Could you change your articles of association to ensure the ESG impact of every decision is considered?

Set on becoming the world’s most sustainable marketing agency, Webmart have. So this means that when they take an integrated approach to each client’s marketing campaigns, they’re also building in their solid values of people, planet and profit. Yes, this agency is BCorp, and they’re bossing it. Aside from designing strategic creatives, they have actively developed their own print carbon calculators to PAS2060 standards and are working with the Scottish government to rewild 164 acres of woodland.

They live and breathe their values, which in turn gives their clients the much needed transparency over their impact to be able to reach their marketing and their ESG goals and an opportunity to offset the emissions through an approved scheme. As consumers are demanding more conscious options of product lines, it’s only a matter of time until they start demanding that those products are marketed to them in a conscious way.

Simon takes the time to share his news and views with Business Matters …

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

We look at the strategy as a whole and work out which existing areas can be improved, optimising their existing budget rather than increasing it. For example, we recently worked with Pavers, the footwear retailer, and saved over £170,000 by re-engineering their mailing format to qualify for more efficient postage rates. Through this process, we also reduced their CO2e output by 30 tonnes. We aim to make small, logical improvements, rather than overhaul an entire strategy simply because one or two areas aren’t performing as well as expected.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, or fill a gap in the marketplace?

Rock the status quo! I built Webmart on Marxist-capitalist principles, which sound contradictory but work together symbiotically. I aimed to build a profitable business where the team could work hard and be rewarded for those efforts, which is where the capitalist principles are important. Where the Marxist-capitalism difference comes into play is what we do with the profits we generate.

Webmart has been built to benefit the stakeholders and not the shareholders. We use our profits to reward our staff, invest in sustainability initiatives, support our local communities and charitable causes. The result is a profitable, sustainable business of 27 years which has created industry-leading sustainable marketing solutions and has donated hundreds of thousands to good causes.

What are your brand values?

We focus our efforts on balancing People, Planet and Profit.

We support our people (our Webmarteers) by including long-standers in our annual profit-share scheme and new starters in the Bonus for Outstanding Achievement (BFOA) scheme to ensure no one is left out. We offer additional family days off per year and free mental health support through The Printing Charity.

Our green efforts are listed below in response to the eco-strategy question.

As well as supporting our Webmarteers with any annual profits, we also ensure that we are consistent with our charitable giving. Charities can apply throughout the year for a one-off £150 grant and just before Christmas we did a £10,000 giveaway to charities close to our Bicester and Barnsley offices. To date, we have given away over £700,000 in charitable donations.

What is Webmart’s eco strategy?

In 2021 we became a certified B Corp, an award that we are incredibly proud of, and the result of several months of hard work. Before we joined the prestigious few UK B Corps that existed, we had already implemented several eco-initiatives to support the environment including:

• Our Oxygen Farm, which is based in Coldingham, Scotland and home to 164 acres of woodland and a solar-powered log cabin. In partnership with the Scottish government, we are working to rewild the entire area over the next 20 years and create a wealth of ponds and nature trails for future generations to enjoy
• We aim to be as green as possible in both our north and south offices. We have added a fleet of electric vehicles at both sites and also installed solar panels at our Bicester office
• We are a carbon-neutral certified company
• We are FSC and PEFC accredited
• In July 2021 we launched our postage solution, Enviromail. We calculate the carbon emissions from our client’s postage to PAS2060 standards and offset twice that amount through accredited carbon offsetting schemes, making their postage climate positive.

Do your values define your decision making process?

Our values influence us throughout the business, and whenever making any key decisions we consider the implication for any stakeholders. That could be our team, our suppliers or our customers. And we assess the impact of that decision on our ability to carry on the good we can do as a result of our operations.

Value-driven decision making has always been important to the business, and as part of our B Corp certification in 2021, we further changed our articles of association to legally bind us to consider the impact of every decision that we make.

Is team culture integral to Webmart?

A core part of team culture is collaboration, and this is something that happens day in, day out at Webmart. In all of our client projects, there are several Webmarteers across the different teams who come together to work on that project and deliver results for our customers. Collaboration and sharing knowledge are at the core of the business.

What do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

We offer a range of things to support our employees, including £500 for them or someone close to them to receive counselling and free mental health support through The Printing Charity. A popular one includes free visits to stay at our Oxygen Farm up in Scotland. In terms of the way the business runs, we keep the team small so that everybody knows each other. Senior management have developed a support system, through which they are aware of family commitments and childcare/elderly care so that we can try and accommodate the needs of every Webmarteer and provide a more flexible work/life balance.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

The term ‘integrated marketing’ can often cause confusion. There’s a lot of similar names that essentially mean the same thing; multi-channel marketing, full service, omni-channel etc. We aim to take the mystery out of this when talking to consumers by being clear about the benefits in a simple yet helpful way. Everything we do, from social posts, to collateral, to webinars, aims to explain clearly and concisely how to improve your marketing campaigns, whether that’s by working with us or not, though of course, we hope people do!

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

Every business will approach this differently. At Webmart, we’ve worked closely with our supplier partners to mitigate these rising costs so that we minimise the impact that these have for our customers. However, it’s impossible to avoid increased costs overall, so our unique approach to marketing is how we can best support our customers’ budget during times like these. When we assess the full marketing mix, we uncover opportunities to improve and refine their approach and find cost savings via this route.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

I think this depends on the KPI, however one of the things we do is run client surveys twice annually to see how we are performing for our clients, with our last survey results giving us 96% for both customer service and quality satisfaction.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of Webmart?

Tech has played a huge role at Webmart for many years. We created TradePrintManagement.com or TPM, which as the first of its kind, allows suppliers to log on and generate instant prices for print across millions of specifications. Since then, we’ve brought on numerous platforms and technologies to better measure our customers’ marketing strategy and support across the full marketing mix.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

I don’t believe we have any true ‘competitors’, we can all work together one way or another. It’s a collaborative approach that we work with; we want to understand them, we want to help if we can, and then in return they will help us when we need it. We feel there are always ways we can collaborate.

A lot of our suppliers are our customers as well, because if you treat people with respect and decency, and listen to them, then opportunities come from all places.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

A business’ success is down to its people, so invest in your people and get the best people you can afford. And that includes considering if they will not just be an experienced fit, but also align with your ethics and morals. If you get a great bunch of people, and you train them, nurture them, care about them and align them with honesty and a sense of purpose, you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve. A business is successful because of the quality of people that you have, and the respect that you give them drives the quality of the business you have.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

One of the things I’ve done over the years is taking part in extreme events. I’ve done this for a few reasons; one is that the training creates a good level of discipline. Often you get wound up in work and never get a chance to prioritise exercise, but if you have a big event, you have to make the time. It’s also so important to exercise more than just your brain – you have a body to look after too.

However, the main reason for putting myself through extreme activities is that it puts everything into perspective. Every other issue you face in everyday life is nowhere near the physical demands of these gruelling challenges, so you can deal with them better – it makes everything else seem relatively easier.

Lastly, make sure you keep your outside interests. Don’t be that person who only has friends within their industry, it’s important to have friends and spend time with others from other walks of life.

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies? 

We believe in much longer planning strategies, we have a three year plan. But we also work in 90-day ‘bursts’ to evaluate and assess the businesses’ performance. So it’s both long and short term.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

A new government, Barnsley being promoted to the championship and our sustainable, integrated approach to marketing being recognised as the future of sustainable business growth.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Simon Biltcliffe – Executive Chairman, Webmart Agency

There’s more to providing the nation’s finest brew than you think …

A reminder that we should never take high quality tea for granted. This Southampton based company has been inspiring the love and appreciation of high quality tea since 1986. Determined never to compromise on quality, no matter what economic situation the country is facing, has been no mean feat to uphold. Dr Ebraham took some time out of his day to speak to Business Matters

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

Our main day-to-day business is with our global network of distributors who sell our tea to shops, cafes, restaurants and workplaces in their countries. For these long-standing partners we solve various problems, such as, helping them when they are faced with economic turmoil in their country, or a lack of inventory or facing unforeseen circumstances. We like to think of our relationship with our distributors as a partnership and we work hard to help them grow their businesses as we are growing ours. It’s not a traditional buyer/seller relationship.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, was it a challenge or a gap in the marketplace that you could fill? 

In 1986 we spotted a gap in the market for the availability of high-quality teas. Once we entered the market, like lots of businesses, we realised that it was much more complicated than we first thought. After four years of hard work we finally turned a corner into profitability and our business has been growing every year since.

What are your brand values?

Wisdom, creativity (with our blends and our packaging) and humanity. Ahmad Tea was founded on a vision that business is an opportunity to give back and we have built a network of local charity partners all over the world who are able to take action where it is needed most. Sharing the fruits of our success with those in need is a big driver for us as a business.

Do your values define your decision-making process?

Yes, they have to. Our values are our blueprint for our business. Our charity work, wisdom and creativity are integrated into the very way we do business.

Is team culture integral to your business? 

Yes, absolutely. Creating a team culture means that people work by the same values and also start to make similar decisions on company strategy. It’s more efficient for a business if many peoples’ decisions align.

So what do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them? 

I always make a conscious effort to thank people for their work. However, as a leader, I’m always thinking about other genuine and sincere ways I can show my appreciation to staff.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

We always try to minimise any price increases to the end consumer, even when we’re faced with higher costs. Two years ago, when transport costs started rising we decided to take a hit on the margin, hoping that the price rises would slow down. Last year when wages, raw materials and transport costs started rising by double digits, we had to pass on some of the costs. Double digit inflation isn’t great for anyone and we always try to act fairly.

What is your attitude to your fellow tea industry competitors?

Many years ago, I used to be quite conscious of our competitors. However, as I and the business have matured, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s better to spend my time on what we do, and how to do it better, rather than the other way round.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

Don’t put all your money into it. Be patient, pour your heart and time into it. Understand that it’s more than a 9-5 job. Surround yourself with good advisors and listen to their advice.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

My religion is very important to me and I pray regularly. This helps me not feel lonely and helps me to remain calm. I also meditate which helps.

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies?  

As we’re a tea business, we need to take into account the seasonality of tea and therefore we plan in 6–8-week cycles to take into account the latest harvest information. For HR and machinery decisions, we plan in 9–12-month cycles.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

Sustainability is now at the core of our business. We have recently received a gold accreditation from EcoVadis, the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. We’re continually investing in every area of production to improve our sustainability credentials and are looking to make small improvements that can make a monumental difference over time.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

Firstly, I would like to feel on top of my work, I hope 2024 brings us a sense of calmness. Secondly, I would like our management team to have finished their management training programme. I’ve witnessed the positive impact that personal development and management training can have on businesses and at Ahmad Tea we’re committed to help our employees maximise their potential. Thirdly, I would like to have improved our IT capability for the business, to help us keep innovating, increase our performance and efficiency, and finally to improve the speed of business processes and operations.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Dr Ebraham Afshar, MD of Ahmad Tea

This lockdown concept has since grown their nationwide success

When Mark Sinjakli, took over My Baker it was a platform of 80 bakers, mostly London and Birmingham. Today is has over 200 bakers, based in the majority of UK cities, providing artisanal cakes for customers, made by talented independent bakers, often at short notice.

Mark takes some time out of his day to speak to Business Matters …

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

Providing a quality, reliable, cake delivery service at short notice. By carefully vetting bakers and only accepting those that meet our high standards, the customer is assured of a lovely cake, without the potentially “hit and miss” approach of contacting local bakers directly.

As independent bakers are frequently run by a single individual, they may lack the bandwidth to respond promptly to a customer enquiry, not have the capacity for a certain order, not be able to make a certain style of cake, or be able to adhere to a certain dietary requirement.

By aggregating the services of over 200 talented bakers, we can get the customer the right baker for their specific needs, and at short notice.

It is also great for the bakers – they take the orders they can do, when they need them most, with no obligation if they are too busy.

We opened our first physical bakery in Hendon, North West London, in November 2022, which gives our offering even greater brand presence.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, was it a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?

We acquired the business in June 2020, when the country was in lockdown, it was already established but needed some TLC. The business exists because it fulfils the needs of both of its key sets of stakeholders – customers and bakers.  There was a real gap in the market for a cake provider that offered cakes nationwide, guaranteed quality, and speed of service.

As our reputation has grown, we now receive applications from several bakers a week looking to join our books.

What are My Baker’s brand values?

1. A commitment to high quality and excellent service: My Baker is synonymous with convenience and quality;
2. Our bakers work with us, not for us: each one is a valued partner, and many have become friends. We pay them well, and we have on occasion paid out early to help them through financial hardship. We get them a range of supplier discounts, and we offer them orders at no cost to them and with flexibility to choose. Being small and without layers of hierarchy to wade through, we can make these decisions quickly and considerately.  We are a family-owned and run business.
3. Honesty. This is absolutely critical. To give an example, on the rare occasions we have a complaint, we assess it carefully and absolutely on its merits.  We hear from the customer, and the baker, and take all the facts into consideration before deciding on the appropriate approach. At my former firm, AlixPartners, one of the core values is “candour with compassion”, and I think that’s a very good approach.

Do your values define your decision making process?

Absolutely.  All of our bakers have to meet the required standards and be fully complaint with food hygiene legislation before they work with us – no exceptions. At the same time, we have been a supportive ear to many of them.

One incident I am particularly proud of is when one of our bakers faced a tough (and in many ways unreasonable) complaint.  It wasn’t even on one of our cakes, it was one they had made directly to a customer.  But I was able to talk them through how we deal with complaints, help them process the emotion, take everything into account, and reach a fair settlement with the customer. Some months later they said to me that just talking to me had helped them “step back from the edge”, and must admit I felt very emotional when I heard that.

Is team culture integral to My Baker?

It is vital. We are a small team and work closely together. By necessity everyone in the team has to perform to a high standard if we are to thrive.

At the same time, we are humans, not robots, and there needs to be an acceptance of mistakes, of “off-days”, of life outside of work, and of people’s genuine limits in terms of skill sets and working hours.

I think we all give our best because we all believe in this project and like each other.

How do you go the extra mile to to show your team you appreciate them?

Some very tangible things in terms of paying well and for exceptional employees there is a share scheme, so they get to participate financially in the success of the company.

But based on my experience as a junior employee and then coming through the ranks, it can be small things, like acknowledging when great work has been done publicly, and never taking credit for what someone else has done.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

We like to think so. We are available on the phone and live chat seven days a week, and having recently overhauled the website one of the big focal points was improving the customer journey.

However, there is always room for improvement. Automated order confirmation emails, for example, have sometimes confused customers and we’re striving to get that right.

Our strapline which is repeated across all our branding, and on our signage at the bakery, is “My Baker – Cake to your Door”.  We wanted something that explained what we did succinctly and we think we’ve found it!

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

I think inevitably it’s a bit of a compromise. The price of butter, flour, and sugar have all gone up substantially, plus fuel for deliveries. Our two key stakeholder groups are our customers and our bakers, and we have to do right by both groups.

What we didn’t want to do was to keep nudging prices up.  Therefore we made substantial price increases over the summer, but now we don’t plan any more for the foreseeable future. The attitude was, “do it once, do it properly, give customers and bakers certainty”.

We recognise that things are hard financially for our customers, and have a range of discounts and offers, our semi-naked classic and classic ranges, and free delivery on larger orders, to ensure our offer remains reasonably priced and to offer something for most budgets.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

Some weekly and some fortnightly. We have a very scaleable platform here, and the aim on one level is quite simple: growth, through more sales and more talented bakers.

Data such as website traffic, search engine rankings, CTR and ROAS on paid ads, and press coverage is therefore critical and monitored weekly.

We have a great digital marketing partner (Lead Genera) and terrific PR Agency (Rochester PR) and we discuss these metrics with them frequently.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

My Baker has always been a tech business, from its inception. The initial investment was used to build a tech platform capable of accepting orders, locating the nearest bakers, filtering them for relevant skill sets, and assigning the orders. There was nothing off the shelf that could do this, so a custom-built system was required.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

We’re conscious that we didn’t invent cake! There are some longstanding companies, some exciting new kids on the block, and some great offerings out there. We respect and learn from what others do.

However, we don’t fall into the trap of becoming obsessed by our competitors. It is more important and a better use of head space to have a clear vision and implement it, than to seek to mimic the approach of others.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

Get some experience working for someone else before going out on your own.

Many people see starting their own business as a route to freedom, but It’s not for everyone so think carefully as to whether you are wired for it. As far as is possible, make sure you have a financial cushion in place, and try to obtain third party funding as well as putting your own money in.

My own journey has been to get experience in my 20s and 30s, where I trained as a chartered accountant and had a career in corporate restructuring, before becoming an entrepreneur in my 40s. I don’t think I would have been a very good entrepreneur in my 20s, I learnt so much from others (including their mistakes) in my first career.

This is probably the number one point though: figure out what it is that you are really good at and enjoy doing.  Do that, well.  And then surround yourself with people who are good at the stuff you aren’t good at / don’t want to do. I am incredibly lucky that in our small, nimble team, we all bring something entirely different to the table.  You wouldn’t want me baking and decorating cakes (Mel) or crafting our brand identity (Shane)!

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

I’d love to say that I’m in training to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for charity and doing an Iron Man, but that’s just not me! I obsess about the business and it leads little headspace for other pursuits.

I think the things that keep me grounded are the fact that I have a great team, the bakers (many of whom have become close friends), a superb set of friends and family, and some fantastic advisers –  so I am never short of a sounding board.

One recent addition to our lives has been our cute Pomeranian, Marley, who needs regular walking and gives us a lot of affection. He does allow me to genuinely switch off!

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies? 

I don’t think there is a “one-size-fits-all” answer to this question. From my years in the City, I came to realise that you need a combination of approaches.

On the one hand, you need long-term planning. You need to define your goals and strategy, and implement processes and best practice to achieve that.

At the same time, you never know when and where your next big opportunity is going to arise, or what macro-economic factors might be at play. For example, when we bought the business, everyone bar essential workers was working from home, so there was little point in courting the corporate office market.  But now, we do really well there, with WeWork in particular a fantastic client for us.

So you need to be reactive and nimble. One of the great advantages of being a small company is that we have very simple, flat and non-hierarchical decision-making processes.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

Our model is intrinsically eco-friendly, since we are a national network of local independent bakers. This means that our cakes are delivered to the customer’s door over short delivery distances, normally about one – three miles.

Coupled with this, we insist that our bakers only use recyclable packaging and free range eggs.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

1. We are launching our “5 by 77” programme in January – we aim to have 5 talented bakers in each of the 77 cities of the UK by December 2023;
2. Our new bakery is a fantastic space – as well as serving the public with cakes to take away and cake consultations for future events, we plan to make it a place for content generation and baker collaboration;
3. Last but not least – we’re looking to bring our incredible service to even more customers, which may require an injection of capital, and potentially the support of a strategic investor and / or a crowdfunding campaign– so watch this space!

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Mark Sinjakli, Founder and MD of My Baker

Finding the right systems and processes can propel your digital business to growth

Branwell Moffat is the Director of CX Consulting at KPS Digital in the UK; an award-winning SAP partner and SAP CX SI in London. With over 20 years experience helping companies grow their digital businesses to levels of individual revenues in excess of $500 million per year, he works on a consultative approach with customers, layering a mixture of CX, business and technical consultancy that ensures that the solutions that they design, fit the strategic, business and technical objectives of each company. He takes some time out of his day to share his thought processes and Secrets of Success with Business Matters …

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

Many of our customers come to us with a general idea of what they want to achieve but without the knowledge of how to do so.  We work with them to uncover the key business and technical objectives and design pragmatic and achievable solutions that achieve those objectives and allow them to better engage with their customers.  Our engagements are never just about us asking what the customer wants and then going away and building it.  They are about us collaborating with them to design and build a solution that aligns with what they are trying to achieve.

Approximately 50% of our customers come to us because they are unhappy with the service and advice they are getting from their incumbent Systems Integrator (SI).  This is sometimes where an implementation has stalled or failed or where they are looking for a better service.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, or was it a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?

We started the business straight from university back when the internet was relatively new.  We certainly saw a gap in the market for a company that could provide a mix of business and technical consultancy backed up with quality delivery (all of the founders were business graduates).  We were excited by and believed in the internet and saw its potential.

Back then, many websites were static and hard-coded and it was about a year before we built our first e-commerce website – completely hand-coded.

If I’m perfectly honest we didn’t have much of a long-term plan and didn’t envisage being the company we are today but it seemed like the right thing to do and, as we were fresh graduates, we had very little to lose.  We started with three of us in a tiny spare room sharing a desk, a phone, and one computer.

What are your brand values?

Our values are probably the most important thing we have and, I believe, the main reason for our success.  The leadership team has spent a long time trying to distill and define our values but they really boil down to giving a damn.  Giving a damn about your colleagues, your customers and your work.  I firmly believe that living by these values is the key reason for our success.  It helps us attract and retain staff and ensures that we deliver quality and service to our customers.

Personally, I despise the ruthless ‘it’s just business’ stereotype as I think that we have proven that you can be successful while maintaining your integrity.

Do your values define your decision making process?

I believe that our values define almost all of our decisions.  We have a leadership team where every member is passionate about our values.  The values define how we treat our staff, whether as a collective, or on an individual basis and also how we work with our customers.  We will never be the kind of company that lowballs a deal to then hammer the customer with change requests.  We are much more interested in building a long-term partnership so it makes both commercial and ethical sense to be fair and do the right thing.

We have turned down business multiple times where the client does not align with our values, whether that is down to the products they sell, the way they treat people or even who is associated with that company.

We are not a charity and are part of a larger listed company so we have a responsibility to shareholders to drive growth in revenue and profitability, but we believe that we can do this while still living true to our values.

Is team culture integral to your business?

Team culture is absolutely integral to our business in a number of ways.  Most importantly, it helps us attract and retain talent.  Skilled people in our industry are highly in demand so creating a great working environment is critical to us.  It’s not just about having a nice office and lots of perks, it’s also about mutual respect, work-life balance and working on good projects.  The culture also helps ensure that the work we deliver and the way we treat our customers is aligned to our values.  It’s important that all of our staff embody our values.

What do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

For us it is about providing a genuinely good work-life balance, flexible working, listening and communicating.  Of course, we have to be competitive in our salaries and package (last year we doubled our pension contributions and rolled out private medical insurance) but, for our leadership team, it is about respecting and looking after our staff.  Everyone is an individual and has their own challenges whether it is health issues or monumental issues such as living in Ukraine.  We ensure that that we treat everyone with fairness and compassion and help out where we can.

Every year we carry out an employee engagement survey which staff answer anonymously.  It asks questions ranging from how they feel about our work-life balance to whether they are rewarded fairly.  This is taken very seriously and real change is actioned from it.

We also communicate as much as we can.  We have quarterly company updates where the leadership team presents everything from the last quarter’s performance to any changes to the strategic direction of the company.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

One of the challenges we face is that it can be quite hard to communicate what we do.  There is a fine balance between talking about outcomes such as better customer engagement and talking about technology solutions.  I find it frustrating when I go to a website and spend a few minutes on the home page and still have absolutely no idea what the company does as it is just full of buzz words.

I think that we probably have more work to do to improve our message.  When we are face to face, it is very easy to clearly communicate what we do but it is much harder otherwise.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

Inflation is a challenge for our staff and our customers and we need find a good balance.  In reality, we expect to share the burden with our customers.  It is not feasible for us to absorb the entire burden ourselves but we also do not expect our customers to do this either.  Over the last year, we have been carrying out a process of rate reviews with our customers and this is still on-going.  It’s all about having an open and honest conversation and being fair.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

We are probably better at doing this with our staff than our customers, at least in an organised and formal way.  We have quite a small number of large customers and are very close to all of them, so we generally know what is going on at any point.

We do measure the CSAT score for each customer on an annual basis but this rarely results in a surprise but is a good way to measure the level of service we are providing.

Like any business, we have commercial KPIs such as our margins that we measure on a monthly basis.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

As an SI, tech has always played a fairly big part in running our company.  However, as we have grown a lot in the last five years, we have had to automate more processes as they can no longer be done manually – everything from HR to finance.  The biggest change is probably in our increased use of Microsoft Teams.  While we have been providing hybrid working for decades, since the pandemic, we have a more geographically diverse workforce and even those in commuting distance to the office work at home for the majority of the time so the majority of meetings, internal and external, are now done over Teams.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

It’s always important to respect your competitors and avoid thinking that you are better than them.  Competition is always healthy and good for our customers as it pushes suppliers to deliver a better service at a better value.

In our industry, we tend to come up against the same companies when pitching for business.  I would place us into a middle tier where we rarely find ourselves in competition with small or very large consultancies.  We sit in a space where there are relatively few competitors. I’m certainly happy that we win a lot more pitches than we lose.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

The main advice I would have is that I believe that acting with integrity is surprisingly rare and it can become one of your biggest strengths and make you stand out from the rest.  Look at how busy a tradesperson becomes once they get a reputation for being honest and doing a good job. A long-term partnership is worth so much more than getting a quick buck from a customer.  It is much harder win business from new customers than it is from happy existing customers.  It also helps you sleep better at night.

If you are in a service industry, like KPS, look after your staff as they are the most important things your business has.  You are only as good as they are.

I’ve often thought about what I would go back and tell myself when I founded the company and I one of the things I would say is that everything will cost twice as much as you think you’ll make half as much as think you will.  I remember building a theoretical business plan as part my university degree course and, looking back at it, I was very naive about revenue and costs.  It’s very easy to have a ‘build it and they will come’ view but that is rarely correct.

I think the final bit of advice would be to never be afraid to hire people who are better than you.  Early on, we decided that e-commerce was going to be our focus so, instead of trying to do it ourselves, we hired some talented people who would be much better.  This goes for almost all parts of the business.  As a business leader, you tend to be a generalist so most people you hire will be better than you are at the thing you hire them for.  This should be embraced.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

Personally, I like to get out on my mountain bike and go on long cross-country rides, either on my own or with friends.  I’m lucky enough to live in a relatively rural area where I can ride for many miles without barely going on a road.  I also like to spend time with family and friends.  It can be very hard to switch off when you are a business leader so it’s important to try to do that when you can.  It took me many years to be able to do that.  When you go on holiday, I actually delete my email account from my phone so I don’t see the unread messages start to stack up.

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies? 

We do a bit of both.  Our business can be quite dynamic and we know, for sure, that we always end a year very differently than we planned to 12 months ago.  We certainly do plan on a quarterly basis and even on a monthly basis in some areas.  However, we also have long term strategies such as diversifying into other technologies and services; something that can take some time.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

Corporate Social Responsibility is one of our core values and is, therefore, very important to us.  We have a CSR group within the business who run various initiatives ranging from small (removing waste bins throughout the office) to larger ones like energy usage.  We also have a focus on sustainable software development where processing and energy usage is considered when developing and running code.

As well as looking at eco issues, the CSR team also looks at other areas of social responsibility such as charity work.  One of the schemes we have in place encourages staff to volunteer time with local charity shops during working hours.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

Our biggest focus for the next 12 months is to expand our technology and service offering to allow us to provide a more rounded service to our customers.  We have been very successful in implementing SAP CX platforms but are in the process of building new practices to widen our offering. This includes leveraging the huge amount of experience and skill in the SAP ERP area that KPS has a group so that we can offer this within the UK.

Last year we rolled out mandatory diversity and inclusivity training to all staff which was really successful, and something that I passionately believe in.  This year, we are looking to roll out more soft-skills training on subjects like time management and line management.

I would like to see a good balance of office and remote working in the next 12 months.  I don’t think that we will ever return to a point where we make it mandatory to come into the office, and it is up to us as leaders to give staff a good reason to do so, but I still believe that meeting colleagues face to face occasionally is beneficial for individuals and the company.  We have had a few days last year where the office has been reasonably full and there is an energy and buzz that we have all forgotten.

We are still working on understanding what is the right balance but I would, ideally, like to see most of our staff who live close enough coming into the office once or twice a week within the next 12 months.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Branwell Moffat,  Founder and Director CX Consulting

Future proofing people’s retirements and high quality way of life is paramount

More than a retirement property, Dr Ed Gladman ensures that Adlington Retirement Living builds communities that centre around happiness, safety and physical wellbeing. He shares the journey of the family owned and run company with Business Matters …

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

Our retirement communities are designed to empower the older generation to live a long, happy and healthy life in a safe and secure environment with activities, communal facilities and beautiful private gardens. They’re about much more than the bricks and mortar of our apartments.

Although we focus on the quality of our facilities, we know that the most important things that make our customers really feel at home, are having a good circle of friends, connections with like-minded neighbours and a sense of belonging.

As we all get older, many people start to struggle with aspects of their family home such as managing the stairs, organising repairs and maintenance, or staying on top of garden maintenance. I think a lot of people also want to future-proof their retirement.  Many of our homeowners are fit and healthy but feel reassured knowing that help is on hand if they ever need it, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It also gives peace of mind to their families.

When required, we can put in place optional personal care packages for everything from short-term support after an operation, to more regular, long-term tailored personal care. Our on-site teams work with a local care partner to find the best solution to suit each individual.

What made you move into the business?

Prior to joining Adlington Retirement Living in 2017, I worked in the NHS as a hospital doctor specialising in anaesthetics. I’d never planned to join the family business and wanted to do something different, unrelated to property, which is why I went into medicine.

Working as a doctor was in many ways a wonderful career. When it goes well you can have such a profoundly positive impact upon someone’s life. I was however beginning to find the NHS a dehumanising environment in which to work and decided that a change was needed.

Joining the family business was too good an opportunity to overlook. It afforded me the chance to work with my dad with whom I have a great relationship. It also gives me a high degree of autonomy and the ability to change things where I see improvements can be made.

Fundamentally though, the main reason for joining Adlington was that I see the development of Integrated Retirement Communities as a life-changing product for our customers. The huge difference it can make to a homeowner’s life is a great reason to go to work in the morning.

What are your brand values?

Our core brand values are to be:

COLLABORATIVE: Collaboration is at the heart of our organisation. For our customers and for their families. With our business partners and for all our employees.

EMPATHETIC: We care deeply about the challenges associated with growing old and strive to provide a safe, secure and happy environment for all our homeowners.

PROGRESSIVE: We constantly refine, adapt and invest in our build and interior design solutions to deliver high quality homes and create welcoming retirement communities.

OPEN: Building on the family values of our founding partners, we promote a culture of openness and a considerate work ethic, through transparent communication at every level.

Is team culture integral to your business?

Organisational culture is integral to the success of any business. We have always been a family business and at the heart of our culture is trying to be fair and decent to our customers and team. We have incredibly low staff turnover because we pay well and give our staff a high degree of autonomy and ownership of their work.

The challenge we face is that we are now approaching a headcount of 300 and this makes keeping the feel of a small family business a huge challenge, particularly with many of the sales, operational and construction teams working nationwide.

Having the senior management team fully bought into the core values that define our business helps us to continue to provide an interesting and worthwhile place to work for our team.

If team culture is integral to your business, what do you do to go the extra mile to to show your team you appreciate them?

Fundamentally we do our utmost to treat everyone fairly and as we would wish to be treated. I think one of the key factors is that we do not have an HR department. HR decisions are made by the board directors and often by me, to ensure that all situations are looked at fairly and holistically not simply by following a policy.

We have an incredibly flexible working policy for our office-based staff and do our utmost to be flexible in allowing people to work in a manner that fits their lives. We also pay the team well.

An often-overlooked element of culture is paying suppliers and subcontractors on time. Some in the construction industry have a poor reputation for not paying suppliers on time. We pay on time and don’t use retentions with our subcontractors. This means we have decent relationships with our supply chain, and we can ask them for a favour when required, as they can of us.

We have a well defined wellbeing program that ensures a happy and healthy team. As part of that, we have several fully trained Mental Health First Aiders and a qualified in-house trainer delivering regular Mental Health Awareness courses.

Regular funded social events are arranged together with the promotion of healthy living activities such as a cycle to work initiative, charity fun runs, healthy eating club and walking competitions.

Our in-house Management Company Adlington Management Services (AMS) has a very comprehensive and in-depth training programme and each of our retirement community’s links with local authorities to provide mental capacity and safeguarding training for the benefit of our homeowners.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

Education on Integrated Retirement Communities (IRCs) is at the forefront of our media interviews and marketing campaigns so that older people understand the choice of housing available to them. We regularly interview homeowners and share their stories through our own channels and the wider media.

IRCs are a relatively new concept in the UK, unlike the US, Canada and New Zealand, where they are well established. In the UK, there’s confusion around the difference between an IRC and a care home. Sadly, people often think of an ‘old people’s home’ when they imagine a retirement community.

Many people live in accommodation which becomes increasingly less appropriate for them in later life, as their health and social needs change. This often leads to a crisis point where they are forced to move because home is no longer safe, following a fall or illness.

IRCs offer people a way to retain their independence for as long as possible, choosing where they want to live with the safety net of care options being readily available if they are needed in the future. They also keep older people engaged with wider society which is key to tackling loneliness and isolation in later years.

Our advertising campaigns are clear and concise, with full transparency of information on our website. As members of the Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO), which is a body representing operators of IRCs, we undertake a thorough annual review of all our marketing communications, as well as the service levels at each of our communities.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

The current economic conditions are very challenging for the real estate sector. Our costs to build and borrow money have both risen steeply and we are currently in a tricky sales environment. Thankfully our product is close to unique in the UK and genuinely life changing for our homeowners and as such demand remains strong.

We have very much shared the pain with our potential customers. We have increased prices and accepted a lower margin on the development. However, as a business our focus is very much on the long income generated so this hasn’t hugely impacted our business plan.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

Our design and development team use the leading software in the industry with all projects designed in REVIT. It’s fantastic and makes it much easier for the Senior Management team to review each new development.

However, on the operational side we are relatively low tech. We believe in first class hospitality and customer service. I am approached by tech companies constantly however what they are offering is usually expensive and not of huge value and would ultimately drive-up costs too much.

Our customers are tech savvy and all own smartphones, iPads etc. so the last thing they want is us providing an added layer of complexity with inferior tech. As a community develops, WhatsApp groups, Facebook communities etc. naturally develop as they do in any new group. The tech available to the general public has never been better and our communities benefit hugely from this.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

Interestingly, we rarely encounter significant competition. There are several really high-quality IRC developers in the UK. However, there are far more towns to go at than there are developers. On the odd occasion where we have local competition it can actually be beneficial. When a strong competitor enters the market, they often educate the local population about retirement communities, making our sales process easier. We at Adlington embrace healthy competition as it contributes to market awareness and ultimately facilitates sales.

