving with it. You can watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMemQgXAw_8 Here are three takeaways from the … Continue reading How We Think About AI at The Collecting Group
In early 2024, I likened our platform and Tech Strategy at The Collecting Group to a Singer 911. It made sense at the time: take a solid base (the Porsche 964), iterate on it with care and craft, and transform it into something beautiful, powerful, exclusive, and meticulously engineered. Something rare. A halo product. A … Continue reading Evolving Our Tech Strategy: Singer to Raptor
Win or lose? I prefer experiment and learn. 3 things occurred: 1. CTO Coachings on “Bets” – Learning to break work into plays (business cases) that I can sell to the business. Every initiative falls into one (or more) of four categories: Momentum Builders (iterative improvements, process gains) Debt Paydown (tech debt, foundational work) Revenue … Continue reading Gambler or Scientist
Intro A new starter to the team asked me how and why I chose Node & React. It led to the below... The Pivot and POV In 2018 we released our latest and most significant Cognos Application. Next, my manager tasked me with leading the development of a cloud-native app. Our 'New Tech' Team was … Continue reading The Pivot
Olly Brand 