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THE PURPOSEFUL PRODUCTS BLOG
Support (AND STANDARDS) for founders starting AI powered businesses
If you're starting an business with an AI component, in addition to getting to grips with software, data sets and understanding how to "train" your AI to deliver the desired results (or finding a team to do this for you!), standards and ethics must also be considered.
From medtech, to insurance, to fintech and beyond, ethical considerations will include understanding the risks and downsides to using AI, how to use it responsibly, how to make sure it is safe and causes no harm, and how to identify and eradicate bias from the equation where decisions or recommendations are being made.
Last week I was excited to attend the launch of the Alan Turing Institute's AI Standards Hub. This is a brand-new resource that will offer a great deal of support to businesses and startups and will pave the way towards setting global standards for AI, including common use of terms and definitions.
The aim of the Hub is to promote the responsible use of AI, and the event explored the concepts of public trust and the inclusive development of standards. Speakers from the British Standards Institution, Digital Catapult, the Financial Conduct Authority, and the Digital Standards Office for AI spoke about striking the right balance between implementing industry standards vs. stricter regulation, and protecting the vulnerable whilst not unnecessarily restricting the commercial activities of businesses.
There are many different types of standards, but examples include standards related to product testing, performance, and regulatory compliance.
Diversity in tech helps to ensure that teams consider a wider range of cases and scenarios as they develop AI-powered products.
Having documented standards as a reference will also increase safety, quality, and increase the benefits of AI for all.
You can visit and sign up for the AI standards hub here -
https://lnkd.in/eEdfVxUp
You can watch a recording of the event on YouTube here -
https://lnkd.in/evbEMPg7
Bodies involved in AI and the development of AI standards that you may wish to bookmark include:
Alan Turing Institute -
https://www.turing.ac.uk/
Office for Artificial Intelligence –
https://lnkd.in/ezDDTeMr
BSI (the UK's National Standards Body) –
https://lnkd.in/eEf8E76a
National Physical Laboratory (NPL) –
https://lnkd.in/e9H5NeyQ
The Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) –
https://gpai.ai/
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) –
https://lnkd.in/ewyXQAHr
European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) -
https://lnkd.in/e-mdyjAW
Digital Catapult
https://www.digicatapult.org.uk/
Why delegation is not always best for you, or your business!
They are sometimes known as Super Delegators… They are the opposite of founders who do everything themselves - but hold on! ✋ I'm not saying that this is a good thing. 🤔
I'm talking about founders who don't really know how their back-office operations work... or how to coach staff, or "right the ship" when things go wrong because they've skipped over all that head busting and challenging stuff by delegating very early, removing the need to dig into the details.
There's a right time to do everything, but it's a hell of a job getting that timing right!
Of course it's right to delegate as a startup founder / business owner, BUT if you do this too soon (or to avoid learning about things you really should know about) you could end up making bad business decisions, effectively shooting yourself in the foot.
So… that leads me on to introducing our Tech Startup Interview video with entrepreneur Justin Chen, co-founder of PickFu and Menuism.
You can find the video here.
We cover a LOT of topics relevant to tech founders in our video in just over 3 minutes, including:
👶 How PickFu got started (born from a frustration related to user testing with his FIRST business)
✅ How Justin nailed his marketing strategy for reaching a number of different customer segments
👩💻 Where Justin hires his developers, and
💭Why Justin and I both believe that delegating 👉 and "offloading" tasks too soon is a dangerous game 😱.
🙂 "Delegate responsibility, but don't abdicate it." is my motto on this one.
Do you believe that it's never too soon to delegate? Or, have you been caught out by delegating too early – what happened, and what advice would you offer to others in retrospect?
Author biography.
Kay Kukoyi CSM FITOL is a multi award-winning entrepreneur, global tech startup mentor, digital skills advocate and speaker.
She has written 5 books for entrepreneurs and SMEs, including the Amazon international bestsellers, Don't Hire a Software Developer Until You Read this Book and Entrepreneurial Espresso, and Don't Buy Software for Your Small Business Until You Read this Book. She has been recognised on the #IB100, the Financial Times and Inclusive Boards list of the 100 Most Influential BAME Leaders in the UK Technology Sector.
She was the winner of the 2022 BTA Lifetime Award for her outstanding work within the technology sector, and has been a finalist for a number of other awards, including Digital Woman of the Year, Digital Entrepreneur of the Year, Role Model of the Year, Best Small Business Owner, and Best Service Based Business.
Kay is the CEO and Founder of Purposeful Group, an award-winning online centre for learning and community focused on entrepreneurship, technology and digital skills training. The company supports and empowers the next generation of entrepreneurs and digital learners around the world through its bestselling books, professional business and career mentoring, and specialist workshops and programmes.
Looking for a co-founder for your startup? think twice!
Once upon a time there was an entrepreneur that was struggling to find a co-founder and was feeling deflated that he hadn't found someone as passionate about the creative element of his business as he was.
He was using evidence of this shared passion as his no.1 criteria for assessing the perfect co-founder.
So, what's the problem with that?
It took me back to a conversation I had with a wise work colleague some years ago. I said I'd prefer a partner just like me. His feedback was simple: "You don't want someone like you, you want somebody who's going to complement you."
He was spot on.
That co-founder that you thought was a kindred spirit could lead to a disastrous pairing...
You'll share the same interests and passions but have the potential to have exactly the same blind spots.
A co-founder "just like you" you may be attracted to the same things you are, BUT shy away from the same things that you do.
A co-founder that that is too similar to you will see you tripping over each other's feet in terms of skills, preferences and workload.
You need someone who looks at things from a different angle, who will challenge your perspective and broaden your horizons, and in turn you will do the same for them.
In practice, this means:
If you're good at starting. Find someone who's good at finishing.
If you prefer to be the creative person and innovator, find someone who's great with figures, data analysis, organisation and dealing with the day today but critical details and "boring stuff".
Distracted easily? Find someone who's laser-focused.
Not a great people person or networker? Building those skills is important as an entrepreneur, but if one of you has a natural flair and gift of the gab it makes sense to utilise this.
You get my drift - find the yin to your yang!
Develop some insightful questions that help you to establish a picture of the person, their mindset, and their tendencies. Humans are creatures of habit, and the way someone has lived and managed their life to date, will give you at least some indication of how they might handle things in future.
Here are some quotes from tech start up founders that we've interviewed:
"I think we get along well because we have compatible characters, and try to maintain a constructive spirit. In many years of working together tensions can rise at times, but when this happens we both try to "steady the ball", empathise with the other's point of view and not let the situation spiral out of control. Mutual respect is a prerequisite."
Matic Bitenc, Cofounder, Toshl.
"I met Mark, my cofounder at Snappa, at work. I discovered that he did some programming on the side, and started becoming fascinated with the whole online world and online business. The two of us became really good friends, and we started launching side projects while we were both working our day jobs. We had a few failures... then eventually we had minor success, and then some decent success with Snappa, and then we both quit our jobs to go full time on it."
Chris Gimmer, Cofounder, Snappa.
"We work based on different fields of responsibility and divide the work accordingly. My cofounder is in charge of product development, whilst I handle the marketing and growth of the business, which suits both our natural strengths. Having a complementary skill set between co founders when building a startup is way better than coming from the same backgrounds in my view.
Disagreement in itself shouldn't be a problem and is necessary to grow. Also, founders should openly address and share what's bothering them with their business partners, instead of letting it stay in their minds. This way you can avoid a lot of problems in the first place. These are some of the principles we have that have helped us in our business."
Chris Lier, Cofounder, Lead Gen App.
Articles about cofounder challenges and how to deal with them from Sifted.eu.
Cofounder walk out.
Should I fire my cofounder?
My cofounder left. What should we do regarding their equity?
Dear Sifted: I don't agree with my cofounder. Should I leave?
What are your thoughts about this? Have you found the perfect partnership, or chosen the wrong person in retrospect?
Written by Kay Kukoyi.
Incubators, Accelerators... and Purposeful Group!
If you want the best possible results when starting your business, we don't believe in a "Just do it" philosophy (sorry Nike!)
Seeking some form of support as you start your business is highly recommended. You'll need a strategy and a plan to follow, THEN you can move onto execution!
That's how you make well-informed decisions, achieve better results and increase your chances of success.
We put this post together to provide you with an overview of some of the organisations that you may come across in the entrepreneurship space, and how they can help you, beacuse it's not necessarily a badge of honour to go solo!
Starting a business is a complex matter, and finding people to support you will make your life easier.
Of course there are startups that go it alone, but the impact of this is that it takes them:
Far longer than it should
They make a lot of unnecessary and avoidable mistakes along the way
As a result, they experience more stress and "drama" - ups and downs, unexpected and unwanted events arising from decisions made, or actions taken with the best intentions (that a pro would have known to avoid), needless detours and misadventures, and wasted time, money and energy along the way.
"Doing things the SMART way is recommended. Working in an inefficient manner is NOT the best way to start a new venture!"
K.N. Kukoyi CSM FITOL, 5x author, award-winning entrepreneur, global tech startup mentor, speaker and CEO & Founder of Purposeful Group
The reading, courses and study I have done in starting a range of businesses has absolutely saved me.
I once spent a week virtually chained to my laptop watching a global conference for authors.
I attended every seminar including those by multiple best-selling authors and I created an entire playbook and strategy for writing and launching my book based on their lessons.
The advice given was not what my "logic" as someone new to the industry was guiding me to do. I had to completely reframe my thinking. The reality of what I needed to do to be successful was not what I had envisioned.
I also pivoted and decided to go with a different concept for my first book.
There is no doubt I would have bombed completely without this insider knowledge, and because my business started through the readers of that first book reaching out to me and asking me to be their mentor, Purposeful Group wouldn't be here today! As it was, I have used the model that I created from learning from so many seasoned authors, and have now published 5 books, 4 of which have been Amazon category bestsellers in more than 7 countries including the UK, US, Canada and Australia.
A very good way to scare myself is to reflect on what I'd be doing now if I'd tried to just "wing it, and do what was in my mind as a rookie author, rather than spending a lot of time researching, reading and attending that conference, which was the gateway to everything that has happened for me and Purposeful Group as a result.
"What you KNOW (and don't know)
What you DO (or choose not to do)
How you do things (EXECUTION)
Can make a HUGE DIFFERENCE to the results you get!"
Let's break down some of the support available for entrepreneurs, in particular from incubators and accelerators.
What are Incubators?
Just like a baby incubator, startup incubators support newly born, fledgling businesses and help them to survive during the delicate early stages of life.
To ensure that all the relevant organisations are on your radar, it is worth knowing that incubators are sometimes called pre-accelerators.
At this stage the business is far from fully formed, and many elements will not yet exist. Entrepreneurs may still be in the process of "working on" their ideas, including:
Thinking about and exploring the problem they intend to solve
Considering how to solve it
Carrying out market research and analysing market size, consumer and market trends
Conducting customer interviews, and doing a range of other tasks relating to thinking, planning, research and discovery
Creating a business plan and business model which helps the aspiring entrepreneur to carefully examine all aspects of the business; digging into the details of who the business will serve and how, defining customer, partner and supplier relationships, considering how the products or services will be consumed by customers and how they will be priced
Businesses at this stage are sometimes called "pre-seed" businesses, and although it is not always the case, some objectives for entrepreneurs on an incubator may be to complete the programme with a newly formed business - either with or without customers, or at least to have progressed through the stages of validating the idea, testing it, and deciding if it is even worth pursuing or not.
Other positive outcomes include making progress towards developing a core product or service, and getting the infrastructure in place (website, basic branding including a company name and logo, business email, social media accounts, a customer service plan and a marketing plan as a few examples) in order to be ready to attract and serve the businesses first customers.
Incubators are often funded by larger organisations.
Sometimes these are corporates who provide the financial backing for programmes run by smaller or local organisations as one of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitments and may set up funds - pots of money which are allocated to different enterprise-focused organisations.
An incubator may take part in a range of fundraising activities, also applying for government funds to keep the organisation running.
As a result, Incubators will exist for as long as they can secure and retain funding or sponsorship, or donations of practical support from mentors or workshop facilitators who may come from the private sector or from self-employed business owners.
Most incubator programmes are free to join and often last for about 12 weeks or so, during which time you'll join a group of peers who started on the programme at the same time as you, often called a "cohort" of entrepreneurs or businesses. An incubator may run multiple cohorts per year, depending on demand and funding.
A programme may include a range of business workshops, networking events, talks, and in some cases one-to-one mentoring and support for cohort members.
On some programmes, workspace may also be available for free, or provided at a reduced price.
Incubators exist in most regions, and most are open to a wide range of business types.
You can run a simple Google search for incubators in your local area - try entering incubator as a "keyword" plus your town, city or region to see what support is available locally.
As spaces are limited (usually around 10-25 places per cohort), you will be expected to pitch your concept to them and convince the admissions team that your idea is sound enough to justify a free place.
Incubators usually do not request a stake in your company.
This means that no equity, which refers to the amount of shares (or level of ownership) is taken as a form of payment for the support received.
I'll discuss equity in more detail in the Accelerator section below.
What are Accelerators?