The growth potential in this sector is immense. We are driven by the positive impact we can create. Moreover, the sector offers significant financial opportunities, making it a lucrative venture. With such a combination of social importance, profitability, and tremendous growth potential, we are excited about the future possibilities.

As members of ARCO, I maintain good relationships with the leaders of our competitors as we are of the view a collegiate sector is far preferable to an adversarial operating environment as experienced in so many sectors.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

I never set out to be a businessperson and indeed by becoming a doctor took active steps against it. However, circumstances change, and I have found myself in a wonderful role as CEO of Adlington.

In my view the most important thing is to find something that is personally fulfilling to you. We are all motivated by hugely different things, so the key is to find an industry that ticks the boxes you need it to tick to have a happy and worthwhile career.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

I have three small children who keep me busy. Whether they relax, recharge and hone my focus is debatable.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

The UK has a huge shortfall of housing and as such new homes need to be built. However, construction as an industry is inherently poor from an environmental perspective. This is a dichotomy with which I am constantly wrestling.

The positive environmental impact of our communities is that our homeowners almost all move from a home with at least two, often three or four unused bedrooms. They then move into a much smaller home which is well built, well insulated and much more efficient to run. This process frees up a large property for a family to move into and provides our homeowners with a beautiful home and community.

We also do an excellent job of looking after our homeowners and as such their hospital visits, GP appointments etc., decrease. Healthcare has an enormous carbon footprint so by decreasing its use we also help.

Finally living as part of a community is much more efficient. For example, there is a chef who cooks in the restaurant, shared trips into town, carers don’t have to drive between jobs. These benefits also drastically decrease the carbon footprint generated by our homeowners.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

The three things I hope to have place in the next 12 months are land, land and land. The land and planning environment is incredibly challenging, and we are on the lookout for more sites.

We will look anywhere in England and need to be able to build retirement communities with 60 plus apartments on the site so if you’ve got good quality land to sell in affluent market towns or areas of cities please get in touch.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Dr Ed Gladman, CEO Adlington Retirement Living

Fresh thinking from the man aiming to start a care revolution

Amrit Dhaliwal is the Chief Executive of young and growing homecare provider Walfinch, which today has 26 franchisee managing directors delivering care to hundreds of clients across the country. He’s known for his creative thinking and new approaches, often addressed in leadership columns in the care and franchise press and at conferences. He takes time to share his Secrets of Success with Business Matters …

What is your USP?

The most fundamental is the Mum Test. When deciding what care is best, we always ask ourselves: ‘Would I like this for my own mum?’” We also use it when making many other decisions, and in recruiting franchisees and carers. It’s easy to remember, and it keeps the focus always on the people receiving care – the most important people in the care sector.

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

We provide peace of mind for people receiving care and their loved ones. Simply said – but it takes huge commitment, teamwork and dedication to achieve.

What made you start your business?

After owning two successful hospitality businesses in my 20s, I became a franchisee of another homecare brand. It taught me a lot – not least that franchising for homecare in the UK was broken. I needed to fix that problem, so I went on to create the Walfinch homecare franchise. In homecare you can literally combine doing good with building a thriving business – but the sector needs a thorough overhaul, and I want Walfinch to be instrumental in that.

What are your brand values?

We believe in integrity, excellence and teamwork. But we have a fourth, equally important value: fun. I have always felt that I want my workplace to be a fun place to work – and I firmly believe that fun is for carers too! Making work fun makes clients lives more fun, and it aids carer retention.

Do your values define your decision-making process?

Our values inform everything we do, including client care, and how we treat our carers. They help us make better decisions and take better actions daily. In the care sector values must be more than aspirations.

Is team culture integral to your business and how do you show your team you appreciate them?

Team culture is vital in care. We do surveys, like WorkBuzz, of our franchisees and then act on the findings. We do the same in each of our branches with carers and clients.  We also offer our franchisees meetings and conferences so we all contribute views to improve the business. Our franchisees consult their care teams, so their views are always taken into account.

Do you talk directly to your consumers clearly?

Yes! Our pricing is clear and transparent. It’s all wrapped in an hourly rate – there’s no booking fees to add on, for instance. With Walfinch there’s no small print – something we see a lot of in the care industry.

Many care companies also use care sector jargon that the general public don’t understand, but Walfinch avoids that. We also don’t patronise people or reduce them to stereotypes in our communications. Too often people are referred to as ‘the elderly’ or ‘the vulnerable’ as if they were all the same.  We talk to and about them as individuals. Everyone is different.

What about inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass rises on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty?

We don’t set hourly care rates centrally –they are set by individual franchisees. Clearly inflation and interest rates put pressure on them to put their rates up.

In the care sector that’s not easy, because we deal with people, not commodities, but you can vary rates, so for instance, rates for new clients are higher than for long-standing ones. Our franchisees balance this for themselves very well.

Rates for private care are far more realistic than (often uneconomic) rates offered by local authorities, so franchisees can vary the mix of private and local authority care to balance their income – but they shouldn’t have to! Local authorities should be funded by the Government to allow them to pay fair rates.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

At Walfinch we use ‘The Metrics Method’. It tells each person in Walfinch if they have had a successful day. It’s broken down to every role – even quality and compliance is measurable.

We collect statistics so we can see which activities most increase revenues, making it easier for franchisees to set priorities and all of us to monitor our KPIs. For instance, we can tell our franchisees the average number of candidates they have to interview before a carer is taken on.

As the franchisor, we can see the average number of prospective franchisee leads required to recruit a franchisee. We can also monitor the performance of  individual franchisees and step in with help to prevent small issues growing – a win for everyone. We use customised software for this and it’s available to our franchisees, which makes the Walfinch franchise more attractive.

Is tech playing a larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

We use technology to keep in touch with our carers, clients and their families. Carers record details of their visits, including any client physical or mental health concerns, medications given, and other relevant details on an app, so we can monitor each client’s wellbeing, and nominated family members can access the records, which gives them peace of mind and alerts them immediately to any issues.

We also offer the Care Friends app to all our franchisees. This allows staff to suggest friends as possible candidates for carer jobs, with rewards if the candidate is employed. Personal recommendations result in more and high-quality appointments, and boost recruitment and retention.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

At present demand for care is vast so there is enough business to go round. However, there is competition recruit carers. At Walfinch our franchisees strive to offer carers ever-better working conditions, not just to beat the competition but because carers who feel valued deliver better client care.

But we aim higher too. We believe that care providers must work together to rescue the reputation of the care sector as an industry that doesn’t value its workforce, to become one that provides the working conditions and career paths that professionals enjoy.

Care providers must be willing to share ideas. I share the methods we use, and I hope our competitors are willing to share theirs too.

What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

I’m an exercise nut. I’ve been weight training for years, though it’s not so easy to keep daily gym times now I’m a dad of two. Dadding takes up a lot of time! I also like to do serious walking, which means I can also catch up on phone calls. My wife and I like to try out new restaurants and foods, and we’ll travel across the country for something special.

Do you believe in the 12-week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies?

My thoughts are always focussed on the BHAG – big hairy audacious goal. I have a ten-year plan, which I break down into three-year, one-year and 12-week plans – so I plan for the long term.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

In the next 12 months, we plan to:

• Introduce a carer support program. At present this is a statutory requirement for carers doing end-of-life care, but we think it should be available to all carers.
• Set up a franchise advisory council, involving all Walfinch franchisees.
• Focus our internal compliance, so a strong majority of franchisees meet CQC outstanding standards

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Amrit Dhaliwal, CEO, Walfinch

The reason why you can sip on your favourite drink anywhere in the world is right here ….

Exporting anything, especially alcohol, can be bureaucratic and logistically complicated. With over 20 years of experience in the beverage and logistics industries, Sovereign Beverage Company is able to export their suppliers’ premium products to customers around the world, safely, efficiently, and profitably. David spends some time with Business Matters and explains his secrets of success and how he ensures that their client’s products are in safe hands.

What is your USP?

We are the UK’s premium drinks exporting company and have access to markets in every corner of the globe, supported with full service technology which makes the ordering process as simple as possible.

This means we are able to assist companies that are looking to export from anywhere in the world. Our customer-centric philosophy means that we are ready and able to oversee the transport of our customers’ products every step of the way and reduce the complexity and mitigate the risks associated with importing and exporting beverages.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, was it a challenge or a gap in the marketplace that you could fill? 

My real ‘aha’ moment came in 2006 when I was working as an account director and I was meeting with a brewery representative. An offhand conversation led to the birth of Sovereign Beverage Company. It was thanks to this conversation that I realised that the brewery in question had an untapped route for sales in the form of global export, but they had no infrastructure and the risk was too high for them to do it for themselves. So after talking to many breweries and importers, I saw that there was a huge gap between product availability and global demand, as the breweries lacked the supply chain knowledge, time and other resources to manage their exports.

Two years later in 2008 – during a recession no less – we launched Sovereign Beverage Company and we’ve never looked back!

What are your brand values?

We believe the customer comes first. We pride ourselves on offering our clients and partners a premium quality service at a competitive price. In addition, we are always looking to evolve and innovate our product offering and service provision.

Do your values define your decision-making process?

Of course. At SBC, we are dedicated to making importing-exporting effortless and building a strong rapport with our customers and suppliers alike so that we can put their needs front and centre. Our mission is simple, we are here to help all of our clients maximise sales growth and help reduce as much of the complexity and risk as possible.

Is team culture integral to your business? 

From the get-go, we’ve always taken team spirit and culture seriously at SBC, but over the past two years, we’ve had to examine what we mean by ‘culture’ as we’ve shifted our workforce to fully remote working. Our bricks and mortar offices are in Blackburn, Lancashire, but our team works remotely and so we’ve had to work hard during the transition to remote working on fostering that team spirit that you have with physical interactions. This has meant we have been committed to creating ways of replicating that camaraderie you can miss when you no longer have physical interactions among people.

We have regular video meetings, so everyone involved with the business has a clear focus and access to support channels should they need help and assistance. We’ve also conducted several remote social events – quizzes, get-togethers and drinks events. It’s safe to say those water cooler moments haven’t been lacking even though we work remotely!

As team culture is integral to your business, what do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

We find as many ways as possible to do this – we regularly review pay and incentives and whenever we can we promote from within. We also put the team through training and CPD where possible, encouraging suggestions from each team member as to what would be the most beneficial. For example, our leadership team has all recently been offered business mentoring, and when we brought on a new cider supplier, the sales team were all put through cider product training.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

Looking ahead, we think higher interest rates are unfortunately here to stay. We are seeing increases coming through from our suppliers, and while we don’t benefit from those price increases, we are having to pass them on to our customers. It’s a global situation and our customers are understanding. As the products we export are premium, we do anticipate that the end customer might look to budget by downgrading the brands they choose, however we haven’t yet seen that happen in practice. Where we see price drops (which do happen with changes in export logistics and packaging), we also pass these directly on to our customers. We also seek to support our customers in other ways, for instance with point-of-sale assets such as barware, glassware, and signage.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

We review our data weekly, quarterly, bi-annually and annually.

The sales team meets for weekly video calls so they all have a clear focus and we can ensure they both understand their KPIs and are on target to meet them, plus offering the support they need to do so.

We have quarterly reviews with each member of the business, from operations to admin to sales, so they are always aware of their performance, areas of success and opportunities for improvement. The leadership team also meets monthly to sense-check the current business objectives and achievements against the wider company vision and goals.

As a strategy we try not to have too many KPIs. There are five key areas which we really monitor and review constantly, and if they need to be altered we can do so in good time.

Is tech playing a much larger part in the day-to-day running of your company?

Tech touches every part of our day to day business, as a UK exporter dealing with customers in over 60 countries we’ve managed to leverage the current technology stack to help streamline and improve efficiency in every facet of our business.  After our current system was implemented, we managed to reduce the manpower on order processing by 66% and back office functions by 33% due to a slicker end to end order process utilising a single system.

The introduction of video conferencing tools has reduced our commuting, global travel and subsequent carbon footprint.  These tools have improved the customer service and account management we can offer whilst keeping a lid on potentially expensive communication bills to all four corners of the globe.   The reduction in international travel and day to day commuting cannot be underestimated.

Reporting and Business Intelligence reporting now form the kernel of our day to functions and all business activities feed from this information.  It better powers our decision making processes ensuring we do the right things to keep us heading towards our goals.

All in all, this has resulted in a streamlined, agile workforce and business that can work from anywhere in the world.  This opens up the job market to a broader set of candidates thus allowing us to recruit better on top of the benefits already highlighted.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

We welcome competition. Competition keeps us on our toes and ensures we are offering our customers the premium service they deserve. We also know that we are the best out there!

Do you believe in the 12-week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies? 

We all start with a vision, and it’s key to break that down into bite-size chunks. Two years ago I announced that it was a goal of SBC to export 100,000 hectolitres a year – and I think the team initially thought I was going batty! However, when we set a five year target on that goal, and then broke it down into an annual budget and then quarterly KPIs, it became much more realistic and achievable, and we are already more than halfway to achieving that goal.

For me as a business owner it’s key to have that long term vision and strategy, but for the team and review purposes, the 12-week work method is ideal – short sprints rather than long marathons.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision-maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

I like to focus on my physical health, travel, and humanitarian work, combining all three where possible!

I’ve recently returned from South America where I joined a four-day charity cycle ride with The Truants Foundation, part of raising a targeted £300,000.

I ensure I take time to relax, usually with some form of exercise! The area I live in is stunning, and so I get out for a walk or a cycle daily, which allows me to focus on my mindset and positivity, as well as giving me a clear head and keeping me fit! I spend a lot of time in the Lake District for the same reason, trying to see more of the UK while indulging in my hobby.

In terms of honing my focus, I make sure I have consistent time to work on the business, as I’ve built a supportive team which has freed me up to do so. I also work regularly with a business mentor, zooming out of the day-to-day and focusing on the overall vision.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

Firstly, we are always focusing on strengthening our team, as people are key to the success of our business. We look at a combination of self development, personal development, and business development, and my personal ethos is that every single person in the company, myself included, should be able to take two steps forward within their role. I intend to support the entire company with that through upskilling, additional training, and expansion. Though we have just grown the sales and operations teams, we want to further expand the sales team and also start building a product and marketing team.

Secondly, our year-on-year export operations have recently grown by over 20%. Over the next 1-2 years we hope to build on that growth. We currently sell 55,000 hectolitres of product annually, and our goal is to increase that to 100,000HL by 2025. We plan to drive that through our existing suppliers and bring on some new suppliers in key categories. We know that 80% of our customers can take on additional lines, so we will focus on increasing their listings over the next couple of years.

Thirdly, we are currently focused on beer and cider, but in response to demand, we are considering adding health drinks and non-alcoholic beverages to our product portfolio over the next year. For instance, we are now looking to expand our product range to include alcohol-free beer and cider to meet the demands of our customers in the Middle East region. The growth of low/no products is huge and we intend to support our customers with the development of this category.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: David Davies, Founder and MD of Sovereign Beverage Company

Providing dedicated tech talent and instant solutions to businesses

As a global provider of remote, dedicated development teams and R&D centres to clients across various industries, Mobilunity bridges the gap between ideas and making concepts happen.

CEO, Cyril Samovskiy shares his Secrets of Success with Business Matters.

What service does Mobilunity provide and how does it work?

We offer a nearshoring service that provides dedicated development teams to clients across various industries and technology stacks, including Insurtech, Fintech, IoT, Embedded software, and more. With access to a talent pool of over 200,000 Ukrainian software engineers –  not counting our capacities in other Eastern European countries – each team member we provide is exclusively dedicated to our clients’ projects and has no other commitments to other projects, ensuring full focus. Our clients benefit from outstanding development capabilities, team size and structure flexibility, lower costs, and complete control over their development teams.

What problems does your company solve?

We address a critical challenge that businesses face regarding their tech talent needs, both in the long-term and short-term, whether in a specific technological stack or a specialised business domain. The core problem we solve for our clients revolves around their inability, and at times, their intentional choice not to solve these challenges internally.

The root of this challenge often stems from limitations within the local labour market. These constraints could manifest as extended recruitment agency timelines to find and place the right candidate or the necessity of engaging particular talents for a very brief duration.

To tackle this, our solutions are designed to be adaptable. We provide options for establishing technology teams in nearshore locations or within the UK, working collaboratively as part of a client’s in-house team, or maintaining an outsourced relationship with us as the vendor. This flexibility ensures that our clients can tailor our services precisely to their unique needs, whether they require long-term support or short-term specialised expertise.

What type of businesses do you work with?

Fortunately, we have a very diverse list of clients – from early stage startups that have just a few co-founders on board, to well-established corporations operating globally, with a 10,000+ headcount. However, we find it is the startups that have some form of advanced technology supporting their business concept  that align most closely with  our own mindset. Typically such clients are fast decision makers, they aim to leverage the most contemporary technology, and they have a big idea behind their plans. Our capacity to empower such businesses and show an immediate impact stands slightly above other types of client organisations.

What is your USP?

We work in a very competitive industry, so standing out requires clear differentiation. With our primary focus being on remote technology team services, we like referring to the ‘3Rs’ of successful remote team setup: Recruiting, Retention and Relationships. These three priorities, or USPs, guide our operations and streamline our proposals, ensuring our proposal is short, sharp, clear and well differentiated.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so, how have you dealt with it?

As we have grown and developed, our values have evolved. We tend not to focus on our past achievements because both the business environment and our clients are evolving rapidly. Therefore, we must also evolve to meet these changing demands.

After Covid, we continued growing fast, introducing new and more diverse business models into our offering. Right  now we work to the following company values. These define what we are, what you may expect from us, and what we will be once and if you work with us:

• Transparency. Having 40+ clients from 10+ countries, we basically operate with a set of 40+ processes. We pride ourselves in the ability to effectively manage that, and without transparency being a first requirement to how we operate (with the client, with our tech teams, with our employees and partners) we would not be capable of being where we are now. As such, transparency lies in every significant process we have in place.
• Growth. Related to both our clients, and to our own staff, we basically exist to make everything that we touch grow. This defines the types of clients that mostly come to us – the main driving factor they have in mind is their intent to grow (whether that’s to grow fast, grow stable, or grow to where the company would not have been without us).
• Flexibility. While this was always a focus for us, recent years in business have highlighted the importance of flexibility. Financial crises, growth and drop in demand, new regulations in the digital world, pandemia with its “all remote” setups, and war in Ukraine – these all prove this value is a fundamental essence for our business and our models to be sustainable and have a future.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

Given that recruiting is one of our core offerings, we naturally place a special emphasis on how we recruit for our own company. Our 13 years of experience have taught us valuable lessons, and we’ve identified rules and practices that have proven effective during this time. They are:

• A big chunk of our best people grew up in our company, from the very entry level roles to the highest existent positions where they are now.
• A mix of “self-grown” and “external” key people ensures our Company grows in a way we expect.
• In the long run, soft skills take precedence over hard skills. While hard skills alone may suffice for short-term engagements, it’s the soft skills that enable individuals to manage and leverage those hard skills effectively over time.

While you may not see our values in these three basic tips, if we overlay our business values onto these guidelines, they align more harmoniously. As we continue to grow, we must balance our immediate need for top-notch professionals and our strategic goal of cultivating a talent pool for the future. Our company-wide recruiting strategy essentially outlines how we intend to achieve this alignment and ensure the successful ‘3+3’ match between skills and values.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home / office post covid?

A big part of our service offering is  tech talent from all over the world remotely. Thus, we would not be honest with ourselves and our clients if we were not big fans of this model. Only 10% of our own staff show up to the office on a periodical basis. We do not demand it, for most roles, and we do not expect it, anymore. Instead, we learned how to remain effective; we traded some of the meetings to asynchronous channels of communication; and we invested heavily into the skill of proper goal setting, performance management and professional development. Why on Earth would we confine ourselves to the traditional office-only model when we’ve gained a competitive edge in the labour market? We possess skills that are in high demand, and we offer these skills as a service to our many clients who are eager to gain a similar advantage.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

I won’t be too unique in these – a successful business starts with sufficient funding, a plan to generate revenue and hope that things will go more or less as they were planned. I myself dislike the idea of bringing in someone else’s money into something you yourself can build and/or fund, though I know many businesses (our clients inclusive) who were capable of building something great and huge purely because they were smart enough to attract the right external investment. I’ve also witnessed instances where entrepreneurs, in their pursuit of rapid growth and the necessary funding to achieve it, ended up losing sight of their original dream company and their personal motivation to work within it.

That said, my advice would be to carefully weigh up the necessity of external investments when starting your business. While external funding can make some aspects easier, it often comes with its own set of challenges that you might not have encountered if you were self-funding your startup.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses, what would it be?

If I could request one change from the government to benefit businesses, it would be to facilitate the seamless integration of global talent into local businesses. I understand that not every business needs this, but I’m specifically referring to those enterprises designed to grow on a global scale and compete with international players. The current limitations on working with a global talent pool put local businesses, especially startups, at a significant disadvantage. As long as a candidate’s location remains a major factor in shaping HR strategies for businesses, this constraint will continue to hinder the potential for innovation, efficiency, and the globalisation of these companies.

It’s important to note though that there are other aspects to these constraints, and while I acknowledge one here, I recognise that there may be additional dimensions to consider.

What’s your attitude towards your competitors?

We respect and learn from each other, I know for a fact they look at us and do the same. I am good friends with slightly smaller and slightly bigger companies in our domain, and we meet 2-3 times a year to exchange  news and observations, while understanding the information we share might empower our counterpart.

There are 3-5 quite big players and there are 2-3 very dynamically growing companies that permanently stay on our radar. I would not be able to name any that I think beats us in our niche markets, but of course every company has their own strengths and weaknesses, and knowing them helps us become a better vendor to our clients, and win the battles for the client on the presale stage.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers or customers effectively?

As a service provider, we could write a book on what to do and what not to do with suppliers. In our industry specifically, we recommend following a few principles that make the supplier choice easier and more streamlined:

• Size does matter. Your vendor’s size should be a match to your project size or else too many risks arise.
• Transparency ensures delivery. The more your supplier and vendor knows in terms of what you expect, how you need it, and why – the higher the chances of you getting what you’re seeking. You do not want your vendor to be guessing what’s on your mind.
• While building relationships requires resources, if you aim to establish enduring partnerships with your vendors, there’s no alternative but to invest in building and nurturing these relationships.

In terms of our customers, things are simpler, as our business grows when they grow. Not a tip, rather a fact. Meaning that we are so lucky to be in a business whereby we do not need to choose whose side to play.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

During our 13 year business journey, we’ve encountered various shifts in direction and have contemplated where our path may lead in the future. This experience reinforces our belief in maintaining our core competencies- HR and technology – as the foundation for our future endeavours as a company.

I am confident we will be able to open the world of remote talent to more and more global and local businesses, offering wider and deeper expertise within the fields of tech teams foundation, management and performance.

My dreams for the business’ future are closely linked to global economic growth and prosperity. I firmly believe that as technology takes on more fundamental tasks trusted by humanity, the role of technology should be to assist humans rather than exert undue control. This shift will create a growing demand for the services we provide to our clients, as we genuinely believe our offerings contribute to making the world a better place.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Cyril Samovskiy, CEO of Mobilunity

Connecting people to their audiences is no mean feat …

Founded by his father in the 1970s, Bailie Group has grown from being a group of printing and publishing companies, into a group of agencies and consultancies providing a range of communications-related services including digital, insight, training, cyber security and PR.

They work on projects which enable people to report crime online, help the UK transport system to operate more effectively, connect people with social services, develop coaching and mentoring skills within the armed forces, and provide content channels for industries, including the automotive sector.

While each of the businesses operates independently, they are all united by a collective mission to make a positive difference in society. Fergus takes time out of his busy schedule to share his Secrets of Success and his overarching aim to improve people’s lives by sharing knowledge.

What type of businesses do you work with?

Each of the six operating companies within Bailie Group has its own unique proposition, so the kinds of organisations we work with are really varied.

Making up the commercial fabric of the Group, there’s a strategic change enablement agency, behavioural research organisation, automotive PR and communications agency, media website for the automotive sector, defence and cyber security consultancy, and telecommunications-industry training specialist.

As such, we work with a breadth of clients, including the NHS, Bank of England, Ministry of Defence, British Army, Cabinet Office, Transport for London, global car manufacturers, and every police force in England and Wales.

What problem does your company solve?

We help customers create, gather, distribute, and maximise the value of content and data.
To achieve that, our purpose is to invest in the people and ideas that make a positive difference, to our teams, our communities, and our clients.

We work on projects which keep people safer, help the UK transport system move effectively, connect citizens with social services in their local area, provide content channels for core industries, and get equipment to the front line so it’s safe to use.

Our Group mission is to create an entrepreneurial organisation of collaborative specialists. The companies are empowered to utilise technology and expert knowledge to create solutions which enable our customers to maximise their potential through intelligent use of information, content, and data.

What is your USP?

We are an independent family-run organisation that can deliver — in an agile way — services that are traditionally offered by big corporate organisations. And as a Group, we take a long-term view and put our clients first.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

At Bailie Group, we don’t have a single set of values — as each of the six operating companies have their own — but we have a philosophy. ‘Doing the right thing’ is our overriding message — if you act in a way that customers and staff would deem fair, that decision can’t be criticised.

Additionally, we have a guiding principle that helps us with decision-making — what’s best for the boat? We take out personalities, ego, and emotions, and say what the best thing for the boat is, as it exists today.

Each of the businesses within the Group has its own culture and value set but is consistent with this Group philosophy — and this hasn’t been challenged.

Also, while many investment companies in private equity have a need for short-term growth, we’ve been around since 1970 and take a long-term view — doing what’s best, and fair, in the long run.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

Ensuring the right cultural fit is important for us, as we’re very much a people-oriented company. And while I get involved in the recruitment of executive hires across the Group, for technical roles, it’s my philosophy that the senior teams within each of the operating companies are experts in what they do and are best placed to understand and identify the skill sets and personalities that will work within their existing teams.  Skills are important, but attitude and personality are critical, and we need people who will integrate and share the company values. It’s then a case of introducing them to the role and wider Group strategy.

It’s very much a company-led approach with support at Group level. As such, we have a centralised people team that helps to ensure we have a consistent approach to recruitment as well as a diverse range of talent across the organisation.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Yes. I mentioned in an earlier question that it’s Bailie Group’s collective mission to make a positive difference in society, and this also applies to our staff and the culture of our organisation. As such, we believe it’s important to empower colleagues to have the flexibility to choose where and when they work.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Relationships that are contractually dominated are problematic from day one. The best ones are where you and your suppliers are working towards a shared strategic role. It’s also key that there is transparency of what your organisation is trying to achieve and that you’re not prescriptive of how to get there — the spirit of openness and honesty will generate the best ideas.

It’s also crucial to realise, and accept, that no relationship is problem free. You have a shared responsibility for problem solving and there should be no apportioning of blame — appreciating everyone is doing a good job and working together is the bedrock of any successful business relationship.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Most new businesses don’t fail because the idea isn’t good or its people aren’t talented and committed, but because they run out of money. Therefore, my number one tip is to guard money carefully. The more capital you get in at the start, the more you can protect and help your business to grow. Following that, be cautious with how you use it, too.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?
To provide businesses with the long-term clarity they need on corporate infrastructure. The current electoral cycle rewards short-term decision making, and this is a personal bug-bear of mine as politicians are incentivised with the wrong type of behaviour.

The Government and UK’s companies need to sit down together and have conversations about what organisations need for long-term investment and planning, and this needs to become a cross-party agreement.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?
No matter the industry you’re in, it’s important to view competition as a good thing. It is often the thing that drives everyone to improve and creates choices for consumers. It’s also a cornerstone of learning — I welcome conversations with other business leaders, as this offers the chance to share ideas and inspire one another.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?
For me, I’d love to continue the family dynamic well into the future — seeing the firm as part of the Bailie family for generations to come. And I feel privileged to have the role of shepherding the company through to the next generation.

Also, my thoughts and dreams are that the Group should continue to leave a legacy. One that shows how we’ve made a positive difference to the communities in which we work — whether that’s revolutionising the way policing is delivered, keeping the UK safer by working with the armed forces, or social work. If we continue to add value to the communities we serve, then we’re doing something right.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Fergus Bailie CEO of Bailie Group

Kubair believes in helping teams to unlearn old, and develop new, behaviours to inspire new capabilities

As a coach and mentor, Kubair enables this and nurtures a customer-centric, creative team mindset and culture through his company: Agilitea. And with that, entire teams are better placed to reach their true potential.

Hearing Kubair’s story is inspirational and beautiful in its honesty. He says ‘To go the extra mile for others we must first walk the hardest mile ourselves first.’ Anyone who is in business knows this to be true. I really hope you enjoy his story as he shares with you his Secrets of Success …

What is your USP

My journey and experiences gained along the way, and how I bring them to my coaching, training and mentoring engagements to better facilitate my client’s in their journey. From tech-startups, those that worked and those that didn’t, from my time as an intrapreneur in a fast growing scale up, to my socio-political activism. I bring all of that to being a people centric agile coach, trainer and mentor.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, was it a challenge or a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?

From the age of 20 I have been leading or co-creating businesses, from importing and wholesale of garments to market traders in London to my tech-startups. I have been able to identify gaps in the market and co-create opportunities to address them from a young age. On occasions successfully on some it’s been costly lessons learned.

In 2010, following the murder of my brother by extremists in Pakistan, I decided to take a break from all my ventures to focus on a very different journey.

I sold a very successful business I had built from scratch in the UK, and I turned my off-shore development centre into an employee owned cooperative, completely divested of all commercial responsibilities. I set about co-founding a not-for-profit project – Peace Through Prosperity – with my wife, with the aim of using education to empower people from marginalised communities who were vulnerable to radicalisation in countries such as Pakistan.

At that time building digital products and chasing EBITDA targets seemed like a futile exercise in the face of a real existential threat.

In 2014 my exit money ran out but I had the good fortune of being headhunted to help establish high performance teams in Acquia’s professional services practise in EMEA. Having been an agile practitioner since the late 1990s, which direction to take it in was a no-brainer!

By 2018 I had achieved the targets and outcomes I’d agreed with the VP of professional services so I decided to move on and develop a consultancy based on what I had learned and taught over the years. Thus Agilitea was born.

I set up Agilitea as a vehicle for me to contract, and within a couple of years my customers convinced me to scale the business and build a team of trusted agile change makers to help them scale impact in their teams and culture. Having said that, we intend to remain a small and nimble boutique consultancy by design.

What are your brand values?

Being human.

Do your values define your decision-making process?

They are inseparable. Our decisions impact ourselves and others, I do my best to ensure my decisions have a positive outcome and a lasting impact on and for myself and all others it’s ripples may reach.

Is team culture integral to your business?

Absolutely. Change is a tribe sport! And as agents of change our own team culture matters most! A culture where concepts can be freely aired, challenged, cooked and validated or invalidated enables innovation and creativity. Without which the best one could produce is commodity!

If team culture is integral to your business, what do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

To go the extra mile for others we must first walk the hardest mile ourselves first. That’s to be a good human being, to first get oneself in a place where one has the courage to have open conversations, whilst being respectful of others, with focus on one’s own commitment to everyone’s collective continuous improvement. Once you get close to that, the extra mile becomes part of the journey, not extra.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

Personally I strive to be authentic, for those who know me, know I call it as I see it, respectfully, and make time and focus on listening. For me that is clear communication, as for messaging about our services, approach and vision, we could always improve!

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

Inflation and interest rates. Between Putin’s war, Kwasi Kwarteng’s libertarian experimentation, China’s flexing, Greenbacks’ bizarre comeback, BRICS expansion with their own reserve currency, the global economy is a disaster at the moment. It would make for incredible theatre if people weren’t the extras suffering in the background!

My Customers are B2B, mostly large enterprises. I ascribe a value for my time, capabilities, experiences and potential to catalyse desired impact, as do my clients, and if prevailing conditions mean our service rates need to be adjusted to afford ourselves and our team members the standard of living we’re are accustomed to, then yes, we would pass it on transparently to our customers.

Do the BCG, Delloittes, and McKinseys of the world offer discounts during cyclical downturns? Boutique consultancies are no different, and should not think or be treated differently.

Having said all of that, my clients know a sizable chunk of Agilitea’s income gets invested in Peace Through Prosperity’s projects in marginalised and conflict affected communities in Yemen,  Pakistan and Egypt. In these countries we run mini-MBA programmes to enable marginalised communities to work their way out of poverty and become better microentrepreneurs. In 2023 we plan to expand to a new region that will need its own investment.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

As often as is value-adding to do so and no more.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

It’s all tech! We mostly interact from behind a screen post March 2020, from contracting to collaboration, it’s all tech enabled working.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

We live in a connected and interdependent world, my competition is part of my world and at best it enables me to scale rapidly through partnerships, at worst it makes me look even better! Our competition and peers keep us sharp and creative, we learn from each other and drive disruption and innovation in industries and if we’re lucky they or we might inspire them to drive innovation and disruption in society too.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

When launching any enterprise, commercial or social, the key question to ask is why? Why am I creating this business? Who is it for? Do they need it? Does it help people get a job done in a better, more effective way? You need to know a product will be economically sustainable.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge, and hone your focus?

My passion is social transformation, and cross pollinating what I continue to learn about enterprise transformation to enable people to transform their lives, their business, their family and communities. I focus very much on my charitable work at Peace Through Prosperity. I also have a passion for politics, and no weekend is complete without coaching my son and his team’ Titans’ in their little league soccer club!

Do you believe in the 12-week work method, or do you make much longer planning strategies? 

It’s a method based on Lean Thinking that calls for focus and creates outcomes in shorter time frames. It’s an agile approach! I am a framework agnostic agile practitioner. I believe in principles, values and experimentation with frameworks and practices.

