Jakob Højgaard

I'm a Danish technologist living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, and the founder of Guidy — an end-to-end companion for everyday Australian first home buyers. They want real guidance and they go looking for it, yet the traditional model serves them last, because they take the most time.

This generation doesn't learn about mortgages at the kitchen table — they learn online, at 11pm — and Guidy is built to be the knowledgeable presence they don't otherwise have: helping them navigate HECS debt, smaller deposits, guarantors, and government schemes, from the first question through to keys in hand.

It's driven by a belief that getting into your first home shouldn't depend on who you can turn to for help — and that the clever use of technology, AI, and data can make that depth of guidance the norm, not the exception.

Guidy builds on more than two decades in technology — from hands-on engineering and architecture through to CIO and CTO leadership — across healthcare, government, security, and financial services in Europe and Oceania. This includes serving as CEO and leading the platform behind 6,000+ brokers and 60+ lender partners across Australia and New Zealand, scaling the business through a major acquisition that grew the customer base fourfold while maintaining its position as the industry's number one rated technology platform.

I'm passionate about building products that delight customers and developing high-performing technology teams that drive business success.

Outside of work, I'm a brewer, a rookie surfer, and a father of three. I write here about the things I'm learning and thinking about — technology, startups, leadership, AI, and occasionally the things that don't fit neatly into any category.