As a new business, aside from "validating" that your idea is sound and that your product or service is wanted by a particular group (or groups) of people, you also have to survive "the valley of death" to move forward!
The valley of death is a bit of a terrifying term, but just describes the period where a company is making a loss.
If you can't move your business out of the valley of death and into profit quickly enough, or don't have the money to bankroll your business to cover your expenses for as long as it takes to win enough customers to cover your costs, the business remains forever trapped in the valley of death - in other words, it dies.
If you can hit break even and are able to generate enough revenue to cover your business expenses, hurrah! You move past the valley of death, and the next step is to hit profitability and then to grow, increasing your revenue and ultimately, the amount of profit generated by your business.
Startups (defined as businesses that are intended to be fast / high-growth businesses from the start) and small businesses on accelerators are generally more advanced than businesses on incubators. They are clear on the problem they are solving, who their customers are, and have already created their service or product.
They will either have some customers, or be well on the road to winning their first customers.
In other cases they will be generating at least some income, even if they are not yet breaking even and fully out of the "valley of death" and turning a profit.
For this reason they are often called "seed" businesses, still tiny, but there is something tangible there to be nurtured!
Accelerators exist to "speed" up the process of growth through workshops, access to mentors and in many cases, access to investors.
Winning a place on an accelerator programme is a competitive process involving an application and interview with the team responsible for admissions.
Accelerators are often very selective, and winning a place on one of the top "major league" startup accelerators, such as Techstars, Y-Combinator, or SeedCamp can bring a startup a certain amount of kudos and prestige because of the stiff competition faced to make it through the selection process to win a place.
The more well-established accelerators will have quite structured programmes.
They usually provide workspace and access to a network of mentors able to support high-growth businesses.
Most accelerators will help you to connect and network with investors, often through a "pitch day" or "demo day" at the end of the programme where founders showcase the progress made on the accelerator programme. Most entrepreneurs will create a pitch deck which they will present, including their "ask", which is where an entrepreneur or founding team communicate the support they require.
An "ask" may include information on how much investment is sought (and what it will be spent on), plus requests for specialist support, advice, or even connections and introductions to networks or industry contacts to help a business clinch its first deals.
Types of accelerator
Accelerator programmes may accept a range of different businesses, but there are also highly specialised accelerators for example:
Blockchain accelerators
Fashion accelerators
Property accelerators (property startups driven by tech may be referred to as being in PropTech)
Fintech accelerators (Financial Technology)
HealthTech / MedTech accelerators (relating to health and medical innovation and related services)
Climate / GreenTech or Clean Tech accelerators
FemTech accelerators (relating to female sexual, or reproductive health and well-being)
Transport accelerators (relating to Smart Cities and sustainable ways to travel, live and work in cities)
If what you do is specialised, you may consider applying to both "open" and more specialist accelerators.
Do accelerators provide funding?
In some cases, yes. Some accelerators do give startups on their programmes "seed money".
At this point, the accelerator makes an investment in the business in exchange for equity.
Some organisations do not provide funding, but will ask you to agree to give them the option to be among the first to invest in your business.
These accelerators are looking for businesses that it thinks have great potential or could be "the next big thing", cherry picks the best ones and becomes an early investor. In this way, they hold shares in a number of promising startups.
If you accept funding you will give up a percentage of your business, which will be owned by your investor(s).
Here are some examples of how some of the bigger accelerators in the tech startup space that take equity in exchange for funding operate...
Techstars
6% equity investment.
Source: https://www.techstars.com/newsroom/investment-terms.
Seedcamp
6-7% equity investment.
Source: https://seedcamp.com/faq/
Y Combinator
Source: https://www.ycombinator.com/deal/
Exploring the intricate deal terms and conditions related to each accelerator's investment is outside of the scope of this post, and terms may be subject to change.
Venture builders bring together smart people with expertise from different industry sectors to connect, build relationships and develop business ideas which will solve a specific type of problem.
The Zinc VC / Venture Builder Programme
If you're interested in developing a product or service to solve societal problems with the potential to support young people, our older population, or the environment, then social entrepreneurship may be the right path for you.
Zinc offers a program called the Venture Builder that brings people together to create new ventures from scratch. Working with up to 70 individuals, the program last for 9 months and is split into 3-month phases.
You will have office space available and be paid £12,000 over the nine months to replace your income while you build your business full time, with an 8% equity stake as a Founding Shareholder in exchange.
Congratulations! You now have some investment to grow your business, but have new commitments and responsibilities to those who own a stake in your company.
Be sure to reach out to organisations of interest to confirm how each incubator or accelerator works as a key part of your research. Ensure that you fully understand each investment model works, and the do's, don'ts, obligations and expectations associated with your commitment before proceeding.
There are a range of Venture Builders covering everything from corporate-run outfits to those focused on very specific topics such as businesses created to solve environmental issues.
"Bootstrapping" vs. taking investment
We often refer to self-funded startups as being bootstrapped. In this case, when asked how they are funding their business, founders may say "I'm bootstrapping".
Some business owners are wary or uninterested in taking investment for a number of reasons. This may be because they want to leave a legacy – they want to build a business that remains in the family, generates a healthy profit and increases their wealth and standard of living.
Others are building local, or national services which may not be well suited to investors that are looking for that big pay out in approximately 7-10 years.
There are also those that value their freedom and flexibility and do not want the burden of being responsible to others or the risk of being steered away from their original vision by investors.
Of course, there are many entrepreneurs who see raising investment as being 100% worthwhile if it will help them to propel their startup forward.
We sometimes call investors that give money but nothing else "dumb money" and an investment that comes with "domain" knowledge or experience, mentoring and guidance, connections, or other useful resources or forms of support, "smart money".
("Dumb money" is also a term used for retail, or individual investors considered to be uninformed by investment professionals.)
A founder who accepts funds to build their business will be expected to use the investment received to build the company to the level where they can:
a) "Exit" the business because someone wants to buy it, which results in a pay-out for the original investors
b) Take the business through to IPO – Initial Public Offering, where the company eventually floats on the stock market and all the players involved get a big payday.
Of course, if managed and invested wisely, this money can also create a legacy and generational wealth. The legacy is no longer the actual business, but the wealth generated from it.
Please note that a bootstrapped business may still apply for bank loans or raise money through rewards-based crowdfunding (if crowd funding is equity based, then there are investors). They may also have raised capital through what is sometimes (rather harshly, in our opinion) called FFF – "Friends, Family and Fools."
Because money may be even tighter with a bootstrapped business, the founders may need to be especially creative in terms of how the business is run and how their product is marketed
This can be a good thing, because every unit of currency spent will be very carefully considered, leading to them having less regrets than funded startups about investing in expensive forms of marketing which "seemed like a great idea at the time"…
What about VCs (Venture Capitalists)?
Unless they are specifically what are known as early-stage VCs, then at this stage your business is still too small in terms of revenue generated, too new, and too risky to excite Venture Capitalist Firms!
Investing in pre-seed / early-stage ventures is more risky for investors as they are buying into an unproven concept.
If you have no customers, are not turning a profit, or don't have a "real" product yet, an investor is taking a much bigger gamble than if they were to invest in a startup with a customer base that has a "track record" and is consistently making a profit every month, or can demonstrate that they are beating a clear path towards profitability.
It is understood that some startups will take longer to reach profitability if they are working towards building a large, multinational, high-growth business that is expected to be valued in the hundreds of millions. (If it reaches a valuation of $1 billion US Dollars it will reach Unicorn status)
Take a look at this article: https://www.purposefulgroup.com/blog/2-minute-tip-how-to-pitch-to-the-right-investors to read about some of the big mistakes that new startups make when considering Angels and VCs.
Before we move on, let's look at another type of accelerator programme...
NatWest Incubator and Accelerators
NatWest Bank has a business incubator (Business Builder) for early-stage businesses and two accelerators - a general "Accelerator" and "Fintech Accelerator."
The Accelerator program is 6 months long. It is open to fast-growing existing startups and small businesses with no industry restrictions.
Alternatively, the NatWest 'Fintech Accelerator' is for startups developing financial solutions and lasts for 6 months.
NatWest has 12 hubs across the UK for cohort members to attend and no equity is taken in your business.
We have heard of startups from abroad being accepted onto the accelerator, so if you're not UK based, get in touch with them to see what your options are.
In some scenarios, you don't even need an idea to start your entrepreneurial journey.
The logistics of being part of an incubator or accelerator cohort
You'll usually need to be available on weekdays for at least a few hours a week in order to get the best from your incubator or accelerator experience.
Events and workshops are generally run during the week when the incubators or accelerators management and support / administration teams are available and when mentors and workshop facilitators can be present to offer support.
This can be tricky if an entrepreneur does not live near to the place where the cohort is expected to meet, or if the entrepreneur still has a full-time job and the business is still a "side-hustle" being worked on during evenings and weekends.
Some incubators and accelerators are now virtual, so you may be able to watch pre-recorded workshops at a time convenient to you.
Purposeful Group mentors at a number of incubators and accelerators and once a person has been on one programme, we sometime see them move onto other accelerators to continue to develop their network. There is nothing at all wrong with this, and you can apply to join multiple programmes one after the other.
Sometimes this may simply be a matter of timing and choosing the best fit for you at your current stage.
Are there other organisations that support new entrepreneurs?
Absolutely. This can be a bit of a postcode lottery, but put those keyword searches to good use again on Google and search for "entrepreneur support" or "startup support" or "small business support" or "support services for entrepreneurs", "enterprise support" or combinations of these terms, plus the name of your town, city, or region to see what's available.
How do these services compare with what's on offer at Purposeful Group?
Purposeful Group is an award-winning online centre for learning focused on entrepreneurship, technology and digital skills training.
Our awards track-record stands at 2 wins and a further 5 awards shortlists / finalist lists:
Award wins (2)
BTA Awards
Lifetime Award, for outstanding service to the tech profession
SME Business Elite Awards
Best London Digital & Technology Skills Training Service, 2022
Shortlisted / finalists (5)
Small Awards
- Best small service business
- Best small business owner
Digital Women Awards
- Role model of the Year
- Digital Woman of the Year
- Digital Entrepreneur of the Year
We're early-stage entrepreneurs and specialise in supporting non-technical entrepreneurs creating web and mobile apps to start and launch their digitally-driven businesses from scratch.
We support the next generation of tech and digital entrepreneurs, and our mission is to help you get started the SMART way and put you on the fast track towards achieving your business goals, so you can make progress and get rapid results!
So, if you want to transform your idea into a web or mobile app, you're in the right place!
Our customers find that our understanding of the practical elements and the nitty-gritty details required to do this successfully are invaluable to them.
Our popular and highly-rated workshops and programmes were designed by 5x author and multi award-winning entrepreneur Kay Kukoyi specifically for new and aspiring startups.
Kay is a qualified tech professional recognised by the Financial Times as one of the 100 most influential BAME leaders in the UK technology sector. Kay has worked in the tech sector for over a decade creating digital products and working with household-name companies to deliver multi-million pound web and mobile apps from a basic idea through to build, launch and beyond used by hundreds and thousands of users and we'll help you do the same!
She has also written a bestselling book on the subject.
Today Kay regularly judges at local and national startup awards and pitch competitions. She has been a judge at Startup Magazine's Hustle Awards and TATA Varsity pitch competition, as well as a number of other startup events.
Who have we helped?
To date we've supported more than 8,000 entrepreneurs around the world through our books, business mentoring workshops and programmes and we work with people who have a basic idea and want to develop it, to those who are ready to build a prototype, or create the first version of their product - their MVP, Minimum Viable Product.
We also support founders who are intending to build high-growth startups as well as small businesses that operate on a local or national level.
To put this into the context of this post, our services range from incubator / pre-seed level, through to accelerator and beyond for more mature businesses that have been running for several years.
We partner and deliver services to a number of well-known institutions, including The British Library, and the European Institute of Innovation & Technology.
We also work on a number of local and national projects sponsored by local councils, DCMS and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and mentor at a number of the accelerators mentioned in the section above!
Attendees who experience our workshops repeatedly tell us in their own words that our sessions are "brilliant", "amazing" "excellent" "insightful" and "comprehensive."
We don't take equity in exchange for our mentoring or programmes, and we don't receive funds from other organisations to support our community of entrepreneurs.
As a result, we charge for our services.
Businesses that take on investment and those that bootstrap will have different challenges and trajectories, but we support all founders in working smart, and thinking creatively.
We are known for showing people who thought they had a year of product development ahead of them how to get started in a matter of weeks or months.
Taking on funding is not always necessary, and in the early years when the value in what you're creating is still becoming clear, it is not always a good idea to take on funding until you have genuine clarity on where you are going (and should be going) with your business.
The reality is that true understanding of the elements that will lead to your success does not arrive like a lightning bolt at the beginning of your journey. Your initial business idea is a hypothesis, not fact – https://smallbusiness.chron.com/hypothesis-important-business-34382.html this actually emerges over time with data collection, continued real-world observation and some careful reflection and analysis.
Therefore, going all-in on the finance front early on is risky. It is wise to be aware of low-risk ways to get started, test your hypothesis and build.