What is essential is to develop, nurture and evolve capabilities, behaviours and ways of working that enable individuals, teams and businesses to achieve their purpose, regardless of what the future brings.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

We are a remote-first company, however we do recognise and value the need to have face to face interactions, good old styled hand shakes, high fives and hugs!  We take a value-based approach to travel, be it for clients on sites or our all-hands, and limit our footprint as much as possible.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

If ‘hope’ is what we’re going for then three things we all would greatly benefit from in the next 12 months  are negotiated peace in Ukraine, Energy stability in Europe and UK rejoining the EU.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Kubair Shirazee, Agilitea

Ensuring websites create conversion rich opportunities is just one of RapidSpike’s three core offerings

A tech entrepreneur for more than 20 years, Gav Winter has previously founded two major technology consultancies, Gav is an award-winning entrepreneur and leader, and an expert in high-growth strategy. Today he is CEO of next-generation website monitoring company, RapidSpike.

RapidSpike is a next-generation website monitoring platform revolutionising website reliability, performance, and security. As the only solution to capture these three critical aspects of website health, the result is continually optimised customer journeys, greater website resilience, and more conversions – crucial for high-volume businesses transacting online.

Gav takes time out of his busy schedule to share his secrets of success with Business Matters …

What type of businesses do you work with?

The nature of what we do means we can work with pretty much any brand that has online-critical processes – from retail, travel, and gaming to healthcare, policing, and government.

What problem does your company solve?

The web is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year and organisations need to maximise performance, reliability, accessibility, and security if they’re going to lead from the front, enhance the customer experience, and develop genuine brand loyalty.

As such, more than simply website uptime needs to be monitored for businesses to be successful online and create conversion-rich opportunities in today’s digital-first world. Customers now expect websites to perform at a more sophisticated level than ever before.

If you fail, customers will find somewhere else to fulfil what they’re looking for. In today’s world, even marginal gains of 0.1% faster speeds can represent millions of pounds of extra revenue for the UK’s largest brands.

What is your USP?

It must be the depth of data and insight we can provide. RapidSpike knows what it’s good at – and we start in our lane, but it do it really, really well. Let’s face it, websites are rich with just about every statistic under the sun, but we extract the relevant information and understand how to convert it into tangible areas for improvement.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

Underpinning the company is a sense of responsiveness. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is, how big or small the client, or the relative size of the problem, we must be responsive as people, colleagues, partners, and a platform – it’s fundamental to the success of our business.

I wouldn’t say I’ve had them challenged as such, because people join RapidSpike to help our customers do business better. It’s something we’re all incredibly passionate about, and we were all a part of outlining what it is RapidSpike stands for – which I think is important to the long-term future of our organisation.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

For me, it’s about having a willingness to learn, a ‘can-do’ work ethic and a positive mindset. We’re incredibly honest from the very first interaction with a colleague – as we believe alignment works both ways.

An initial telephone interview acts as more of a temperature check, before we conduct the ’16 personalities test’ to see if the candidate’s personality and skills fit the role we’re looking for – as we’re keen to find differences within the team.

Only once we’re sure of a personality and skillset match would we move to an interview. Even then, we start the conversation by encouraging candidates to forget the nerves and not try to answer a question if they don’t know it – as they can learn. Instead, we’d rather spend the time figuring out if we’d both like to work alongside each other.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

We’re completely flexible. Arguably, I’d say we were ‘digital first’ with the only stipulation being that we meet, face-to-face, for collaborative sessions when needed. While there are no rules on the time spent in the office, as a team, there’s an appetite to introduce two set ‘people work’ days per week, whereby we meet somewhere as a team – be it HQ, a coffee shop, or even in a park.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

I think it boils down to three simple but fundamental things, communication, responsiveness, and continuous improvement. Caring what other people think makes a big difference.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

Create a ThinkTank which brings together actual business leaders from across the UK at varying stages of their careers. Personally, I believe it would be helpful if MPs had experience in the areas they are given to manage too – it shouldn’t simply be the ‘old boys’ club’.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

They’re a source of inspiration. You can pick up a lot from competitors, and we shouldn’t be ashamed to admit that. Not only can they feed you with ideas, but you can learn from their mistakes too.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

We’re very much focused on growth. Of course, we have many of the same worries as other organisations across the country, with the rising cost of doing business – but it creates an opportunity too, because people want to future-proof their digital real estate. We’re working hard to raise further investment, but for now at least, we’re sustainable as we are.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: RapidSpike CEO, Gav Winter

Employing staff in other countries is incredibly challenging, enter Teamed …

Antony Vallee founded Teamed to simplify the process of building teams – no matter where they are based in the world. Through their own legal entities and global infrastructure, they manage all HR, Compliance, Payroll, and Tax matters for remote talent anywhere in the world. Today their fully distributed team is helping businesses hire top talent across 75+ countries, empowering companies and employees to embrace the benefits and opportunities that come with global employment.

Combining automation and human expertise, they aim to provide both employees and employers with the best experience. No mean feat! Antony takes some time to share his story with Business Matters …

What type of businesses do you work with?

Businesses that put the employee at the forefront of their hiring processes choose to work with Teamed.

Imagine this: you are being relocated from the United States to Spain. You would have plenty of questions about changes in holiday allowances, sick pay, and tax. Your new contract could also mean there are alterations in your salary, notice period, and benefits — and not having someone to talk through what these changes mean for you could be incredibly frustrating and cause a damaging relationship with your employer.

At Teamed, we ensure both employees and employers are aligned, have all the information they need, and most importantly have a point of contact they can go to with any queries they may have. We onboard all new employees virtually over a conference call and will provide ongoing support throughout their employment.

By combining this service-led approach with best-of-breed technology to automate processes,  we are able to provide the best experiences for employees and employers across the globe.

What is your USP?

Teamed is democratising global employment opportunities by making it easier than ever to hire, pay and fully support a global workforce. We’re building a market-leading experience for employers and employees by combining our unique technology with human expertise.

• 100% compliant. Hire talent anywhere in the world with full compliance guaranteed.
• Speed: Hire and onboard talent within hours, not weeks.
• 100% customer retention. We’re a service-led solution you can count on.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

We’ve stayed true to our values since Teamed was founded in 2020. We have a remote, globally distributed team that works together to achieve our joint mission to enable anyone, anywhere, to access exciting career opportunities, addressing the growing demand for remote working.

Break down barriers: We act to make opportunities equally accessible, so that those with skills and ambition are not held back. Merit should be rewarded equally across boundaries.

Do what’s right: No shortcuts. No short wins. Just a solid commitment to do right by each other, and by each and every customer we serve. Because the best reputations are those that precede you.

Here today, here tomorrow: Being an owner-managed business means we’re in it for the long term. We know our success depends on being accountable, responsible and performance-obsessed.

Show backbone: We choose the courageous route to success. Sometimes that means saying no and stepping away, while staying true to our pursuit of socially responsible success. When it’s right to, we step up.

Good can always be better: Creativity is in our genes. So is the quest for constant innovation and improvement. Every day is another chance for us to be the best at what we do.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

We hire global teams that are empowered to work when, where, and how they want. We currently employ people across 8 countries and we plan to expand our global footprint as we continue to increase our headcount in 2023.

Our values are clearly communicated to all employees and candidates and equity, diversity, and inclusion is embedded into our recruitment process.

I firmly believe that building a team that reflects the values of the company is the foundation for success, as it ensures that everyone is working towards a common goal and operating with a shared set of principles.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

One of my top priorities is empowering our employees to work in the way that best enables them to achieve optimal outcomes. I believe that when people are given the freedom and support to do their best work, amazing things can happen.

Teamed has a remote-first environment. In today’s world, more and more people are looking for flexible work arrangements that allow them to balance their professional and personal lives. By embracing a remote-first approach, we are able to attract top talent from all over the world and create a more diverse and inclusive workforce. It also allows our team members to work from wherever they feel most comfortable and productive, which can help them achieve better work-life balance and overall well-being.

Of course, we also recognise that remote work isn’t for everyone, and we have co-working resources  in place to ensure that everyone has the support and environment they need to be successful, no matter where they are located. But overall, I believe that a remote-first environment is essential for building a strong, innovative, and resilient team that can adapt to change and succeed in today’s fast-paced business world.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

A service-led approach that is complemented by technology is at the core of everything we do. By putting the needs of our end users at the centre, we are able to create a more personalised and seamless experience that meets their unique needs and preferences.

This approach not only helps us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors, but it also leads to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, when we combine this service-led approach with the right technology, we are able to create even greater efficiencies and value for our customers. For example, by using automation and data analytics, we can better understand our customers’ needs and tailor our services to meet those needs in real time.

Overall, I believe that a service-led approach that is complemented by technology is essential for building strong, long-term relationships with our end users and driving the success of our company.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

As we transition from remote working to work-from-anywhere, we would like governments around the world to embrace the new world of working by easing the regulations around working visas and tax rules.

It is positive to see some countries with a lack of work opportunities facilitating regulations around remote working. This can bring an enormous amount of value so all their regions remain populated with employed people paying their taxes and spending locally.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

While some of our competitors have prioritised rapid growth over everything else, we at Teamed know that this approach can come at the cost of customer satisfaction. That’s why we currently boast 100% customer retention and, as we scale, we remain laser-focused on keeping the needs and preferences of our customers front and centre.

Dealing with global payroll can be complex and it is essential that any concerns or questions are promptly and effectively addressed. Paying multiple employees in multiple currencies with different exchange rates, personalised bonuses, annual leave, and commission structures can be challenging— and are not always easily modified with the self-service model some competitors offer. By providing a service-led approach that is complemented by technology, Teamed puts the customer at the centre, so employees and employers receive the highest quality support and guidance.

By doing so, we are able to create a better, more personalised experience for our employees and employers and build strong, long-term relationships. This customer-centric approach sets us apart in the market and positions us for sustainable, long-term success.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

We’re changing the world of work. We believe that everyone should have access to equal career opportunities, no matter where they live. That’s why Teamed’s mission is to enable anyone, anywhere, to access the best career opportunities, addressing the growing demand for remote working.

Our recent £2.5M seed round investment will empower Teamed to accelerate the development of global operations, advance its unique technology, and fund a recruitment drive for senior roles. In addition, it will allow Teamed to continue to deliver a market-leading customer experience and keep the company on track to achieve a predicted five-fold growth in 2023.

We look forward to pushing ahead with our plans to accelerate our growth and begin executing our ambitious product roadmap to build a new, more democratic, world of work.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Antony Vallee, Co-Founder and CEO – Teamed

Alleviating loneliness and connecting the elderly to carers quickly in their area is now possible

Lots of us live further away from our elderly parents and are not able to ‘pop in’ as often. Looking to fill that gap and prvent loneliness and worry on eithr side, Verity Batchelor has filled the gap with her platform: Good Life Sorted.

What is your USP?

We have used tech to create a unique platform that connects elderly, vulnerable people with Helpers in their area. We vet and train those Helpers, who then provide company and support to the customer. It’s not medical care or personal care, it’s helping with household tasks like shopping and light chores – providing companionship and support.

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

We alleviate loneliness, helping older or vulnerable people stay in their own homes longer.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, was it a challenge or a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?

My co-founder Constantine’s grandmother was able to live independently, in her own home in a small Greek village, well into her late 90’s – thanks to neighbours popping in on a daily basis. We recognised that this is not always the case for people in the UK and that there was a genuine need to provide support that was not personal care but more about mental health: simply chatting, providing support, taking someone out for a walk, helping with things around the house.

What are Good Life Sorted’s brand values?

Empowerment, Reassurance, Respect, A bespoke approach, Positive energy.

Do your values define your decision-making process?

Yes, absolutely. At every stage of the business, we come back to these values to ensure that the people we hire, the training we provide, the tech we develop, delivers on them.

Is team culture integral to Good Life Sorted?

Yes, especially as our ‘team’ is dotted all over the place: we operate in several regions and the Helpers, once set up with their own profiles on the site, are self-employed – they set up their own hours and pay. They do still need support and to embody the Good Life Sorted values and standards.

If team culture is integral to your business, what do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

It’s mostly that support – both online and in person. The Helpers have chosen to do this role because they want to make a positive difference in their community, as well as earning an income and working with flexibility. However they still need support, so we provide a very thorough onboarding process, regular training opportunities and face to face get togethers so that they can provide support to one another. This is an emotive business, the Helpers are naturally caring people (that’s why they do it), and they do get close to their customers.

In terms of your messaging, do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

Yes. This is vital – we are a tech business but our customers are not always tech-savvy, so we keep the platform simple, easy to use and focused, being clear on our offering without being patronising. The Helpers all use an app which again is very clear and has been designed as simple to use – mostly because we don’t want this to take up too much time, it’s all about efficiency and enabling the Helpers to spend more time with their customers.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

The Helpers set their own hourly rates, so they are in charge of their income. Many of them have maintained the same rates, but some have increased them a little to cover rising travel costs.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

All the time – we’re a data driven business. The data is assessed weekly and if needed, our tactics are adapted to maximise every opportunity.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

It’s always been the largest part of it! Constantine and I met at Amazon, we both come from tech backgrounds and our goal has always been to use tech to solve a human problem.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

We don’t really have any direct competitors as we’re inventing a new category. Our model is quite unique in that we are not providing medical or personal care, but instead companionship and support provided by local Helpers. Of course, anyone else working in the care industry is given our full respect. It’s an emotive and important area.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

Don’t be afraid. Not everyone will love your idea, but if you feel it’s a good one, go for it and don’t be put off by the people who cannot see your vision. Go for it!

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

I’m not the lead decision maker, I share that pleasure with my co-founder Constantine – I’d recommend that approach to anyone, as if you find the right person to set up with, it is a joy: you bring together your different skills, outlooks and provide each other with support from the get-go. But of course, I still need to recharge and refocus! I spend time with my family, I love travel and I’ve just started Yoga which I love.

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies? 

We use strategies of varying length – cycles vary according to what you are planning. We have a long-term plan, a three-year vision, then monthly and weekly planners.  As a nimble digital business, we need to flex a lot. Individuals in the team are responsible for their own planning and we encourage that autonomy.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

We don’t come into the office unless needed for meetings and the tech has been created to connect our Helpers to customers near them, in order to reduce travel as much as possible. The very nature of our business is all about being local.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

We want to grow into other regions – we are mostly in the Southeast at the moment, so we want to expand rapidly across the UK as there is a real need for our provision and we are being approached by families and social workers all the time. We’re going to invest in new tech, develop the platform further and use the data even more effectively. Finally, we’d like to raise awareness of our customers’ needs more. Loneliness is a huge issue in our country and our elderly deserve a bit better. There are more than 2 million people in England over the age of 75 living alone, according to Age UK – and having someone local who can be relied upon is vital.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Verity Batchelder, co-founder, Good Life Sorted

Everyone is paid the same amount at Tandem and it works. Intrigued?

Tandem Collective is a community-led marketing agency, specialising in campaigns for the book publishing and film industries. They work closely with book, film and TV lovers on Instagram and TikTok to create immersive, unique content which is delivered directly into the communities that others are trying to reach.

Founder, Naomi Bacon takes some time from her busy schedule to share her journey in the hope that will inspire Business Matters’ readers …

What are Tandem’s USPs?

Most marketing agencies talk about being experts in community growth but they don’t have their own community around them, which feels disingenuous. We have built our entire offering around putting the community first, delivering what they want and need.

Our flat structure has made the headlines; we are all paid the same, including me. For me, the true meaning of inclusivity is that everyone is valued equally; we all have different skill sets and we are all of value. This promotes loyalty and roots out people that are self-serving or competitive in the wrong ways – that’s not what Tandem is. We are all ambitious and driven, but that’s channeled into our work rather than individual status or comparison within the company.

I recruit people without specific marketing experience; I don’t want them bringing learned behaviours from the industry, good or bad, because my team – who come from a huge variety of different professional and life backgrounds – have such a sense of multiperspectivity. They all love books, that’s how we found each other, and we operate as a hive mind – nobody owns an idea, we form them together, and that collective of different perspectives is what produces our creative and fresh ideas.

What is the main problem Tandem solves for your customers?

Resource – There simply wasn’t an agency serving the publishing industry.

Having been in-house, I was trying to work with mismatched budgets and agencies delivering proposals which weren’t relevant or right for the publishing industry. We are the only company offering this kind of service to the publishing industry, which is why we are growing so quickly globally, and we pride ourselves on offering an affordable option which understands the resource restrictions and the community to which we are marketing. Clients often comment on the creativity and enthusiasm of our team- they almost seem surprised!

What made you start Tandem? – did you want to rock the status quo, was it a challenge or a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?

I found 9-5 corporate structure difficult in so many ways – I’m up at 5am, I like to be active and get going in the mornings, not wait until 9am. I found the rigidity very claustrophobic, and that impacted negatively upon my creativity. I also had serious family issues which needed my attention and energy, and it was not possible to juggle and progress within a corporate job while giving those issues the attention they needed. When I set up on my own, I didn’t have to go anywhere, I could still do the work I love to a high standard but I could also be present with the people I love and be there for them.

That filters down now to the whole team- life happens and we all have the space, flexibility and support to navigate that while still doing our best work. Of course we are all going to be more creative and do better work if we can go for walks, hike up mountains, hang out on the beach, spend time with our families. I don’t have to answer to anyone’s stuctures of what a work day should look like; we enjoy an incredible balance.

What are your brand values?

Courage, compassion and connection.

Courage is not about not having fear, it’s about how you deal with that fear. Starting the business was a courageous act – the most terrifying and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done – and it’s the same with every new campaign. We take leaps and we trust ourselves to do so.

Compassion – understanding that everyone is an individual, work is not a be all and end all, but that it can bring so much joy. Our team is diverse – people from all walks of life, with neurodiversity, health conditions, disabilities, differing family situations, our own challenges. And that leads me to our final value; connection.

Our connection with clients, community and team members is everything; it has to be meaningful and genuine. I wanted to create a team that would feel like a found family, and I have. We genuinely love each other and don’t have to perform or wear professional masks around each other. We treat our clients like human beings – we don’t do ‘super corporate’ – we want them to enjoy and have fun working with us, and that builds respect too; we don’t mistreat each other.

Do your values define your decision-making process?

Absolutely. They’re in everything I do.

Is team culture integral to your business?

It’s everything. We run a yearly retreat in Italy, we get together for Christmas, we travel to co-work with each other – as a fully remote team it’s crucial to have meaningful, in-person connection whenever we can. There’s no forced fun, just genuine downtime together – relaxing on the beach, eating gelato, reading together, having a laugh. We have a zero-alcohol policy at all our gatherings. We have people in recovery on the team and we’ve all seen what happens when too much alcohol is involved in work situations in our prior jobs; we have an amazing time without it and taking booze off the table – literally – makes everyone feel much more comfortable. If a boss or company feels that free booze or the occasional free pizza on a Friday is the way to their employees’ hearts, they’re missing the point and misunderstanding those individuals.

What do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

Along with the retreats and residential gatherings I run for the team, which are bigger gestures of appreciation, we have daily shows of gratitude and friendship. We each send out a ‘Thursday thank you’ to someone we’re feeling grateful for – privately rather than publicly. We have regular ‘friend chats’ where we carve out time to talk out what’s going on in our lives outside of Tandem, and we have such close friendships within the company which makes the culture quite effortless; we all enjoy being there, and it shows.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

Yes, but also in an affectionate, familial way – we don’t do corporate chat. We voicenote, we have a laugh, we remove the jargon and pomp, and we don’t ‘gatekeep’; I was voicenoting a long-standing member of our community last night, just to check in, no agenda. I am very transparent with the community about the running of the company, which I think people appreciate.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

We increased 10% across all services, year on year, but remain very affordable. This price increase was necessary as we have had a substantial decrease in our  profit margins due to the effects of inflation on our costs. The majority of our profits are reinvested in the company to finance current and future campaigns. We are highly dependent on this capital as we have no debt and have no plans to acquire any.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

On a monthly basis I sit with the data, but in saying that, I have never had a rigid business plan;  which contributes to the success of Tandem. I look at the data but I just do the job as it presents itself. I hate the terms ‘targets’ and ‘KPI’s – sometimes you feel pressured to pull a target out of a hat, then if you don’t meet it, you feel like it’s a measure of your capability when it isn’t.

The KPIs that matter to me are values-based; do I have a happy, healthy team? Are we enjoying what we do? Do our clients keep coming back to us? Because when those things are in place, the numbers are great. If not, I go back to Connection; how can we better connect to improve things?

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of Tandem?

Our company is totally online, so we are very reliant on social media platforms, but we keep things quite simple. We are using platforms like Discord, but we try to limit the number of apps and platforms that our community need in order to engage with us; we want to encourage a balance our quality online offering with encouraging meaningful offline time.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

Competitor analysis is a huge thing for some but it’s not something I think about – firstly we don’t really have any competitors, as nobody else does what we do, and secondly I try very hard not to compare myself or this company to any other individuals or companies. I focus on our objectives, goals and successes – my brain switches off when I hear someone gloating about turnover, because it’s just not my focus. Profit doesn’t tell the full story of that company and the humans within it. It all comes back to our values; they are what matter to me.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

Nearly all decisions are made as a collective, so it’s either the entire team or the project managers and I making a final call on something together. I relax and recharge by climbing – I often work from a climbing wall – doing yoga, cycling, hiking, sitting on the beach. I start my day very early with an hour of meditation, reading, some Duolingo; anything peaceful that sets me up for the day. That sacred hour is very important. My lifestyle and environment encourages that way of recharging – I chase the sun, and right now I’m in Cape Town. I don’t work Fridays, none of the team do – we read, get inspired and recharge ourselves.

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies?

We do have longer term goals but we work primarily in quarters, so shorter sprints – it helps us to focus on the here and now, which is why our business plan is so flexible.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

We all work remotely online, so our footprint is very small, but we used to print resources for our community and clients – now we provide all of those resources digitally to minimise our impact further. We also work with local businesses and small businesses for send-out items to minimise postage impact.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

I want to set up local pods in territories where affordable solutions haven’t – until now – been available, including India, South Africa, and smaller territories across Europe. We already have a strong presence in Italy and Spain, but I’d like to see definite expansion into Germany and France, I want to invest in individuals within those communities. I also want to develop our film and theatre offering, and we are making exciting plans in that area. Apart from that, I want things to continue as they are – a strong, happy team; creative projects rolling in; enthusiastic clients – a lifestyle business that I’m proud to be a part of.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Naomi Bacon, Founder of Tandem Collective

Disrupting a marketplace and becoming an enabler for SME growth – hats off to John Cheney …

Workbooks is a cloud-based SaaS CRM platform that helps growing companies run their business and engage more effectively with customers. They offer affordable solutions for SMEs. They have a price point that is typically 50-70% lower than other CRM providers like Salesforce or Microsoft, so they’re enabling businesses to scale in a realistic and manageable way.

John Cheney, CEO, talks to Business Matters and shares his story …

What made you start Workbooks? Did you want to rock the status quo, was it a challenge or a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?    

Before Workbooks, I founded a cloud-based email security business. As we grew, like many SMEs, we invested in various IT systems: we used Salesforce as our platform for sales, but then a separate platform for marketing automation, finance, customer services, and so on. Running a business using many different systems adds unnecessary complexity and is expensive. So, I saw an opportunity to develop a CRM and business applications platform primarily for mid-sized companies like ours.

The aim was to allow companies to build better businesses and remove the burden of managing multiple, siloed solutions. Along with traditional CRM, I wanted Workbooks to provide tools such as order processing and customer support that could join up the customer-facing side of the business and easily integrate with accounting systems.

So that was the vision: to create a business application platform for growing companies that couldn’t necessarily afford enterprise applications but needed more capability than simple and disjointed accounting, marketing, or sales tools.

What is Workbooks’ USP?

Aside from the CRM service, we also offer a Shared Success approach to new projects, which is a selling point unique to Workbooks. Many companies take a technology-first approach to choosing the right CRM, but that can be a fast track to failure. Instead, companies should start by identifying the business outcomes they want to achieve in order to identify functional goals.

Our Shared Success approach helps businesses define and prioritise their business outcomes, understand their requirements for CRM, and set clear expectations for implementing it. We invest in the success of our customers’ CRM projects in three ways:

1. We help customers to understand what they need from CRM software to achieve their business goals with a co-funded workshop.
2. We co-fund implementation to give customers a made-to-measure CRM for an off-the-shelf price.
3. We offer a co-funded customer success programme so customers can future-proof their business processes with a CRM that grows with them.

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

Our CRM platform helps SMEs grow revenue, enhance customer experience, reduce operational costs, and improve decision-making by joining up the entire business. Our core CRM services extend beyond sales, marketing, and customer services to include marketing automation, event management, order management and fulfilment, invoicing, and supplier management functionalities for SMEs. We work consultatively with businesses to deliver a CRM and workflow that addresses their unique challenges. In doing so, we’re proud to say we have been rated number one for customer satisfaction by G2 for the past six years.

What are your brand values?

Our customers’ success is our success – which starts with our customers as individuals. Our overarching approach is to focus on the people we work with, and how we can help them be better at what they do. Business success will follow.

Do your values define your decision making process?

When helping a customer with their CRM implementation, it’s very important to us that the individuals we’re working with understand it. We’re willing to invest the time into ensuring they are using the tools successfully, because we know, long term, if they’re successful, they’ll continue to invest in the Workbooks platform.

Is team culture integral to your business?

I think team culture needs to be integral to any business. We have our five company values on the wall at Workbooks HQ. The most important is ‘customer first’, which is about how we, as a business, make sure we deliver the outcomes our customers are expecting. The others are: ‘committed’, ‘creative’, ‘identify opportunities and problems’, and ‘competitive’ – we like to win! But all of these company values rely on us working well as a team.

If team culture is integral to your business, what do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

We have a sixth unofficial company value, which is cake. It’s important to celebrate milestones together, whether that’s winning a big deal or a birthday. We also have quarterly ‘town halls’, where I’ll provide a business update to the entire company, and as part of that process, we recognise the achievements of key individuals. We call them our Workbooks heroes.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

Being honest, talking directly to our prospects in a clear fashion isn’t always easy. We have a diverse customer base, and we need to communicate clearly to everyone, from manufacturing to professional services firms. We are working on it, but even then, each business will have slightly different needs. What’s most important is that we understand them.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

Many of our customers are already protected because they have signed a multi-year contract with us. The price of the product remains the same during that contract period, regardless of what goes on with our public list price.

More than 75% of our customers are on multi-year contracts, so there hasn’t been any price inflation in their Workbooks licenses. However, costs are always reassessed at renewal time, and pricing may need to be adapted to inflation.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

I have a set of dashboards displaying data from across the business that I look at every day. We use the data to continually review and assess our performance against KPIs. We look at top-line revenue, sales performance, customer satisfaction, customer health, customer retention rates, and then key financial metrics, like billings and cash flow.

We use this data to measure our budget performance. How are we doing against where we thought we were going to be? Do we have any customer-related issues that need resolving? This last one is a particularly important part of what we do with the data daily – we want to identify potential issues for customers as early as possible and understand the reasons for them.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

We make incremental and continual improvements to our technology stack, and, like many businesses, we use some technologies like video conferencing tools far more than we used to. On the whole though, technology has always played an important part in the day-to-day running of our business.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

I am grateful to our competitors. I think they add real value to us. Our largest competitors, like Salesforce, have helped create the market we operate in, and it’s against them that we can differentiate our services.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

I like cooking, and I enjoy a glass of wine. Sometimes at the same time. Preferably at the same time, actually.

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies? 

The short answer is yes, I believe in the 12 week work method. However, this is actually one of three things we do at Workbooks. At a high level, we have a three year business plan, which is more strategic; a 12 month financial plan, which is much more detailed and includes budgets and KPIs; and then a three month plan, which focuses on our more immediate objectives and what we are trying to deliver.

What is Workbooks’ eco strategy?

We are taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint where we can. For example, we partake in the Cycle to Work Scheme and are just about to introduce an electric car scheme. The electric car points are being installed at our offices as we speak. We are also looking at ways to run our business in a more environmentally friendly manner. For example, we are working with our suppliers to reduce the power consumption of our hardware.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

International expansion is a key focus for us moving forward. In 2018, we opened an office in Connecticut to support our growth in North America, where we recently won our biggest contract to date. Within the next 12 months, we hope to grow our team in America by another five people.

We also have plans to open a third office, which will be in Europe, and we are looking to launch a new product to help our customers manage projects more effectively.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: John Cheney, CEO of Workbooks

Upskilling tech teams in meaningful, productive sessions that actually work.

The idea for Skiller Whale came from the pain that Hywel and his co-founder, Dave, experienced first hand as software engineers, and tech leaders in fast-growth environments.

Both were getting frustrated to find that a huge amount of their time was spent finding and filling the gaps in knowledge that our teams weren’t aware that they had. After trying all the usual suspects – video libraries, content subscriptions – they saw no real skill improvement. 

Realising that upskilling tech teams was consistently one of the biggest headaches CTOs and Heads of Engineering face, they knew that if they could solve this problem it would be transformative for the industry.

Enter Skiller Whale …

What products or services do you provide?

Skiller Whale provides Deep Coaching for companies with ambitious tech strategies. This means personalised, live, expert-led, micro-coaching sessions in small groups, focused on specific tech skills required by the team.

What type of businesses do you work with?

Start-ups, scale-ups, large tech companies. Really, anyone who is tech-first and ambitious in what they want to achieve.

We currently work with a number of scale-up Fintechs and Unicorns, such as Omnipresent, Wagestream, Gousto, Drizly and PensionBee.

What is your USP?

Traditionally, if you want affordable learning, you have to get access to generic content for self-study (low engagement, low impact). On the other hand, if you want high-impact learning, you have to dedicate a week or more of intensive time for expensive ‘bespoke training’.

With Skiller Whale, we created a third way: teams get the impact of live, intensive coaching, at a pace and price that’s affordable and sustainable. With the subscription model, it’s low stakes to try for a month and cancel or pause if it’s not working for you.

In developing our approach, we tried many things that failed. But some things worked, and we kept exploring and refining those. Eventually, we realised that 4 criteria had emerged as foundational to tech coaching effectiveness.

• Diagnostic – it must be relevant to each individual’s knowledge – what they don’t know, and what they need to know.
• Expert-led – it must be challenging, with feedback – this means it needs to be led live by a domain expert.
• Experiential – it must be hands on learning, not just theoretical or passive
• Problem-based – it must have scenarios with real-world application, not just ‘hello world’ or foobar.

These rather obligingly spell out ‘DEEP’, which with its aquatic connotations felt like the perfect term for our company!

We got some help with this structure from our third co-founder, Hayley, who previously ran a company developing skill matrices for organisations like HSBC and Microsoft. By the time we’d defined Deep Coaching, we collectively realised that the criteria echoed our experiences at the university we all attended (and where two of us met) – Cambridge.

In the Oxbridge model, learning is led in small groups by domain experts. However, at university everyone is assumed to have the same pathway. This certainly isn’t the case once you’re working, so the diagnostic element is key to our approach being relevant for mid-career folks.

No individual element of what we do (DEEP) is new, but the combination is unique.

Our view is that if we can get the learning experience right, then we’ll solve the rest of the scaling as we grow. We have a 94% completion rate (compare that with 12.5% median MOOC completion), and 99% of learners give our coaching 4 or 5 stars, so we think we’re doing something right.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

Openness is our most important value, and we’ve defined it as enabling openness through gratitude. Many organisations expect openness, but don’t create the conditions to make it possible. It must be easy to give bad news. It must be acknowledged that it’s hard to give negative feedback, not just hard to receive it. Psychological safety is a must have.

Rationality has been challenged as a word that has been used as a weapon against women. We considered changing the word, but couldn’t find another that fitted our meaning better, so we continue to use it but with the explicit acknowledgement that it has been weaponised, but our meaning of it is that everyone can follow the steps of each decision and understand (not necessarily agree with) how we arrived somewhere. It’s also worth noting that we do not believe that rationality is the antithesis of emotion. Sometimes the most rational thing to do is to prioritise the emotional impact of a decision.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

We’re very clear about our values internally and externally; and we want them to be reflected by everyone in the company, that is why we take hiring seriously.

The recruitment process provides a really great opportunity to not only discuss our values but embody them right the way through the candidate experience. We are open and transparent about our salary banding with all advertised roles, our approach to flexible working and our commitments to improving diversity within the tech industry.

We make a point to deliver feedback to any candidate who applies and we ensure that values based questions are woven within the process, rather than simply the traditional competency approach.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Prioritise revenue over capital. Early revenue is the strongest signal you can get that your idea might be successful. It’s a sign that you’re doing something valuable, bottom-up. Investment is a sign that your market exists top-down, and that you can describe it compellingly to investors – that’s a weaker signal for long-term success.

Sell early – sell earlier than you think you possibly can. From the start, our vision for Skiller Whale was a remote-first, technology-driven coaching environment – slick, integrated into our user’s workday without friction. But the first version our customers paid for, had none of that – it was me travelling across London to the offices of our customers, sliding pieces of paper across the table in a stuffy meeting room, looking over their shoulders and answering questions. I’d probably spent less than 10 working days on the business at that point. Not only did we get revenue sooner, but we were able to experiment and iterate much sooner. I think that approach is why we were able to invent a new learning model, and it’s why our users love us so much – everything about our service came directly from watching users experience it.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

Modernise and simplify – allow for more integrations (like Making Tax Digital – that’s a great start). I tried to read the rules on taxable and non-taxable benefits recently, and they don’t reflect a modern world where people are increasingly working from home, part-time, and changing jobs every couple of years.

Each new form we’re required to submit, each new field on a tax return, each new scheme to apply for, is an extra burden for an innovative, growing company. The more admin and bureaucracy there is around the running of a company, the less time we have to work on the company itself – and ensuring we’re compliant becomes a real burden, expensive in terms of money and time.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

Right now, we don’t have direct competitors. However, there is a lot of content out there and a lot of providers of traditional e-learning for tech skills. We think it’s great that there’s so much available, and that so much of it is free! But our view is that it’s like a gym membership – go whenever you want, do whatever you want (and probably don’t). Our brand of coaching is like a personal trainer focused on getting a team ready to win a league. It’s just a completely different thing with different goals. Personal trainers don’t think gyms should be abolished, but they probably also don’t think they are enough.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

We’re always keeping up with the changing tech landscape and responding to the needs of our customers. On our roadmap, we are expanding our offering beyond language-specific coaching to broader topics such as writing clean code; data modelling, as well as soft skills such as pair programming and time management.

Beyond that, we will be expanding to other skill domains beyond tech. Watch this space.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Hywel Carver, co-founder and CEO, Skiller Whale

We are all aware that oceans are the lifeline of our planet.

