As the founder and CEO of Sphere, an AI-powered, cross-border tax compliance platform, Nicholas Rudder is on a mission to help the world's fastest growing companies navigate complex cross-border compliance issues – all while transforming the global tax compliance system along the way.
The journey from a University of Sydney lecture theatre to the heart of San Francisco's startup scene has been anything but conventional for Nicholas Rudder. Having graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science (majoring in marketing, business information systems, and psychology), Nicholas launched his first start-up through the University's Genesis program before moving into roles with Macquarie Capital and PwC.
"I got sucked into the idea of either consulting or banking, but all the consultancies rejected me, so I managed to convince Macquarie to take me on," he says.
"I convinced them that I knew about tech and so they took a punt on me even though I had zero finance training".
Nicholas reflects on those early days as a true career highlight. "I worked with the highest talent density people I think I've ever met in my life," he says. "They put you through the grinder, but it was a huge opportunity, and that time really taught me attention to detail and skills that continue to help me to this day."
From student to founder
Following his time at Macquarie Capital, Nicholas ventured to London to complete an MBA before founding his first company ScholarSight – an edtech platform that saw experts across various fields teach professionals throughout the world via an online platform.
"The business did ok and we were accepted into the Y Combinator, which is a big incubator in Silicon Valley that incubated Airbnb, Stripe and Coinbase," he explains. "We were one of the few Aussie companies that have ever gotten in."
While ScholarSight thrived during COVID-19, the business began drifting towards educational media content, which proved difficult to scale. Nicholas decided to close the business not long thereafter, before realising they had numerous tax compliance issues to deal with. "When you have customers from everywhere and you're a marketplace, you have quite a lot of tax issues because you're liable for all the tax on the marketplace," he explains. "We got a few things wrong, which caused challenges along the way."
The last frontier
In winding down ScholarSight, Sphere was born. As an AI-powered, cross-border compliance platform, Sphere automates tax obligations for companies that sell internationally.
"Every step change in international trade has come from a few core innovations," explains Nicholas. "We feel like compliance is really that last frontier because there's never been a technology that was able to make sense of all the trade rules in every single country." While the rules are available online, Nicholas believes they’re unstructured and often difficult to find. "AI is perfect for making sense of it all."
Not only does Sphere consume and monitor trade law globally, it interprets this and applies it to a business's specific product so they can sell anywhere while remaining fully compliant. "It’s a good thing for companies to ensure they're in compliance with the law, but it also allows them to unlock new markets."
Sphere itself has already processed over $1 billion in transaction value, has integrated with more than 100 tax authorities throughout the world, and is growing each month. Nicholas believes this is set to continue given their offering. "Sphere helps businesses expand quicker, helps these more AI native digital companies sell into more regions, and helps bring tax back into local communities."
Every step change in international trade has come from a few core innovations.
Nicholas Rudder (BCom/BSc, '15)
A home for ideas
Now based in San Franscisco, Nicholas is surrounding himself with innovative minds and creators each day. "This is the World Cup of startups – so many investors are based here and because of that, there's a lot of competition from different funds," he explains. "In Australia, a lot of those investments and deal flow goes to three main VCs and because of that, they get to dictate what terms like they give to founders, which just doesn't lead to a competitive market."
Sphere however does hire from Australia, believing Australians work and think differently. "We sponsor the visa and we pay for relocation because I genuinely believe that Aussies are cut from a different cloth," he adds. "We work really, really hard and I like having an Aussie community here." His advice to ambitious graduates back home is to immerse yourself in the environment you want to work in. "All you need is a month here and you'll find something – you just have to have the drive to do it – don't wait."
Ideate, test, trial
While the future of Sphere looks bright, Nicholas knows the years ahead will require grit and determination. "I wouldn't be working on Sphere if I didn't see this as an enormous opportunity, given we’re essentially unlocking international trade," he says. "It's hugely ambitious and we're in an enormous market. Maybe in the future we'll be a company that ends up being listed."
Personally, Nicholas believes his own journey will continue to be about experimenting and building. "When you find something that works, you double down and double down again," he says. "In the beginning you're just in the dark, trying to find people who have done it before, but ultimately, it's all learning by doing."