"We're known for showing people who thought they had a year of product development ahead of them how to get started in a matter of weeks or months."
We offer professional business mentoring from a qualified coach and run 2x 90-day programmes for tech startup founders.
We are tech specialists and our 90-day quick start programme is a paid programme for founders planning to transform their idea into a web or mobile app, which is called Tech Startup Academy™ (TSA). The programme is delivered live online and supports non-technical founders, guiding them through the stages of:
Launching and
Our specialist content is extremely detailed and comprehensive.
We only have tech founders on the TSA programme and therefore our content is not general so that it supports any kind of business, but is designed to provide the real, practical, "nitty gritty" details for tech entrepreneurs on exactly HOW to get an app built.
Because of the challenges of creating a tech business and the range of mistakes and pitfalls that inexperienced founders are caught out by on regular basis, our priority is properly educating tech entrepreneurs, so they can better support their businesses, themselves and their teams through the knowledge gained.
"Purposeful Group offers clarity and detail for tech founders. We provide the practical "nitty-gritty" details on exactly HOW to get your app built. We focus on properly educating tech founders so they can better support their businesses, themselves and their teams through the knowledge gained."
On the other hand, we also cover the topics you might generally find on incubators and accelerators such as marketing training, but we provide practical, in-depth information on tech related topics too.
"The Tech Startup Academy™ is an additional reason to choose one tech startup over the legions of others out there 'just giving it a crack.' It shows they're serious and they have some idea of what they're doing."
Angel Investor / High Net Worth Individual, UK
Cohort members can choose to take our "Classic" programme which includes 6 workshops and 6 group mentoring sessions and access to our community of 1,500 entrepreneurs, technologists and investors and our private community for cohort members.
Our "Diploma" programme is for those who'd like to receive an internationally recognised certificate as a record of their achievement. The Diploma is awarded after entrepreneurs successfully pass two assessments.
Timings and availability
Our 90-day programmes usually take place once each year during the autumn, and are run on weekends because we know that most entrepreneurs are part-time in the early days and are holding down day jobs, which makes day-time commitments difficult or impossible.
We are currently considering running the programme twice a year in April and September.
Come on a startup journey with us and transition from being an employee to a strategically-minded entrepreneur with a plan.
The good news is that no technical or business knowledge is required to work with us.
You'll focus on strategy, and getting the first version of your product or service planned and created, rapidly get your business launched and win your first customers.
For most entrepreneurs, that will involve creating a prototype, and then an MVP, your Minimum Viable Product - the first version of your product that offers value to your customers AND helps you to learn more about the market your serve and its needs so you can meet them more effectively.
We'll help you to get your prototype or MVP built, navigate challenges, avoid business startup pains and pitfalls, minimise risk, and increase your chances of success
Rapidly kick start your business, and move from employee to entrepreneur and idea to functioning business
Create a prototype or first version of your product
Avoid the pitfalls, problems and pains that come with getting started
Work with a company that has helped household name corporate giants take tech products to market - we'll help YOU do the same!
Valuable practical, insider knowledge of essential DO's and Don'ts
Gain insider knowledge, give you a framework and structure and a plan to follow
We work with entrepreneurs who are bootstrapping their businesses, as well as those seeking investment from Angel investors or early-stage VCs to get their ventures off the ground.
Fast track your business and make real progress to a prototype or MVP in just 90 days. Don't miss the next programme, sign up for the waitlist now!
Find out more about receiving professional business mentoring with a qualified performance coach, or register your interest.
Find out more about Tech Startup Academy™ (TSA), orjoin the TSA waitlist.
Support can be invaluable for entrepreneurs and there are a range of options available.
Ask questions to build a complete picture of the support available.
There is nothing wrong with attending multiple programmes, if you are able to secure a place.
Because of our in-depth practical experience of creating digital products, our insights as entrepreneurs and our specialist content for tech and digital entrepreneurs, we receive excellent feedback from founders who need a more detailed level of understanding and support in terms of the quality of mentorship received, and the focus on tech workshops designed specifically for them.
Our popular and highly-regarded content
We're specialists in helping early-stage digital and tech startups to get their businesses off the ground
The creator of our content has been recognised by the Financial Times as being a leader in the tech sector and has won an award for her services to the sector
Our founder, who delivers our content is a multiple bestselling author who has written highly rated books on the subjects of entrepreneurship and technology entrepreneurship
We hold qualifications in performance coaching, and professional business mentoring is what we do week in, week out. It is our "day job" and not something we do on an occasional, or volunteer basis and we've spent hundreds of hours supporting founders on a 1-1 and group basis
marketing and technical project management and worked with household name companies for over a decade to create professional, commercial grade digital products
Our multiple award wins and additional award shortlists and nominations
Flexibility in terms of the times we run our sessions
We welcome and support entrepreneurs of all types and backgrounds
We're on the government's official list of adult education training providers.
We offer accredited programs with the option to gain a Diploma.
We are entrepreneurs AND we are qualified in what we do!
Sometimes industry sector professionals offer guidance have never built a business themselves from scratch.
On the other hand, you may find entrepreneurs who are offering guidance and advice after working things out themselves.
The combination of fully understanding the theory behind entrepreneurship as well as the practical work involved to build a business from scratch is really important - especially as you'll need to fully understand WHAT you need to do, and importantly WHY.
We believe it is about more than just "copy me and it'll be o.k." Every entrepreneur's path is different and different people can get wildly different results following the same guidance.
Understanding WHY something should or shouldn't be done is a true skill for life as it will equip you as an entrepreneur to make better decisions in the future.
Learning by yourself is not the same as having professional training in a subject. There will be gaps in your knowledge that you are not aware of, and you may not have picked up all the fundamentals or smartest ways of doing things, which can lead to problems later.
We have the deep insight of how to build an app exactly as a professional wood this gives us a 360-degree of the problem not looking at it just from one and one side is a professional or on the other as I'm just as an entrepreneur it is THAT which helps are are entrepreneurs to be truly well prepared for what is ahead!
Find out more about Tech Startup Academy™ (TSA), or join the TSA waitlist.
HOW TO INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY WITH STANDARD OPERATIng procedures
Make it easier for your business to grow with this productivity upgrade for startups and small business owners!
Creating SOPs, Standard Operating Procedures will increase productivity in the daily working lives of both individuals and teams.
SOPs are step-by-step instructions for teams, departments and organisations. As you review your business activities and create SOPs across the board for team members to follow, they will improve the performance, efficiency, quality and consistency of your business operations.
There are many benefits for businesses of all sizes. SOPs are proven to:
Increase understanding about what needs to be done to run a department successfully
Increase clarity about exactly how tasks should be carried out, providing defined steps to follow
Reduce mistakes and ensure that all team members carry out tasks to the same high standard
Make it easier for entrepreneurs to begin outsourcing work to freelancers or new employees
Here's a short guide to creating your first one!
Which activities do you perform daily or weekly? These are prime tasks for review. Because these tasks are more frequently executed, they will give you the best return on investment in terms of the time initially spent to create them.
To create your first SOP, pick a task (ideally the most annoying, painful or frustrating) and ask yourself:
💭 What's the quickest, most effective route between point A and B to get this done... and done properly so no mistakes or errors arise?
✍ Write down the steps.
🧐 Review the steps. Keep updating / reordering them until you've captured the complete and correct process.
💡 Innovate! Can you improve the process? Can you adjust your approach, or cut out any steps? What about risk management? What can (and does) go wrong in this process? How might you eliminate or minimise these risks? If tech is involved, can you introduce better software into the mix?
⌨ Document the optimised process in a cloud-based tool.
📑 Give the activity a title and add it to your new Standard Operating Procedures document under the department that the activity belongs to e.g. HR, Finance, Sales, Marketing etc. (Even if you're a micro-business or solopreneur, your business still has departments, you're just the head of all of them!)
🖺 Create a contents page in your document, and set it up so your first SOP appears on the contents page.
Pat yourself on the back and give me a virtual high-five ✋🏽!
Now do it again. Rinse and repeat 🔁 for your most commonly executed activities and keep your document close by for quick reference - no more: "O.k. what do I need to do here again?" or "Where did I put that darned link?!!!!"
This will save you time and energy, and reduce your stress levels. I create SOPs for my own business and they make a HUGE difference.
SOPs increase quality standards and your ability to delegate, outsource and scale as you create more replicable systems, and structure your activities.
Do you use SOPs? If so, how?
Not using SOPs? Tell me which business activity will become your first SOP.
Written by Kay Kukoyi.
Kay Kukoyi CSM FITOL is an award-winning entrepreneur, global tech startup mentor, digital skills advocate and speaker.
She has written 5 books for entrepreneurs and SMEs, including the Amazon international bestsellers, Don't Hire a Software Developer Until You Read this Book and Entrepreneurial Espresso, and has been recognised on the #IB100, the Financial Times and Inclusive Boards list of the 100 Most Influential BAME Leaders in the UK Technology Sector.
Kay is the CEO and Founder of Purposeful Group, an international community and centre for learning focused on entrepreneurship, technology and digital skills training.
The company supports and empowers the next generation of entrepreneurs and digital learners around the world through its bestselling books, professional mentoring, and specialist workshops and programmes.
How to get shortlisted for BUSINESS awards!
Whether you're part of a business, or a business owner, there's still plenty of time to apply for a business award or two this year.
I've been a "grand finals" judge for both local and national pitch competitions and startup awards, and as someone who's been in the shoes of both the applicant, and the judge, I wanted to share my thoughts on key things to consider when writing an awards application, and what turns judges on (and off) as they read through your application!
As a startup / small business mentor and provider of entrepreneurship workshops and programmes, I make sure that my mentees and attendees know that if they want the best possible results, it is never "Just do it" (sorry Nike.)
It's create a strategy, then execute it!
I hope this post can be used as an overview that breaks down the process and helps with your execution! Let me know if you have any further questions after reading it!
Why apply for awards?
There are a vast number of benefits that can come with winning an award:
Public endorsements and recognition for your business, products or services
Raising your profile can strengthen your brand and its value, helping you to increase your credibility in your industry, attract new customers, and enhance existing customer relationships
An award win will add to your list of credentials and give customers additional reasons to choose to work with your business, rather than that of a competitor
A win can also be motivating for employees. They create positivity and a "buzz" that lifts morale
You may be able to attract high-calibre talent more easily
However, benefits are not only limited to the award winner. Depending on the competition and the terminology used, being "nominated", "shortlisted" or named as a "finalist" can also attract press, and raise your profile.
Reaching this stage of an awards process is public confirmation that you are among the front-runners in your field.
Once you've decided to go ahead, let's put first things first.
Pick the right awards…
The awards that you decide to enter will play a big factor in your success.
Try to even the playing field for yourself by competing in the right arenas. Businesses vary wildly in their characteristics, so you'll need to be savvy and take this into account.
If your business has been going for 6 months and you feel you're going to strike it big, then focus on rising star, best newcomer, or "One to watch" awards in competitions that are aligned to your size, industry and company type.
If you're a company of 5 people doing amazing work across a single region, don't apply to awards that attract high-growth startups who have raised millions and doubled their headcount three times last year!
If you're a different type of business, trying to go toe-to-toe with companies like that is not a sensible strategy.
Know your strengths and weaknesses and understand where you can (and can't) compete successfully.
If you're an apple, you must firstly recognise that you're an apple, and then focus on competing with other apples.
Now you've started, go all in!
I'd suggest applying for multiple awards if you can. Once you've decided to put the effort in to make one application, applying for others will increase your overall chances of success.
It also allows you to leverage the effort you put into applying for the first award, so have a look through all the categories on offer, and see if there's an opportunity to apply to more than one.
Award applications may be accepted at any time of year depending on the organiser, but February to June seems to be a particularly busy time with lots of awards opening and closing for applications during this period. This gives you a good window of time to get your head in the "awards headspace" and to submit several applications.
The first time we do something, we will rarely be at our best. As a result, you may have some regrets about your first application, BUT now you can take the lessons learned, and make each application better than the last.
If you only apply for one award, you won't benefit from this phenomenon! You will have gambled everything on your "best worst" application.
Next, to get off to a good start with the judges, some context is useful!
Before launching into answering the questions you need to answer for your submission, take a step back and briefly explain what your business does, the problems it solves, and who it solves them for.
When applications lack this, for the judge it feels a bit like starting to watch a film after the first hour has passed! A little background information helps to tie things together and helps your whole application to make more sense.
Given that word count limits can be an issue, you'll need to be creative to ensure that you're able to include all the key points!
Errrm, cut the BS!
We have "highly engaged," "satisfied customers", "we're an innovative company…"
On the surface these sound o.k., but in terms of substance, they offer little value or reason to give you a "tick" in the box and move you into the "shortlisted" pile.
Steer away from bland, commonplace language that says nothing very distinctive or exciting about you, or your business.
Judges want to see energy, enthusiasm, dynamism and personality! Remember that your application needs to stand out enough to make it onto a shortlist if you're to have a shot at winning, so think hard about exactly what your USPs are and how you will describe your business.
Every entrepreneur has to work hard to keep the physical (or virtual) doors to their business open, and this almost always requires facing challenges, sacrifice, dedication, and creativity. Also bear in mind that good customer service should be a given, and not a bonus.