When Adam Root first started out mapping all the ways plastic enters the ocean, he found that the largest proportion by a nautical mile is microplastic. After researching what was being done about it it transpired that the answer was: very little. Once microplastics get into waterways and the ocean it’s technically very difficult to remove. Keen to help solve this issue, he invented Gulp.

Gulp is a sustainable solution to stopping microplastic pollution that empowers people to make a real difference. It’s the first highly efficient microplastic filter that can be retrofitted to existing washing machines without the use of disposable cartridges or replaceable components.

Adam took five minutes out of his day to speak to Business Matters about his journey and business beliefs.

What products or services do you provide?

Matter is an innovation company pioneering technology solutions for capturing, harvesting and recycling microplastics. Our mission is to stop microplastic pollution at source. We have developed an innovative filtration product – Gulp – that captures microplastics produced by washing machines. Gulp is the first highly efficient microplastic filter that can be retrofitted to washing machines creating zero additional waste for the entire life cycle. (Find out more at gulp.online)

As well as producing a product for existing washing machines, we are also engaged with multinational domestic appliance manufacturers to integrate the technology into washing machines to meet legislative requirements in France from 2025 and being developed internationally.

Our technology is scalable, and we are developing our filtration technology to address microplastic emissions on a commercial and industrial scale. This includes, for example, wastewater treatment plants and textile production factories.

Yet, to fully solve the global issue of microplastics in the environment, we are also developing solutions to turn microplastic fully circular. This enables us to harvest those microplastics and other micropollutants captured by our products to create valuable resources for new products in the circular economy. We are currently leading a number of live research projects to find sustainable methods and applications for recycling microfibres from our laundry to create a closed loop system.

What problem does your company solve?

60% of all textiles are now made from plastic fibres, which get washed into our waterways, damaging the environment and ending up in our food chain. In the UK alone there’s 24 million homes each producing on average a gram of microplastic every single wash. That works out to approximately 14-16 tonnes a day of plastic going down the drain and into our ocean. Our mission at Matter is to create long-term solutions for one of the biggest challenges of our time and stop microplastic pollution at its source.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

Culture is really important to us at Matter. Our company values are embedded into everything we do, and those are the values we look for in potential applicants. Everyone that works at Matter shares the same passion – we want to drive change and make a positive impact on our planet.

Candidates are assessed on competency for the role and their values – and they need to meet both criteria to be considered for the role. We also include a group activity – such as a team lunch – to make everyone feel part of the process and understand how the applicant interacts with the rest of the team.

The bit between an offer and starting is also really important. We stay in touch, invite them along to our socials and by the time they start they already feel part of the team!

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

Legislative action is fundamental to deliver the scale of change needed to stop microplastic pollution. As more countries look to follow France’s lead of implementing legislation for microplastic filters to be fitted into washing machines, we are campaigning for the Microplastic Filter (Washing Machines) Bill with APPG. The bill proposes all new domestic and commercial washing machines in the UK to be fitted with a microplastic filter by 2025. The bill is currently entering its second hearing stage and we hope to see this drive change at the scale that is required to stop plastic pollution from laundry.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Adam Root, Founder of Gulp at Matter

Rollee enables worker’s to share their professional data, spread over one or more financial platforms.

Ali Hamriti, CEO and Co-Founder of Rollee, is on a mission to tackle the inequalities of financial service systems that were designed to serve ‘traditional’ customers who have only one job and one income to verify.

Now with an increasing number of independent workers who have multiple income streams, verifying data is more complex and requires a streamlined approach to data access to avoid the banks spending hours manually searching and analysing multiple data records. Plus, with data stored across multiple platforms and in documents, there is a risk of fraud and finding biased data through forged documents.
To solve this growing pain of fragmented data, Rollee enables worker’s to share their professional data, spread over one or more platforms, in a secure, single API platform to validate their financial situation. Financial institutions are then able to gain a global, complete and trusted vision of the worker’s situation, whether they are self-employed or employed.

Ali takes some time to share his thought process with Business Matters.

What products or services do you provide?

We’re a start-up that provides financial institutions with a gateway to securely access employment and income data of all European workers based on their consent. If a customer applies for a mortgage, housing, or loan, for example, financial institutions require the access to all employment data to verify the provision of that service. Often, this data is dispersed and stored in many different platforms. Our API platform enables financial institutions to gain access to the data to make decisions quicker and therefore be able to do more business with potential customers whilst at the same time empowering customers to be in control of their data.

What type of businesses do you work with?

We work with many businesses across different industries to help them access reliable and organised employment and income data. For example, we work with lenders and mortgage brokers to verify the employment and income of their users, accountants to automate their taxes computation, Neo banks to run their users direct deposit switch, as well as insurance and PCO fleet managers to monitor their user’s activity.

What is your USP?

We offer the only API platform which provides access to all workers’ employment and income data with valuable insights to understand them. Companies are already using the technology in the US; however, we are the first employment data platform to come onto the market in the EU that is helping to address systematic challenges to enable fair access to financial services.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

– Be transparent. Transparency means sharing all issues encountered, things to improve, and valuable information to your teammates. Our fully remote mode works thanks to the openness and professionalism of people who join us.
– Have a balanced life. Being committed to succeeding never meant working 12 hours per day and endangering your wellbeing. We have ambitious objectives but, above all, a long-term vision.
– Innovate. We consistently execute our plan but are always keen to innovate. Each project has a debrief session where employees can propose new improvements.
We may see them challenged in the future but for now we’ve only seen our start-up team embrace our culture and team spirit.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

The interview process obviously plays a really important role. We assess people as a team player and consider their individual strengths to see if they align with the values of the company. We also like to check in with employees regularly during their first few months of employment so we can support them to settle into company culture.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

We operate fully remotely, and we have a global team. We are 120% happy with it. As an early-stage company, offering flexible working has been a game-changer to attract the best talent in the industry to help reach our business vision – no matter their location. That said, caring about the wellbeing of our team is very important to us, and is part of our core values. If an employee prefers to work in an office, we are happy to provide them with access to the closest co-working space in their home city. We believe a happy employee will produce the best work.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Collaboration is key to facilitating communication and working relationships. Consider opening a slack channel with all your suppliers so you can be agile and reactive in your communication with them. You may not have the answers to their questions instantly, however, creating a channel for them to reach you shows you care about their concerns and is proof of your commitment to them.
Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?
Make the savings in areas that are not related to your employee’s wellbeing. Also, write down different business plans based on your forecasts and be agile in making quick decisions to always align with them.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

Make it easier for self-employed workers to access mortgages. With the technology and innovation that has developed, it is now easier than before to make this a reality by empowering banks and financial institutions to access and verify employment and income data.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

Our dream is simple. We want to make sure that each worker’s income is an opportunity to improve their life, no matter what goal they may have. Everyone deserves to have fair access to the financial services they need or want, as a result of their hard work.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Ali Hamriti, CEO and co-founder of Rollee

Same-day cancellations currently cost hospitality £17.6bn a year. Ambl solves that.

Ambl has been created to combat the current loss in revenue and footfall within the hospitality sector by giving the venues the power and platform to fill empty seats that arise from last-minute cancellations.

Aaron has found a gap in the market for both consumers and hospitality venues as it’s becoming increasingly difficult for people to find and book bars and restaurants on a whim. The app provides a real-time solution for consumers looking to book spaces at the best restaurants and bars in town, on the spot.

What products or services do you provide?

In addition, Ambl is on a mission to boost the spontaneous market. Revolutionising how consumers go out and unlocking the joy of last-minute living, all whilst having the freedom of choice through viewing and booking venues with availability right here, right now. Whether it is a last-minute work dinner, a rooftop cocktail or a signature experience at the latest hotspot, everything is possible with the use of Ambl. 

What type of businesses do you work with?

Ambl is working with businesses in the hospitality sector, in particular those venues offering food and beverages. From walking around the streets of London after work with a backpack and an app demo just over a year ago, we now have over 1,300 London-based venues signed up on our platform. 

After proving the concept this summer, we plan to roll out the business model across the rest of the UK and within the next two years, we hope to establish Ambl across the pond – starting in New York where we have connections in the industry, before going global on a bigger scale.

What problem does your company solve?

Many hospitality firms have introduced special measures to absorb the costs including taking deposits, charging cancellation fees and blacklisting those customers who repeatedly fail to show. While these are all good measures in their own right, the reality is these solutions do not solve attracting footfall and securing ‘bums on seats’; meaning it could actually have a contrary effect i.e. putting people off from going out or resorting to other means of ‘eating out’. 

Loss of revenue, early closures, and rota nightmares will be a thing of the past thanks to Ambl. Our platform has been designed to give venues the power to combat the detrimental impact of the last-minute cancellation culture. It’s been created to give consumers the freedom to view and book venues with availability, right here, right now – reducing the headache of roaming around struggling to find availability, whilst providing visibility to an untapped market for venues. 

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

Truth be told, our values are still being fine-tuned as we concentrate on building our team, which is growing at a fast rate, and preparing our app to launch. That said, there are a couple of values which have been prominent from the very start of our journey which are:

• Creativity: Sharing is caring; no idea is a bad idea
• Integrity: We build trust through responsible action, passion and honest relationships
• Teamwork: We achieve more when we collaborate. It’s going to take us an army to reach our ambition but we’ll do it together. 

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

People are your greatest asset. Ambl is all about building the right network and team around us.

The response to Ambl has been genuinely so positive that we find ourselves being approached days after initial introduction by people wanting to know how they can become a part of the noise. This means recruitment has (so far) been quite an (dare I say it) easy ride. Obviously we can’t recruit anyone and everyone, but the response and enthusiasm we have experienced thus far has been surreal. 

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

From our experience, acknowledging and sympathising with the challenges the hospitality sector is currently facing has been instrumental in building the relationships we have so far. We know we are building a solution which is going to revolutionise the sector as a whole, so we want our customers to feel as involved as possible.

Earlier this month for example, we hosted an event for our suppliers to share with them an exclusive glimpse into how the app is progressing and give direct access to the Ambl team so that any questions, concerns and ideas could be discussed. It was a real success and something we will look to host on the regular, post-launch. 

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Always look 18 months ahead and ensure you have the capital to support that vision. Since June 2021, Ambl has raised £1.3m which has been instrumental to building the right product, brand and hiring the right team. 

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

From an entrepreneurial perspective, I think the government could do more to encourage more people to act on their ideas. 

From a hospitality perspective, it’s an industry which has traditionally struggled to innovate and when the pandemic struck, the sector really felt the pain points of lagging behind. I’d love to see the government doing more for these guys in particular offering better incentives that will encourage more people into roles. 

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

It’s healthy. All consumers need something to compare your product against which is why we are passionate about building Ambl as a strong brand and community. As long as Ambl keeps coming out on top then we know we are doing our job well. 

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

We want to ensure that wherever you are, whatever you’re doing and no matter who you are with – you are still able to receive on-demand and real time availability from venues. We want to work with the best in hospitality and support a simple solution to combat no-shows and cancellations within the industry.  We want to use our consumer data to constantly improve Ambl. 

The end goal and the ultimate dream? For Ambl to be a household name. 

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Aaron Solomon, CEO and Co-Founder of Ambl

In the UK, the care sector is under incredible strain, it’s good to know there are people working hard to address the issue.

One of the biggest challenges facing western societies is to provide adequate care for the growing number of elderly people and those living for longer with chronic conditions and disabilities. Enter Intelligent Lilli – a SaaS company driven by a desire to help people live independently in their homes for longer.

CEO Gren takes some time out of his busy schedule to share his Secrets of Success with Business Matters …

What products or services do you provide?

Our software solution supports care providers to provide better levels and more appropriate care by unobtrusively monitoring the behaviour of vulnerable people, using a range of smart Internet Of Things sensors. Our platform then uses machine learning to establish their ‘baseline’ pattern based on the trends of their everyday behaviour. From this, the smart algorithm identifies soft-signs and slight changes in someone’s normal behavioural pattern that could indicate a change in health condition, enabling carers to act early on to prevent a problem worsening. Ultimately our new form of proactive and preventative care gives older and vulnerable people safety and independence to live in their homes for longer.

What type of businesses do you work with?

As an approved supplier to Her Majesty’s Government, we work with a wide range of local authority social care providers and healthcare organisations, including NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups. We also work with housing associations and other private organisations in the home care space, such as domiciliary home care agencies, to help them deliver better, more informed care, and support them with the ever increasing pressure on resources.

What problem does your company solve?

In the UK, the care sector is under incredible strain, exacerbated by the pandemic and the yet to be fully understood impact of conditions such as long Covid. When combined with a well publicised and ongoing chronic labour crisis in the sector, and a recent history of sustained financial pressure from a lack of meaningful central government investment, it’s clear a shake-up is needed. In the aftermath of the pandemic and with a social care sector that is not seeing the change it needs, without the intervention of new technologies such as user-centred AI-driven innovation the likes of Lilli, these problems will only worsen despite some attempts to reform social care funding. The government thankfully shows some recognition of the need for change and innovation with £150 million set aside to promote the adoption of digital technology in social care. But we need to do more, and key to that will be strong, innovative partnerships between the public and private sectors.

What is your USP?

At Lilli, we’re laser focused on the way in which we can help care providers and local authorities tackle the mounting crisis facing the sector head-on. A big part of this will be shifting remote care from the current reactive, alarm-based approach to a more accurate, data-driven preventive methodology that is highly personalised and prolongs service-user independence. By enabling early intervention through a more proactive form of care technology, it can hugely reduce the need for more complex and costly treatment, hospital admissions or residential care further down the line.

Lilli’s solution uses discreet sensor technology, AI and machine learning to establish an individual’s normal behaviour and spot the signs that could be early predictors of deterioration.

This highly personalised approach enables carers to step in early to nip problems in the bud or provide an intervention or care solution that better fits their needs that can prolong independence and a more fulfilling life. This is a major advance from the crude alarm-based systems that take no account of individual patterns of behaviour, generate many false positives and alert carers only after a crisis event such as a fall has occurred or serious deterioration has already set in. The Lilli system helps care providers optimise the use of their resources by allowing them to understand where their care is needed the most, preventing mismatched, oversubscribed or undersubscribed care package.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

Lilli is first and foremost a purpose-driven business, and our mission is built into everything that we do. Our mission is built on the belief that everyone has the choice to live happily, safely and independently in their own home, and it’s the goal of making a positive difference to people’s lives that drives us as an organisation. 

Internally we’ve built a strong foundation that is centred around our core values. We live by these every day and all of our teammates have helped to shape them and help us hold true to them. They are the core of who we are and what we do, and are the foundation of our success as a business. They are also what makes Lilli as a brand, and what helped us to create a product that really connects with people and our customers. We are proud of what we do, and we really hope this authenticity and integrity shines through in how we are as a group of people, as well as a business.  

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

At Lilli, the pandemic forced us to adapt our recruitment approach to finding the right candidates by emphasising the broader positive purpose behind our product and really putting forward what we stand for. We have also put the creation of a unique, collaborative, forward thinking working culture right at the very centre of how we approach our people strategy and this not just how we talk about Lilli to prospective team mates in the recruitment process, but how it plays an important role in helping us retain the best staff who want to create the best product through a shared vision of the life changing benefits it can bring. 

 As a result we have been able to build a business with some incredible talent on board, with teammates who align with our company values and who are fearless in their genuine desire to make a difference and create something different, whether that be in society or in their day-to-day role. We ask nothing more from them other than to be authentic, be a team player and to get real joy out of our product and the solutions it can offer.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Having very successfully recruited a leadership team, rebranded and built a wider team through the pandemic, remote working holds no fears for us, and in fact we have been built as a remote first business right from the start. It was months before many of us met in person and yet the business has rocketed forward and achieved incredible milestones, something which as a leader I am incredibly proud of. We have made real efforts in building our internal culture including regular in person meet ups and positive social focused team calls where we get to bond and talk about all the things you would expect in the office to ensure we do maintain the important personal element and ensure to create a human connection in the way we communicate with each other, despite not always physically being in a room together.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

We have a truly authentic purpose and mission, and we hold onto that tightly to ensure that customers and suppliers remain happy that Lilli exists and is having a positive impact. But you must also rise up against the challenges and face them head on, without taking them as a personal attack on youFor us at Lilli, we acknowledge that the key to any successful relationship is to truly understand how you can work together to achieve the best outcome. As part of this, we prioritise taking the time to really talk to our customers, and understanding their pain points. By doing this, it allows us to provide them with an approach  that adds real value and is bespoke to their needs, and we can then continue to support them every step of the way through rollout and adoption. 

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Don’t be afraid to spend money, but spend it as if you’ll never get anymore. You need to prioritise your spend, based on what you ‘need’ for your business, not what you want. That need should always have a return against it. Not necessarily a monetary return, but by realising that any spend must take your business further and faster. So think of a return in the early days as productivity, product development, market penetration, market attraction and more. You have to think “if i spend £5000 now, will that get me to a position in 6 months time as if i’d spent £20,000?”  

Negotiate everything you can, but pay your suppliers early. If you need help from them further down the line, then they’re more likely to help you out if you’ve been someone who is reliable when it comes to making payments. 

Finally, I would say model everything. Make as many different cash flow scenarios as you can, and keep iterating them as ideas happen daily and strategies evolve. You want to know at any given moment how many months you have before the business has to stand on its own two feet. That’s your goal. That’s your focus. Never detract from it. If you’re focussed on that, then you’re keeping everyone safe and secure in the business.  

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

 Over the past few months, we have seen great strides being made by the government to better health and social care in the UK. The recently announced Health and Social Care Levy is just one example of how investment in this underfunded and under-resourced sector is finally underway, however the reality is that this still isn’t enough to make the changes that health and social care desperately needs to see. 

Instead, it is our view that investment in innovative digital solutions that have the promise to revolutionise the NHS and social care sector is what needs to be prioritised. If I could ask for one change, it would be that the government take notice of these new innovators, and streamline their investments into digital and technological innovations that have the ability to drive impactful and meaningful change. This will benefit not only patients and help improve user and patient experience, but also make a notable impact for those hard-working individuals who work within the sector. 

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

At Lilli, we have truly understood what the problem is we are trying to solve, and by focusing on that, we have been able to create the technology that is going to help – something that a lot of our competitors haven’t quite done yet. They are still using reactive models and are less driven by the long-term beneficial outcomes for the practitioners in social and healthcare and their service-users and their families, with many of the solutions in the market are more focused on symptomatic solutions that provide alerts or data after the fact. For us, we see innovators taking bold new approaches in the sector as a positive thing as this will bring about lasting change and we think that bringing proactive solutions to the market will be the future in real preventative health and social care.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

This is a very exhilarating time for Lilli, with many positive things happening. We’ve on-boarded new clients and we are very proud to have become an approved supplier to Her Majesty’s Government. That’s fitting testimony to the team at Lilli and our product, considering we haven’t been established for long. On top of this, we have been granted our first patent which further highlights our credentials and shows our desire to take our product further.

We are also going to be in an execution phase in 2022 where we will be looking to extend our offering to more housing associations and homecare agencies. We plan to branch out to those in areas where there may be a deficit in care provision. By deploying our solution so that vulnerable people can live in their own homes, we can help prevent them having to be placed into a care home and live at home for longer.

We’re also going to be expanding further into Europe, particularly in places where there isn’t technology like Lilli’s on hand to help. Beyond that we are discussing plans to also launch in the United States as we look to see where broadening Lilli’s reach has the opportunity to support more vulnerable people.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Gren Paull, CEO of Intelligent Lilli

What would you give to sell to the right customers at the right time?

Richard Osborne has always been an ambitious, influential entrepreneur who started his first “proper” business in 1999 and has grown a number of highly successful technology and social media SMEs including start-up and small business intelligence specialists, Business Data Group, and UKBF – the UK’s largest and most active online community for small and micro-businesses.

Richard takes some time out of his schedule to share his secrets of success to Business Matters

What products or services do you provide?

Business Data Group’s intelligence-led services connect business service providers, such as banks and business insurers, with UK entrepreneurs who need their services at the very start of their new business journey. They are literally legally registering their new companies. Our technology helps our clients to acquire warm leads before details of their customers’ newly formed businesses enter the public domain. So we help them to stay ahead of the competition.

The Business Data Group portfolio also includes our award-winning eFiling business start-up platform which is integrated with Companies House and is the primary platform used by company formations agents across the UK. We support hundreds of thousands of UK founders to start in business and commence trading each year through our portfolio and data intelligence on the UK start-up sector.

In 2021, Business Data Group re-acquired UKBF (UK Business Forums) which is the UK’s largest and most active online community for small and micro-businesses and a natural extension of Business Data Group where we support UK start-ups to grow and scale their businesses.

What type of businesses do you work with?

Our partners are providing essential business services that new companies want and need to start and grow. They, therefore, operate in sectors such as banking, business insurance and accountancy and include companies such as Barclays, Lloyds Bank, Direct Line Group and WorldPay.

What is your USP?

Through our eFiling product, we have a significantly prominent position in the UK company start-up sector. We’re the only viable platform of choice for service providers which makes us the most influential authority on start-up data and the dominant solution for organisations wishing to position their service offerings to start-up companies.

Adding UKBF to our product portfolio in 2021 enhances our proposition and enables us to include established small businesses in the marketing solutions we provide the business service providers.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

When Google started, its founders had the simple philosophy of “Don’t be evil”. Although that is not our motto, it is a philosophy that I have. Put simply, I believe we should just do the right thing. By leading the business with that position, it spreads throughout the team.

As a business, we have walked away from a small number of opportunities over the years that didn’t feel right in the gut. We didn’t want to associate with them. It is simple really, just do the right thing.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

Our human instinct is to be with other people that we can relate to and who share the same values as ourselves. By being who we are, we naturally give that vibe that attracts the right people. When people express an interest in working at Business Data Group, they will see the office, meet some of the team, and our interview style is not formal. We get to know the person, and they get to know us, if we click, that’s a big step.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Business Data Group has always embraced flexible working and this was encouraged long before the pandemic. Many of our team members are juggling the demands of their roles with family and other personal commitments, so we don’t have fixed working hours in our contracts. We have flexible working hours that are set by the individual and this flexibility extends to the place of work too. It’s crucial to value and trust your employees as individuals. It has a massive impact on wellbeing, as well as productivity.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

A customer who doesn’t pay, is not a customer. They are a liability and you don’t need them as a customer. That said, we evolve and develop our processes to support our customers in the best way that we can. We always try to understand what they want to get out of working with us to ensure there is a fit; if we are not the right solution they are looking for we’ll openly tell them.

We take that same approach with our suppliers. If we don’t pay them, then we are not a customer they want. So we look after our suppliers, agree on terms at the outset, and embed them in our culture.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

There are two bits of advice I would give anyone just starting out in business. Know your numbers and remember that the business’s cash is not your money!

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

Simplify the tax system. It’s crazy that taxation in the UK is so complicated and that business owners have to pay thousands of pounds every year to specialist consultants, just to ensure they don’t find themselves on the wrong side of the law and get fined, or worse.

As a business owner, you have to understand the tax on your profits, then you need to understand the tax on employing staff, as well as on your employees pay. You then also have to manage tax on your product sales as a tax collection agent for HMRC, then you have to understand and manage the tax on your own drawings. If you then make a good profit and pay yourself a dividend, you have to understand the tax on your gains too. As you can see, it’s ridiculous and unnecessarily overcomplicated!

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

Business Data Group has created a unique product that integrates with Companies House and puts us at the centre of the company formations process. In that respect, there aren’t any other companies that do that. What we are competing for is the marketing spend of the business service providers who are our customers. Business to business marketing is a noisy marketplace with so many different opportunities. That just means we have to keep innovating and ensuring that not only do we meet our customers’ needs, but we also give them the best possible customer experience.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

I want my business to outlive me and continue to provide a future for the next generation and the time will come where I step away from the reins.

My dreams are several-fold. I have aspirations to create an education centre to support out of school children with special educational needs and disability (SEND) which is something I have supported for many years as a coach and mentor. I’d also like to create my own equestrian clothing brand if my wife approves, although she’s asked me not to start any more businesses! I know that I would also love the buzz of working with young entrepreneurs and supporting their start-ups as a coach or mentor. I’ll perhaps invest in a few of them too.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Richard Osborne, CEO and founder Business Data Group

Disrupting an industry and solving problems with tech has been a vision for these co-founders.

Award winning iamproperty Group was founded in 2009, with a clear vision to modernise the property market with innovative, tech-enabled solutions. From its market leading auction service, iamsold, to the UK’s first end-to-end onboarding and sales progression platform, movebutler, the Group works with over 3,500 Partner Agents across its network to drive speed, security, and compliance within the industry through its products and services.

Co-founders Ben and Jamie share their secrets of success with Business Matters …

What products or services do you provide?

Our mission is to modernise the property market and we’ve worked hard since the business was founded in 2009 to make big changes in our industry. Our digital solutions and services work together to add real value to Estate Agents and their customers by delivering speed, security and transparency to all methods of residential property sales, modernising the market to benefit everyone.  

We are the UK’s largest property auctioneer and market leader in online auctions, having pioneered the Modern Method of Auction in 2009 to bring much needed speed and security to property transactions, meaning faster timescales and higher completion rates, and offer consumers more choice in methods of sale, aligned to their circumstances. We have just enjoyed our best year to date for our auction services in what was an extraordinary year for the industry. 

In 2020 we also launched an industry first Private Treaty solution, iamproperty movebutler, which is the UK’s only end-to-end onboarding and sales progression platform. The platform helps agents to save time and generate revenue and gives consumers a swifter and more seamless experience through access to more information up front, increased transparency throughout their transaction and access to essential moving services at a time that’s right for them.

What type of businesses do you work with?

We work with forward thinking Estate Agents across the UK, with over 3,500 agency branches in our Partner Network. 

Our network has grown year-on-year as more and more agents want to take advantage of our growing range of products and services and offer their clients more choice by adding auction services to their portfolio, this is backed by increasing consumer demand and people seeking the right method of sale for their circumstances. Our solutions are created with Estate Agents at the heart, helping them to win new instructions, stay ahead of market drivers and satisfy growing consumer demands. 

What problem does your company solve?

The industry is tired of continuously having to ask the same questions over and over in the property transaction process, the process is slow and disjointed with lots of duplication and many antiquated processes. 

We have a team of almost 300 people cross the UK, so it’s not just about technology, our people are what makes us special. We take the time to really understand what’s driving agents and their pain points so that we can support them in the right way, seamlessly partnering our digital solutions with our expertise and commitment to service excellence.   We solve problems by joining more parts of the process together, by making more information available up front and creating quicker and more secure journeys for buyers and sellers. For us it’s about looking at the process as a whole and working out how we can help agents to offer more services, save time, make money, stay compliant and delight their clients. 

For consumers, buying a house isn’t always an enjoyable experience, it takes a financial and emotional toll, and we want to help make the experience better. Whether that’s through more choice or by removing duplication, reducing delays, and providing better communications platforms, that let them feel more in control.  

What is your USP?

We go first, we were the pioneers of Modern Method Auction in the UK and have continued to innovate to bring industry first services and solutions to the market. We’ll always keep trying to solve problems and make a positive impact in our sector.  

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so, how have you dealt with it?

Our values have been the same since we founded the business, they are our foundations, they drive our decisions and are a big part of how we build our team. Our values are to be pioneering, collaborative, effective and customer focused. It’s important to us that everyone in the business understands our values and embraces them. We want our whole team to feel supported when it comes to being innovative, focused on achieving great things for their customers and with their teammates and to work together to develop solutions that will change the industry. 

We’ve always been really focused on building a great culture, and no matter how big the business gets that will always be front and centre. As founders we’ve always been accessible and right there as part of the team, but during the last 18 months we’ve spent even more time with our team. Listening and learning and keeping them informed as we moved through the pandemic. We had to lead on that continued communication throughout and made ourselves more accessible to the team than ever, prioritising honesty and talking about where we were getting it right, celebrating the successes and putting our teams wellbeing at the heart of that. It kept our culture alive even when the whole team were remote working and that feels like a huge achievement and something we’ll always focus on. We have grown a lot in the last year, brought in a lot of new people, developed and launched new products and it’s our team that make that all happen and we’re incredibly proud. 

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Absolutely. We now offer hybrid working to everyone, and it’s up to them to choose what works best for them. Because of our type of business, we are we still find that a lot of people want to be in the office, it’s our hub and there is lots of collaboration. We also have a lot of people in the team working all over the UK remotely and in smaller teams and so for us it’s about supporting the way our team want to work and making sure there are options to suit everyone as we continue to grow.  

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

At the beginning of our journey, we took a leap of faith and took loans totalling of around £10,000 from family and friends to get going, which included a £5,000 investment from a university friend. This may have been considered risky, but the timing was right, and the market was ripe. Within 12 weeks of starting from our living room, we had made a profit.

I think the advice we would give is to have a clear business structure, with contingency plans. If you do take a loan, don’t get in over your head. Don’t think of your money as certain, the market can change quickly and ruthlessly. However, I would always say to take calculated risks, it makes the rewards much sweeter.

If you have passion, find the determination to succeed. It was in no way an easy journey, but with drive and an appetite for success, we have made our vision a reality.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams? 

We want to keep making big changes in our industry. We’ve celebrated some amazing successes over the years and we’re incredibly proud of everything our team have achieved. Not just for our business, but for our Partner Agents who share in our success, we’ve paid record fees to our agents this year and it’s a testament to the relationships the team builds and their passion to do a great job. We have big plans so watch this space. 

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Ben Ridgway & Jamie Cooke, co-founders of iamproperty Group 

Imagine being able to improve the eco-performance of your building and happiness of your team at the same time.

Infogrid collects and analyses a range of building data points which can be used to meet sustainability goals, drive operational efficiency, and improve employee productivity and well-being.

William takes some time out of his day to talk to Business Matters …

What products or services do you provide?

The real estate industry has seen relatively low levels of innovation over the last 50 years, this has led to negative consequences for the people who live and work in buildings and for the planet too. The biggest roadblock to innovation has been a lack of data on the performance of the buildings.

We collect millions of data points across multiple sensors and use advanced artificial intelligence to make sense of the data and provide building owners and managers with simple, actionable insights to ensure their buildings run efficiently. The AI is the ‘brains’ behind our smart building platform because it can process and understand more data points simultaneously than a human will ever be able to do. For instance, it may be that on Mondays and Fridays, the office is only at 20% capacity, and you therefore decide to close down certain sections of the office on those days, meaning you’re not wasting resources on air-conditioning or cleaning those spaces. 

In short, Infogrid provides businesses with the tools needed to save money in building operations, become greener and automate tasks so facilities managers can better devote their time to preventative maintenance tasks.

What type of businesses do you work with?

We have a wide portfolio of blue-chip clients across the globe that range from JLL to the NHS and include the likes of the Royal Opera House. The Royal Opera house in particular is a unique case that we would love to do more of, it shows not only the benefits of our technology in saving CO2 emissions but also in preserving the past. Specialist equipment in the Royal Opera House produces a lot of heat that damages its ceiling, Infogrid technology provides the data crucial to its preservation. 

What problem does Infogrid solve?

We attempt to solve three main challenges: the size of our global carbon footprint, the compliance burdens facilities managers face in their role and poor workplace conditions.

Addressing carbon emissions from buildings is critical in achieving a net zero future. The operation of buildings accounts for 28% of global carbon emissions. If we reduce energy consumption by making buildings smart, we can contribute towards a more sustainable future. 

The building maintenance industry is rooted in manual processes whereby engineers travel miles to site to run compliance checks on lighting or water safety. With Infogrid, data can be analysed remotely across their building estate and in some cases can reduce the CO2 emissions or water usage by 98%. Automation ultimately increases efficiency, as facilities managers are able to better direct their time to projects that focus on decreasing energy use and creating a healthier working environment. 

Many businesses don’t realise that access to data is key for improving working environments and employee experience. The pandemic has brought into sharp focus how a virus is able to spread in an office with low levels of cleanliness or poor air quality. Employees are increasingly anxious about virus transmission in the office and want access to better data and metrics on the healthiness of their building to put them at ease. Infogrid is able to collect and present this data in a meaningful way for building managers and employees. As a result, workers are not only better focused on carrying out their everyday roles, but concerns related to their environment are eliminated, improving their mental health at work.

What is your USP?

We set up Infogrid with the intention of making every single building on this planet Smart, no matter when it was designed and constructed. To achieve that goal, simplicity, scalability, and affordability are at the heart of everything we do. We are device-agnostic, working with the simplest sensors in the market that can be retrofitted to any building easily. This allows us to get set up in minutes and our AI platform does all the heavy lifting to ensure clients get the best insights.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

My goal at Infogrid was to build a company where every individual within the business takes ownership for the success of the business. We have a “grown up” rules culture where you are allowed to work when and where you want to. We haven’t got any rules or budgets on how much you may spend on traveling to meetings or entertaining clients. I trust the team to use these budgets as if they were coming from their own pockets, which obviously is not the case! 

I find the more you trust people to make the right choice the more often they do. Empowerment is critical in a workplace; it motivates people and is key to business growth. Every month we score 100% on the ‘I am proud to work at Infogrid’ score in our employee survey. It’s one of my proudest achievements. 

As we grew from a smaller business of 20 people last year to nearly 200 employees this year, this has of course posed a challenge to maintain accountability among our employees. But, I’ve seen this culture that we have created at Infogrid fiercely defended by those already here so it creates a legacy impact for new employees.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

To date, I have interviewed every employee who has joined the business and I will try to continue this for as long as I can. We also have a brilliant talent team who have a set of questions created through the interview process that signal whether a candidate would be fit for us or not. 

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Yes, we encouraged remote working and offered flexible hours before COVID and we will continue to do so. If employees are working where and when they want to, this will help them maintain their mental wellbeing and improve their productivity. Our culture centers around giving people autonomy – to not offer hybrid working would contradict everything we stand for.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Always look for a network of clients and suppliers who mirror your own values and ways of working. I believe in building long term relationships with your networks where sometimes you will win together and sometimes you will lose together. It is useful to think about the type of company you want to build early on and have a clear plan on the partners who will be able to deliver it. For example, from the beginning it was clear that we didn’t want to be in the hardware business and wanted to work with any enterprise and mid-level client with a large real estate footprint. This approach enabled us to build a platform that was device-agnostic and scalable.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Cash-flow is the life blood of any business, a great financial advisor can help you achieve a positive cash flow a lot sooner than you think. If you can’t afford someone full-time or if you are very early in your journey, make sure you get some advice on how to structure your business for success. 