So, consider what it is that makes you and your business stand out above all the other great businesses that have also applied!
(If you've gone above and beyond, then give us the details… and if your customer service is truly exceptional, demonstrate this by explaining "how" and "why".)
Proof, proof, and more proof!
Stats, revenue, reviews, testimonials… Whatever you do, don't forget your evidence.
Invariably, winning entries tell a tale of success and are usually filled with so many examples, they simply cannot be denied.
Without this, applications fall by the wayside.
I strongly advise that you start collecting "impact data" as soon as you start your business and if you haven't up until this point, start today!
Review what you've achieved so far, gather your data and commit to tracking it on an ongoing basis. For example:
Number of customer interviews (if you haven't launched yet)
Feedback from user tests (if you haven't launched yet)
Results of your pilot (if you haven't launched yet)
Number of clients served
High profile, interesting or impressive projects
Number of successful items in your product line
Sales, turnover or profit figures
Headcount growth
Regions, or countries you cover
Average review rating
Other external comments and feedback about your business, department or team
Data related to your KPIs and your performance against targets
Other data related to customer satisfaction, or standards of delivery
Data related to staff and their achievements
Time saved for customers
Money saved for customers
Evidence of great relationships with partners, sponsors, or whoever you work with!
Other metrics relevant to your business and industry
On reflection, exactly how are you making a difference? What progress have you made?
You'll need this data to understand how well your business is doing, and what it's achieving, and judges need to see this too.
Next, you'll want to cherry pick the most impressive information and communicate this to the judges. If you can, weave all this impressive information throughout your entire application. (You'll also want to make sure any new "killer stats" that you uncover are also showcased on your website and in your marketing materials!)
Become a perfectionist
Perfectionism is the enemy of many an entrepreneur because it results in procrastination, so when I say perfectionism, I don't mean the type that causes paralysis (otherwise you'll never actually submit your application) BUT if you're in it to win it, your inner perfectionist will make sure you bring your "A game".
I started my applications some time in advance of the submission date, then put them down and picked them up again at least 20 times. Seriously!
I'd do something totally different, come back to them in a few hours and rip them apart (again.)
A hurriedly "fired off" application that would have benefitted from additional drafts and more time to improve it won't do you justice. If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well!
Ask for feedback and consult the experts where possible
Ask for feedback from multiple people several weeks in advance of the final submission date to avoid stress, as people may not have time to respond immediately.
Choose people who are honest and "harsh, but fair", have some knowledge of business and entrepreneurship, and are eagle-eyed and will pick up on weaknesses in your application.
Sending out my 2nd draft, I was told that the info I'd put together was impressive, but not engaging or compelling. I was also treated to a few choice analogies to explain the oomph that they felt was lacking.
So… it was back to the drawing board, where I spent time trying to figure out how on earth I could action their comments to improve my entries.
In summary, have I "walked my talk" and applied all this advice myself?
Yes! Here's my story:
In 2021 I decided to attend training to better understand how to apply for awards. (I tend to come at most challenges like I'm studying for an exam. I immerse myself, read everything I can on the topic, buy books, go on courses or watch videos, then go at it.)
In 2022, it was time to take action and to apply the knowledge I'd gained. I researched many awards, and got a massive spreadsheet built which helped me to decide what I would apply for.
I am planning to update this post with a link to the spreadsheet I put together in due course!
I did well, but some final results are pending, so the jury is still out!
I applied for multiple awards with 3 different awards organisers and received either a win or a finalist result in one or more of each organisation's award categories.
If you class becoming a finalist as a "result", that's a 100% strike rate across the 3 awards.
The outcomes were:
Winner. BTA Lifetime Award, granted for making an outstanding contribution to the technology profession (Black Tech Achievement Awards)
Finalist. Results pending. Digital Woman of the Year, 2022 (Digital Women)
Finalist. Results pending. Best small business owner. (Small Awards, Small Business Britain)
Finalist. Results pending. Best small service based business. (Small Awards, Small Business Britain)
Shortlisted. Results pending. Application to appear in a book of black female role models (Voices In the Shadow II) to be put into schools to encourage and motivate school-age children, including those from diverse backgrounds
Was this time consuming? Yes, but it has been absolutely worth it.
The Small Awards, organised Small Business Britain announced that they had received a record number of entries this year, so I felt especially proud of making the finals in two categories. The great thing about the effort expended is that these results and organisations will now be positively associated with my business (and me) forever.
Best of luck on your awards journey!
Presales, raising funds for your business & FINDING YOUR FIRST CUSTOMERS
"While most startups who set up pages on Kickstarter, Indiegogo or a host of other crowdfunding sites are looking to hit a specific goal and then get started making their project a reality, a new crop of businesses are using the platform as a wholly different business model: selling their product before it exists."
In this post, we'll cover several topics.
The benefits of preselling products and services
Crowdfunding options
Alternatives to traditional bank loans
Once you've identified your target customers and have them at the heart of everything you do, let's look at how you might further increase your confidence that your product idea is attractive to your target market and that you're "on to something" good!
At this stage, your focus should be on ensuring that you've done all you can to avoid wasting time and money in creating a product that the market does not really want or need.
How do you find out whether your product idea is a "no", a "maybe", or a resounding "yes!"?
There are many smart businesses and business people that do not advocate spending a penny on product development until they are confident that:
The market is large enough to support their business
They've identified a target market and understand its pains, frustrations and desires
They've identified ways to solve those pains and frustrations or to deliver on the identified "wants and needs" and either possess, can develop, or bring in the capability, skills and resources to deliver that solution
They've confirmed that there are people that like their product idea and are genuinely interested in it - i.e. people like the way they are planning to solve the problem and would pay for it
They understand what the product needs to be and do in order to make customers happy - the features or elements that need to be included which make the product worth paying for
But how do they measure genuine interest?
If you progress on to reading Don't Hire a Software Developer Until You Read this Book, we'll be working on creating and testing prototypes in chapters 9 and 10 and talking about running user tests and customer interviews as methods to help you assess interest in your product idea.
These activities can also help you identify target customers who will pay for your product in advance by identifying the "essentials" needed to ensure that your product is seen as being valuable.
Which of these 5 stages would you like to be at and which one would make you feel most secure about spending your money (or other people's money) in order to pursue your goals? Every one of these stages may need to be revisited and fine-tuned many times, but it's still very useful to have clarity on what you are aiming for.
What are presales?
Presales can refer to a technical type of sales which covers an analysis of the customers needs before they purchase a product, presales, preselling, or preorders also refer to the sales of services or goods before their release date which allow a business or entrepreneur to assess the market's willingness to buy the product. This is done in order to minimise the investment risk in creating the product, as we know that it can be risky to create an "all singing all dancing" product until we know more about how well it might be received. Presales can also be used to fund the creation of the product in full or to contribute towards development costs. Do you think that the odds of success would be in your favour if you were able to achieve this?
Here are a few examples of companies and industries who use the presales method all the time:
Off-plan house sales. When a customer buys into the glossy brochure provided for a new property development, when all that might exist is a hole in the ground, or where building work has started, but may not be finished for months or even years - that is a presale.
Apple. Did you order your new iPhone before it came out? If so, you were a presale! A big presentation was done, Apple fans got whipped into a frenzy and pre-ordered because they wanted to be among the first to get the latest new gadget.
The Gaming world. What about the latest version of the Sony PlayStation - did you order one in advance for yourself or a loved one? Presale!
There are also a number of online shopping sites which allow traders to put their products up for pre-order and crowdfunding sites use this model too. This is seen everyday on Amazon where you can order books months in advance in some cases.
There is nothing "scammy" or dishonest about presales or preorders as long as you:
Give people what you agreed to give them for the money they have paid, and
If you return any monies paid in full if you aren't able to deliver on your promise
If you'd like to investigate pre-selling in more detail, here are some ideas:
Begin close to home. Which family, friends and acquaintances need your product or service? Would any of them sign up to be your first customers? Could you request a deposit, or down payment?
Take a look at the major crowdfunding sites. If you'd like to raise funds to build your product, Crowdfunding might be the way to go if you're happy raising funds from a large number of people happy to make a contribution to your venture. Rewards based crowdfunding operates to raise money by offering some kind of product, service or "reward" in exchange for backing the fundraising company. The top crowdfunding sites may change over time, but take a look at Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/, Indiegogo https://www.indiegogo.com/, RocketHub https://www.rockethub.com/ and GoFundMe https://uk.gofundme.com/. You can find information about equity based crowdfunding in the Other finance options section below.
Model success. Take a look at the technology-based campaigns on the crowdfunding sites and see how they have pitched their product(s) and positioned themselves. Look at the campaigns that are going strong that are on target to reach their funding goal and those that have raised funds in excess of their goal - and also those that are struggling to hit their funding target (or who have already failed to reach their target). Try to get an idea of what to do (and what to avoid). Some of the crowdfunding sites provide great videos and blog posts with tips on how to make your campaign a success. Here's some advice from Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/help/handbook/your_story and this YouTube video, from Indiegogo also has some brilliant tips. It's just over 3 minutes long and the tips and data insights at point 1:30 in the video are pure gold: http://bit.ly/29afJqb. YouTube, Udemy and Slideshare also feature advice on how to "win" at crowdfunding.
Use your customer knowledge to help you with marketing. Don't forget about your target customers and what you've learned about them, their interests and priorities. Include elements of this in your campaign, so that you are able to present a clear and compelling message and pitch which attracts your target customers.
Read the small print. If you want to go down the crowdfunding route, make sure you're familiar with each site's legal terms and conditions, fee structure and rules before you make a final decision about which one is right for you.
Get help to spread the word. Email or message friends and family and get people you know (and the people they know) to support you across as many social networks as possible. The crowdfunding sites say that those who are consistent and have a good network of supporters helping them to spread the word are invariably the most successful. Virality can be amazing if it happens, but first you need a marketing plan that you can sustain over a period of time in order to hit key targets, and get the crowdfunding sites algorithm working in your favour to increase your visibility. If you have a large network of contacts, this could really work to your advantage.
Other finance options
As an alternative to traditional bank loans, there are a number of organisations that may be able to help you obtain finance for your business. Take a look at these option(s):
For government funded loans:
https://www.startuploans.co.uk/
Angel Investors and venture capitalists:
https://www.angelinvestmentnetwork.co.uk/entrepreneurs-home
http://www.ukbusinessangelsassociation.org.uk/services-for-entrepreneurs/
http://www.venturecentral.co.uk/finding-investment/4583889654
Peer to peer (P2P) lenders are an alternative to going to a bank for a loan. The larger players in the market include:
Funding circle UK: https://www.fundingcircle.com/uk\
Funding circle US: https://www.fundingcircle.com\
Zopa: https://www.zopa.com\
Ratesetter: https://www.ratesetter.com/
Equity crowdfunding allows startups and growing businesses to find investors and raise funds. In return, investors receive shares in the company.
Seedrs (offers "the crowd" equity in seed stage companies progressing towards building a prototype, or their MVP.) https://www.seedrs.com/raise
Crowdcube. Raise finance using their equity crowdfunding platform: https://www.crowdcube.com
AngelList (US) connects startups, investors, and those looking to join startups as employees: https://angel.co, AngelList (UK) https://angel.co/uk
Fundable offers equity and rewards based fundraising so you can offer investors rewards in exchange for cash, https://www.fundable.com/
EquityNet has been around since 2005 and will help you raise business capital, https://www.equitynet.com/
For an overview of the options available, The Business Finance Guide offers a comprehensive table of lending options for businesses at all stages of growth, with further information and videos available for you to explore each option: http://thebusinessfinanceguide.co.uk/finance-options/.
Always check the small print before making any commitments!
Other options...
The next best thing after having advanced sales under your belt, is to set up a Coming Soon landing page.
This isn't as good as having pre-orders because you won't have generated "hard cash" in advance, but if you can get a large number of people to sign up to your Coming Soon website or landing page this can give both you, or any potential investors evidence of the level of interest in what you are offering.
A landing page is a one-page website designed to convert people to take a desired action. (In this case, people will be providing their email address as the desired action, in order to be among the first to know when your product or service is about to go live.)
You will need to set up the page, create some compelling copy outlining what you will be offering, and how it will benefit your target market to excite and inspire them enough to want it, and to care enough to request a notification about when it will be ready for them to use.
A percentage of people who sign up will be your very first customers - if you are able to sell your concept and its benefits, and create a build up to your launch which prepares people and gets them ready to buy when the time is right!
Wix, Weebly, ConvertKit, LeadPages, and Carrd are just a few of the no-code / low-code website and landing page builder tools that you can use to create one.
You can find an article on the core elements of a successful landing page on ConvertKit's website.
Take a look at the Wix template below - this example is for a bricks and mortar service, but you can choose an alternative template, or edit one like this and include a mockup of your website and app, along with some key product benefits.
You can see the blue button to the top right, which will allow you to copy and then edit this template with your own brand fonts, colours, relevant images, and marketing copy.