Furthermore, a lot of startups don’t charge enough for their service or product. Lots of founders are so passionate about what they do, they don’t mind taking a hit on cost. It’s a lot harder to charge more for your product down the line when you have trained customers on low prices, so from the outset you need to implement the price you believe your product is worth.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

The government has made significant forward strides towards encouraging more businesses to adopt a net zero strategy, increasing the list of businesses who have to disclose climate-related risks and opportunities from this April is a good first step. However, this should apply to a wider pool of companies. All businesses, no matter how small, have a responsibility to tackle climate change and initiatives like this call out companies that may be just greenwashing their credentials. At Infogrid, we care deeply about this issue which is why we have set our North Star metric to prevent 200,000 tonnes of CO2e in 2022 and have commitments for a further 120,000 tonnes. If we hit our revenue goal for the year but not our North Star metric, then we would not have had a successful year.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

We exist because we want to ensure every single building on this planet is a smart one, and measuring the impact of buildings on the planet is the first step to reducing CO2 emissions. The more companies that help drive this forward the better. I don’t see competition as a zero-sum game and as Baz Luhrmann sang in the song “Everyone’s free to wear suncream”: Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams? 

We are guided by our two north star metrics: to be greener and to increase employee wellness. To make more businesses greener, we are betting on our new ESG product in 2022. From talking to customers, we learned that asset and sustainability managers spend way too much time pulling together all of their sustainability metrics into one place. Some need the data to meet statutory reporting requirements while others need it to be able to demonstrate to employees and investors. This data can take months to manually record, but with Infogrid we can access it in minutes and provide actionable insights to reduce your carbon footprint. I’m excited by this new product, and I believe it will go a long way to helping us achieve our north star metrics. 

Read more:
Secrets of Success: William Cowell de Gruchy, CEO and Founder, Infogrid

Small business finance can be slow, inflexible and have a negative impact, learn how Rob Straathof has changed this.

Whether businesses are looking to expand, buy stock or invest in marketing, most will need access to fast and flexible funding to help them achieve their goals. For many years traditional high street banks have reduced their exposure to small business funding and that’s where Liberis steps in.

Rob shares his journey with Business Matters.

What products or services do you provide?

We provide revenue-based finance to small and medium-sized businesses through partnerships like Klarna, Tide and Barclaycard. Our embedded finance solution integrates directly into our partners’ ecosystem through an API to offer SMEs finance, all white-labelled in our partners’ branding. Using the data available through our partners allows us to target and pre-approve a large portion of small businesses for the funding they need before they even apply. Our fast and efficient 2-click application process takes the hassle out of the application process allowing the company to get back to what matters most, growing their business.

What type of businesses do you work with?

We work with small and medium-sized businesses, primarily direct to consumer-focused, from various sectors through partnerships with banks, marketplaces, software providers (ISVs) and acquirers. There are over 300m SMEs operating across the globe who employ over 930 million people, contributing more than 60% of global GDP. They are a critical driving force in the global economy, creating jobs, driving innovation, and generating income domestically and through trade.

With a funding gap of circa $5tn and too much uncertainty due to traditional high street banks’ lack of appetite to provide small businesses with funding, they seek alternative methods of getting the vital funding they need to help them grow and thrive. Our innovative revenue-based funding solutions allow businesses to apply for finance within minutes, often with money in their account on the same day! Our data shows that businesses that receive funding grow up to 50% faster than the competition and have a 20% higher chance of survival over three years. This is a material difference that matters.

What problem does your company solve?

Without the finance they need, small businesses can’t thrive –and neither can our economy. We want to fix that. By using data smartly and having insights upfront, we can pre-approve many small businesses for funding as they require it, enabling more opportunities for them. That means they need to have instant access to these facilities with the click of a few buttons as opposed to long application forms, uncertain underwriting timeframes and delayed access to funds.

What is your USP?

Unlike competitors in our space, we have over seven years of data and over 45,000 historical transactions that allow us to offer pre-approved revenue-based finance to small businesses through our partners globally. By using data, we can see that a business already qualifies for funding and can target them at the right time using a brand they already know and trust. This fast and efficient 2-click application process helps to eliminate the main fears that small business owners have when looking for finance:

1. Fear of rejection – they are pre-approved before they even apply and can access the finance at the right time for the right opportunity.
2. Fast finance – the application only takes 3 minutes to complete, eliminating the need for long wait times, having to provide document after document and having to chase for timeframes over the phone constantly.
3. Trusted finance – since we offer our funding through partners that our customers already know and trust, businesses feel more at ease when working with Liberis.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

Attracting phenomenal talent to Liberis is a key pillar of our People strategy. We understand that recruitment is a two-way process, so we integrate our values into our selection process so that we can find candidates who will be happy and successful at Liberis, as well as ensure they put our customers and partners first. We want to ensure candidates are fully aware of the essential things they are interested in knowing when looking for a new role, including:

1. Our Culture – that we are collaborative, transparent, informal, flexible, and always place our customers at the heart of what we do
2. Career growth – the opportunities for our people to grow and develop
3. Leadership – who’s in charge and what they’re like
4. Company growth – our success story, our history and future growth potential

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Yes! Employee expectations have changed because of the pandemic, and we have adjusted our working practices in line with this. As an inclusive, global company, we need to be mindful of each employee’s circumstances. We have a combination of hybrid and home-based roles depending on the nature of the work. We encourage our people to come into their local office to build the right relationships and use the time to brainstorm and have productive collaboration. We believe in the power of teamwork and strive to have a learning culture, so it is essential to meet face to face at times to enable this.

Do you have any tips for managing partners and customers effectively?

With partners, you should always aim to maintain alignment with each other’s business, financial, and customer goals. The partnership should complement the skills that the other would find difficult to source or embed into their own business. Strong partnerships also need to align on how to treat their end customers, so alliances tend to be stronger where internal company cultures and processes are similar.

They say the customer is always right! Well, it’s true. Making sure that you treat customers fairly, never mislead them and ensure that they are happy with the service that you are providing is vital. That said, it is also important to be a responsible lender. Finance providers have a duty to turn down businesses for finance if they don’t have the affordability to pay it back. 

Lastly, if customer issues or complaints need to be managed, it’s important to do so quickly and efficiently to maintain that customer loyalty and lifetime value. Implementing things like reviews into your customer journey validates you as a business in the eyes of future customers and shows just how much they value you.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Every penny counts! Small businesses should always try and negotiate the best and most cost-effective funding options from their finance providers that align with their overall business plans. 

They should also try to find ways to extend payment terms with suppliers and get discounts if they pay them early. Even a 1% discount, if you pay two weeks early, leads to a 26% annualised rate saving! 

Businesses should also make use of government taxes and subsidies. They can provide small businesses with things like Start-Up loans, tax grants and R&D subsidies which can really help a fledgling business with their cash flow.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be? 

It would be helpful for small businesses if the government introduced mandatory 30-day payment terms for all invoices and payments, especially from larger, more cash-rich companies. Most large enterprises stretch the terms to their suppliers out to 90 or even 120 days, bringing real cash flow issues to small business owners who don’t have sufficient working capital. Making 30 days mandatory, i.e. 6% mandatory compounding interest after that, would be a step in the right direction.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

Businesses working in the same area should always be respectful of each other. It’s important to remember that your competition is trying to make their company succeed by working hard and working smartly. 

Don’t speak negatively about them! At one point, you may be in a winning position over them, but as technological innovation can rapidly advance, you might find yourself working for the competition at some point! 

Focus on your priorities and product improvements, deliver the best product to the market, and you will win all the right battles.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

We are in rapid scale-up mode, so a huge amount of exciting growth is happening at Liberis centred around three strategic priorities. Our vision as a business is to close the $5tn annual global SME funding gap; we need to ensure we excel in meeting our small businesses’ financing needs. Revenue-based financing works exceptionally well for small businesses. To continue to support even more growth, we are adding a suite of new products to address our customers’ range of financial needs. 

Secondly, we are focused on global expansion. We have built a formidable array of international partners with access to merchants who need financing across the globe. We follow our partners to geographies that matter strategically to them.

We are on track to fund over 100,000 businesses in the next few years and safeguard 100s of thousands of small business jobs, powering the local economies. This is only achievable if we continue to hire exceptional talent aligned with our purpose and who believe in our vision. The talented team we have built is dedicated, driven, and passionate and has bought into our strategy of helping small businesses thrive by offering them much needed funding. To grow the way we want, we need to continue to hire and retain great people and help them further master their skills and experience at Liberis.

Read more:
Secrets of success: Rob Straathof, CEO of Liberis

It was only a matter of time before blockchain tech saw IP protection for creatives. That time is now.

MetaFrames is a next generation media company serving the arts and creatives through blockchain. 

MetaFrames is building a secure community for the creative industry on the blockchain. It is a platform which equips creatives with the necessary tools and IP (Intellectual Property) solutions for entering the metaverse and curating their collections.

MetaFrames will also become a marketplace for creatives to promote their designs of authentic, high-quality artwork and collectibles. Users will be able to transact via the website and virtual environments in both cryptocurrency and traditional FIAT currencies. Sanjay speaks to Business Matters …

What type of businesses do you work with?

MetaFrames will be working with the rights holders across the entertainment and consumer lifestyle industries. This will include, but not limited to: film, television, video games, publishing, art, music, sports and iconic icons. Paul Trevillion, world-renowned sports artists for example, has recently appointed MetaFrames to be his official NFT (non-fungible token) partner. 

What problem does your company solve?

 There are two problems MetaFrames solves:

1. Generating attention for creators. MetaFrames will be equipping users with best-in-class tools and IP resulting in the platform enabling creators to elevate their crafts, removing any bias that has been traditionally faced in the Web2 era. 
2. Legitimation of fan art. Creators often utilise well known IP to create new, individual pieces of art. However, up until now they have been unable to earn from these creations due to copyright laws and IP’s being protected. By securing creator licences with rights holders, our users will be able to earn – for the very first time – from their fan art creations and rights holders will be able to set thresholds of quality to protect their brand whilst sharing in a newly unlocked, robust and scalable revenue stream. 

What is your USP?

The MetaFrames team and our unique token, which we have built.

The creation of MetaFrames has been solely focused on building a community which has true meaning and longevity resulting in a team which have varied backgrounds, yet are hugely experienced and passionate. My career for example spans over 30 years’ in media and entertainment, venture capital, investment banking and law, meaning I (and the team) have a deep understanding of and respect for IP custodians – the heart of the MetaFrames platform. 

We are more than just technology and crypto enthusiasts. We have built unique tokenomics (the supply and demand characteristics of cryptocurrency) which ensures alignment of all stakeholders; rewarding trading, staking and most importantly creation. Our token’s purpose is a guaranteed medium of exchange to reward our users. 

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

MetaFrames’ values are:

• Integrity
• Innovation
• Creativity 
• Passion and 
• Impact.

MetaFrames is building a Web3 company, which began at the very early stages of the new creator economy. This means we have been engaged in various discussions with rights holders, creators and investors and have understood pain points, barriers, needs, aspirations from the offset. 

On a couple of occasions we have been approached by investors who have requested both company equity and token allocation – something which goes completely against our tokenomics model resulting in us withdrawing from these discussions. MetaFrames wants to work with people and institutions who believe in upholding the promise of Web3 and approaching the new phase of the internet in the right way. 

 How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

 The MetaFrames team, including our advisors, has been built initially by onboarding individuals with whom we have worked with before, and more recently by hiring against our values and beliefs. MetaFrames is building something amazing therefore it has been hugely important that our recruits are right; reflective of our cause and steadfast commitment to transforming the wild west landscape of NFTs. 

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

MetaFrames was built during lockdown and as the world returns to the ‘new normal’ we will continue to recruit with a flexible approach to working from anywhere. I still believe time in the office is important. Our team is hugely talented and being together in person boasts morale and provides an opportunity for innovation to be bounced around, which is part of the fun when embarking on an exciting venture.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Authenticity is key. People want to deal with people – real people – so our focus is on developing strong relationships with both our suppliers and customers by putting their needs first. A lot of our relationships to date have been ones built over many years of doing business meaning there is confidence in who we are and what we are striving to create. 

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

My philosophy is ‘Don’t be afraid to spend money, but always ensure good value for money.’

It’s common knowledge that one of the main reasons many startups fail is because they run out of cash. I have seen a lot of startup founders squeeze suppliers for as little money as possible because they don’t have the funds to achieve what they want to do. This is not the way to succeed. It’s important that startups raise enough capital to support and achieve the desired outcome. Know the price of everything i.e. budget and appreciate the value of it too. 

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be? 

Drastically reduce red tape such as regulations, taxes and wherever possible for startups. Genuinely encourage the formation of new businesses to grow the economy because this ultimately benefits everyone.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

I must be in a good space if there are competitors! Fair competition is good for everyone, resulting in the highest level of innovation and ultimately value for money for the end user, and I welcome it. 

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

I feel very fortunate to have been alive at a time of great technological innovation and experienced the transformation of the media industry through tech. I believe in the same way I did in 1997 when a few people embraced the opportunities the internet offered by stuffing DVDs in envelopes and within a decade Netflix had become a media powerhouse, the next generation media companies are being born now. They will probably look like an NFT studio or marketplace at first, in other words be in production or distribution. MetaFrames is in both and our dream is to be the Web3 next generation media powerhouse. 

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Sanjay Wadhwani, founder and CEO of MetaFrames

Providing an online checkout for B2B businesses without the need for card-schemes like Visa or Mastercard.

Crezco is a business-to-business open banking payments platform that makes B2B invoice payments as frictionless as card payments but without the associated costs, processing account-to-account payments up to £1 million in real-time for free. CEO Ralph Rogge, speaks to Business Matters

What type of businesses do you work with?

We typically work with UK and EU small businesses, many of whom have connected our payment processing API with their accounting software, such as QuickBooks and Xero. Others use our app directly or connect to us through some of our integrated booking and supply-chain platforms.
What problem does your company solve?
Online checkouts that rely on card-schemes are not suited to B2B businesses. They’re expensive, subject to fraud, chargebacks, delayed settlement times and payment limits. They were simply not intended for B2B businesses as they were originally built for in-person point-of-sale payments. Crezco  was built with the sole purpose of facilitating B2B invoice payments. Payments via Crezco are not subject to fraud, chargebacks, delayed settlement times, or low payment limits – our maximum is £1 million per payment.

What is your USP?

We are the only checkout solution which can process up to £1 million instantly and for free – without any hidden costs.
What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?
We have been very clear with our company values – Customer Centric, Collaborative, Human, Innovative and Outcome Driven. These were not prescribed, but carefully curated by the entire team.
We are a startup that is passionate about tackling challenges, whether this is about building new complex payment products, ensuring the company maintains its collegiate atmosphere and sense of ownership or care for our customers.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

Recruitment is difficult but we also know the importance of our first team hires. We are aware that the first 20 or 30 hires can build the foundations of our company and will determine Crezco’s growth in the next ten-years. This is why our hiring process is very structured and data-driven. It is not a drawn-out process, we ask all candidates the same questions and we get as many existing team members to score the interviewer independently across various variables, both professional and personal. It’s also really important to sell ourselves. Sometimes we meet great candidates who choose to accept a job elsewhere. Hiring is a relationship which needs to look and feel attractive to both parties.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Crezco was founded during the pandemic, so hybrid working is in our culture and DNA. Stereotypically, at least in start-ups, fin-techs or otherwise, working-from-home (remote work) breeds strong processes, while office-work helps foster camaraderie. To further generalise, developers are strong with the former and business with the latter. A hybrid culture teaches you to value both.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Communication is so important. We want happy suppliers and happy customers and, if we ever  appear to fall short of their expectations, we need to communicate why. People are very understandable, we’re human after all, and so if we are sincere in our reasoning, then both suppliers and customers show more patience and understanding. However, it’s easier to just deliver as expected or better than expected.
Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?
Given we have built an online checkout solution for instant payments, without fees, I would highly suggest integrating with Crezco. Whether it has been to get invoices via Xero or QuickBooks paid, or as an e-commerce checkout alternative to Stripe, our customers have found with Crezco they not only save on fees, but get paid sooner.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

Last February (2021), the Chancellor commissioned a report setting the scene and strategy for FinTech in the UK. Named the Kalifa report after its author, Ron Kalifa, the ex-CEO of payment giant Worldpay. There are some great recommendations within to help support the industry in the UK covering: regulation, talent, acquisition, and investment. I would like the Government to follow the suggested strategies to assure the UK maintains its international attractiveness for FinTech players given the huge recent rise in competition from the Continent. For example, Open Banking was an incredibly innovative proposition by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority when first originally introduced, but it remains an unfinished project, and the rest of the world has caught up. We need to maintain focus and finish what we started.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

From time-to-time, a competitor raises an obscene amount of money. It can leave you paralysed, like a deer in headlights, unsure of how to react or where to turn next. Every company is unique and so are their trajectories to success. Competition is good because it helps us to better position ourselves and to deliver exceptional value to our customers.If there was no competition, it would be because we’re building something nobody sees value in.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

My focus is to build a product and service that solves one of the biggest headaches for small business. Crezco is pioneering B2B invoice payments – the only checkout solution which can process up to £1 million instantly and for free – without any hidden costs.  My aim is to continue to ensure that we do not lose track on delivering value for  all our stakeholders (customers, employees, shareholders and partners) for as long as possible.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Ralph Rogge, CEO of Open-Banking Startup Crezco

Solutions for docu-sharing within financial institutions that stand up to malicious attacks.

Preventing fraud and malicious attacks against financial institutions was paramount to Christopher Ansara’s design of ALT/AVE. He shares his Secrets of Success with Business Matters …

What products or services does ALT/AVE provide?

Our core product, ​​docStribute, enables financial institutions to distribute mandatory and highly regulated documents to customers, offering a secure and sustainable digital alternative to sending documents to customers via post, while helping institutions meet the legal requirements set out by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

docStribute is a distributed ledger solution that uses the Hedera Hashgraph network, a decentralised enterprise-grade public network on which anyone can build secure, fair applications with real-time finality. Leveraging the Hedera network also provides the highest standard of security to prevent malicious attacks.

What type of businesses do you work with?

Our target clients are primarily, but not exclusively, drawn from across the financial services spectrum, including high profile retail and business banking, investment banking, insurance, investment funds, life assurance and pensions, with adjacent sectors, such as utilities and telecoms are also important areas for us. Essentially, we see docStribute as being applicable in any industry where the security and integrity of documents is of the utmost concern.

What problem does ALT/AVE solve?

The digital delivery of certain documents such as terms of service and contracts is heavily regulated, complex, and expensive; often resulting in financial institutions reverting to the distribution of printed documents instead, so as to ensure compliance. Not only is this costly, but results in masses of paper waste with an environmental impact. According to a 2018 EY report, in 2017, financial services companies sent 5.2 billion paper documents to their customers in the post, representing an extremely significant and underreported environmental issue.

When implemented, our solution will result in a 95% reduction in paper usage and a 25g decrease in CO2e per document compared to postal delivery.

It is however important not to understate how financially beneficial our proposition docStribute is for our clients, their customers, as well as being lucrative for Alt/Ave’s investors, whilst at the same time delivering hugely on decarbonising our target clients’ customer communications!

What is your USP?

What we are bringing to the table is trust, minus tonnes and tonnes of paper, and the associated carbon footprint that comes with it.

We deliver trust on multiple levels; namely, for our customers, who need the trust of knowing they are securely meeting all of their regulatory obligations, as well as for their own customers who can trust us to maintain the integrity of their documents at all times. Ultimately, Alt/Ave is enabling businesses to play a big part in helping the UK, one document at a time, to meet its net zero decarbonisation targets, whilst also providing companies with the necessary tools to score high on taxonomy alignment, and end “greenwashing” once and for all!

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged?

At the very core of our values lies sustainability, transparency, and as I already mentioned, trust, which is what every part of our operation relies upon.

So what does this all mean in practical terms? For us, it’s about not taking any shortcuts when we’re developing our tech, and ensuring that we are as energy-efficient as possible. We’re not here to greenwash the industry. There is no point in coming up with a solution that is – from a sustainability perspective – worse than the original problem!

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

We are extremely fortunate in that, as a young company, from day one we have been able to recruit our team with our values very much in the forefront of our minds. It’s also true that like any living organism, a company like ours is always growing intellectually and part of what we look for in our people is a desire to develop, modify and grow our corporate culture as we continue to mature as a business. Putting people at the heart of such an ethos creates a sense of collective endeavour, and has enabled our staff to fully immerse themselves in our company values, in a natural and seamless way.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

More than happy. We are embracing the hybrid post-Covid home/office model and we have already noticed many positive benefits for employees and the overall business, including increased productivity and improved wellbeing. It also means we have greater flexibility in recruiting talent from all over the UK, not just from London. For us we are getting the best of both worlds; on days when people are together they build the comradery needed in a successful company, while we also reap the benefits of having a mentally well-balanced team.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

It is imperative that you listen to your customers’ needs at all times, and be very clear and transparent when communicating yours. It is also hugely important to deliver on your words. Don’t make promises you cannot keep and your relationships will be all the more harmonious and productive.

At a more practical level, as a fintech founder I would add that because there is such an abundance of technology out there to help you do business, research is crucial. Do it! Taking notice of all the details of what works best for your business can be the difference between a smooth running operation and one that is hampered everyday by the niggling annoyance of investing in the wrong platform, be it accounting software, video conferencing or messaging services.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Many good ideas ultimately fail to fulfil their potential, and the reason they don’t always convert into great products is because founders and their early-stage employees don’t focus on the mundane day-to-day basics of what they’re spending their money on.

Just as important as getting your revolutionary idea market ready is making sure you don’t self-destruct before you launch. You need to understand what you are spending your money on, and keep an eye on the smaller expenses.

A good idea here is to utilise technology to improve efficiency, and never think you don’t need a good accountant because you do!

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

If you asked my CFO, the answer would be to provide more and better targeted financial incentives for early-stage companies. I wouldn’t disagree but I would argue that a government that is truly dedicated to reaching net zero by 2050 should be creating a simplified framework that rewards all companies that support this goal in any way by having a positive impact on the environment. Perhaps this involves creating a more publicly visible ‘net zero 2050’ campaign that could be adopted by companies that are genuinely working to be part of the solution. This could even help customers and the public understand how environmentally responsible each business really is.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

We understand that it’s a competitive market, and paying close attention to what’s out there is important when looking to position your business. By all means, keep an eye on what your competition is up to, but don’t get too bogged down in playing and beating the competition when what you need to be doing is providing the product your customers are asking for. What you don’t want to do is spend so much time worrying about a competitor to the point where you lose sight of the problem you’re trying to solve for customers in the first place.

Technology is extremely fast-moving, so have a vision and aim towards that vision. For us it’s about creating the safest, most energy-efficient way to communicate with customers. And no amount of monitoring the opposition is going to change that!

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

Our present focus is to consolidate wider understanding of docStribute and raise awareness of the capabilities of the core product.

RegTech is a $6.5bn global industry and non-compliance with industry regulation cost the global financial services industry a total of $10.4 billion last year. There is, therefore, a significant demand for technological solutions to an age old problem – how to stay within the rules, and fulfil legal obligations.

Being a disruptive solution provider, we are growing day by day and are experiencing continued development across the board. We are part of an exciting and growing space, and one which we are well-positioned to become a leader in, so the future is very exciting.

Read more:
Secrets of Success Christopher Ansara, CEO and co-founder of ALT/AVE

Taking consumer understanding to the next level to streamline processes for the catering industry.

Maxwell Harding has always been a firm believer in making systems work smoother. Creating Dynamify has done just that for the catering industry across forecasting, inventory and reducing waste for businesses.

Dynamify software’s AI capabilities captures and stores useful insights into customer behaviours, including predictions of each customer’s lifetime value, using machine learning. It also allows for well thought out, yet easily executed targeted marketing campaigns. Maxwell shares his Secrets of Success with Business Matters.

How does Dynamify work?

Dynamify provides a complete digital ordering platform, white-labelled by contact caterers who use the software in their ‘off-the-high-street’ restaurants. Our technology makes it easy for customers to browse menus, customise meal options, view allergens, order, pre-pay, and schedule contactless collection times. It’s a plug-and-play solution that’s bespoke to each client, white labelled, the unique client-branded app allows users to earn loyalty points, receive exclusive offers and claim discounts. 

What type of businesses do you work with?

We work with global contact caterers, including the likes of Sodexo, Elior, Atalian, Gather & Gather, Bartlett Mitchell, Vacherin, The Good Eating Company, Foodee, Baxter Storey and Fooditude. Our clients service hundreds of ‘off-the-high-street’ restaurants across eight countries. 

They have rolled out Dynamify’s technology into offices and manufacturing sites, schools and universities, venues and stadiums, airport lounges and hospitals, as well as to some of the big pharma companies involved in developing the Covid-19 vaccines. This summer, we launched our QR code technology in Virgin Atlantic’s Clubhouse Lounge at Heathrow Airport.

What problem does Dynamify solve? 

For users, it saves time; with the pre-order and pay solutions the Dynamify app typically reduces checkout wait times by 95 per cent, so staff can reclaim their lunch breaks. 

For clients, Dynamify captures and analyses data in a way operators just can’t; the software’s dashboard solves challenges faced by both catering operations teams and back-office users, who can use the vast consumer data available for business intelligence. 

The software is helping to make catering operations safer for everyone, by cutting down on touchpoints, eliminating queues and encouraging social distancing. We’ve heard from clients  that the app has resulted in a more confident return to the office and onsite catering facilities.

What is your USP? 

Dynamify is at the forefront of digitising the £220bn catering industry – where less than one per cent of transactions currently take place online. Our seamless, contactless ordering and payment platform is convenient, safe and cost-efficient. The plug-and-play setup means businesses can digitise in as little as 24 hours; operators simply switch on, connect to Wi-Fi and start taking orders. It also requires zero training – it’s that user friendly. 

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

We are customer-obsessed and relentlessly hardworking, agile and innovative. We always put the customer journey first, which means changing and adapting to an evolving industry, and even more rapidly evolving consumer demand. 

We’re dealing with an industry that has been slower to adapt than the high street, whether due to misconceptions about cost, difficulty or consumer expectations. But the global pandemic has accelerated change, and we’re seeing more and more catering companies open up to new ways of serving their customers. We have a hardworking team who are pioneers in helping our clients take the leap into what might be the unknown for them and digitise.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

We are always on the lookout for smart, hardworking, success-hungry individuals.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Yes, absolutely. We’re a digitally-minded start-up and anyone on the team just needs a laptop and a good connection to do their job. We had the tools in place for remote working before the pandemic hit, so thankfully it wasn’t a culture shock for us. And in that respect, we were lucky that Covid had little impact on our business. Of course, it’s nice for people to socialise once a week or so, but that doesn’t have to be in the office. And as far as our clients are concerned, we are always on hand, no matter where we’re working from.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Our client relationships are built on successful, long-term win-win partnerships. You need to work hard to understand your customer’s priorities, their pain points and their end goal – and then you can address them, build something they really need. We provide value to our client’s customers, streamline our client’s services and drive more business for them, and in turn for us. 

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Really scrutinise your spending – ask yourself what’s essential, and what return you’re likely to see on any money that goes out. It’s a good idea to start small and invest your time and money in honing something people will really want. A fancy office is not essential. 

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be? 

Teaching entrepreneurship in schools is the only way to prepare our kids for the uncertainty of the future. Skills such as problem-solving, teamwork and empathy are just as important as maths or English, if we want future business leaders to address some of the most pressing issues we’re facing today. Technology, and AI in particular, will make many jobs redundant, and we will need more entrepreneurs to foster innovation. 

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

We keep note of our competitors, but our focus is always on our customers and how we can make things easier or better for them. 

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

Our aim is clear and simple – to maximise the impact of our technology by getting it into the hands of as many people as possible. The global pandemic pushed caterers to embrace digital trends and in just one year, we witnessed an uptake and implementation of digital ordering technology that we had previously projected to take five years. 

Dynamify is now servicing over 500 restaurants in eight countries around the world and gross transaction value processed through the platform has grown twentyfold during the pandemic. But we know that there is a lot more scope for digitising the contract catering industry. 

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Maxwell Harding, CEO and Founder of Dynamify 

Boosting operational efficiencies is key to raising bottom lines.

Designing Digital Workforce not to be industry specific was pivotal to Mika Vainio-Mattila’s business plan. Offering multiple verticals for expansion, they now offer global services across multiple enterprise sectors, boosting other businesses’ bottom lines. …

What products or services do you provide?

Digital Workforce is a trusted leader in Robotic Process Automation (RPA) service provision globally. Our comprehensive product range includes managed cloud-based automation, maintenance, advisory and implementation services. This makes us the perfect partner for any business looking for the fastest, easiest and most cost-effective route to implementing IA across their operations. Businesses can free up digital workers’ time for more purposeful work, scaling up their use of automation as required.
What type of businesses do you work with?
We work with over 200 customers worldwide primarily partnering with enterprises across banking, finance, manufacturing, insurance and healthcare. However, the solutions we offer are not sector-specific as the gains afforded by RPA can be leveraged in many industries and business units. The common thread uniting our customers is a high volume of manual, time-consuming processes that are optimised using RPA to boost operational efficiencies.

What problem does your company solve?

Many companies can benefit from building a robust digital infrastructure, but get stuck in a loop of long-tail IT projects that fail to deliver on ROI. In order to unlock the power of intelligent automation (IA), they need scalable services that can be deployed quickly. By partnering with Digital Workforce, Businesses are able to move fast to deploy Robotic Process Automation (RPA) within their business and reduce workload, effort and costs.
What is your USP?
We help our clients succeed with our comprehensive range of scalable services along with the best automation experts in the sector. Our unique cloud-based services give our customers the fastest, easiest and most cost-effective route to implement Intelligent Automation. We also offer maintenance, advisory and implementation services, making us an ideal partner for ensuring RPA success.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

Our company values are:

A learning mindset
Passion for customer success
Integrity in all relationships
Caring for each other

These values are challenged on some level on almost a daily basis, and yet they have prevailed. They are not easy values to follow but we feel that they provide us with strong guidance every day.
How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

We make a big effort in recruitment to ensure there is a good fit with our culture and values, for example by encouraging referrals from current employees. By focusing on hiring the right people, we ensure that our values are reflected and reinforced. This approach leads to satisfied employees in the long run.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model post-covid?

We currently operate a fully hybrid model.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

We respect our competition and learn from them where we can. Our competitors also help us to understand our points of difference.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

This is a thrilling time in history as humans are learning to entrust all sorts of business tasks to machines. I know that not every step in this journey will be easy – we’ll make mistakes along the way that we can definitely learn from. However, the direction we’re moving in is very exciting and paves the way for a more fulfilling work life than we have ever experienced in the post-industrial age.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Mika Vainio-Mattila; CEO of Digital Workforce

Vicki Mordue, Founder and Managing Director, at Biodiverse Consulting tells Business Matters about the secrets of the success of her company Biodiverse Consulting

What products or services do you provide?

Ecology and tree survey and assessment, biodiversity net gain services for developers large and small and business support services for environmental organisations wishing to diversify and/or expand their income opportunities.

What type of businesses do you work with?

Primarily developers including infrastructure, utilities, residential and leisure industry as well as other businesses that service the development sector, for example, architects, planners, landscape architects, engineering companies. We also offer business support environmental charities.

What problem does your company solve?

Keeps clients legally compliant when it comes to wildlife and habitat protection and ensure they deliver the most wildlife friendly developments possible.

What is your USP?

Business balanced with biodiversity. We work with both which gives us a unique insight to the challenges and opportunities our clients face when it comes to managing budgets, stakeholders and expectations.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

That business and development go hand in hand and that development can genuinely make a positive contribution to wildlife protection and enhancement with the right advice and guidance. We were once asked by a client to look the other way in terms of the protected species we had found on their development site. We politely declined the offer but continued to work with the client in advising them of the penalties that such action would incur. More importantly we supported them through the protected species licence process in a cost effective and professional manner so that species in question was no longer seen as an expensive, undesirable hindrance to the project but rather an asset to its future value.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

Our values are: Adaptiveness, Passion, Creativity, Integrity & Collaborators, and we are actively looking for ecologists that share our passion for wildlife and the changes our sector is experiencing, New recruits will need to demonstrate their creativity in solving some of the more challenging projects we specialise in.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Absolutely! As long as the team has the right set up and space to comfortably work at home. We are fortunate to be out in the field for much of the time and so the team still gets that shared face to face learning from their colleagues in a more Covid friendly way. Our head office is based in Grade ll listed building, Dissington Hall, Newcastle and we are planning on opening another in the South East this year.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Don’t be afraid to ask for upfront deposits to secure work, especially from new clients to enable you to manage risk and cash flow. I think it’s also vital for small businesses to not accept more than 30 day payment terms from the clients. As a small company managing cash is the most important aspect of running a business.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

To give small businesses more sustainable support over the first three years of trading. Over 60% of start ups go bust in year 3 and providing ongoing financial and advisory services would make a massive difference.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

In such a niche business there is no such thing as competitors; only future collaborators.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

We need to be thinking beyond Biodiversity Net Gain even though it has only just come into operation and toward Environmental Net Gain. Currently we have Carbon Trading schemes, flood resilience requirements, green and open space needs for people… to name just a few of the natural services we have to think about separately during planning for new developments.

Environmental Net Gain will bring together a unified and transparent mechanism for developers to consider all these aspects of the natural world in one assessment process. Thus enabling our clients to plan/manage their risk accordingly and identify opportunities where they can make a genuine difference to the people, wildlife and climate change.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Vicki Mordue, Founder & MD, Biodiverse Consulting

Benefit from up-to-the-second, transparent climate risk on millions of assets, across the planet.

Iggy Bassi’s vision with Cervest to enable everyone to discover, quantify and share climate risk and machine learning methodologies providing granular, decision-ready insights that help decision-makers future-proof their assets against the impact of accelerating climate change.

What products or services do you provide?

Cervest delivers cloud-based Climate Intelligence (CI) on any asset, anywhere — giving enterprises, governments and financial service providers the most comprehensive view possible of climate risk at an asset level.

EarthScanTM (for enterprises and governments) and EarthCap (for financial service providers) fuse the latest peer-reviewed science and machine learning methodologies providing granular, decision-ready insights that help decision-makers future-proof their assets against the impact of accelerating climate change.