I chose this example because the Are You Ready? message is quite eye-catching - however an even better structure for the page would have your number 1 Unique Selling Point front and centre, along with your brand tagline, and the classic Coming Soon message (as an alternative to the Are You Ready? text) big and bold so it is unmissable when people visit your landing page.
Make sure that what you are offering, and its usefulness is crystal clear to your target market in order to maximise the effectiveness of your landing page. There should be zero ambiguity and no guesswork required!
Once you have your landing page up, you will need to drive traffic to it via social media marketing, ads, or other marketing tactics.
Originally published as a free resource offered with Don't Hire a Software Developer Until You Read this Book and adapted for the Purposeful Products blog and published on the Purposeful Group website.
Copyright. Purposeful Publishing, K.N. Kukoyi, All Rights Reserved.
9 Reasons Why Startups And Tech Entrepreneurs With A Mentor Are In A Different League
If you are a startup founder, or tech entrepreneur, do you have a mentor?
Is it REALLY true that startups and tech entrepreneurs with mentors are in a different league?
This article will explore 9 reasons why this is the case!
#1 The Statistics
Extensive research has been carried out and the jury has delivered the verdict - entrepreneurs with mentors do better.
We've included a few pieces of research here:
"Mentored startups grow 3.5x faster and raise 7x more money… The experience and connections of the mentor provide entrepreneurs with a roadmap with a higher probability of success."
Forbes magazine
"70 percent of small business owners that receive mentoring survive for five years or more, double the rate of those who do not receive mentoring."
Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative
#2 Fresh Perspective
A mentor gives you an outside perspective. A startup is a lot like a puzzle, and as the founder, you are the one who has to put all of the pieces together. This can be difficult when you're too close to the puzzle pieces to see the bigger picture. It's also more complicated if you've never put together a "business puzzle" before!
Having a mentor gives you an objective point of view from an experienced person who is likely to have seen similar scenarios play out and can offer you unique insights and raise points that you might not have considered. They can help you identify your blind spots and make better decisions based on other people's experience and knowledge.
#3 Support And Guidance
A mentor provides guidance and support at times when it can become easy to get overwhelmed, anxious, or discouraged.
As an entrepreneur, there will inevitably be times when things don't go as planned and you hit a rough patch. This is when it's helpful to have a mentor who can offer support and guidance. They will share their own experiences of how they, or others overcame and navigated their way around similar challenges and give you advice on how you might move forward.
A mentor can provide encouragement when things get tough and offer helpful advice, suggestions and options when you need them most. They will also keep you accountable, which is crucial for success!
#4 Time and Energy Savings
A mentor has been there before and starting and running a business becomes SO much easier when you are not constantly reinventing the wheel at every stage of building your business!
As an entrepreneur, freelancer, or tech startup founder, you will face challenges that your mentor has already faced and overcome, or seen other people experience. This can be extremely helpful, as they can share their wisdom and advice on how to best approach these situations. They may also have a wealth of business tools and resources at their disposal that they can share with you!
This is one of the major reasons why Purposeful Group's tagline is "Start your business the SMART way!"
Starting your own business from the ground up will be far quicker and easier if you hitch a lift up the mountain by tapping into existing knowledge, instead of walking the whole way up. Those that get a helping hand will reach their destination faster and will be far more efficient in doing so.
#5 Connections And Network
This leads us neatly on to benefit #5. A mentor can be an excellent source of connections. One of the most significant benefits of having a mentor is access to their network of contacts. Your mentor has probably built relationships with other successful entrepreneurs, investors, and business experts over the years and can introduce you to them. This can be extremely valuable for growing your new business.
The people you know can make a BIG difference in how fast you are able to move forward. Things will be easier for you when you receive help at the times when you need it most!
#6 Knowing what to say (and who you should say it to)
A mentor can help you raise money. One of the biggest challenges for technology startups is raising money. Still, a good mentor can help make this process much more manageable. They will know who to talk to and what to say to get the funding you need. They can also introduce you to potential investors and provide guidance on negotiating deals and creating a credible pitch that will not "turn off" investors, or raise red flags that will put you in the "no thank you" pile.
#7 Credibility
A mentor can also give you credibility. Having a mentor lends credibility to your startup and shows potential investors that you are serious about your business. It also demonstrates that you have taken the time to invest in yourself and are committed to learning and growing as an entrepreneur. This can be key when trying to attract top talent to your company.
Investors want to know that you have a support system because building a successful business is hard. Someone with no help or guidance and no connections may be a less attractive prospect for some investors unless they have the time to mentor you themselves.
#8 Growth & Expansion Advice
A mentor can help you expand your business. A mentor may have experience in running a successful business and will be able to share their knowledge with you. In addition, they can provide advice on things like marketing, sales, and operations and help you grow your digital business into a thriving company.
#9 Accountability, and someone to "Bounce" Ideas Off
A mentor can act as a sounding board. When you're starting a company, it's important to have someone to talk to and get feedback from. A word of advice at the right moment can be critical and we see entrepreneurs all the time that have gone off track because there was no-one around to give them the right words of advice at the right time.
There is absolutely no substitute for honest input which helps you make better decisions for your business.
Accountability is critical in helping you keep up the pace with the things you need to do. Simply knowing that you will be speaking to someone to update them on what you've achieved since your last conversation is great for maintaining focus and staying on track, and on target!
Many entrepreneurs find this invaluable as without this resource, it can be easy to get lost in the weeds, or to feel adrift without the structure that regular accountability can bring.
What should you expect from a "good" mentor?
A good mentor will also not just "tell you what to do", but will collaborate with you and help you gain clarity around what your priorities should be, and will work with you to solve problems, and to figure out the best way(s) to execute on the actions that you need to take, so you are clear and confident about exactly how to move ideas and plans forward.
We are often told that this level of very practical help is what differentiates Purposeful Group from mentors who provide less detailed guidance.
Ideally your mentor will have mentored a lot of other businesses at a professional level. This will give you confidence about their experience and that they have a breadth of experience that will add additional value to the advice that they give you. Naturally, experience within your sector, or industry could be an added bonus.
Finally, a mentor should genuinely care and want you to win!
You should feel encouraged, and the mentor should feel like an extension of your company or team - someone in your corner to help you grow from strength to strength who will celebrate your wins, and help you get back on your feet when things don't go according to plan.
Purposeful Group was formed by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs and we understand exactly what it's like trying to start a business from scratch! Now we're motivated to help others to get started the smart way.
We've supported thousands of entrepreneurs and delivered professional business mentoring funded by local and central government, including DCMS and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities.
Andrew Paradise writing for Forbes says it very well: "You can ignore the rules and tear up blueprints all you want, and many disruptors have become legendary for doing just that. However, even disruptors need a compass to traverse unexpected peaks and valleys."
A good mentor is a valuable resource, and is one of the best things an entrepreneur can have to take their business to the next level. If you don't have a mentor, now is the time to find one!
Contact us to find out more about our mentoring services.
Founder's Spotlight WITH CHRISTOPHER LIER: How to generate hot leads!
Welcome to this Founder Spotlight interview with Christopher Lier, cofounder of the SaaS startup LeadGen.
We met when I was running Office Hours mentoring sessions at Techhub, a coworking space for tech startups last year.
In the interview Christopher talks about communicating with cofounders, funding his startup, GDPR compliance for business owners, and working with developers in remote locations.
Hi! Please tell us a bit about you, and what you do.
My name is Chris, I am a digital marketer and cofounder at LeadGen, a web app to empower marketers in building online lead capture forms to improve their campaign performance. I also run a digital marketing consultancy business which specialises in digital strategy development and lead generation for SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) companies.
I grew up in Germany, studied in the UK and now I am based in Shoreditch in London's Tech ecosystem. I'm passionate about entrepreneurship, digital marketing, and personal development.
Thanks Chris. How did you first come to recognise that there was a problem that you could solve?
We had been managing landing page campaigns for businesses and realised that there weren't great solutions for building custom multi-step forms, so we decided to build a tool for our own business and clients. Gradually, we realised that there is a tremendous need in the digital marketing space for creating more effective lead capture forms which made us start LeadGen.
How did the business develop from that point?
Initially, there was slow progress as we didn't aim to make a business out of it. Slowly but surely, we decided that this was the SaaS business that we wanted to grow. I also realised that building a product business is much more suited to my strengths, for example in comparison to running a service agency. Today we are getting found online and generating new users everyday.
The images below illustrate how LeadGen can be set up to create a user journey that supports the capture of new leads.
Lead capture form and user journey for enquiry form, built with LeadGen
How has life changed since you started your business?
Building a business is a commitment. I learned that one has to take full responsibility for whatever is happening. I was always an active and ambitious person, but running a startup demands a lot more follow-through and critical thinking to be sure your actions are pushing you in the right direction.
Many people think that running a business takes a toll on other aspects of your life. For me, the opposite is true. You have a lot more flexibility and get to do more things. The trick lies in not trying to compromise or balance what you do, but to just go for whatever is important to you.
Before I started my digital agency Leadcube in 2017, I was still studying. I gradually found my path and a business partner in the following months after University when I joined a local co-working space in Essex where I used to live at the time.
So you started quite young! It also sounds like you've also figured out how to work productively so you can get some form of work life balance. The eternal struggle when your business is your baby...
You have a co founder at LeadGen. How do you divide work between you?
We work based on different responsibility fields and divide the work accordingly. My colleague is in charge of product development, whilst I handle the marketing and growth of the business, which suits both our natural strengths. Having a complementary skill set between co founders when building a startup is way better than coming from the same backgrounds in my view.
I agree! The benefit of having a co founder is an alternative perspective and a different set of skills, among other things. How do you work through differences of opinion?
It's actually not too hard when you have a culture of open communication.
It's very important to have the ability to think rationally and aim to keep any personal biases out of discussions. That's not always easy for sure and requires work on yourself. Disagreement in itself shouldn't be a problem and is necessary to grow.
Also, founders should openly address and share what's bothering them with their business partners, instead of letting it stay in their minds. This way you can avoid a lot of problems in the first place. These are some of the principles we have that have helped us in our business.
It's an excellent basis for all relationships, and a very healthy way to deal with concerns and disagreements! What else can you tell us about your app?
What we want to achieve with LeadGen is to build a tool that marketers can't live without. The web app is built for marketers to build custom lead capture and multi-step forms for improving lead generation performance.
Online forms are essential for web-based businesses. They are the key interface for potential customers to get in touch with companies and their offers. Marketers can use LeadGen to build lead forms, branded in their own company style to match with their web content. This creates a better user experience. LeadGen Forms can be embedded into landing pages and websites to start capturing leads. The forms can link to custom Thank-you messages and can be integrated with any kind of other marketing tools, including CRM systems and email marketing software.
There are other cool features like displaying LeadProof messages with the most recently generated leads on landing pages as pop-ups. This creates social proof and helps in capturing more leads by enticing people to fill in the LeadGen form on your page.
We also generate stats for our customers using the LeadGen metric dashboard:
LeadGen form embedded on website contact form and LeadGen metric dashboard
So..., GDPR! Many email capture forms are no longer compliant and do not cater for the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) laws, which is a nightmare for companies trying to stay compliant and operate within the law. It's amazing how many lead capture forms and landing page builders STILL have not been adapted to accommodate the new rules. (Rant over!)
Can you tell us how companies can make use of your product and still remain compliant with the General Data Protection Regulations?
Sure. Many marketers get overwhelmed or intimidated by GDPR. This shouldn't be such a big problem to spend time worrying about. It should be easy for marketers and companies to cope with the changes that GDPR has brought.
In LeadGen forms, marketers can easily enable tick boxes for obtaining the user's consent to subscribe to newsletters or lists as part of lead offers. In this part of the lead form, links can be added to refer to legal agreements, including privacy policies and terms and conditions.
Lead forms can also be customised with text sections to specify the offering and a note about opt-ins for email marketing.
That's really great to hear as it means that your clients have one less thing to worry about!
I also wanted to ask you about your involvement in startup competitions. Have you taken part in any pitch competitions? What was your experience like?
I've taken part in a few competitions. Right at the start of my entrepreneurial journey, I managed to win a startup grant from the University I studied at, which was nice in the early days. I also participated in Techhub Demo night at Google Campus in London, where startups present in front of an audience of tech enthusiasts and investors. I can recommend pitch events and startup competitions to gain experience and get feedback in front of audiences.
The more you practice, the more likely you are to "nail" it when you have to do a really important pitch, so I'd advise readers to practice whenever you can!
How are you currently funding the growth of your startup?
We haven't raised funding, we're using the profits from providing digital marketing and web design services to cover R&D investments.
My best tip for fundraising is to go through connections and introductions rather than pitching directly to the investor. And obviously be extremely well prepared and able to answer any type of question about your business.
Let's talk about product build and developers next! Your development is done from India, correct? Can you tell us more about this, and about what your experience has been like?
Yes, we have developers based in India. I can say that having remote staff is a great way of growing a business. I can't see much of a difference vs. having everyone together in one place. Regarding the Indian market, it's mainly my co-founder dealing with it. He knows the local market which is a tremendous help. For a founder from Europe with no background or experience in this market, cultural differences can be a real challenge and it might be better to start building the business from other locations initially.