What type of businesses do you work with?

EarthScan’s early users are from a cross-section of industries, including real estate, manufacturing, retail and hospitality. Many have already experienced adverse climate events on their operations. Mitigation planning and reporting typically start with the ESG and risk management teams, who onboard other teams as the value of climate intelligence becomes clear for use cases in other areas, including supply chain management and acquisition planning. Accelerating climate events and the introduction of mandatory climate-related financial disclosure (already in effect in many countries and coming into effect in the UK from April 6, 2022) means every company will need to incorporate climate intelligence into their workflows to mitigate against potentially huge losses. In fact, a recent report by global analyst firm IDC, calls Climate Intelligence a “strategic priority for organisations worldwide”.

What problem does your company solve?

We are solving for the need to understand and future proof individuals, organisations and economies against the accelerating risk from climate change. Extreme events and new regulation means organisations are urgently seeking new insights and instruments to assess, plan for, report on and price their climate risk at an asset level. They need to translate climate risk complexity into easy-to-interpret, decision-useful insights that they can integrate into their risk management and reporting workflows, with clarity and confidence. Yet, most decision-makers have no idea where to start. Climate science is complex and there is no standardised approach to quantifying asset-level risk. Nine out of 10 decision-makers in a recent Cervest survey said their company had already seen at least one physical asset like an office or warehouse, affected by extreme weather in the past five years. In contrast, only half said they had factored climate change into their risk management planning.

What is your USP?

Cervest enables everyone to discover, quantify, and share climate risk on any asset, anywhere. We call it Climate Intelligence (CI). Cervest’s Climate Intelligence is uniquely built on peer-reviewed science, is quantifiable down to the asset level, and will be openly accessible for all. Our insights have been developed over the past five years by a team of experts who, among them, have over 250 peer-reviewed publications in the field.

Why CI? Because humans have, for too long, operated on the basis that nature is free, thinking it’s always going to serve us. But nature is biting back in big ways. The acceleration of climate change demands unprecedented decision-making clarity to strengthen our collective resilience and drive collaboration that will incentivise behaviour change at scale.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

Our company values are: objectivity, community, integrity, humility, curiosity, and beneficence. They’re underpinned by a framework of principles that guide what we do and how we do it: privacy, autonomy, impact-driven, responsibility, holistic approach, equity, sustainability, prudence, and transparency. Together, our values and principles ensure that accountability and ethical decision making are at the heart of the work we do.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

It goes without saying that building and nurturing a diverse workforce is central to our success. The challenge we are tackling requires every skill set we can throw at it, and it is well known that more diverse teams are also more innovative. When it comes to values, we seek commonality and mission-alignment. We want team members that share our values and are passionate about working towards our common goal: to put climate at the core of every decision. That’s why, from our very first hires in 2016, our hiring process has included a values-alignment assessment. We have seen first-hand how interviewing for values alignment alongside fair and objective recruitment practices, delivers tangible business benefits, including higher completion and acceptance rates for candidates and, higher retention and productivity for employees.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model?

We have been operating remotely for over two years and have built a distributed team of extremely talented people across Europe and North America. We expect to continue this way of working as our business grows. A remote-first model ensures we have access to the best talent and is why we’ve been able to attract such a high level of science, engineering and commercial team members to Cervest. Over 60% of our team holds PhDs and Masters’s Degrees.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Work with mission-aligned suppliers. We aim to work with fellow B Corp-certified companies, for example, and those that share our vision to create a more resilient future for our planet. When you start from a place of shared values, developing a mutually productive relationship becomes a whole lot easier.

Being customer-focused means meeting customers ‘where they are’, not ‘where you think they are’ or ‘want them to be’. Climate Intelligence is a brand new decision-making superpower, and everyone is at a different stage of their learning journey. Our customers come to us because they have a job to do, or a problem to solve.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Understand the difference between profit and cash flow. In the words of Peter Drucker, “Entrepreneurs believe that profit is what matters most in a new enterprise. But profit is secondary. Cash flow matters most.”

Remember that cash flow is only one leg of the stool. I’m reminded of Jack Welch who said that if he “had to run a company on three measures, those measures would be customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and cash flow.”

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Iggy Bassi, Founder & CEO, Cervest

Raman Sehgal, Founder & Global President of ramarketing and best-selling author of The Floundering Founder tells Business Matters about the secrets to his success.

What products or services do you provide?

Approaching every client’s needs on an individual basis, we provide bespoke marketing solutions to help ambitious companies excel in the pharma and biotech sector. Right through from research and strategy – helping clients find true differentiation and stand out in a global marketplace – to implementation of digital, design, PR and content tactics to drive awareness, engagement and conversion, we provide a fully integrated approach.

What type of businesses do you work with?

We support companies in the global life sciences market that play a key role in getting new treatments to the patients who need them.

The journey from molecule to market in drug development is never simple, with many moving parts involved. We are experts in supporting the businesses involved in the supply chain throughout the journey to market, whether they are handling the manufacturing of drugs, conducting clinical trials, providing the right technology to drug developers or something else entirely.

Many of our clients were, in fact, involved in the supply of the COVID vaccines.

What problem does your company solve?

A lot of organisations in the life sciences industry need support positioning and differentiating their business, reaching new buyers and entering into new markets. Thousands of companies connect the healthcare industry, all doing their part to design, develop and manufacture new products. Our job is to help connect some of those companies to one another.

What is your USP?

We find that a USP is typically something businesses obsess over internally, as opposed to something that actually plays an important role in the customer’s journey. After all, choosing one supplier over another is never down to one thing alone; it requires consideration of various criteria which will rank differently in terms of importance to each customer. Instead, we focus on morphing our offering around the specific needs of each individual client or prospect.

However, when it comes to our clients, we find that three core things delight them and give us an edge over the competition.

First and foremost, we believe that the way we live and breathe our values marks us out. We really care about what we do and the clients we serve. Our attitude is simple – be genuine, do the right thing and create fantastic output – and it is felt by all our clients.

Secondly, we are more than simply a marketing agency; we are also a partner who can support your commercial goals. Not simply interested in the success of campaigns, but also deeply concerned with the growth of our clients, we’ve helped  over 100 companies globally to gain commercial results.

Finally, our focused expertise in life sciences means that we can offer our clients support unlike any other. We live and breathe this sector. Supporting pharma and biotech companies in the outsourcing space has been our core specialism since day one – it is all we know and all we do.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

Our values are to be kind and genuine, to really care and to have a go. They make us an entrepreneurial, scrappy and uniquely personable specialist agency.

The biggest challenge to values comes when you have a talented team member that simply does not live the values. Ignoring this tends to lead to long term pain for both the individual and the business, because there is a good chance that you are simply not the right fit for each other. It’s best to recognise the issue and deal with it in an empathetic manner sooner rather than later.

It can, at times, be tricky to balance values with other organisational demands. When you lead a business, for instance, you can’t tell everyone everything due to confidentiality concerns, and it’s difficult to protect the perception of being genuine in these situations. We live by the motto ‘be better than yesterday’, so we always strive to learn from these situations and improve application of our values each and every day.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

We hire based on values over skills. We recognise that while skills are, undoubtedly, important, they can be taught, while no amount of time or money can buy the right attitude.

Every single new recruit goes through a process with multiple steps, one of which is a values-based interview. In this session, we focus on getting to know the candidate on a more personal level and delving into their values and attitude. Far from being a rigid, tick-box exercise, this part of the process is about encouraging organic conversation, making everyone feel comfortable and free to bring their whole selves.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Absolutely. Embracing home and remote working has not only given our staff a fantastic opportunity to balance their work and personal lives in entirely new ways, it has also enabled us to recruit from a wider pool of talent when we are searching for the right people to join our ranks.

Flexibility is key for a global business like ours. Long gone as the days where 9-5 office work was considered the best approach, for either business or staff. Happy, healthy staff produce the best output for our clients, and flexibility is part of ensuring that staff thrive.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

We find that, for effective customer relationships, it’s important to be one step ahead, be consciously proactive and never give customers the need to chase you. Recognise and deal with issues quickly and efficiently – don’t allow them to fester.

When it comes to managing suppliers, the key is to treat them like partners and a highly valued extension of your team. This relationship is mutually beneficial, and means that they’re there for you without hesitation when you really need them.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Make sure that you are making money every single month, where possible. If you’re not, look at what’s coming  in and going out and break any bad habits right away, whether it’s creeping overhead expenses, having more employees than the revenue justifies, not having enough business, having the wrong types of business or pricing your services wrongly. Identify the barriers to making money regularly and change them immediately.. Don’t allow them to become more of a problem down the line.

Separate your money. Take anything that will be owed as tax or that you have earmarked for business savings away from the day-to-day running pot. Always ‘over-save’, just in case. Really work on developing a frugal and thrifty mindset and instilling this mindset into the business. Having said that, go big where you need to go big and in the areas where you will get the greatest return on your investment. For me, areas like staff welfare fall into this category, because the return is so valuable.

I would recommend the book, Profit First, which is a great resource on this topic.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

We would like to see recognition and support for the companies that approached the COVID-19 crisis differently and continued to grow, offer consistent employment and pay tax without accessing government funding schemes. We think that these organisations should see benefits in the future, for example by being given immunity to the tax hikes put in place to repay the deficit. The pandemic was disastrous for many firms, and the help offered by the government was crucial, but I don’t believe that the businesses who kept their people in work and continued to invest have been sufficiently recognised or, in fact, recognised at all.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

Competition is healthy, and my approach is to be friendly, kind and positive to all my competitors. I have learned so much from spending time with them and, in fact, have even found opportunities for alliances and referral partnerships. Decide right now that you’ll be kind and open to everyone in your space. It’ll be a small change that will provide endless rewards as you grow bigger and bigger.

Be competitive, by all means, but funnel that energy into the right areas. I have seen people get so obsessed with competitors that it draws time, resources and focus from their clients. Let any obsession with the competition go – the world is a big place, and there is enough business to go around. Channel that competitive spirit into improving your business, galvanising your team and supercharging your output.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

We aim to continue growing rapidly, every year, and developing a truly global presence, with offices across the globe, in order to become recognised as the world’s leading agency in our space. We strive to continually sharpen our craft to serve our clients with the best, most innovative and up to date solutions while, internally, creating a working environment where people never want to leave.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Raman Sehgal, founder & global president of ramarketing

We got to ask Giles Ellwood, CEO for Homesearch what is the secret to his and the data-led estate agency that he runs.

What products or services do you provide?

“We are first and foremost a property data business and in a unique position to provide the most comprehensive information and insight on every home in England and Wales. Over the last four years we have built both a proprietary database of every residential property and a technology platform that tracks the live available market for both sales and lettings – overlaying that data against our own.

“Through providing this holistic market view, we’re able to continually innovate and build out the data-led product and services that best suit our customers’ needs.

“We’ve built an award-winning property data and estate agent prospecting platform which enables agents to generate new leads and ultimately win more instructions.

“Our platform provides all the property data, reporting and lead generation tools in one place, to give estate agents a major commercial advantage in what is a fiercely competitive marketplace.

“In a nutshell, we’re able to inform agents and their clients of where they might find the perfect home for their requirements, even if it’s not currently for sale yet.

What type of businesses do you work with?

“The Homesearch platform is currently designed to meet the needs of estate agents to keep them one step ahead of the competition and has quickly become the go-to prospecting solution for established market leaders such as Knight Frank, Hamptons, Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward. We also have over a thousand leading independent estate agent subscribers.

“Geographically we are primarily focused on agents in England and Wales but are continuously innovating and investing in our platform to expand our audience proposition. We have already begun to move into complimentary property industry related verticals, such as financial services, as we see the massive growth potential for Homesearch.”

What problem does your company solve?

“There is currently reported to be an average of 29 buyers for every one property for sale on the market and so there is an alarming shortage of housing stock available. This presents a major headache for both homebuyers and estate agents alike.

“The research conducted by Propertymark also identified that the number of properties and instructions available to its member estate agent branches is at an all-time low. Despite all the talk in the industry of record house prices, this is amid a widely felt national drought of properties being put up for sale.

“In response to this deepening supply-demand crisis, we’ve developed a platform solution which equips estate agents with the data and insight needed to stimulate the market and unearth properties for sale to meet their client demand. The result being that we arm agents with the intel to proactively encourage homeowners to put their home on the market. This means a higher volume of quality, qualified instructions for the agents.

“In addition to helping tackle the shortage of housing stock available for sale on the market, we’ve also addressed the lack of rich, data-led insight available to the professionals who need it. We’re finding that forward-thinking estate agents are increasingly waking up to the need to harness big data and technology to drive business growth in tough market conditions.”

“Our approach is paying dividends. In terms of generating new revenue streams for estate agents, we’ve found that those currently using our platform see an average 1,100% return on investment (ROI). Our aim is for that ROI figure to reach 1,500% by the end of this year as we help address the chronic lack of leads and quality instructions available to agents in a market where buyers heavily outweigh sellers.”

What is your USP?

“Put simply, our USP is our data.

“Roughly 65% of the 24 billion data points within the Homesearch platform are proprietary. We have an in-house, UK based, data science and engineering team whose job it is to continually find and explore the unknowns and continually refine our data and modelling.

“It’s important to stress that our big data capability also played a critical role in us recently securing major business investment, having completed a £5m Series A funding round with Octopus Ventures – the venture capitalist firm that originally backed Zoopla.”

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

“Our core values centre around meaningful relationships, working for everyone, listening and thinking ahead, information as power and being essential. This is complemented by our personality traits such as being pioneering, attentive and grounded.

“The biggest challenge to our company values to date has come from our own internal pressures and desire to live and breathe them. They need to be much more than just buzzwords and instead be integral throughout the culture of the business.

“We do our best to hold up every member of our team, and every supplier we count as an ally, to both our own values and our personality to give those relationships every chance of success. It’s not a perfect process and we’ve come to learn that both company values and personality should and do evolve as the business matures. That said, we always want to stay true to our core mission which is to improve the property industry for everyone.”

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

“We have a rigorous recruitment process whereby we assess personal values as well as just technical capabilities. This enables us to uncover whether their mindset and attitude is aligned with our business values.

“We’re also aided by the fact we’re a relatively young proptech business with big ambitions and have placed no ceiling on what we want to achieve. This plays a big part in attracting the right calibre of people who are looking for the challenge and motivation to continually innovate and push boundaries. I’ve never been prouder of the team we currently have. They consistently go above and beyond for our clients and for the business.”

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

“Absolutely! We do our best to foster a culture of responsibility within our team. You only get that when you offer trust and flexibility to all.

“We’ve found by offering the flexibility to work remotely or from our London-based office pays dividends in terms of individual and team performance. As a technology business, it won’t come as a surprise that our team here are equipped with the tools to communicate in real time whether that’s in the office, at home or abroad. We see no boundaries to hybrid working.”

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

“In our line of work it’s vital that we ask lots of questions of our clients to ensure we’re getting under the skin of their business and meeting their needs. Acting on honest feedback and establishing an open dialogue with them is critical and the only way to ensure your product or service is meeting and exceeding their expectations. Complacency is the worst possible trait in a business where long-term relationships are integral to its growth.

“It sounds simple but don’t overlook the key ingredient of making your clients feel special as it will pay dividends in the long term. If things don’t run as smoothly as you’d hope, then be honest, always. If you make a mistake, own it. It’s not the mistake that’s remembered it’s the way it was handled.

“With suppliers, ensure the relationship isn’t just transactional and you treat them as an extension of your team. This is key to getting the best results from them and will help if you go through a rough patch. We are ultimately suppliers to our clients but we’d always want to be seen by them as a partner invested in their success.”

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

“My best advice is don’t be afraid to ask for uncomfortable discounts when you’re small and starting out but always pay your suppliers on time. Whether it’s personal or business relationships, treat people how you expect to be treated.

“Operate within your means so you don’t make the major mistake of running out of cash. Raise investment early but raise only what you need. It may be tempting but don’t give equity away in pursuit of an ego-driven figure.

“Remember that obsessing over running costs can stifle ambition, particularly in the start-up phase. My favourite approach is to not to fixate on keeping costs to a minimum, make more money to pay for the growth investments you need to make.”

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

“I’d first make it easier and more cost effective for companies to set up Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) schemes, so they’re able to retain and incentivise their top talent. Keeping the best people and giving them a clear career pathway provides essential stability for businesses, particularly start-ups where growth can accelerate at real pace.

“I also feel more should be done by the government to create the right conditions for budding entrepreneurs to create businesses, such as pushing the banks to help more start-ups. At the moment it feels there has been a lot of disincentives like cutting entrepreneurs relief by 90% a couple of years ago.”

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

“As cliche as it sounds, we welcome competition.

“We entered the market with an innovative product mid-way through 2019 and by the time we’d moved from our beta release to paid product in 2020, there were already a number of replicant companies claiming to do the same things we did.

“That competition helped highlight the value in our data, and it also made us work harder to release what our own estate agent subscribers told us they wanted and needed sooner. As long as you’re prepared to work harder than the competitor next to you, and be the best for your clients or customers, you’ll do well.”

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

 “The future is bright. We’ve got a real opportunity to drive lasting change within the property market but also need more estate agents to join us on this journey.

“We’re working tirelessly to deliver a unique platform which can transform the way estate agents do business, generate instructions and increase profit, but we need more agents to embrace data, insights and technology to realise it’s full business potential. It’s largely still an industry that operates in the past with estate agents using the same old trusted methods, so we know there is a need for more proactive thinking from agents if they are going to make that step-change.

“We’re aware of our responsibility to estate agents to continually innovate, enhance and push the boundaries of data and technology to provide them with the most leading-edge platform available. If we can nail our business plan, we’ll succeed in making the market a more informed, connected and dynamic place, for everyone.”

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Giles Ellwood, CEO, Homesearch

Ensuring that a website works hard for its business, A Digital has shone above its competition.

Andrew Armitage has grown A Digital from a spare bedroom project into a thriving team. Working with clients including the NHS, Hawkshead Relish, Windermere Lake Cruises, and most recently James Cropper PLC, He shares his insights with Business Matter.

What products or services do you provide?

In a nutshell, we provide bespoke website design and development with digital marketing that supports business and digital transformation. This includes e-commerce sites as well as more complex sites such as subscription services and online booking.

What type of businesses do you work with?

We work with business to business and business to consumer companies – some are even both! Most of our clients have a revenue between £1m and £100m, from start-ups to plc’s, across a wide range of sectors including travel and tourism, food and drink, professional services and manufacturing.

What problem does your company solve?

Customers want anytime, anywhere access to your products and services. Moreover, they expect it to be personal, relevant and simple to use. This is where your website comes in, and when done right, it can be your hardest-working asset.

At A Digital, we build advanced websites that fully integrate with business systems, building operational efficiency. As a result, the problems we solve can be complex, involving several systems and services. For example, a subscription service will also require a payment service that enables payment reminders by email and the option to manage your subscription. Ecommerce websites will also often require a connection to a financial account or stock system, or allow the business to streamline their operational processes such as packing and despatch.

In addition, every website needs to be promoted. The days of building a website and expecting people to find it has long since passed, so we help people ensure their website is visible in front of their desired audience. From the customer’s perspective, we’re solving problems such as helping them to find specific information, resolve a customer service issue or buy a product.

What is your USP?

While many companies see a website as a marketing tool, we see it as much more than that. Websites can help businesses in so many different ways, and they will often sit at the centre of their digital activity. We’re not afraid of complex challenges and being able to show how the entire organisation can benefit from the website and the processes behind it. It’s not just about making a site look good, but it needs to work at the highest technical level as well.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

There’s a huge trend to talk about values, and while they’re important, it’s too easy to talk the talk without walking the walk. Our overriding value is to do our best work and always act in our clients best interest. I see so many companies say their values are honesty, loyalty and trustworthiness, among a host of other buzzwords, but wouldn’t you expect that as a minimum when you’re working with someone?

Your values are challenged all the time, and while there’s sometimes going to be an element of compromise, it’s important to know what your ‘red lines’ are – the things you’re not prepared to compromise on. These will be your guiding principles (often called your ‘north star’) that ultimately define who you are and the qualities and value you bring to your business relationships.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

It’s got harder, to be honest. With most interviews now being held online, it’s not as easy to make a connection with someone, and given the state of the market for recruitment, you have to move fast with potential candidates; otherwise, before you know it, they’ve accepted a role somewhere else.

With most people, you get a feel for what they believe in and their general attitude. Can you agree on a variety of topics, do they share similar interests to those on your team, and what does your gut tell you. I know of various approaches, such as DISC profiling which I’ve never done, but when someone has a genuine passion for their art, I think it becomes fairly obvious, and that’s a great starting point.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Yes – this is the new reality where it’s now expected that companies like ours will offer hybrid working as an option. Since we’ve been doing this for a while now, we’ve had plenty of time to adapt to it. Although the practicalities of working remotely [with digital services] are straightforward, we must ensure everyone on the team feels comfortable with it and don’t feel either left out or overwhelmed and suffer in silence.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

In our business, so many of our suppliers are ‘digital’. They’re often subscription-based services, and we feel so far removed from them that the relationships are purely transactional. This has been exacerbated through the pandemic, but I think it’s really important to have suppliers you can trust and meet with face to face from time to time.

Putting the boot on the other foot, I’m keen to ensure we’re not a digital supplier at arms’ reach from our own clients. I want to have personal relationships with those we work with, as I believe that people buy from people. Relationships are fundamental to collaboration and, therefore, achieving results. Being able to talk to clients opens up opportunities to hear about what’s influencing them and learn about the challenges they’re facing in their own words. Relationships aren’t just about business, though – connecting with other people is what makes us human and brings a new level of enjoyment to our work.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Cash is, of course, the lifeblood of every business, so it’s crucial to stay on top of your cash flow. When you’re starting out, you’re busy, often juggling multiple aspects of your business, and it’s easy to let admin fall by the wayside as you respond to clients and chase new opportunities. Setting an invoicing schedule to make sure you send out invoices on time helps you to get paid on time. The moment you fall behind, it becomes twice as much effort to keep up and juggle your bills.

Think carefully about how you finance your business. Taking on debt finance can give you a cash injection but becomes a burden longer term. There are so many more ways to attract finance now with things like Crowdfunding. Think carefully about what you’ll use the money for, investing in assets wherever possible over transient costs like advertising or people.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

Choosing just one thing is difficult as Government decisions impact many aspects of running a business.
The government has introduced a range of schemes to encourage young people into the workplace, and there are now far more pathways for school-leavers and those at the start of their careers. There are still large skills gaps, though, especially when it comes to softer skills and, in our case, digital skills.

Introducing entrepreneurial skills to the school curriculum would give students more opportunities to experience business first-hand and develop their confidence, from developing their personal brand to helping them stand out when applying for jobs, giving presentations and problem solving. Whether students choose to start their own business or not, the experience they’d gain from this would provide them with a range of valuable non-academic skills for a wider range of careers.

If I was to sneak another one in, I wish engaging with Government contracts was easier as a small business. There are many opportunities, but I have little faith in the procurement process. Tenders of this nature are costly for us to participate in. It feels like the buyers are usually so far removed from the project delivery team that we’re never going to get a fair opportunity to present our capabilities. It’s often hard to engage with the buyer, and it feels like they focus on the cost element – yet ironically, you can run the risk of being too cheap! There have also been times when we’ve submitted a tender, and then it’s been withdrawn without reason – that’s hugely disrespectful of the time and effort given to the process.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

I think it’s important to know who your competitors are but not to be influenced by them. Competitors can easily become collaborators, and it’s good to have a healthy respect for each other. In the normal day to day, though, I think it’s best to focus on being the best version of yourself. Most people start a business because they have a dream, specific experiences that led to developing a new product or service, or insight that showed a need for a fresh approach.

There are many other agencies I have huge respect for – either from the quality of their work or the similar values I might share with their approach. I think spending too much time looking at your competition does two things. Firstly you risk being lured into a feeling of being an imposter and worrying that your own work will never be good enough. Secondly, it causes you to take your eye off your own focus and drive to get things right or make things better for your clients.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

Like most companies, the challenges we face are unrelenting. After the pandemic, we’re seeing rising costs across the board and difficulties recruiting the skills and people to our team. I’ve never wanted to ‘take over the world’ with my agency, but to do great work for great clients and solve meaningful problems. I’ve some personal goals, too – being able to support my family, especially my kids as they grow up in an uncertain world and look forward to opportunities to travel, particularly in the US.

I’m passionate about developing digital skills with young people and, in the future, would love to give more opportunities to young people starting their careers.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Andrew Armitage, founder and MD of A Digital

Guy Tullberg talks to Business Matters about his traditional British condiments company Tracklements.

What products or services do you provide?

For 50 years Tracklements has supplied traditional British condiments as well as ground breaking, innovative relishes, chutneys and mustards.

What type of businesses do you work with?

In terms of suppliers we work with British farmers and growers as well as suppliers from around the world.  We work very hard on sourcing our ingredients from likeminded businesses who put emphasis on the quality of their products.  Our customers cover all sectors of the market from high street delis and butchers to grocery multiples and online retailers as well as our 25 export markets.  We have a policy of always going the extra mile for our customers which we believe is just one of the reasons Tracklements has been voted Best Supplier of Pickles and Chutneys by specialist retailers for eleven years on the trot.

What problem does your company solve?

We make every meal, even the most humble, taste delicious.

What is your USP?

Tracklements is the Life & Soul of the pantry, we make the best quality products in the marketplace, we bring character and flavour to tables, we make products which are punchier, livelier and zingier than our competitors and we do it with honesty, integrity and positivity.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

The easiest way to sum up our values is by saying we believe in Business as a force for good which is why we have recently been awarded B Corp status.  Quite simply Tracklements has always behaved as a good citizen to everyone we come into contact with whether that be suppliers, customers, our staff or our community.  There are always challenges but this provides us with a measure and a yardstick as to how we behave as a company.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

One of the best pieces of advice we came across was in Jim Collins’ book Good to Great, where he recommends getting the right people on the bus and this has stood us in great stead when it comes to our people.  We are very lucky that we manufacture on site so the process and therefore the brand values are aligned and transparent to everyone who works here.  Everyone sees the quality of the ingredients as they arrive, and we know that our staff are very proud of the products we make.  We spend time on a thorough and detailed induction process and have regular catch ups throughout the business to ensure that we’re all pulling in the same direction.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

We are that rare thing: a traditional British manufacturing business which makes it harder to offer a hybrid working model but we always try to be flexible where possible.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Treating people as we like to be treated ourselves is our approach.  We’ve worked with some of our customers and suppliers for decades which we believe is testament to this.  We have an annual Best Supplier award where we celebrate suppliers who reflect our values of sustainability, service and product quality.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Always be realistic. Cash is king. Turnover is vanity but profit is sanity!  They may be hackneyed phrases but no less worthwhile for that.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?
We’d love to see more support for British Manufacturing.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

We respect them, we need them, they keep us on our toes and show us our weaknesses and where we can do better!  There are a number of great competitors in our market but Tracklements has always strived to be the Best of the Best.  We’re relentless in pursuit of that journey.  It makes our decisions simple and easy to make and although it occasionally throws up a challenge, we think it’s a much easier space to try to occupy than the middle ground.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

Tracklements has always been gently ambitious which to us means that we grow at a sustainable speed with consideration for the environment, our people and our capabilities.  I hope that Tracklements will have as much fun and pleasure from the next fifty years and we’ve had in the past fifty years.  The enjoyment of developing a great business and trying to make it better every day is what gets us up in the morning.  It is an endless pursuit of improvement.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Guy Tullberg, MD, Tracklements

Erin Graybill’s vision to reduce stress and exemplify experience instantly resonated with her consumer base.

Let’s face it, you either love buying gifts or find it draining. Luxe England’s hampers are designed to take the stress, time, and endless scrolling out of gift-buying. From cruelty-free makeup brushes that are perfect for all skin types, to thoughtfully designed handmade self-care gift hampers, they design beautiful gifts to make their customers smile. Erin shares her Secrets of Success with Business Matters.

What products or services do you provide?

Luxe England Ltd is a house of brands specialising in designing and creating beauty and lifestyle products from makeup brushes to bespoke self-care gift hampers.

What type of businesses do you work with?

We work with a handful of carefully selected suppliers who share our vision and passion for creating products that are beautifully made and thoughtfully priced. This can range from small British boutiques to local charities for picking and packing, all the way through to working alongside Amazon to deliver these amazing products to our customers quickly and efficiently.

What problem does your company solve?

My team and I are on a mission to completely transform the gift-giving experience. We want to take any of the stress, the time, and the endless scrolling out gift-buying and become the one-stop shop for finding the perfect gift to make your loved one’s smile. From cruelty-free makeup brushes that are perfect for all skin types, to thoughtfully designed handmade self-care gift hampers, we design beautiful gifts that are not only going to put a smile on our customers’ faces but go above and beyond all their initial expectations.

What is your USP?

What is truly unique about our products is that we have done all of the thinking for you to provide a personal and innovative gifting experience like no other. From packaging to digital guides, and online support, we anticipate every small thing that our customers may want or need to make it the smoothest and most memorable unboxing experience when their gift arrives. And we do this all with the planet and with people in mind, from working with charities to using cruelty-free and vegan-friendly products and eco-packaging, our products are thoughtfully designed and wrapped in layers of kindness.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

Luxe England’s DNA as a company is made up of 4 key values – we value innovation, simplicity, kindness, and reflection. All these values used in tandem really help us to keep pushing forwards and rising above challenges, competitors, and even old ways of doing things or outdated ways of thinking. Above all else, we always aim higher. Whether that’s with the products we’re offering or our environmental policies, we’re never okay with standing okay.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

We prioritise a team that is rich in both diversity and in passion. My team is one of my greatest achievements and I’m so proud to work alongside talented people that share my passion which is and always has been: making a customer smile. We’ve always valued diversity and inclusion when recruiting for new members -— without it we couldn’t be so creative, we couldn’t diversify our ways of thinking, or understand different cultures and demographics; we wouldn’t be the award-winning team that we are today.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Our team has always been quite diverse with employees working remotely across the globe, so with the systems we already had in place and with the reliability of Amazon’s distribution network,  we were lucky enough to have quite a smooth transition from the office to remote work during covid. Having said this, we design, develop and market award-winning products and it’s a must that the team is together in the same room with our products from idea for launch. We are currently offering a hybrid model however that certain magic in our team working collaboratively to develop products can’t be beat!

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

When it comes to customers, we believe that having a customer is a privilege, not our right. So we make sure we treat them accordingly — in our books the customer is our boss! We try to give them what they want before they even know that they need it, and if we miss the mark on something, we hold our hands up and do everything we can to make it right so that at the end of the day every customer has a smile on their face.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Don’t be afraid to start the business as a side hustle and keep it like that as long as you can. Many new entrepreneurs put so much pressure on themselves to go full time from day 1 but keeping cash in the business for longer helps you grow faster and afford the mistakes we all will make at first. Keep lines of communication open with your accountant, bank and suppliers so you can ask for support when needed. In the early days we were also supported by Amazon Lending which allowed us to grow our business more quickly.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

Simplify everything! It is so important to understand all of the rules and regulations, which can be overwhelming as a small business owner. Also I think more grants should be available as every bit of finance helps small businesses!

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

I think of the customer as our boss so it’s our job to make them happy. Therefore having strong competitors helps the whole market consistently step up their game to innovate for our customers. It’s really fun to work as a team to figure out not only what our customers want now…but what they’ll want next.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

My team and I have big plans and high hopes for 2022. We’re hoping to hit the ground running with this and bring out even more new and exciting gift hampers for our UK and international customers. We currently have three amazing brands that we sell on Amazon globally. Developing expectation-setting products is what we do best so we’re planning to keep expanding our product ranges to give customers exactly what they want and need before they even know it. In fact, we recently added a new shower-only unisex gift hamper to our Luxe England line of much-loved self-care hampers so we’re excited to see where this takes us as it’s a completely unique gift set and really fills a gap in the market; we just launched it on Amazon in the UK and have been delighted with the feedback so far.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Erin Graybill, Luxe England

As the world becomes more conscious and aware, Zaffrin O’Sullivan fills a niche …

Five Dot Botanics formulate and manufacture natural plant-based vegan-certified skincare with an emphasis on minimal ingredients, five to be precise. Business Matters goes behind the scenes to find out more …

What type of businesses do you work with?

We formulate and manufacture our skincare in the UK and we retail primarily in the UK and Ireland.  This means we work with a formulation lab and manufacturing facility to produce our skincare. We also work with ingredient suppliers, packaging manufacturers, label and carton printers and container suppliers.

We have our own direct to consumer website and we also have an omni-channel distribution strategy. Which means we also sell wholesale and we are listed with third party retailers like Lookfantastic, FeelUnique and Holland & Barrett. We are also available on marketplaces, like Amazon and third-party retailers.

What problem does your company solve?

Five Dot Botanics started with a question. Why are there so many synthetic ingredients in skincare products? Which lead to another. What happens if we only have five natural ingredients? Not 20, not 30, certainly not 100. Just 5. This led us to create a plant-based skincare brand based around using concentrated plant ingredients focused on skin health. We only use 5 ingredients; we offer radical transparency and our range is gender neutral.

What is your USP?

Five Dot Botanics makes high performance skincare using ingredients from plants, our USP is that we only ever have 5 ingredients in any product, meaning it is great for your skin and only contains the good stuff!
What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

Our company lives by simple principles – do the right thing, treat people with respect, be kind.  We haven’t really had them challenged because these values aren’t particularly lofty. They speak to the heart of what people want for themselves and for society.

We try to do the right thing in terms of how we manufacture and retail our products and we always treat our customers and our employees with respect. We are always open to feedback for how we can do things better and we have an open, honest and inclusive way of working. The values we live by as a company are the values we live by as founders, as people with a duty to contribute towards making things betters for people and planet.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

Diversity and inclusion is at the heart of everything we do at Five Dot Botanics. We wanted to make sure the company is really open and flexible. All roles are offered on a flexible basis to ensure participation and equal opportunities at all levels.

We hire inclusively and have a mix of ages, genders, races, ethnicity, and religions working for us. We have 50% BAME representation on the board of Directors. Our marketing shows a range of ethnicities, genders, and ages.

We are committed to helping reduce the proportion of youth not in employment or training. We had three jobs for 16- to 24-year-olds (through the UK Kickstart scheme) throughout 2021 and they came from a range of backgrounds.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

We are agnostic about where people work from. We have always thought like that even before Covid. As a result, we have been able to work with talented people from all over the country. Not everyone wants to live in London. At the moment, everyone works primarily at home but we are definitely open to a hybrid working model as the business grows and COVID (hopefully) subsides. We often meet in a co-working space which we find gives the team a boost and promotes the sense of community that we’ve all been lacking.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Treat your customers and suppliers with respect. Treat people fairly and do the right thing. When Covid struck we had really good relationships with our suppliers and customers and because of that we were able to weather a lot as a business. We spend a lot of time nurturing our relationships with suppliers and customers.

Our personal connections are what helped us to launch Five Dot Botanics, against the odds. We found people wanted to help our business. Decency and courtesy as a business owner are critical. Having patience and taking time to look beyond the transaction really matter. Never lose your integrity, always deal honestly with everyone.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Don’t waste money, measure the return on your marketing spend and keep an eye on your cash flow.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

Smaller businesses need help navigating the complex mess of export in a post Brexit world. There is a real opportunity for British brands to be hugely successful abroad but the red tape, complexity and general lack of clarity make it difficult. Government needs to support smaller businesses to grow and export.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

We are an independent British skincare brand. We are a niche within a very large industry that has been dominated by global multinationals. We are hugely supportive of other independent skincare brands; especially as smaller companies are leading the charge in thinking about social and environmental issues. Founder led businesses often have a personal touch. We love to see other businesses thrive in the natural skincare space. As consumer attitudes change, we are part of a growing movement advocating for a different approach to skincare. Competition is great, we want to offer the power of choice, to move away from big brands and to get results from smaller brands offering something different.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

We want to be the most loved plant-based skincare brand for all genders. We have been on an incredible journey since launching. Our mission is to keep growing in the UK and to grow more internationally. Brexit has made it quite hard however we will soon be on-boarding with Amazon in the EU to help with our fulfilment and logistics so this will be a great help having a warehouse hub in the EU. We also have a few new products coming out and our first scalp product launching. We are also about to do another fundraise to help fund our growth.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Zaffrin O’Sullivan, Five Dot Botanics

Continually investing to find the best people to make her team shine is just one of the ways that Pace stays ahead of the curve.

With over 30 years experience in the communications and marketing industry, Anita Pace is well-versed in the running and management of businesses. Growing and adapting with every year and staying firm in her vision to offer the freshest creative ‘outside-in’ solution to her clients, she shares more of her journey with Business Matters.

What products or services do you provide?

Pace is a creative communications agency specialising in PR, social media, creative content, design and brand strategy. We are a team of 23 with a mix of agency and in-house experience.

What type of businesses do you work with?

We don’t specialise in a particular sector and we work with a range of clients regionally, nationally and internationally. Clients range from small SMEs to large global enterprises across both B2B and B2C and include sustainable cleaning brand Bio-D, global multinational consumer goods company Reckitt, Yorkshire housing developer Beal Homes, luxury holiday home manufacturer Victory Leisure Homes and international waste plastic road company MacRebur. We made a conscious decision not to specialise in a sector when we started Pace – our multiple-sector experience means we approach every opportunity with a blend of expertise and fresh ideas and we can always bring an ‘outside-in’ perspective to a brief.

What problem does your company solve?

Our job is to raise the profile of our clients, building a positive reputation and increasing brand awareness. We create brilliant content and deliver campaigns that get our clients noticed, engage the right audiences and create demand for their product or service.

What is your USP?

Marketing communications is an extremely competitive industry – there are many, many agencies all offering similar services. Every agency will claim to have a creative edge but you’re only as good as your last idea. It all comes down to the people in your team. I’ve been very clear since day one of Pace that I wanted to focus on recruiting the best people and the continued investment in the team is testament to that. I am humbled every day that every team member has chosen to work here and it’s my job to make sure they continue to love what they do and in doing so, that we’re delighting our clients. We work as one team and there is a real sense of being part of something ‘special’ – I’d say that’s our USP.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

Our values were agreed by the very first team members in the early days of Pace. It was important that our values were authentic: energetic, positive, involved and genuine. We constantly check ourselves to make sure we’re remaining true to them and I’m pleased to say that we are.

6. How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?
It’s usually pretty evident if candidates share our values when we meet them. I’m always keen to involve other members from the wider team in the recruitment process – it’s critical that any new team member is a good fit, not just them for us but also vice versa. I’m also conscious we need diversity (we don’t want a team of clones!) so yes, they need to share our values but also bring other qualities to the team too.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

I firmly believe we work better when we’re all together – it’s easier to collaborate and help each other, everyone feels involved in what we’re doing and ideas are sparked by our informal conversations. We provide the option to work from home and will continue to do so but the team’s preference is to be in the office. There is definitely a sense of community when we’re all in together. We all like each other and we enjoy working together – it’s much more fun being here than being at home!

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Treat them as you’d like to be treated. Reputations are more fragile than ever in today’s world where everyone is a reviewer or a commentator. You want to be someone people want to do business with. In the early days of Covid, when we were all in no-man’s land and not really knowing how long lockdown would last, I made a point of thanking clients when they paid us and making sure we paid all our suppliers on time. Frustratingly, it tends to be the larger companies that are the worst for paying on time.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

There’s a well-known saying ‘cash is king’ and it’s so true. It’s very easy to be lured into a false sense of security by a flattering turnover or profit figure but unless you’re getting paid, and have money in your bank account, it’s of no value. Your cash flow is the most meaningful indicator of the health of your business. If you can’t pay your bills, you’ll soon run out of road. Make sure your payment terms are clear from the beginning and include a penalty for late payment. Equally, it’s important to pay your suppliers on time. You don’t want to get a reputation for being a ‘bad payer’ as it will come back and bite you.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

Some sort of tax break for small businesses would be a good idea. For example: for businesses that are beyond the initial start-up phase and in the critical next stage of investing for growth (defined by turnover and headcount level), we’d welcome a reduced VAT rate (for a defined period). This would allow us to divert that money to employing more team members and thus creating more jobs which as well as fuelling the business growth, also has wider economic benefits.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

It’s easy to get distracted if you pay too much attention to what others are doing. My preference is to focus on what we’re doing and what we can control.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

We’re six years old and it’s passed so quickly. We grew very quickly from day one and although COVID slowed us down, we’re back on track and exited 2021 in a very good place. I’m excited about the future but to be honest, I don’t want to worry too much about the end goal and instead focus on trying to enjoy the journey. I’ve heard too many people crave a “what next?” when they’ve reached their goal. It’s a cliché but it’s true to say that the thrill is in the chase.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Anita Pace, Founder and MD of Pace Agency

Home improvements is a vast industry where the competition is rife. Learn how one company stays ahead of the game …

Ensuring that you deliver high quality materials and service keeps you ahead of the competition. Stuart and Brad’s parents, Ray & Angie Dantzic founded the business 35 years ago and the brothers worked in the business before taking the reins officially in January 2017. He shares his vision with Business Matters.

What products or services do you provide?

Caribbean Blinds is the UK’s Leading External Shading Manufacturer and exclusively design and UK-manufacture the very finest external shading systems for discerning homeowners and businesses across the country, that transform the use, functionality and enjoyment of all types of spaces.

From contemporary patio awnings that provide instant shade and shelter to innovative external blinds that offer unbeatable solar heat and light control as well as our all-weather louvered roofs – Outdoor Living PodsTM – that enable year-round use of outdoor spaces. We provide the full service from first meeting through to final installation carried out by our own team of experts.

What type of businesses do you work with?

We work across all sectors: across the business sector we cover hospitality, commercial offices, office buildings with both multi and single occupancy – we work with contractors, architects and interior designers who specify our products on buildings.  We also work across the education spectrum from nursery schools, primary, secondary schools to colleges and universities.

What problem does your company essentially solve?

Thermal and visual comfort.

This covers issues with buildings that are overheating, not just in the summer but all year round, or buildings with too much glare or light during the peak summer months. Also privacy issues, in particular buildings in built up areas or ground floor premises where people might be able to look in. We also cover the outdoor living aspect, making outdoor spaces usable all year round rather than just for the few days or weeks that we get of sunshine every year.

What is your USP?

We make all of our products here in the UK so our headline USP would be ‘Made in Britain’. Additionally we are dedicated to the field and have been for 35 years this year officially! We always aim to have the ‘best products at the best price and the best service’ so subsequently the best value proposition for our clients.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

The company foundations are built around our four core values – Quality, Service, Value and Integrity.

Quality – the company’s products must combine style, function and durability

Service – dedicated purely to the field of external shading since the company’s inception in 1987, Caribbean Blinds provides an unparalleled wealth of genuine, expert advice and information to ensure the perfect external shading system is designed for every application, requirement and budget. Service is at the centre of everything we do and guarantees clients a seamless process from concept to completion.

Value – whilst our products may not be the cheapest, they will offer clients the best value for money, providing them with the outdoor living or solar shading they desire that performs day in, day out without problem, as well as unmatched quality, service and specification.

Integrity – for each stage of the Caribbean Blinds process, our knowledge and expertise allows us to provide genuine and honest information to ensure clients have all the required information they need to make an informed and confident decision. Furthermore given the ‘energy saving’ nature of our products, we also look to our environmental impact; using fabrics free of plasticisers, recycling all waste aluminium and re-using packaging to ensure an entirely holistic approach to the product offering and cycle.

Have we ever had our values challenged? We’ve never had the company’s values challenged as we stand by them and uphold them, and this is clear to our clients. The only element we’ve ever had challenged is customers not believing that we make our products in the UK  – this is because this industry in notorious for products being shipped in from Europe because it’s a more mature market. So we invite those who challenge us to come and see out products being made in our factory.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

We have a dedicated talent manager in-house who oversees all personnel ensuring our values are understood, upheld and to enable every individual to flourish. At the induction, the family values are clearly explained, the new recruits will meet with either me or my brother Brad and then they’ll be paired up with a long-term member of staff who’s been here for in excess of 10 years and that’s who they’ll work with for the first few months and shadow them. That person will instil the values, lead by example and show why they’ve been with the company for so long. They will also show them what makes the company great, how it’s changed and evolved but how it has stayed true to its values.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Yes we are and we are currently providing a flexible solution, so part working in the office and part working from home. However because of what we do in terms of the manufacturing, it would be impossible to work from home. So the hybrid model really works for the office element but even within the office we do have a mantra that you have to be in as much as possible because we get better results when everyone is in. You’re more creative when you’re in the office, more engaged, more involved and as an individual you excel faster which helps to move up the ranks in terms of career prospects. The new recruits learn quicker when they are around the team but we do provide flexible working and have spent a lot of time and effort in making the office completely COVID safe so that our team feels completely comfortable to be in this environment.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Communication – my number one tip is to communicate at all levels and deliver on your promises. If you say you’re going to do something, then do it. If there is going to be an issue then communicate as early as possible and keep the customer updated.

Communication is key through our entire process from pre-sale where the information that you are providing is genuine and realistic through to the point of contract where everything matches up. We then have to deliver on what we said in the contract in terms of the product lead times, function etc. If there are going to be any problems during the process, let the customer know as soon as possible so that they don’t have any nasty surprises at the end.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

My only advice is to keep an eye on your numbers and monitor them constantly; I look at our numbers every week. Know what you need to make to cover your costs and check on a daily basis what orders you have in and how many more you need to get that week to cover your overheads.

As a new business particularly, get in to the habit of doing this daily so you can keep track and make changes when necessary. By doing this you are motivated when you can see you have covered your costs and hopefully made a profit on top.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses, what would it be?

Legislation – the one thing that I would ask the government to change within my industry is legislation, particularly the legislation that has effectively come over from Europe. I realise that this is part of what Brexit is but fundamentally, most of our legislation is still old legislation that’s based on Europe rather than the UK and for us as a marketplace, we want it based in the UK and for legislation to be made relevant for what we do as an industry rather than for our counterparts over in Europe.

I am also certain that most of our endless piles of paperwork could now be done digitally.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

I welcome my competitors because they give us a benchmark and allow us to evolve and move forwards. The more they evolve, the more we evolve and as we want to stay one step ahead of them it’s always good to know what they’re doing.

We particularly welcome those who market and sell their products correctly because this maintains a good name for the industry and helps to grows the size of the marketplace. As a company, if I have the largest percentage of the marketplace, which we do, and everyone is helping to grow it by marketing as well as us, then it’s a win/win situation.

The competitors that I don’t welcome are those who are selling inferior products that are not fit for purpose and subsequently mislead customers, casting shade on the industry – excuse the pun.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

My dream is to evolve the company to being a lifestyle enhancing group of companies and to become a household name known for the very best at what we do. Through these companies, I would like to be able to enhance lifestyles from the outdoor shading perspective and then apply that to other similar businesses such as outdoor kitchens, interior blinds, outdoor furniture etc but being a premium luxury brand, an aspirational brand that people dream of having and want to work towards having, not just because it’s nice to have but because it really does make a genuine difference to their life and daily well-being as well.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Stuart Danzic, Co-Founder and MD of Caribbean Blinds

Providing impartial advice without any bias creates a genuine bond with customers.

Speakers Corner works with speakers from politics, sport, business, TV, comedy and more, crucially without managing anyone exclusively, so they have no motive except to find their client’s the right speaker to complement an event. Founder, Nick Gold speaks to Business Matters and shares insights and learnings from the day to day running of the company …

What type of businesses do you work with?

We work with all types of businesses, from massive multinational FTSE 100 companies to small startups to social enterprises. We also work with event agencies, exhibition and conference organisers, and award planners. Essentially, anyone who is interested in hiring a speaker.

What problem does your company solve?

In a world where everyone understands more and more, many people are still on a quest for knowledge and want to learn as much as they can. In this context, we provide thought leaders and motivational speakers who can entertain, educate and improve mindsets.

What is your USP?

We provide independent consultancy on who the best speaker is for your event, based on what you’re looking to achieve. We’re genuinely impartial — we don’t manage any of the artists, or have a vested interest in anything except making sure they’re the right speaker for your event.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

Our company values are impartiality, creativity, supportiveness and responsiveness. We’ve actually challenged ourselves about our values recently, and realised they had to be things we naturally lived and breathed, rather than a set of processes. When they’ve been challenged by external parties, we’ve embraced that — we always aspire to be better. Plus, our interactions with our customers make it easy for us to show them the values we aspire to.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

We believe we can teach you the skills necessary to be great at your job — but the values are innate. So when we recruit, we’re looking for the right people to teach. We try to identify our values in everyone who crosses our path. Our interviews usually include 2 stages. During the first stage, we test the candidate’s knowledge. In the second stage, we go off in weird and wonderful ways to find out who they are, and which values they embody. I’m not interested in their CV at this point; I want to be around people who interest me and put a smile on my face.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

100%! We’ve found great success in offering flexible or hybrid working arrangements for our staff, so we want to continue this to make sure our staff are happy and comfortable in their working environment. It’s all about finding a balance that works for both the team and the business. I believe it should be a priority for businesses to make their staff want to come to work, so they need to create a culture that staff want to be part of, and miss when they’re not in the office.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Be transparent. Don’t try to play games. Whether you’re a supplier, customer, or an individual, everyone wants a pleasant experience — so be open and honest with everyone involved. If people trust you to work with them to troubleshoot and solve problems, any issues that crop up can be resolved between you all. You should never see any relationship as short-term.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Cashflow is everything for new businesses. The road to success is going to be rocky, but money in the bank buys you time to deliver your vision. If there’s one thing you need to be tough on when it comes to business, it’s your finances. Make sure you collect your money in line with your invoicing terms, and make sure you pay your suppliers on time.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

It should be legal to enforce that invoices are paid on time. For small businesses relying on the money from every invoice, this would be invaluable.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

I believe that competition is really healthy. As an industry, I believe we should grow the market together, rather than competing over the existing business without exploring the potential of the marketplace. You can be friendly with your competitors — understanding them on one level, while competing on another. Life’s too short to be nasty.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

I’m very excited about Speakers Corner, and about the industry as a whole. I want to understand more about the world and how we can be inspired. As a business, we’re ideally positioned to put amazing people in front of everyone, creating inspirational, motivational experiences for all. The pandemic has opened up a new area for us, now that it’s common for events to be virtual or in-person, so I believe we have an exciting time ahead. It gives us the opportunity to offer different types of experiences, and we want to be at the centre of that.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Nick Gold, MD & Founder, Speakers Corner

Changing how personal guarantees for business owners work has relieved the stress of small businesses enabling them to grow.

Since launch, Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance has protected over £120m in Personal Guarantees, giving business owners and directors the confidence to secure finance knowing that if the business fails, the majority of the loan would be paid off without risk to their home and assets.

MD Todd Davison, has grown the company to become, currently, the only insurer offering personal guarantee insurance to small business owners which can be purchased for an existing guarantee, or as finance is taken out. He shares his insights with Business Matters

What type of businesses do you work with?

We provide personal guarantee insurance to the owners or directors of any incorporated business that fits our risk appetite. It can be a start-up or a well-established business but typically it is small to medium sized firms who haven’t built the financial standing to support their growth ambitions so the directors or owners need to use their personal assets as security for the lender.

What problem does your company solve?

SME access to finance is increasingly going to necessitate signing a Personal Guarantee as lenders become more risk averse following the pandemic.

At the same time, the risk of signing a Personal Guarantee has increased following new insolvency rules introduced in December 2020 which made HMRC a preferred creditor in a business insolvency.  In essence this may reduce the ‘pot’ of funds left to pay existing Personal Guarantee backed loans meaning that a director or business owner could find that as the loan is called in, their personal assets need to be used to settle the debt.

It is therefore crucial SME owners and directors understand how they can mitigate the risks of signing a Personal Guarantee, with Personal Guarantee Insurance becoming an increasingly common option.

Personal Guarantees give the lender a written promise, made by a director or number of directors, to accept liability for a company’s debt.  In practice, this means that if the business defaults on a loan the director’s home, car and anything in their personal bank account could be called on to settle the outstanding debt. The guarantor could even face bankruptcy if their personal assets don’t cover the debt.  This obviously has much longer-term ramifications, including prohibiting them from being a company director in the future.

If you co-own your home, with a spouse or partner – they will also have to sign the guarantee.  A minority stake holding in the business won’t protect you either as a lender will go after whoever has the most chance of settling the debt.

Personal Guarantees can apply to a wide range of loan facilities including those available from P2P lending platforms – in fact at Purbeck we see most of the demand for Personal Guarantee Insurance coming from the alternative finance market.  In addition, the Government backed CBILS (Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme) permitted the use of Personal Guarantees as security for loans over £250,000.  

Signing a Personal Guarantee to secure access to funding is a risk some small business owners are willing to take while others see it as a step too far.  In a survey we conducted amongst SME owners and directors, almost half (45%) said they’d decided against taking out a loan because of a Personal Guarantee.  

What is your USP?

Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance is the only provider of personal guarantee insurance in the UK.  Not only that but unlike other types of business insurance, we do all that we can to support our customers to prevent their business failing and a claim from occurring. We offer mentoring, advice and access to re-financing experts.  In some cases we can also put businesses in touch with other firms in the same field to learn how they have dealt with similar challenges. 

Our underwriters also review each application on its own individual merits; there is no one size fits all as we recognise the SME space is broad and diverse.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

Building and preserving our reputation as a professional, personable and market leading organisation is fundamental.  We are proud to score 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot for service excellence.  To this end our values are focused on investing in the professional development of our people, ensuring we are fleet of foot operationally and deliver long term, sustainable financial value to our shareholders.

I am delighted to say we have never had our values challenged.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

We undertake a values-based assessment for new recruits to ensure they align to the core values of our business. Also, where we can, before hiring we also invite a candidate to meet the team both in the office and outside of work to ensure the alignment of values works for both the candidate and the team.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office, post-covid?

Yes – the key to getting this right is clear communication and being able to build that team spirit and culture.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Being proactive is vital – constantly assess any impact to the supply chain and anticipate any disruption to supplies. If customers are struggling to meet contractual obligations consider what impact would this have on your business? It is important to work out a clear strategy to deal with late or non-payment – that might be through credit control, taking legal advice, limiting credit terms or a combination of all three.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Careful financial forecasting is essential to establish businesses needs and whether any additional funding is required to create, sustain and grow the business.

We know many SMEs don’t have the luxury of a Financial Director so the services of an accountant should be called upon if the financial expertise isn’t in-house.   

The next thing you need to do is get a firm grasp on the finance options available to your business. If you’re a start-up, you need to be aware that you probably won’t be able to get an unsecured business loan without some reasonably strict repayment terms.

So, you’ll typically have to pay more interest with unsecured loans. An unsecured business loan, then, is a viable option if you only need a small amount such as £20,000.

You also need to be aware that unsecured borrowing is almost always supported by a Personal Guarantee, and it’s common for lenders to ask for personal guarantees to act as security against a secured loan too.

If your business has been trading for a year, you’ll naturally be in a stronger position than you were 12 months ago, as you’ll be able show potential investors your cash flow.

Banks and alternative finance providers will want to see evidence of a strong cash flow, as it provides reassurance that your business can meet loan repayments. As well as showing cash flow for the previous year, create a three-year cash flow forecast – how you think your business will perform over the next 36 months – to underline your business’ capability to repay the loan.

Don’t expect the conversation with a lender to solely be about the financials. Lenders will also try to make your judgement of you as a director – they want to see if you know what’s happening in your industry, what trends are emerging, and the potential market threats and opportunities that could affect your business.

Carrying out a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of your business will show you’ve done your homework and you’re thinking about what’s required to future-proof your business.

You can’t do enough to show yourself as a competent and successful business owner – it’s as much about proving your personal credentials as it is the viability of your business.

To build a positive image of yourself as the business owner, obtain endorsements from people you’ve done business with in the past that you can carry into the meetings with the lender.

If you’re asked to sign a personal guarantee make it a priority to find out what signing that guarantee means for you personally, and if it is the only way you can realise the objective of financing a business, consider taking out insurance to cut the risk of financial loss.

Savvy entrepreneurs in the UK collectively secured £35m of funding for a new venture in the past three years through personal guarantee backed loans that were protected by Personal Guarantee insurance.  

There are additional steps business owners should consider when they weigh up the pros and cons of signing a Personal Guarantee. For example, if you run your business with co-directors, come to an agreement to share the guarantee.  You can also negotiate a time limit for the guarantee and a cap on the amount, but remember interest and costs added to the debt can soon mount up. 

You may also be able to agree terms where you are guaranteeing a part of rather than the whole loan and that settlement is sought first from company’s assets before enforcing the guarantee.

Finally, without strong cash flow it is difficult for small businesses to reinvest and grow so being tough and having a robust approach to late payment could push your invoices higher up the pile and save the time and stress of chasing in the future.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

Not necessarily change but continue to encourage entrepreneurship in the UK by offering incentives, grants, mentoring programmes.  SMEs are critical to the UK economy and it’s a boom time in the UK for new business creation – record numbers of small businesses have been established since the start of the pandemic and SMEs contribute more in turnover and employment than large businesses. They need as much support as possible.

Further incentives could work to hone in on late payment issues within supply chains to encourage the flow of capital. Key to this is understanding the inefficiencies within supply chains and to encourage the release of capital rather than suppliers waiting 90, 120 days to be paid.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

Ask me again when we have one!

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

Our strategy is to stick to niche, underserved markets and develop innovative insurance solutions. Our core product is growing well and we’ve seen quarter-on-quarter sales increase and the renewal book has performed well. 

We have targeted a number of follow on products and distribution channels and our strategic roadmap has a number of compelling opportunities. Each product will be the first of their kind in the UK market which is exciting!

Expansion overseas is also another option but there are obvious challenges and there is plenty of opportunity within the UK.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Todd Davison, MD, Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Rebecca Masri MBE, Founder of Little Emperors

No two days are ever the same within the property industry. Pushing forwards with commercial builds and leases also benefits the surrounding communities.

As the business’ core values align so closely with her own: to invest back into the communities in which it operates, Katherine Croom shares her journey with Business Matters …

What products or services do you provide?

Sorbon Estates is a commercial property owner and developer operating across the South East, with a head office in Beaconsfield. We have over 300 commercial properties in our portfolio and about 1,300 tenants. Our portfolio is very varied and includes commercial, retail, industrial and residential properties, as well as moorings.

What type of businesses do you work with?

We work with many different business as our portfolio is so varied, including occupiers of our premises, building contractors and suppliers. We particularly love working with unique independent retailers who we can offer a British Independent Retail Association (BIRA) membership. We are passionate about ensuring a good tenant relationship to help build a thriving high street location in the areas where we have a presence. We own a number of properties across Bucks and Berks including in riverside towns Marlow and Maidenhead. We invest a lot of time finding tenants to complement the existing mix of opportunities on the high street to ensure thriving destinations that locals and visitors alike enjoy spending time in.

What problems does your company solve?

A common problem in high streets is a lack of variety, which consequently does not draw people to the area. Our mission tackles this issue as we strive to support our tenants’ needs and create welcoming, enjoyable, and high-quality places and spaces for the local community and visitors. A prime example is the mixed-use redevelopment we have completed in Maidenhead town centre, called Waterside Quarter. This has transformed this area of the town and forms an integral part of Maindehead’s ongoing regeneration programme.

What is your USP?

All of our business is undertaken in house, we don’t outsource. We have a full development team including Project managers, Architects and Planners. On the managed estate we have in-house estate managers, leasing managers, credit control and a full finance team. Sorbon Estates is part of the Shanly Group and benefits from the affiliation with Shanly Homes, a major regional housebuilding company.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so, how have you dealt with it?

Our company values are to be rooted, professional, welcoming, and caring. Sorbon Estates is rooted in heritage and community. We’re positive and enthusiastic, whilst being honest and straightforward to deal with. When communicating with clients we’re welcoming and helpful. We care about the communities we are involved with and give back to them through our work with The Shanly Foundation. 

Sorbon Estates typically invests in its properties over the long term, redeveloping to make improvements that will maximise their potential. The innovative redevelopment work underway in places like Maidenhead helps to ensure a positive impact on the local community.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

We are huge believers in helping people onto the job ladder and run a graduate scheme to support young people coming into the industry. Our robust training programme is based on our core values to ensure everyone is pulling in the same direction. Bringing young people into and through the business is vitally important to us as they offer different styles and ideas which benefit the business.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-Covid?

We are based in the office and our teams don’t work from home. All of the team are out of the office visiting our sites and customers every single day, so having the office as a base is essential for some face-to-face contact and communication. It suits our business and allows for maximum collaboration. We are also passionate about working with young people starting out; they benefit immensely from being in the office and hearing from us as leaders.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Communication is key in any relationship be it with suppliers or customers. We endeavour to be approachable and communicative when our customers need us. Having a clear line of communication involves setting expectations to minimise the risk of things not going to plan and to prevent any disappointment. Finally, having an open dialogue means that we are able to resolve disputes quickly and efficiently, with no drama.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Often the most basic item is forgotten so I would recommend that new businesses make sure that their revenue comes before their outgoings. The best way to ensure this is to agree payment terms that work with your particular supply chain. Don’t forget to always factor in a contingency when running figures and appraisals – there are always unforeseen items. 

Starting out in any new business venture can be challenging so it is important to understand your competition and what they offer. You need to be sure that what you offer is different to these competitors and is truly special to customers, so that you can build a loyal base.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses, what would it be?

Working in commercial property, we routinely run into issues with the business rates systems and feel that it could definitely be much better. In addition, from my perspective, I would like to see unnecessary bureaucracy within local authorities removed, so that individual teams are empowered to achieve positive results within their area.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

We don’t focus too much on other companies working in the same sphere, however we recognise that competition is not only healthy but important for every industry. We are very clear on our direction and vision, so focus our energy on delivering the best job we possibly can. Having said that, I am very inquisitive, and always keen to learn from other companies who are pushing innovation.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

Sorbon Estates is passionate about developing new and innovative commercial real estate, which underpins everything we do. This includes a special focus on contributing to the regeneration of Maidenhead Town Centre. The development has been carefully designed to create a stylish yet functional mix of retail, leisure and eateries, alongside 260 new homes overlooking Maidenhead’s rejuvenated waterways.  

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Katherine Croom, MD of Sorbon Estates

With 25 years of experience in financial services with GE Capital, Thomas Cook and Avios, Matt Oldham discusses his latest venture.

Matt Oldham is CEO and co-founder of e-current account service and fintech for good, Unizest.

What products or services do you provide?

Unizest is a digital app offering an e-current account for non-UK residents coming to the UK to work or study, helping them to get the best possible start in the UK. In a simple and secure five-step onboarding process, Unizest allows workers and students coming to the UK to open their account before they leave their home country. Upon arrival in the UK, customers receive their Debit Mastercard. 

What type of businesses do you work with?

We work with businesses that are involved in bringing people to the UK to work or study. That includes recruitment agencies, educational agencies, employers, tertiary educational institutions and other support organisations such as immigration and visa specialists. 

What problem does your company solve?

It can be really difficult to get a UK bank account if you have no residential history here. This makes it hard for people coming to the UK to work or study to get started – so much of our lives revolve around being paid, and being able to pay. The challenge of opening a traditional high street bank account for overseas workers also creates ‘friction’ in the recruitment process and in the onboarding of overseas candidates; workers need a bank account for their salary to be paid into, before they can start work. Unizest can help recruiters onboard candidates faster.

Underbanked people (i.e. those who do not have access to proper banking services) are also more vulnerable to exploitation, and those who are financially excluded are, in essence, locked out of society. Unizest actively targets people in this situation with a product designed for their needs. 

By solving the problem of friction in banking access, Unizest also helps recruiters working in those sectors that rely heavily on overseas workers – such as manufacturing, warehousing and healthcare. 

What is your USP?

Unizest has a unique onboarding process for non-UK residents, allowing them to open their account prior to arrival in the UK, and without the need for a residential history. The process links to a Home Office Share Code to ensure customers have a confirmed right to reside in the UK, making the set up simple for Unizest users. This is part of our value proposition – giving our customers the ‘best start’ possible to their new life in the UK. 

For  a recent arrival, many elements of UK life can be confusing. Lower paid non-UK workers are also more vulnerable to labour abuse and poor working practices. So, in addition to making it easy and secure to get an account, we have incorporated resources and support for our customers (via independent NGOs such as Just Good Work) within the Unizest app. This includes guidance on workers rights, and signposting to organisations to reach out to if a customer needs help. 

We recognise that migrant workers are more likely to have temporary, zero hour contracts, and so in order to stretch tight budgets, we have included an offers platform within the app, which gives users discounts on everyday items, including SIM cards and train travel. 

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

We have developed a ‘brand playbook’, which is central to how we operate. It details what we’re about, who we are and how we do things, and we are really happy to share this playbook with anyone, including our partners and suppliers. We also use this playbook when training our customer service team, and it is essential reading for new recruits. Within it our three core values are highlighted – ‘do the right thing’; ‘be collegiate’; and ‘be a changemaker’. 

We have not had our values challenged, but we have set up our decision making processes to be values focused. As an example, we have challenged ourselves on the way we communicate Unizest pricing. Are we transparent with our customers? Simply asking this question resulted in a change to our website and marketing materials, in order to ensure we were clear on costs to end users. No doubt, we will continue to be challenged going forward, and we will take the same approach of reverting back to our brand playbook. We have already had conversations about Unizest and lending – can we lend money to lower income, high risk customers, and still be true to ourselves?

To help us with external accountability on our values, we are in the process of becoming B Corp accredited. Certified B Corporations are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community and the environment. 

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

As mentioned before, our brand playbook plays a big part in this. We share it early in the recruitment process and it is a clear and mutual statement of expectations. As an early stage business we are asking new recruits to take a chance – to come on an adventure with us! We can’t give much by way of certainty as we are growing and moving so fast, but we can give reassurance on how we will behave as an employer. 

We have been fortunate enough to onboard three (paid!) interns, who reflect Gen Z attitudes – progressive, socially aware and values driven. As an employer, it is clear that with this generation of future leaders, the values of your business are more important than the value of your balance sheet.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

As a business we have been founded, formed and funded during what you might call ‘Covid times’. We have created a business and launched our first product all whilst working entirely remotely. This has caused some inconvenience – but also some advantages. We have been able to hire from a wider pool of candidates further afield; have saved costs on office space; and our team seems to have enjoyed the flexibility. Having recently taken up office space, it is clear that we need to re-learn how to work in the ‘old way’, and we will certainly never fully return to office-dominated business practices. 

We recently enjoyed an in person launch event, and since most of our team had never met face to face, it was a really special moment. I think we – as a society – are in the process of redefining what ‘work’ means in the context of location. It will be different for different people – and undoubtedly some people will have struggled physically or mentally with extended WFH for such a long time. We will offer choice and flexibility, focusing on outputs, not attendance.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

When I was a very young, inexperienced salesperson, I learned a tremendous lesson about the supplier/customer relationship. A small business that I had never heard of contacted me out of the blue asking for a quote for services. I quoted a ridiculously high price and they bought it. It was a horrible and short lived relationship, but we made some short term money. That business was a very young mobile phone company that went on to become massive. If I had had a longer term vision and more basic respect, who knows what could have happened!

My tip therefore is try and work out how both parties ‘win’, and think in much longer terms than your immediate targets.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Whatever your contingency budget is, double it! You will have unexpected costs (we have!) and they can be derailing if you don’t have some spare cash. 

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be? 

If I had a magic wish, there would be no point wasting it on something sensible like tax relief or VAT waivers – we may as well be radical! I would like to see all children from primary school age onwards taught coding as part of the national curriculum. They have been brought up in the digital age – we need to equip them to shape it.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

Respect. 

We are competitors to our competitors and I hope they respect us too. By that I mean that we should not treat them as the enemy, but as just another group of people doing similar jobs to us. That does not mean we should not look for their strengths and weaknesses and plan strategies to be better. But we should always do the right thing (thinking back to our values of course!), and play fair. 

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams? 

We are an early stage company so thoughts of the future and “dreams” are sort of the same thing! We have made a very solid start: we believe in our business model and have great support from partners, investors and other key stakeholders such as Mastercard and Railsbank. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we need to establish Unizest first by building up a presence in the UK market. That will be our focus for 2021/22.

Our core proposition (providing basic banking services via digital technology to underserved populations) resonates in a number of countries outside the UK and to a variety of different customer groups. We are fortunate in that our in-house tech stack and team can stand up digital banking propositions quickly and cost effectively. Our goal is to target areas with large numbers of underbanked and underserved customers, and find innovative partner based routes to market. 