What stage are you at with your business today?
We are still at an early stage. The product is live and we're continuously building a bigger user base. The main priority will remain the improvement of the product, and the user experience until we can concentrate more on marketing. We have close contact with users and also have a Facebook group where we gain a lot of insight into the experiences that users have with the tool and what features they request.
Feel free to join at this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/leadgenapp.
Thanks for sharing! What's been the best thing about your journey so far?
Without doubt, the people I get to meet on this journey. I really enjoy building a team and striving towards goals together. But even beyond that, as a founder you can get to know many entrepreneurs and interesting people to learn from and work with.
What has been your biggest challenge so far?
Balancing short-term and long-term results. On the one hand, you know that you need to build a great product, but that doesn't happen overnight. Sales do not come quickly in a product business when starting it from scratch. Since we are self-funded, we need to find other ways to provide value to the marketplace with services. Balancing those two goals and activities is difficult.
What would you do differently if you could go back in time and give yourself some advice?
To start earlier while I had more time available, e.g in University. Ideally, getting a mentor early on in the journey and also finding the right environment to work from.
What's next for your business?
A lot of work on the product, improving the user experience, and hiring more staff so we can grow.
Where can people find you online?
For marketers and anyone interested in digital marketing, the best place to go is our website www.leadgenapp.io where you can start testing our tool LeadGen App for free.
The Facebook community Lead Generators https://www.facebook.com/groups/leadgenapp is a great place to connect with us and other digital marketers.
Thanks Christopher! We wish you, your cofounder, and LeadGen all the best for the future.
Founder's Spotlight with Miriam Pierre: The lowdown on hiring and managing interns!
Our latest Founder's Spotlight interview features Miriam Pierre from Nurture Collective.
Miriam and I met through We in Social Tech - a tech for good accelerator for female-led businesses where we provide our mentoring services and deliver our Tech Startup Academy™ workshops.
Miriam was selected as one of twenty entrepreneurs to join Cohort 2 of the programme.
Hiring interns is a popular way to get much needed help with building startups, and Miriam gave us the scoop on her first experience with hiring and managing an intern.
Hi Miriam!
How's it going?
Please tell us about your business.
Nurture Collective is an online marketplace for ethical children's clothing, toys and gifts for those aged 0-12yrs. We want to empower mamas to make informed choices when buying products and make it easier for them to shop more consciously.
What is your opinion about the value of hiring interns?
For my business I would see the hiring of an intern as being super positive.
It gave me what I was looking for – freeing up some time to work 'on' and not 'in' the business, but equally led to some things I wasn't quite expecting.
It's lonely being a founder and it was great to be challenged and to be able to talk through proposed approaches with someone else. For my intern, hopefully it was positive in building their CV and enabling them to be right at the heart of a growing business.
I'd love you to tell us about some of your highs and lows with working with interns. What have you learned, and what would you do differently if you were starting again from scratch?
The highs have been:
1) the challenge and companionship
2) having taken the time to hire a really high quality intern, spending the time to nurture them, and now being in a position where things are happening in the business and I'm not always having to do it – it sometimes it feels magical!
I guess there haven't been many lows but there are times early on where you are investing precious time when you are hoping the returns will come – for me it certainly worked out.
One of the lows which is yet to come is when my intern has to move on to a permanent role – I will miss her as a person and for her support, but I will be so grateful for her contribution to Nurture and hopefully we have helped on her journey as well.
I hear you! Things happening that you didn't have to do yourself? It's almost luxurious after the slog of pushing the rock uphill all by yourself!
It's a great point. You have to invest, to reap the benefits sometimes. Often interns may not be productive from day 1, and entrepreneurs that expect this can end up frustrated and disappointed. Founders should expect to provide training, and very clear direction…
You need to be able to communicate effectively remotely - there are some great tools to plan and organise and I personally recommend Google docs and Trello. It's so important to be really clear on what you want to achieve with your intern and then how they are going to complete tasks within a realistic time frame. Specifically, if it's a marketing role you need to be really clear on your brand guidelines and then have it written on a doc you can share. I recommend Trello. Then your intern has this as a reference to better understand your brand.
Absolutely. I'm delighted to see you're doing so well with that. It's something I always talk about in our Marketing for Tech Startups workshop. It's an approach which prevents a lot of confusion and wasted time. Coming from a corporate background I see no reason why small businesses and startups should not develop systems and frameworks as soon as possible to keep things organised.
Miriam, what kind of work did you hire your intern to do?
We hired an intern to help with our digital marketing which can definitely seem overwhelming - particularly as we are on 4 platforms!
It's great to have fresh eyes and input into the planning and creating of our content.
Can you share your top tips on how and where to hire interns from?
I think treating it like a normal recruitment process is really important.
I prepared a job specification, interviewed candidates, gave feedback and set a task for interviewees to undertake. It really gave a strong framework to assess people fairly. In terms of the actual platforms, I used Indeed, which is a well-known job site. It was free to place the ad and quite straightforward to post it. You can even talk to a recruiter to help you with wording and placement and I had a really good level of interest.
Thanks, that's a great tip to end on! Having a recruiter to advise is extremely helpful, especially if you're new to hiring staff.
Thanks for sharing your experience Miriam, and best of luck with your business.
You can find out more about Nurture Collective here:
https://www.nurturecollective.co.uk/
Before you go, I'd like to share some more information about interns.
Internships usually run for 4-12 weeks.
You will need to observe the minimum wage based on the intern's age, and even charities may need to cover travel expenses and lunch for interns as a minimum.
Please take a look at the latest guidance from the government on these matters on the Gov.UK website.
Work placements may be quite short, and be paid, or unpaid, and run for between 1 and 4 weeks, however, some industrial placements that take place as part of a higher-education course may continue over a longer period, often up to a period of 1 year.
Indeed was mentioned as a place to hire interns in this post, however you might also consider Workinstartups.com, and contacting local university career and employability teams.
These department(s) will discuss your role(s), explain how they can help, and let you know how much you will need to pay to hire students.
In addition to explaining your requirements, you may need to complete paperwork related to student risk assessments, and health and safety (in the UK you don't need to have a written health and safety policy if you have five or fewer staff), and to confirm that you have employer's liability insurance, which may be required if the university itself does not provide this cover under its own insurance policy.
We recommend that you request access to forms and paperwork up front so you can look it over, make sure that you can comply, clarify requirements, and ask questions before you attempt to start the hiring process.
Work experience gives young people exposure to the world of work for a shorter period of time, and may be paid or unpaid based on the nature of the work, and the young person's age.
Getting access to advice about hiring
Understanding all the terminology, and do's and don'ts associated with hiring can be a minefield!
We have briefly discussed internships, work placements, and work experience, but these terms are sometimes used interchangeably.
There are a huge number of "work statuses" that can be assigned to people who work for you, and it is important to understand the implications associated with them. You may find it helpful to get some free advice from Acas, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (UK) based on your own specific circumstances.
According to the Gov.UK website:
Acas provides free and confidential advice to employers, employees and their representatives on employment rights, best practice and policies, and resolving workplace conflict. The helpline has a free translation service for over 100 languages.
They can be reached via telephone, or contacted via email. You can find information about the Acas helpline here.
If you are looking for interns, Purposeful Group is currently powering Capital Enterprise's Talent Incubator to support students and recent grads with upskilling and finding positions as interns this Summer.
If you'd be interested in interviewing any young people to work at your business who are highly motivated and have undertaken a number of practical assignments and attended live online workshops to develop their workplace skills, please contact us at hi@purposefulgroup.com, or contact Capital Enterprise.
K.N. Kukoyi
PURPOSEFUL GROUP, 2019 ANNUAL REVIEW
Last year was an eventful year for Purposeful Group (formerly Purposeful Products).
I'd like to say a huge thanks to all the clients we worked with in 2019, it was an a pleasure to work and collaborate with some amazing pre-accelerators, accelerators, universities and enterprise hubs, and other organisations supporting entrepreneurship, along with an incredibly diverse and impressive range of founders.
In 2019 we:
Gave talks at events and appeared on panels on topics of technology and entrepreneurship
Ran workshops and programmes at numerous sites to support tech startup founders creating web and mobile apps from scratch
Grew our international community from zero to over 1,200 tech founders, technologists and investors
Worked with startups and small business owners on 5 continents
Worked with numerous organisations supporting young people (15-24 years) interested in embarking on journeys in STEM careers or entrepreneurship
Were proud to do pro-bono work with some fantastic charities, including The Winch and the Us Programme to support people from under-represented and disadvantaged groups
Attended London's City Hall on multiple occasions to take part in mentoring initiatives, including the London Business Roadshow event, organised by Enterprise Nation
Collaborated on projects funded by the British Library, the European Institute of Innovation & Technology, and the Mayor of London
Introduced, and connected people like crazy, with several young entrepreneurs that we referred to Hackathons going on to win prizes!
Grew our revenue by more than 350%
In 2019, we launched our international Community and Centre for Learning for non-technical founders, our Tech Academy™ business school offering professional guidance to tech startups, and had over 100 software entrepreneurs progress their businesses with our tech specific workshops and programmes during our pilot phase, with more entrepreneurs giving our content an excellent rating than any other score.
We are recognised and registered as a provider of adult learning and education. Our content has also been certified, and we are able to offer accredited diplomas to entrepreneurs that wish to have an official record of their learning.
In November 2019 our CEO & Founder, Kay Kukoyi CSM FITOL, a software delivery specialist, global tech startup mentor, speaker, author, and lecturer was recognised by the Financial Times, Inclusive Boards and Tech Alliance on the #IB100 list of the 100 Most Influential BAME Leaders in the UK Technology Sector.
In 2019, Kay also had the honour of being a grand finals judge at the national pitch TATA Varsity Pitch competition, deciding the winner of a £15,000 equity-free prize along with Tim Jones CBE - Executive Director of Tata Ltd, and Angelica Malin Editor-in-Chief of About Time Magazine and Founder of the About Time Academy.
If you are interested in accessing specialist, quality content for your cohort of tech startups, we have over 60 hours of content to support tech founders, small business owners, and freelancers in achieving their desired outcomes.
To join our fast-growing public-facing community, you can join us here:
UK / Europe: https://www.meetup.com/techstartupacademy/
North America, Rest of the World: https://www.meetup.com/techstartupacademy-intl/
STJOHN DEAKINS OF CITIZENME - HOW WE PROVIDE powerful research INSIGHTS FOR BUSINESSES
As a tech startup mentor, I recommend tech, resources, and tools to startups to support them in building their businesses.
For this reason, I was excited to interview StJohn Deakins, who is the Founder and CEO at CitizenMe, a product that helps brands to connect and engage with their audiences through their web and native mobile apps. I believe there's a huge amount of potential for startups to use tools like this to help validate their ideas and increase the amount of quality information available to aid decision making.
Is that idea hot, or not? Are you picking the best possible features for your MVP? The answers to these questions need quality external input to make sure that your assumptions are correct, and that you're steering your product (and business) in the right direction.
I have a market research background, and used to interview MPs, journalists, corporates, and SMEs, as well as running focus groups with members of the public. In this post, I'll be drawing on expert insights from CitizenMe!
Welcome StJohn!
Thanks Kay, it's great to speak with you!
What exactly does CitizenMe do?
In a nutshell, CitizenMe is working to empower individuals and organisations with data to create a sustainable digital future.
We believe that data has immense potential to help us all perform better, both in business and our lives. To enable this, we built a two-sided personal data marketplace consisting of a Citizen (consumer) facing mobile application (iOS and Android) acting as a distributed data store, and a customer web interface where clients (companies, health researchers and other organisations) can request data globally.
This all happens in a fair and secure way which brings value to everyone involved.
What are the key problems that your product solves?
Data has immense value for us all because it can uncover deep insights into behaviours, preferences, trends and more.
However, the data exchange industry as it exists now is highly flawed.
Data is being bought, sold and resold without individuals' consent, awareness or participation. This is not just ethically wrong but also impacts the many organisations around the world who depend on this low quality data being sold to them to make important business decisions. Additionally, the benefits of deep data insights, both at a professional as well as individual level, are currently only accessible to a marginal group of large corporations.
CitizenMe wants to solve these challenges. Our Citizen-facing app empowers individuals to better understand, control and benefit from their own data. This in turn improves the quality and accuracy of the data that our clients can request. And on both fronts, we make gathering data insights more accessible and affordable to all.
Can you provide a few practical examples of how your tool is used by businesses?
Sure! We've worked on a range of projects for different types of clients. For example, a small London-based health food company used our platform to carry out some concept testing for new packaging. We provided some support with the questionnaire, it then got published to a custom audience of Londoners and our client saw results coming in within the hour.
Another example would be the advertising agency, OMD who integrated psychometrics, smartphone and app usage data and social media activity, to better define and understand audience profiles. Using this combination of survey data and digital behavioural data available on our platform, they were able to unlock new insights about their client's audiences, defined around customer interests and digital behaviours.
Those are really meaningful insights, but that's also super fast - data on-tap!
Which scenarios do you think best suit your product?
Our self-service exchange platform is very versatile so it suits many different scenarios. For instance, an SMB / SME looking to do accurate, in the moment concept testing would find our platform ideal. The same is true for a large multinational looking to run cross-country opinion research on a new product concept.
CitizenMe's Exchange platform
Can your app be used for A / B testing? How would that work?
Absolutely! Just set up a survey in your CitizenMe account, selecting the audience that you wish to target. Duplicate the survey and amend the item to be tested and launch both surveys at the same time. I'd recommend trying the "Concept question" function if you also want to show images or videos.
Excellent! Thanks for explaining how to get that done.
The way that questions are posed during customer interviews is important to avoid introducing bias, which can lead to founders gathering inaccurate results, or drawing the wrong conclusions from the data they collect.
What would you say are the biggest mistakes made by companies trying to conduct research, and gather data for their businesses?
For me, having a well defined brief is the most important aspect of any research project. If you don't know for certain why you are conducting research, it becomes really difficult to design a well thought out research project and to ensure you are obtaining the data that will help you to understand your research problem. We're very happy to assist clients in defining the 'why' on a project to ensure we deliver the right answers.
When it comes to bias, it's really important to ensure there is a balance. Not just for data quality, but also for the experience of the participants.
If you're concerned about being given the reigns on a research project, reach out to us. We provide research best practice workshops and drop-in sessions packed with questionnaire design tips. Not only that, we also have a professional services team who are happy to help at any stage of the project.
That's great - really useful and will give businesses the confidence that they done things the right way, and haven't made any fundamental mistakes!
Do you have any killer tips on research best practice, and for succeeding with your platform?
Yes! Book a research best practice workshop or drop-in session with us.
Other than that, it's all about having that well-defined brief and working from there.
A brief can be anything from an internal plan (if using self-service), an email to a market research agency or an official document… but there are always important factors to consider, for example the:
End goal – why are you planning to conduct market research?
Timings – when do you need to deliver on the results of the research?
Cost – what is your budget?
Sample – who do you need to speak to?
Data – what information do you need to know?
Can you tell us more about the support with question design and planning that you offer? How does this work?
Our Exchange platform is built to be self service, but we offer a range of services ranging from basic support to consulting, access to an expert research network and full services. We can cover reporting, translations, writing up survey questions, reviewing surveys, inputting the information onto the platform on your behalf and more. You can also check our our guides that provide helpful tips on how to conduct different aspects of research.
What is THE coolest feature that customers gain access to when they use your product?
Being able to gather deep insights, in real time. When we do live demos, the speed at which we get the deep psychographic data on top of the replies to more traditional questions, is what gets people's jaws dropping!
We also have a very exciting self-service A.I. analytics feature being developed that will enable you to analyse different clusters and trends in your data to a whole new level… It's coming out soon so let us know if you're interested, we'd love to give you a sneak peak!
Yes, please - I'll look forward to having a preview!
What's the best way for people to get in touch with you StJohn?
Simply drop us an email at insight@citizenme.com, or sign up free of charge to the client CitizenMe Exchange platform to start having a look around. You can also download our app for personal use.
Thanks StJohn, it's been a pleasure.
Thanks Kay!
Kay Kukoyi (K.N. Kukoyi CSM FITOL).
Kay is the founder of Purposeful Products, a business and technology consultancy that supports pre-seed/early stage tech startups led by founders without a technical background.
The company creates and delivers tech-specific workshops and programmes for incubators and accelerators, and runs the "Open Incubator" Tech Startup Academy™, which includes a programme offering entrepreneurs the opportunity to gain an accredited diploma, as well as a range of individual workshops designed for tech startup founders.
Kay a software delivery specialist, speaker, global tech startup mentor, and the author of 5 books for SMEs and entrepreneurs, including the international Amazon bestseller, Don't Hire a Software Developer Until You Read this Book.
Kay is a tech startup mentor for a number of accelerators, including the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator, Zinc VC accelerator, and the We in Social Tech Accelerator. She is a Certified ScrumMaster®, qualified coach, and a Fellow of the Institute of Training and Occupational Learning. She has spent more than a decade leading, and working in software delivery teams, on high-profile, multi-million pound tech projects for companies including Sky News and The SThree Group.
The "CTO blues" are real! :(
I design and run specialist workshops and programmes which simplify the process of starting and running a tech startup business.
I do this mainly for the non-technical founders of tech startup businesses, and of all the workshops I run, the one on working with developers gets the most extreme reaction. On several occasions I've seen both men and women shaking with laughter in their chairs, and even (very literally) crying with laughter.
Well, when I go through all the horror scenarios, common mistakes, and things that go wrong during the hiring, and build processes, people identify with the stories of woe because they've been caught by the same pitfalls themselves. (Sadly, it's not because I missed my calling as a standup comedienne!)
Whilst I'm glad they see they funny side when they reflect on their experiences, I'm on a mission to catch people before they experience these "tech startup dramas."
The CTO blues are "a thing". They are a common phenomenon - so common I came up with a name and a song about them(!), yet for each entrepreneur who gets into trouble in this area, it will feel like a unique and lonely experience, and despite entrepreneurs' laughter, the CTO blues are not funny at all.
So what are these CTO blues? This is a term I use to describe a scenario where founders are experiencing difficulties with their CTO or developer.
Sometimes things get serious - screaming matches and stress related illnesses caused by breakdowns in developer-entrepreneur relationships are not uncommon, and neither are lost investors due to delays.
Tech can be complex, as can working with other people, especially when you don't speak "tech" and haven't managed a technical project or technical people before. Don't wing it - come along to the workshop BEFORE you get burned, rather than seeking help after you have a negative experience!
The next How to Hire a Developer & Manage a Technical Team workshop is on Wednesday, 11th September at 6 p.m. and there are just a few spots left.
We'll take a deep dive into hiring, and managing your tech team - there will be lots of discussion, you're free to ask me anything you like, and you'll come away with a rich picture of the dos and don'ts, and a structure you can use to move forward.
Make sure you set yourself up for success, and avoid painful misadventures as the CEO and founder of a tech driven business.
Book your ticket on Eventbrite here: http://bit.ly/hire-manage-developers, or send us a message if you have any questions!
FOUNDER SPOTLIGHT - INTERVIEW WITH IoT entrepreneur nassia skoulikariti: how i got started & hired my all-star female DEVELOPMENT team
We're excited to announce that this blog post is the first of a new category of interviews focused on showcasing the tech startup talent that Purposeful Products and Tech Startup Academy™ have worked with.
Following our interview with Founders 50 entrepreneur Sheena Shah, we're pleased to have another interview with a female founder in tech, Nassia Skoulikariti, the CEO and founder of the Internet of Things startup Apiro Data Ltd.
Some fast facts - Sheena's tech team is 50% female, and Nassia's tech team is 80% female! Nassia talks about this during the interview, so let's begin!
Welcome to the Purposeful Products Blog Nassia. Can you share your origin story with us?
I have more than 25 years of international experience in Telecoms, Cloud communications and IoT, helping global organisations to develop and grow.
Prior to founding Apiro Data Ltd, I worked for several global companies in countries including the US, UK, The Netherlands, Greece, India and Hong Kong, and managed culturally diverse commercial and technical teams globally. As a result I have developed a "people first" attitude, and I'm on a personal quest to find ways to humanise technology and make it easy to implement and manage.
At Apiro Data we connect people, places and things through our End2End Internet of Things (IoT) platform, Infinity Core and our partner ecosystem. Our modular, flexible solutions allow customers to expedite their connected device plans, chose what fits their needs, KPIs and budget, and grow at their own pace while minimising their investment risk.
We work with businesses to create a proof of concept based on where they are on their digital transformation journey, which they can then pilot, and scale.
An iterative process that gives the client something to work with from a simple starting point... Clients are often nervous about the result they will get, especially with higher-ticket / enterprise software solution. Nassia has a backgroud in this area, but if you're an entrepreneur who's new to enterprise solutions, offering a paid service to clients to provide a tailored poc (proof of concept) is a good way to address concerns.
How has life changed since you started this business?
I'm living a better version of my life.
Since starting Apiro Data I feel more empowered. I went through a deep introspection to understand where I am, what I know, and how I could apply all my previous experience to my start-up. The company is bootstrapped, so I take on many different roles; some I had prior experience in, others I didn't and had to take classes to gain a better understanding.
I've realised it takes a lot of courage to put your money where your mouth is, and take action while staying true to your beliefs and values.
I enjoy building and creating things, so founding a company that's building enterprise software and utilising IoT and AI is like planting a seed and watching it grow.
What else can you tell us about your app?
Although IoT and M2M (machine-to-machine communication) has been around for some time now, there is still a lack of qualified IoT experts and solutions architects to assist with planning and designing software for clients.
We work with the customer to accelerate their digital transformation and deployment using an agile approach from exploration, and deployment to commercialisation.
With Apiro Data solutions and products, companies can start small and focus on their needs, KPIs and budget.
Our solutions are easy and fast to integrate - it's a model that allows customers to grow at their own pace.
As a result customers are able to reap the significant gains of IoT faster, save money and increase their customer satisfaction and retention.
How did you first come to recognise there was a problem that you could solve?
IoT and IoT services have been around for several years. However, the expertise pool is still limited. There are a lot of people claiming they know IoT but very few do. I saw the need for modular solutions which work well and are easy to use.
The market is crowded, and 80% of the business is run by the Big 3 (Amazon, Google and IBM.)
We're a boutique IoT company, and are very nimble - we help customer stop wasting money on platforms they can't use due to complexity, or lack of integration.
How did the business develop from this point?
It's key for us to have a strong partner ecosystem, so we've been working on two fronts, building our platform and companion app (Infinity Core) and building our partner network for the elements we don't cover directly, such as the sensors needed for connected devices, and the connectivity for the communication between the smart devices and the platform.
What stage are you at with your business?
We have the first version of our platform and app developed and we're working on a handful of fascinating projects across different industries, such as logistics, healthcare and utilities.
What's been the best thing about your journey so far?
Where do I start? There are so many things I can choose, from the way I feel, to the energy it gives me… However, one of the best things is that at Apiro Data we are mainly females, and my development team is all female. I always wished to find a way to share my experience and empower other women and Apiro Data is giving me that chance to give a little bit back.
Achieving gender parity in teams is particularly challenging in tech due to the relatively small percentage of women in the industry. How did you achieve this?!
Actually, we do have a man in the company, Swapnil. He's a great guy, and is our SVP of Product. Out of the 5 people with Apiro Data, four are females. The challenge was to find strong female developers that were willing to work for a start-up and also work remotely. It is not the done thing in India, and I have to give Swapnil the credit for helping me find the right candidates. We used a recruitment agency, and personal referrals.
I'm really curious to hear your answer to this question... Is there a difference in how the genders approach development work?
All my previous technical teams were mainly male, so this is a first for me!
Females are more empathetic in their approach to problem solving. They are not as vocal and require nurturing, time and space to grow and flourish. At the same time, they focus on getting what we need to get done completed on time, and with great attention to detail. Females need to understand what we are building on a deeper level before they start developing.
That sounds great - I strongly believe that developers with a strong drive to understand and clarify what's needed really help themselves and their employer (or client) to succeed!
What's been your biggest challenge so far, Nassia?
Concentrating on one new idea at a time… IoT solutions are wide and varied.
There are so many challenges we can solve with connecting, monitoring, and analysing the world around us. It's extremely important for a young start up to concentrate on concrete and tested solutions based on customers' needs.
I agree. I think this is a curse of the entrepreneurial mindset - on the flip side, it can actually be crippling, because you may be able to see too many paths that you might take. It's advisable to stay focused in order to get the business off the ground. That doesn't mean not being innovative, but it's about risk reduction and producing a stable, reliable product in the minimum amount of time so you can take your product to market quickly!
What would you do differently if you could go back in time and give yourself some advice now you're "older and wiser"?
Start sooner / earlier. Always trust your abilities and your determination to get things done!
We have very ambitious plans for the future, the next phase for us is to use AI power our platform.
Impressive. I wish you and Apiro Data all the best, Nassia!
Where can people find you?
People can reach out to us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and via our website:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nassiaskoulikariti/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apirodata/
Web: www.apirodata.io
If you're interested in IoT, you may also be interested in this article about the latest trends for IoT for startups.
Kay is the founder of Purposeful Products and Tech Startup Academy™.
She is a software delivery specialist, speaker, and the author of 5 books for SMEs and entrepreneurs, including the international Amazon bestseller, Don't Hire a Software Developer Until You Read this Book.
Kay is an Enterprise Nation small business advisor, and a tech startup mentor for a number of accelerators, including the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator, and the We in Social Tech Accelerator. She has a diploma (DiP IM) in Internet Marketing, is a Certified ScrumMaster®, qualified coach, and a Fellow of the Institute of Training and Occupational Learning.
Kay has spent more than a decade leading, and working in software delivery teams, on high-profile, multi-million pound tech projects for companies including Sky News and The SThree Group.
https://www.crunchbase.com/person/kay-kukoyi
About Purposeful Group
Purposeful Group is a business and technology consultancy that supports pre-seed/early stage tech startups led by founders without a technical background.