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Matt Oldham, co-founder and CEO of Unizest

There’s nothing more current right now than the notion of sustainability and EV powered products.

Rapid charging therefore is essential to the framework for the country moving to adhere to all of the Government’s plans for a more planet friendly future. Heliox provides rapid charging infrastructure for some of the largest EV projects in Europe. Michael Colijn talks to Business Matters …

What products or services do you provide?

Heliox designs, builds, installs, maintains and monitors such infrastructure based on the needs of partners, prioritising on rapid charging, ability to scale in the medium and long run, and interoperability of fleet and charging infrastructure.

We work across public transport, e-trucks and a number of different sectors to provide fast charging systems that can efficiently power EVs for business and consumer convenience. We recently announced that in the last six months we have supplied over 1,000,000 charging sessions, the equivalent of 6,000 per day. Currently there are over 25,000 commercial EVs powered by Heliox globally. Going ahead, Heliox is also strengthening its ability to monitor the infrastructure to be able to provide smart energy insights.

What type of businesses do you work with?

We work with businesses across a number of sectors. From city planners to fleet owners, we work to ensure that businesses who are looking to implement more sustainable measures are supported. Heliox has implemented some of the largest e-fleet rapid charging projects in Europe, with partnerships with First Bus Glasgow and Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, which contribute towards global net-zero emissions goals.

What problem does your company solve?

As the environment and sustainability goals become paramount across the globe, cities and companies are seeking transitions towards electric and green solutions.These transitions are being led by vehicles – busses, trucks, cars – which would play an immediate and significant role in bringing down CO2 emissions, but eventually need to impact all aspects of our daily life. This is crucial to the UK’s ambition of reaching net-zero emissions by 2030, as well as complimenting the ban of diesel cars and heavy duty petrol vehicles by 2040.

We are enablers of this transition, providing turnkey solutions that begin with designing the e-mobility solution for a company, providing the hardware and a future outlook for scaling up or other infrastructural / technological upgrades.

The infrastructure to support this ‘e-transition’ is expected to double in the UK in the next few years, with an estimated 1,170 charge points per 100km of road expected to be required by 2030.

What is your USP?

Our USP is the coming together of 3 core practices to create a tailored solution for each partner:

• We are the only provider of rapid charging that can be implemented at scale. This puts us in a unique position to support businesses who are looking to move to deploying hundreds of e-fleets or increase their number of electric vehicles, and empower them to contribute to sustainability efforts.
• We offer end-to-end tailored solutions that include designing, building, installing, maintaining and monitoring
• Given the key role played by e-mobility and its charging infrastructure, we manufacture and assemble within the European continent only.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

As a company, we strongly believe in the current outlook and action to meet stipulated environmental and sustainability goals as envisaged by partners and cities. These goals come under pressure constantly, and the challenge only helps create an environment of greater innovation and research.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

We are constantly checking in with our values to ensure the people we work with feel that we represent them.

We also have a specific step in our recruitment process that is focused on our values. We work with a company called Seedlink to generate a score for each candidate, which is checked against our company values, so we can see which candidates are the best fit. In addition we run an annual values survey to understand whether the prioritisation of individual values has collectively changed in accordance with our company values.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Last year, we quickly adapted to hybrid working, and have seen a significant increase in productivity. We know that our team is happiest when they have the option to work flexibility, so we’ve made sure that our company policy reflects a 50/50 split between working from home and being in the office.
We believe this balance allows our team to have the benefits of both remote working, and collaborating in person.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

We see our suppliers as equally important as our customers. They help keep our day to day running, so working with them has to be seen as a true partnership.
We work with our suppliers to set expectations on the high quality chargers and installation we offer, as well as keeping them in the loop with our needs as our business changes.

With our customers, we always make sure we’re one step ahead when it comes to managing our communication. We put ourselves in their shoes, so we know how to bring them solutions and communicate them in a clear way, without overcomplicating the technical language.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

 The most important things to remember are that cash is king, and that even a large business can go under if cash-flow is not a priority. Be focused on bringing in revenues, and look 3-6 months ahead to ensure your pipeline is as strong as possible.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

This year’s COP26 in Glasgow will be pivotal in the discussions on sustainability. So far, what we’ve seen has been promising – but the proof is in the pudding, so I would ask that promises are kept, and they invest in infrastructure that demonstrates their commitment to encouraging higher adoption rates of electric vehicles.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

We see competitors as a phenomenal driver for innovation, and we all have a mutual goal of making the world a better place.
It is crucial for us to work with our competitors to move towards a more sustainable way of working, and ensure we are collaborating to make the energy transition happen.
The ultimate goal of accelerating the industry is beyond each company’s interest, but is instead the sum of a collaborative effort.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

I’ve spent my whole career in the energy business, making sure the world is a better place for my daughter. The future of Heliox is ensuring we are contributing in creating a sustainable, environmentally viable world to pass down to the next generations.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Michael Colijn, CEO of Heliox

Randel Darby is on a mission to make the future of air travel more efficient, seamless, and sustainable.

Since its release, AirPortr has been adopted by some of the world’s largest airlines and airports, is trusted by over 100,000 travellers a year in the UK and growing as the allure of no lost baggage is finally a reality, whilst actively scaling into new markets in 2021. Randel shares his Secrets of Success with Business Matters …

What products or services do you provide?

We provide an airline integrated digital product which allows air passengers to have their bags picked up at home and checked-in before their flight. Our product also digitally clears baggage through Customs on arrival and delivers passengers’ bags to their final destination.

What type of businesses do you work with?

We work with businesses from across the air travel ecosystem: airlines and airports such as British Airways and Heathrow, baggage delivery couriers and ground handlers such as Swissport, and large aviation I.T. companies like Amadeus.

What problem does your company solve?

Baggage is a pain point and creates bottlenecks in the air travel journey – for passengers, airlines and airports. A large percentage of airport terminals are dedicated to baggage and as passenger volumes have increased, several airports have expanded to increase check-in and bag-drop facilities.

We created an interface whereby baggage can be picked up all over cities and processed in advance – this eases the strain on airport operations, reduces space requirements in terminals and delivers an improved passenger experience. 

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

Bad hires in the past led to a culture where people ended up concealing their concerns or problems. That experience led to our company values centring around openness, honesty and transparency, and it is key for the team to be able to say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out”.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Yes, absolutely. The hybrid approach has resulted in happier employees with no drop in productivity. In fact, we have achieved more in the last year than I believe we would have done in pre-Covid times. Personally, I love being able to go for a walk before starting my day instead of jumping on a train and I’m much better for it throughout the rest of my working day.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Keep costs as low as possible, and as flexible as possible, for as long as possible – until you have solid proof of concept. Having someone skilled at financial control and getting figures out fast is also key.

Scaling early, and therefore ramping up your burn, to keep competitive advantage can be very dangerous.

Don’t be tempted to build infrastructure or teams just because you have blind confidence that your product or start-up will succeed. Wait until the business comes in. 

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be? 

It would be to make innovation grant funding less complicated for companies to access. It should also be more accessible for companies outside of the ‘life sciences’ field. Companies in this country have great visions to address climate crisis, help industries achieve sustainability targets, transforming or driving future transportation models. But if you speak to bid teams about innovation funding, they advise you that in reality your odds of success are slim, so you don’t burn the time you have little of pursuing these angles. I think the government needs to find ways to address this, if they are keen to support accelerated innovation and digitisation across a variety of industries.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Randel Darby, CEO and Founder AirPortr

Diana Morato is on a mission to equip retailers with tech that transforms shopping experiences for customers.

She shares her journey and hopes for Sensei with Business Matters …

What products or services do you provide?

Sensei is a scalable, seamless store-wide solution that empowers autonomous stores. Through an integrated system of cameras, sensors and AI algorithms, we provide a secure and reliable AI-powered end-to-end solution to capture a wealth of store insights and a smooth, frictionless checkout and cash-free shopping experience.

We do that in three ways: creating fully autonomous stores, developing store in a box solutions (modular or pop up stores) and autonomous cabinets for indoor spaces. This means our products are viable for merchants ranging from gas stations, stadiums, university campuses, office buildings and even train stations. 

 What type of businesses do you work with?

We offer autonomous solutions of different formats for a variety of retailers and SMBs in Europe. We specifically look for innovative retailers who recognise the need to adopt new tools and use data in their daily operations, seizing the opportunities offered by digitalisation. 

We work with grocery retailers to retrofit or create new autonomous supermarkets and convenience stores. This is exemplified by our largest partnership with multinational shopping centre company, Sonae. Our autonomous technology was implemented in their biggest supermarket chain, Continente, to create the first autonomous store in mainland Europe last may. 

Although large retailers are our main customers, the aforementioned products we offer are attractive for virtually any business who wants to develop a seamless physical shopping experience for their customers.

What problem does your company solve?

Sensei solves two key pain points. 

Firstly, Sensei uses the technology to remove all friction from stores. With statistics showing that on average consumers spend two years of their life waiting in lines, we decided to remove the hassle and digitise retailers’ physical stores. With our technology, consumers can shop in physical stores without having to stand in line to pay or self-scan items. 

Secondly, we address the retailer’s need to enhance store performance. We use computer vision and AI algorithms to understand consumers in store behaviour to inform best practices for inventory management and product merchandising. Not only does this create operational efficiency but also reduces the level of waste that many retailers in the UK struggle with. 

What is your USP?

Our scalability and accessibility are what separates us from our competitors. We have been working with retailers in Europe since our inception so we’ve always had three advantages at heart: Shopper experience & privacy compliance to GDPR, Cost efficiency & agility, and Quality of technology 

Being the first company to launch an autonomous store with a retailer in Europe, our technology is amongst the most mature in the industry. As a result of our pioneering we understand the market and cooperate with retailers by using their existing equipment and retrofitting our technology within their store layout. Sensei’s technology is flexible in offering and proven in solutions. 

For example, we are able to create or retrofit a 3 thousand square foot store together with a retailer in a couple of months, with no store downtime and half the price of competitor prices. 

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

At Sensei, we strongly believe in the value of re-humanising retail. People sometimes question the effect technology might have on retail work. Will technology replace workers? However, Sensei looks to debunk this myth as digitising a store upskills current retailers staff. It removes the monotony from the day to day responsibilities and allows for pure dedication to consumers, fostering the community side of things. We challenge these discrepancies by using our technology to make the work of retail staff  more efficient.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

We have a solid recruiting process and have introduced best practices from a variety of industries and geographies. That being said, we ensure our founding and executive team members take an active role in the hiring process because it’s important to be exposed to those across the business. We want newcomers to feel comfortable and that conversations are genuine and honest. By consistently following this method and encouraging personal flair from candidates we are able to gather the appropriate information. We also share as much as possible about our business to inform candidates who we are so they can evaluate whether they share our values and culture. After all, we are very aware that the hiring process is a two way street! 

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Definitely. We believe in attracting and nurturing top tier talent, stretching ourselves every day to be the best of the best for our retail customers and shoppers. We are connected by a mindset that strives for excellence so despite working with diverse teams located in different geographies we provide a supported work environment. This means defining responsibilities and objectives clearly whilst supporting our teams with technology and the appropriate training to succeed. Though we are remote first, we are strong believers in cohesive team building as we look to create and maintain personal relationships. Our experience so far shows that the amount of “face” time needed for this varies depending on the type of work, team dynamics, and personal preferences. This is why we don’t enforce a global policy on working models but rather share a set of recommendations and give managers the freedom to decide- together with their teams – what works best for them.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

We put the end customer at the heart of everything we do and work backwards from there. We believe that by doing the right thing for the shopper and taking a long term, win-win approach to relationships with suppliers and our customers, we will be able to maintain a strong value proposition across the entire chain. This is not always easy to put into practice, therefore it is key to be selective and exclusively work with those that share our approach. 

 Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

In the early stages of any start-up, understanding the performance of your key business drivers and being able to plan ahead to adapt is challenging but important. Therefore, tracking business metrics and accessing real time (or up to date) reliable, financial data from the start is crucial. Investing early on in an experienced CFO who is business savvy and has proven ability to grow the business is another important piece of the puzzle. Contrary to what some people may think, a CFO can be a great catalyst for growth.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

There are a number of issues to be addressed that would help companies survive and thrive in these uncertain times. The two pressing issues are: burden rates and tax relief. In the short term, there is a real need to reduce the business burden rate in certain sectors that are struggling post pandemic, such as high street retail. In the mid-long term, the focus should be on implementing a tax relief plan, incentivising the support of investment in new technology across the board. In my view, by modernising our businesses, we are also making them future-proof.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

Sensei admires all competition that operates in the retail technology space as the ultimate goal is to build a seamless, convenient, and safe shopping experience for consumers. We are still in the early stages of the adoption of frictionless shopping experience and real-time data-driven decision-making in physical retail. 

Some other companies have been working on applying computer vision and AI to physical retail for a while now, sparking limited interest from grocery retailers. However, it was not until Amazon began to double down investment and open dozens of autonomous Amazon Go stores that large international players such as Sonae in Portugal or Tesco in the UK have taken the brave step to enter this space supported by partners like Sensei.

Our approach is that cooperation trumps competition because we truly believe in finding the sweet spot in bridging the gap between computer intelligence and human touch. 

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

The next few years are going to be very exciting at Sensei. 

Until the beginning of this year we have been working behind the scenes, honing our technology. We needed to make sure that our core technology was scalable and best in class in recognising products, shop floor interactions and accurately building real time shopping baskets as customers moved freely around the stores. 

With the opening of the first autonomous store in Europe last May, we began a new challenge, productising our technology and selling it to multiple retailers. With our unprecedented growth we are preparing to scale the team to match our development. 

We will soon be going into new countries and deepening our relationships with retailers across Europe. 

Our goal is that autonomous store technology will one day be widespread across the world so that scanning products and standing in a queue is a thing of the past. We want shoppers to have seamless and convenient access to the products and services they truly want. And that retailers, of all sizes, are able to give consumers the personalised shopping experience they deserve.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Diana Morato, Chief Growth Officer, Sensei

Lockdown saw the country’s appreciation of nature and wildlife increase. As one of the UK’s largest independent suppliers of garden wildlife products this trend shows no sign of stopping …

Sean began Ark Wildlife 16 years ago when he found problems with the bird food market’s quality and service. His company has continued to grow, despatching over 400 products every day across the country to keen enthusiasts. He talks to Business Matters about his journey …

What products or services do you provide?

We supply carefully selected wild bird and wildlife foods, extremely high-quality habitats along with a comprehensive range of garden wildlife accessories via our e-commerce website and mail order catalogues. We are a specialist retailer promoting wildlife gardening across the UK by offering our expertise to answer all the common questions our customers have.

Our strength lies in the quality of our customer service backing up the range of products we supply. Experience has taught us many wildlife friendly products go ignored in gardens because the needs of the animals are not understood, rather than the product being inappropriate. Therefore we supply the right products backed up with the expert advice needed to ensure our customers and their wildlife get the maximum value from everything in our range.

What type of businesses do you work with?

We work with a diverse range of businesses from global corporations to sole traders. We have a long-standing policy to ‘trade local’ supporting as many independent local businesses as possible. In fact, many of our suppliers have been with us for 20-years or more and have grown with us. On the other hand, we also necessarily work with international manufacturers and import from China, USA, Europe, as well as the UK.

On our customer side, while we are predominantly a B2C business selling online to the retail sector, we are also one of the UK’s largest suppliers of environmental mitigation products. This means we count among our customer base all the leading house builders such as Persimmon, Barrett Homes, etc. Along with leading builders’ merchants such as Travis Perkins and Jewson’s. We also support and supply local authorities and national charities including The Wildlife Trusts, WWT and The National Trust.

We believe the success we’ve had attracting and maintaining such leading organisations lies in our belief as experts in our field. We feel it’s our responsibility to ensure our customer, regardless of size, gets the same high-quality service as well as the right products for their needs. For example, we have set up a separate customer service team to deal specifically with the building industry, due to the very different requirements they have compared to that of creating a wildlife friendly garden.

What problem does your company solve?

Very simply, we reconnect people with real nature. The modern world, marketing and human nature likes to use anthropomorphisation to sell. This is the human instinct to attribute human emotions, traits and intentions to that of animals. This is largely harmless when it comes to pets such as cats and dogs but is a hindrance to successful wildlife gardening.

We strive to help people create rich habitats and then leave nature to fill them. Birds and flying insects are easy to help because they are actively mobile. However, most of nature does not have access to an Uber and therefore, patience and consistency is required. We help understand and manage these requirements.

Increasing public knowledge and awareness is key, and we support several charities with public campaigns, along with what we as individuals can do to help. For example, when asked about bees most people can describe a honeybee or bumblebee, but these are in the minority. There are ten times as many solitary bee species visiting our gardens, largely going about their business unnoticed, all of whom could benefit from a little more help.

What is your USP?

Our gardening for wildlife expertise is key but we also have a number of USPs that sets us apart from our competitors. Key among these is our product selection and packaging policies. Our industry is dominated by industrial scale operators, running hundreds of tonnes of food daily using advanced manufacturing processes to reduce cost. However, these necessarily reduce range. We on the other hand take the needs of wildlife first and build our business around this. It results in a boutique approach. We uniquely can offer a broad range of species-specific foods in multiple size options. In nature, one size does not suit all.

By explaining to our customers the differing dietary requirements of different species of birds and animals, we then cater for each. This means we offer many more food lines than other businesses, in different pack sizes to suit individual requirements.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

The business reflects my own personal values. Key among these is ‘Don’t rob Peter to pay Paul’, or ‘we all share one Earth’. In my mind it is simply wrong to chop down trees in one nation to build bird nest boxes to replace chopped down trees in another! We work hard to make our business sustainable. A couple of examples are our use of plastic packaging made from sugar cane (a waste material from the human food chain) rather than oil. Or our polypropylene return and reuse scheme.

We take a similar line with respect for our people as we do for the environment. We treat all our suppliers, staff, contacts, and customers as if they were family. After all, we are! We’re all the same species, floating in a dark universe on a small blue planet. We must respect each other, or we will all suffer the consequences.

As a small business the explanation of our values and their beliefs are straightforward. However, social media does like to spread unpleasant accusations and falsehoods. We don’t engage with social outbursts and simply stick to doing what we know is right.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

Recruitment has always been the toughest challenge for our business. Apart from screening candidates, we first need to explain what we do. Many applicants think we’re a petting zoo or equivalent or think we’re a farm industry. The reality is we’re a fast paced, extremely busy 21^st century online retailer / manufacturer requiring exceptional IT skills, extremely knowledgeable customer service teams, methodical and organised warehouse operations, all supported by a creative and innovative management team.

Once we grew beyond the point I could recruit from my own known talent pool, recruitment proved a difficult nut to crack and we’re not there yet! We’ve advertised direct, employed recruitment agencies and even outsourced to an HR recruitment consultancy but none have proved totally satisfactory.

We’re now embarking on a permanent recruitment policy, rather than a vacancy filling policy. The thought being talent will always pay for itself whenever it arrives, whereas finding talent at the point of need is unlikely to happen. This non-urgent approach also means we have considerably more time for screening and checks before either party needs to commit, helping avoid errors by both parties.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Ark Wildlife is an odd combination of agricultural production and high-tech e-commerce industry. Just prior to COVID we had already embarked on a programme of upgrading all our technology to cloud based platforms. These were proving a mixed blessing with game changing advances but frustrating at times with flaky mobile and wi-fi speed.

By the time COVID hit we’d already gone through most of the pain and could quickly adapt to hybrid working. It took just a few days to convert to a distance and home working model and continue to do so. We now offer a combination of office and home working and can seamlessly conduct training and meetings whether staff are present or not. We have enjoyed a number of birthdays and presentations outdoors for social spacing with a number of the team appearing on laptops in the yard.

Production is now split over two sites so that any future outbreaks, and isolation requirements would be contained to individual work pods and not impact the business as a whole. This creates new challenges in terms of internal brand identity and company unity and we are currently exploring new ways to keep remote workers and individual pods in contact with one another via screens during breaks in common areas.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

The philosophy at Ark Wildlife is to treat suppliers like customers and customers like family. Relationships grow through contact and trust. We speak to suppliers on a regular basis, not only on business matters but also on a personal level. After all, all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. Building up trust relationships creates more business opportunities and makes the more difficult discussions less uncomfortable for both.

In our market we generally have greater knowledge than our customers and we therefore need to take a responsible position. We approach customer service more like a pharmacist than a retailer, giving the customer time to explain their needs before offering a solution. We then encourage our customer service team to visualise a close relative or friend before responding Offering the product, advice, or solution to a complaint as if the customer were their own family member.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Tips number 1 to10 would be communication, communication, communication. I started Ark Wildlife with £6,000 which I believe was about £44,000 short of what I needed! The one thing I did possess was time and reputation. I spent hours on the phone and meetings in person, explaining my business plan to suppliers and asking for support. Once begrudgingly given, I then had to manage those agreements and cash flow in particular. I was never going to be able to pay everyone on time, so I consciously spoke to all my creditors before payment fell due to explaining my plan. Make sure you pay everyone something! Tell them what to expect and when and keep to it. I found as long as I paid suppliers on a regular and consistent basis, I could keep them onside.

Another trick I regularly used was while on the phone promising payments, I’d ask for contributions to marketing their product lines on their behalf. This could buy me extended credit, a discount or a cheque. At worst it demonstrated I was selling on their behalf, certainly making it harder for them to then decline my offer of part-payment. Mostly, I just kept in constant contact and worked tirelessly to build up a good business reputation backed by a strong personal relationship with each supplier and certainly the bank.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

I’d like to say create a fair playing field, so all businesses play to the same rules. However, in the real world the greatest benefit would come from the revision or removal of business rates. Business rates take no account of global business, let alone relative cost.

As a simple example our neighbour occupies a similar size unit to us but sells high value electronic goods. His turnover and stock value are nearly a hundred times that of our own and yet we both pay the same amount in business rates. As a percentage we are paying approximately 1.2% tax on rates, while he pays less than 0.25%. How can that be justified? I know speaking to many shop owners in town, their situation is even more unforgivable.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

As with all businesses we have direct and indirect competitors. For Ark Wildlife we include supermarkets and general online retailers such as Amazon as indirect competitors. Although they are selling products aimed at the same market as us, they cater to a different market segment. We describe the difference as supermarkets supply bird food to customers who feed ‘the birds’ while we supply bird food to customers who feed ‘my birds’. We cater for customers who have taken ownership and responsibility for the welfare of the wildlife visiting their gardens, while supermarkets cater for the occasional or impulse shopper. We see indirect competition as critical to our eventual success as they are the ‘doorway’ to new customers and so we welcome them.

In terms of direct competition, there are multiple online wildlife suppliers, many of whom are peripheral players. The never-ending procession of discounters who see a market opportunity but can only sell on price. There is no point competing with these as this is a simple ‘chase to the bottom’ eroding quality that we are not prepared to do.

At the other end of the scale, we have two or three main competitors, with whom we enjoy the challenge of quality, service and innovation required to succeed. We each have our own specialist areas but compete keenly on the common ground. I like getting up each morning with the question ‘how can we be better than we were yesterday?’ This forces us to constantly raise our game and our customers benefit as a result.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

Ark Wildlife is well-established but still a young and growing business. From the outset, it’s been completely self-funded and profit, while important, has never been the driving factor. The benefit of being a larger business is we now have more money to reinvest each year to grow the business further.

Our strategy is to double the business every 5-years. Faster growth is a strong possibility, but it will be subject to maintaining the service standards to which we hold ourselves.

Wildlife gardening is still in its infancy, and we innovate on a continual basis. We fund student PHD’s to further our knowledge and retain veterinarians and nutritionists to formulate better and more nutritious foods. I have years of plans and sketches on my desk and habitats in various locations to monitor before going on sale. Loss of natural habitat is an ongoing concern and learning from experts how we can replicate habitat in our gardens is critical. There is still so much to do, and so much to learn, it will be a long time before my work is done and I can hand over Ark Wildlife to the next generation. For now, I’m really excited about the job I do and the opportunities it presents.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Sean McMenemy, founder and MD of Ark Wildlife

With a vision to support the UK’s land and commercial property community, Ramsey Assal chats to us about his journey …

Ramsey Assal founded The Landsite after finding it difficult to locate suitable land for his own property projects. Spotting a gap in the commercial marketplace Landsite is now in its fourth year of business and is excelling at making information universally available in one place.

What products or services do you provide?

The Landsite is a unique digital network and marketplace designed to connect anyone with an interest in the real estate market. The company’s proprietary platform allows members to create and share their business identity online and access a focused customer base by sharing products, knowledge and news. Members use the marketplace to sell their services and products and utilise the network to find new business relationships.

What type of businesses do you work with?

We work with a wide range of businesses throughout the property and real estate industries. Including estate agents, property investment businesses, mortgage lenders through to architects and designers to building contractors looking to network and generate sales enquiries. The shortened version – anyone involved in services for the property market.

What problem does your company solve?

We have created a platform whereby anyone searching for a property can find the services which are part of the property journey. As a property developer looking for land, for example, our services provide the user with the land and in addition all the services surrounding land. It is the only fully comprehensive one-stop online property marketplace.

What is your USP?

There is simply nobody doing what we are doing on the same level with the amount of property service sectors. With an expansive range of businesses already taking up membership subscription. We are fully comprehensive. From offering investment services to property listings to our property channels dedicated to sustainable building – we see ourselves as a ground-breaking network of professionals.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so, how have you dealt with it?

To provide our users with trusted and reputable businesses offering their services. To create a digital destination which allows our users a quick and efficient way to find whatever property service they are searching for. Innovation, commitment to our members interests and constant development and improvement are central to our core beliefs. It’s relatively early days for our business journey, and as yet our values have not been challenged to date. We accept that they may be in the future and this is something we will need to prepare for.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

Our company values are the core principles that direct culture and priorities, and we hire based on this, meaning we have more productive employees who integrate efficiently and are more likely to stay with us. Matching these values allows us to find employees who mirror how we perceive our brand.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Yes, as an online digital platform our business model encourages all our employees to work from home wherever they are located. We believe that the wellbeing of our team is paramount to the success of the business. Should our requirements change in the future a hybrid model would be an option we would consider and welcome.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

As with all businesses, our customers are our number one priority. Our business development team keep in close contact with our members. We have a professional client services team who guide our members when needed and follow up with all enquiries made through the platform. The key priorities for us are to ensure communication between our platform visitors and our business members is optimised, and as comprehensive as possible. Above all, we listen to our users and members needs and build these into our development plans.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

As is the case with any start-up be extremely careful with budget and spending. To avoid potential closure, budget for double what you expect to spend to protect your business against unforeseen expenses which are inevitable no matter how carefully the business plan is. Expect the unexpected!

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

I feel the government could do a great deal more to support new digital and technology businesses with funding, through easier loan facilities for new and start-up businesses and encouraging venture capital companies to take a closer look at the wider potential of the technology sector.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

We see our competitors as a great way to assess our offering, analyse our own platform and how we can improve ourselves. As an innovative platform most of our competitors offer far fewer USP’s compared to The Landsite. We learn and grow from any competition.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

The future is exciting for The Landsite. As we continue to gain momentum and grow, we have a massive potential to service the UK’s real estate industry, both on a B2B and B2C basis. We are on track to be the UK’s only fully comprehensive real estate platform – the ‘Go-To’ online destination for the entire digital property industry.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Ramsey Assal CEO and Founder, The Landsite

Have you ever wondered how many people have ‘desk-less’ jobs? Steffen Wulff Peterson did and now he’s revolutionised the way that they communicate and manage their day jobs for the better …

His Sona app makes common every day tasks extremely easy and convenient for employees to complete autonomously so they feel more empowered and valued at work.

What products or services do you provide?

The Sona employee app is designed for the specific needs of ‘desk-less’ workers in industries like healthcare, retail, hospitality, logistics and manufacturing. Sona is a mobile hub for them to:

• View and claim shifts instantly
• Access and manage their schedules
• Book annual leave
• Get real time company updates and message team members 1-1
• Leave feedback for managers and head office

Then, aside from the above, as more workflows can be automated, managers are freed up to focus on mission critical work.

What type of businesses do you work with?

Sona is designed for the needs of ‘desk-less’ industries such as health and social care, hospitality, retail and logistics. There are 2.7bn workers globally who don’t work at desks so it’s a massive market opportunity. At the moment we’re focusing on building our customer base in the UK and Ireland as our home market but we’re keeping our eye on opportunities to grow in other markets.

What problem does your company solve?

The biggest problem our customers come to us with is the cost – in both time and money – of managing their frontline workforces. This has always been a challenge in the industries we serve but the pandemic has brought extra pressures – especially on staff availability.

Even once the week’s rota is set, managers often find themselves spending way too much of their time finding people to cover shifts. And if they can’t find contracted staff that can help, they resort to hiring agency workers at extra cost to the organisation. 

For example, before working with us, one of our customers could spend up to 3 days a week completing and then filling their rotas. With Sona the process of contacting staff about available shifts is automated and takes 90 minutes and they’re spending less on agencies too.

What is your USP?

Our key point of differentiation in the market is our focus on the needs and wants of our end users – frontline workers. Most enterprise technology is built for desk-based workers, regardless of industry. What then happens is their desktop systems are ported into an ‘app-like’ experience for use on mobile devices, which results in lots of friction.

We have the benefit of a lot of prior experience working with, and in, the industries we serve so we know that our customers are not going to get the full value out of technology for their employees if it isn’t easy for them to access and use. So we build for mobile first and with the end user experience front of mind at all times. 

We’re taking our inspiration from the world’s leading consumer apps. Viewing your schedule should be as quick as looking up a restaurant on Deliveroo and booking annual leave should be as easy as booking an Airbnb – that’s the bar we’re setting ourselves.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

We share a series of core beliefs that guide the way we want to work:

1. The desk-less user experience always wins
2. Don’t build features, solve problems
3. Less is more
4. Our customers are partners

These beliefs get challenged all the time as they can often be in conflict with each other. For instance, we want to work in partnership with our customers to build the best possible product for them, but not in a way that compromises the experience for the end user. It all comes down to transparency and communication. 

The first level of that is being fully aligned as an entire team. We have a daily all company meeting and we live in Slack, Google Docs and Hubspot so we have no information silos. 

The next level is having close relationships with our customers built on trust. In our experience it’s more common for supplier relationships to break down due to broken promises and poor customer communication than issues with the actual product.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

In the past we have had outstandingly talented people, but who turned out to be bad cultural fits. We have firmly decided that this doesn’t work for us. Being remote-first means we have access to a huge talent pool so we should never need to compromise on culture in order to make excellent hires. 

Implementing the fluffier concept of company culture concretely into the hiring process requires that you define the traits a candidate must have and those they can’t have. It helps to write down these traits along with good interview questions. We always have multiple people involved in the recruitment process and we all score candidates on our values. That way we get consensus around the person being not only good at their role but also a strong cultural addition. 

When it comes to recruitment strategies and tangible advice we often look to Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) here: https://a16z.com/content/. 

 Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Sona’s current team is fully remote and that was our intention regardless of the pandemic. We were already used to that way of working so it just made sense.

It will become more hybrid over time, with a firm emphasis on individual choice. Everyone gets a co-working allowance so they can have an ‘office’ away from home – whether that’s what they want to do every day or simply to mix things up. Now that travelling is easier we plan on getting together at least once a quarter for planning and in-person socialising as that’s still important.

For us, the benefits of not returning to offices en masse outweigh the downsides – as well as saving on fixed costs, we can offer truly flexible working and hire from a much wider talent pool. A number of the team have been able to make the most of opportunities to travel or relocate without disrupting their work or productivity, so it’s a win-win.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

1. Digitise and automate as much as possible. It’s much easier to stay on top of everything when you have a single source of truth. And the beauty of using dedicated systems is that their in-built reporting makes staying on top of the numbers much easier.
2. Everyone should get customer updates. Whether it’s positive or negative, every area of your business benefits from regular customer feedback.
3. As already discussed, make transparency a virtue in your organisation. It starts at the top – don’t be afraid of bringing up difficult issues or being challenged by colleagues. If you create a culture in which no-one is afraid of being honest (but respectful), that’s the path to building strong long term relationships with customers. 

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

There has never been more startup funding available across all different types and formats. But in addition to that, for SaaS businesses it has become increasingly normal to charge annually upfront, which is a huge boost to cash flow. It can feel uncomfortable to make the ask in the beginning, but most customers are used to this by now and sometimes they even prefer it so as to avoid invoicing 4 or 12 times per year. If you have to, you can offer a discount in return which is often worth it.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

We’re a multinational team and firm believers in the value that bringing people from different cultures and backgrounds together creates. At a time when our customers’ industries are struggling to recruit the people they need, the government should be looking at all viable means to help UK businesses attract and retain talent, including through the visa system.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

We embrace competition. For a start, if you have no competitors that can be a sign that you aren’t in a lucrative market. Investors often like to see that there is some competition as that helps to validate your proposition – they just want to understand how and why you think you can win.

As our target market is so large, it’s incredibly unlikely that one platform will beat out all the others. Every organisation is unique and so they will all have different criteria when evaluating providers, and that’s a good thing as it enables newer players like us to become established.

Finally, just like in professional sports, competition is a vital motivator. We wouldn’t be in business if we weren’t motivated to build something better than what’s gone before.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

Although they make up 80% of the global workforce, just 1% of funding for enterprise software is dedicated to developing technology for employees in frontline roles (who do most of their day-to-day work away from a desk). We believe that over this decade the technology gap between desk and non-desk based workers will close significantly. 

The proliferation of dedicated tools to empower non-desk based staff will have the same transformative effect as the adoption of company email. The future of work is knowledge work, regardless of role type and location, and we want to be at the forefront of that movement.

We’re in a really good place to ride the current wave of digital transformation in non-desk work. The pandemic has not changed the direction of travel, it has simply accelerated the pace  of change in lots of areas, including adoption of workforce management software. So with funding and customer validation for our product in place we are in a good position to grow into an expanding market. 

Covid is also leading to a complete restructuring of the overall labour market and changing people’s attitudes towards work. We call Sona ‘The employee app for tomorrow’s workforce’ because, through our technology, employers can give staff the greater autonomy and flexibility they have been calling for.

Read more:
Secrets of Success: Steffen Wulff Peterson, co-founder of Sona