The company creates and delivers tech-specific workshops and programmes for incubators and accelerators, and runs the "Open Incubator" Tech Startup Academy™, which includes a programme offering entrepreneurs the opportunity to gain an accredited diploma, as well as a range of individual workshops which are specifically designed for tech startup founders.
We're on a mission to help new founders get from "idea to launch" the SMART way as they bring their software products to life.
Having heard far too many horror stories about the confusion, misadventures, and "tech startup dramas" experienced by software entrepreneurs, we're here to provide insights and help them avoid pitfalls as they build their businesses.
recent startup pitch events in london, summer 2019
As a tech startup mentor, I'm often invited to attend pitch events. I've attended several this Summer and wanted to write a short summary about them.
The Startups for Africa Showcase, Google Campus
There were 5 startups, each delivering 5 minute pitches, followed by a Q&A session. Startups included:
• Smiling Through Light, which employs local women to provide clean, reliable and sustainable energy in Sierra Leone and Africa. Mariama Kamara. #smilingthroughlight
• Survey54, that provides research data for businesses operating in emerging markets, including Africa, and the Middle East. Stephan Eyeson. #survey54
• AfriClick, a networking and dating app for black African and Caribbean professionals and creatives. Dayo Akinrinade. #africlick
• Kapsule, a pharmaceutical distributor assuring affordable, authentic and accessible medicines delivered to patients in Africa via blockchain technology. David Chen. #kapsule.life
• FroHub, the social marketplace for black hair, beauty and fashion. Rahel Tesfai. #frohub
Some interesting highlights:
Mariama explaining her company's focus on stories to develop rapport and promote sales.
Western consumers have reached the point of "survey fatigue." However, this trend is not prevalent in Africa yet and many Africans are happy to chat with researchers! AfriClick allows sickle cell carriers to date safely. Africans pay around 20x more for their medicines, but as many as 1 in 6 products are counterfeit which leads to many thousands of deaths every year.
Thanks to Bayo Adelaja of #doitnownow for hosting such a thought provoking showcase!
Contact her, or the founders to find out more, or if you'd like to invest!A shout out to new and diverse tech startups!
This week I attended the Startups for Africa Showcase at Google Campus.
Contact her, or the founders to find out more, or if you'd like to invest!
All hashtags are for Instagram.
SETsquared Graduate Acceleration Showcase 2019
I was invited to attend a series of pitches at Deloitte's auditorium at New Street Square, London in June, where 19 startups from the universities of Southampton, Bath, Bristol, Exeter, and Surrey pitched their startups.
The shadow minister for BEIS Dr Alan Whitehead MP attended, and gave an introduction to the final pitch session of the day.
Just a few of the startups that pitched included:
Boon - uses AI to generate gift suggestions based on personality type.
Neuro AI - who have designed a chip to improve performance for businesses using AI, which can be both resource intensive and slow to work with.
Intro - changing the way people network by using heatmapping to allow event organisers to understand how customers use and move through the space available during an event, also allowing attendees to digitally track who they met with at an event.
Compact Cane - led by a female Mechanical Design Engineering graduate. Their digital cane allows blind people to navigate better with its ability to detect curbs and steps, also removing the stigma of the traditional white cane which has been reported by people who are blind.
It's great to see all the fresh ideas coming our way!
If you're a VC, or Angel, please get in touch with SETsquared regarding investment opportunities.
Zinc Accelerator, Show and Tell
The aim was to showcase Zinc's mission lead startups, focused on supporting people and locations at risk of being left behind by globalisation and automation.
From mental health and unemployment, to the exposure of sexual harrassment, and the difficulties that poor access to transportation creates, it was an enlightening un-demo day.
The entrepreneurs did a great job of painting a picture of what life looks like for the people and communities affected by these issues.
Kay is an Enterprise Nation small business advisor, and a tech startup mentor for WeWork Labs, the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator, and the We in Social Tech Accelerator. She has a diploma (DiP IM) in Internet Marketing, is a Certified ScrumMaster®, qualified coach, and a Fellow of The Institute of Training and Occupational Learning.
Purposeful Products is a business and technology consultancy that supports small businesses and pre-seed /early stage tech startups led by founders without a technical background.
The company creates and delivers tech-specific workshops and programmes for incubators and accelerators, and runs an "Open Incubator" called the Tech Startup Academy™, which includes a full programme offering entrepreneurs the opportunity to gain an accredited diploma, as well as a range of individual workshops - all specifically designed for tech startup founders.
We're on a mission to help new founders get from "idea to launch" the SMART way as they bring their software products to life. Having heard far too many horror stories about the confusion, misadventures, and "tech startup dramas" experienced by software entrepreneurs without a technical background, we're here to provide insights and help software entrepreneurs to avoid pitfalls as they build their businesses.
interview with technopreneur sheena shah, founder of elevather
Last year I interviewed a number of tech startup founders from around the world, and we discussed their stories, strategies and approaches to building their businesses. I had some great conversations, and there was a LOT of valuable knowledge shared (so much in fact, that the interviews became a book), however, none of the interviewees were female!
This year I will be featuring more interviews with female founders in tech on the Purposeful Products blog.
The very first interview with a female founder starts here, with Sheena Shah, the founder of ElevatHer, a networking app available on the web, and as a native app in the Google Play and App Stores. Sheena is featured on the FT Founders' 50 list, which recognises fintech's most inspirational founders.
Sheena Shah, founder of ElevatHer
Hi Sheena, welcome. It's great to speak to you! Please tell us a bit about you, and what you do.
Hello! I'm the founder of a networking app called ElevatHer, which empowers women in fintech and finance by giving them the edge, both through the power of networking and the tools for staying ahead of the curve by keeping up to date with the latest industry events. Prior to that I was working at a proprietary trading firm for 4 years.
I've been the only woman in my team in many of my roles in tech. What was that experience like for you as a woman on the trading floor?
Honestly, I worked with a great bunch of talented guys that would go out of their way to make me feel included, plus the upside was that there was never a queue for the ladies' bathroom! But on a serious note even though I loved working with my colleagues, I did miss the connection and network of females that bring a different perspective.
It sounds like your experience was a good one. I ended up becoming one of the lads in some of the companies of the companies that I worked for, which was often very amusing, but as you say, it can be nice to have female company as well!
When did you first start working on the idea for ElevatHer?
The idea came to me about a year ago, from both my personal and professional experiences that I've had over the course of my career, which included moving from sell, to buy side and taking jobs across continents.
One of the aspects I really cherish is the network that I've built over the years, but it became a real challenge to maintain and expand that network when I grew in my role, which helped me spin off the idea of developing a platform where women can connect on both experiences and common interests instead of just name and company.
What was the defining moment that helped you decide that it was time to leave your day job?
I kept thinking to myself: "When is the perfect time to leave?" There never really is one!
I started to burn out doing 2 jobs while juggling personal commitments and left in January, 2019 after one year of working at both my day job and on ElevatHer.
I knew International Women's Day was coming up, so for me that was the perfect date to launch which gave me the motivation to leave and go all in. I don't think I would have ever left if I hadn't given myself that deadline.
What was it like for you when you finally quit?
How do I even put it into words?! Every emotion possible was running through me – I was nervous, scared, excited with my adrenaline sky high and the weird thing is, I still feel that 7 months in!
As someone who is very new to the startup world I knew there would be plenty of challenges but what I never expected it would be so daunting to be a spokesperson/ambassador for your brand. You've got to learn to be confident, which is a hurdle in itself, and imposter syndrome doesn't help! It's a challenge that hopefully will get easier with experience, but I doubt will ever disappear.
Thanks for sharing that. That's really honest feedback. I'm a big believer in repeating the message that it does feel challenging to step into all these roles and that it's 100% normal to feel this way. When people don't talk about this stuff others are left thinking that they're odd and that it's only them that struggle. It's a false story to tell ourselves that everyone else has it figured out.
The phrase: "Feel the fear and do it anyway", is as relevant as it ever was. Running a business and stretching yourself IS going to be uncomfortable, but you've got to do it regardless - for your own happiness, progress, personal growth, and to get where you want to be! You can't not move forward just because it feels uncomfortable, right? O.k. I've stepped off my soapbox now!
What's been your biggest tech related challenge, Sheena?
I like to be hands on, so the main challenges and frustrations I found were my own limitations having not come from a tech background.
A lot of my time went into educating myself and having on the job training from my developers.
You do have to get up to speed on the tech side, at least to a degree, otherwise you can end up owning a business you don't fully understand. From working with tech founders I know that the developer - entrepreneur relationship can be a source of conflict, so it's great that you've had a positive experience!
What do you wish someone had told you before you started your business?
That you learn more from failing. I was so paranoid that I had to get everything right the first time, which ended up costing me a lot of time and unnecessary worry.
Every person that has come into my life has influenced or taught me something. They have come from different walks of life and had different experiences. Everyone can teach you something new, it's up to you to be open minded and learn from them.
That's a great philosophy. On that theme, someone once told me that people enter your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime...
Where did you find the developers that helped you build the ElevatHer app?
OK, so a bit of background before I answer that question… The reason I created ElevatHer is so the industry can widen the diversity talent pool and open up opportunities for women to progress up the career ladder, and to support women through a network.
We all have different attributes and skills-sets, and businesses will not adapt, innovate or progress as quickly, or efficiently if everyone in the pool is 'the same'.
With that in mind, it was vital that my developers mirrored ElevatHer's goal and understood the gravity of what we were trying to develop, which is why I looked high and low to find a team with a 50/50 gender split. Equality starts at home! I did a lot of research online to find the developers and in the end, I was introduced through a family member.
I went over to their offices and we had a chat about the app. Not coming from a tech background meant I was testing the developers' abilities through softer skills as I knew this would be a constant challenge. They took their time to explain how the process works and showed me a few examples of their previous work. We have a really good relationship, which became more apparent especially in the initial stages of making the app. I would work from their offices because I wanted to learn the more technical side of things, and they needed me to explain how the algorithm should work with the app's interface
Hold on to that team! I've even heard of people who've had a personal introduction having to fire their developer and start again from scratch! It's a real problem, and I created a workshop on how to hire and manage software developers to ensure that non-technical entrepreneurs get better results with less drama! The next workshop will run in August / September and you can contact us to be notified of the next workshop date. You can find an example of the workshop here.
So... Google Play Store or App Store? Which gets your vote?
As a tech company which needs to push through updated versions of the apps - always Google Play, but as a user App store!
Definitely! If you're publishing apps to the App Store, allow lots of extra time for failed submissions of your app.
Apple are known for being very strict in reviewing apps and managing their app submission process, and it's common for them to frequently bounce app back to development teams with a list of amends that need to be made to your app before they'll even accept it into the App Store. Sheena, what drove your decision about which platforms to be on?
I wanted the app to be user friendly and have an inclusive community so the decision was easy… be everywhere! Hence why we are both on iOS and Android, but are also web based too.
(A quick note here that managing what is essentially 3 different pieces of software can be time consuming, and expensive, so if you're planning an MVP you might also want to consider which platforms to build traction on first.)
What's next for ElevatHer?
Expand, expand expand! We're currently available in the UK but are looking at expanding into other countries.
You can find us at https://elevather.com/, which has links to both our Android and iOS apps.
Purposeful Products is a business and technology consultancy that supports pre-seed /early stage tech startups led by founders without a technical background.
The company runs an "Open Incubator" called the Tech Startup Academy™, which includes a full programme offering entrepreneurs the opportunity to gain an accredited diploma, as well as access to a range of individual workshops, all specifically designed to meet the needs of tech startup founders.
You can get a FREE copy of our ebook "Techpreneur Interviews: What's it like to run a tech startup?" here.
opportunities for Startups / Tech Startups on incubators & accelerators in london, June 2019
I've been putting together a list of opportunities on startup incubators, and accelerators for the members of some of my tech meetup groups, and thought it made sense to share it more widely.
At Purposeful Products we run our own programme with specialist content for tech startup founders / entrepreneurs running tech driven businesses, but we collaborate with a number of accelerators and actively cross promote services and resources because it's important to share knowledge!
If I've missed any hot opportunities, please comment, or message me, and I'll add them here, and if you know anyone this information would benefit, please share the love - send them a link, or post on social channels so people can apply!
NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator Hub (national coverage)
NatWest runs 3 fully funded programmes for new and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Pre-Accelerator – an 8-week online programme for early stage startups, including webinars and workshops.
Entrepreneur Accelerator – a 6-month accelerator for high growth startups looking to scale, and includes desk space, support from mentors and advisors, and talks from external experts.
The Fintech programme runs in Bristol, Edinburgh, London and Manchester twice a year in April, and October.
Start date: Various
Duration: 8 weeks, to 6 months depending on the programme
Applications open from: Now open for the Accelerator
Application cut-off date: Enquire for details
https://www.business.natwest.com/business/business-banking/services/entrepreneur-accelerator.html
Tech Startup Academy™ Incubator Programme by Purposeful Products (Camden, London)
Our programme actively addresses the major pitfalls that affect entrepreneurs new to the tech space.
We offer a flexible, "open incubator" which is modular in nature, enabling early stage tech founders from all sectors to explore their most pressing needs via a range of workshops designed specifically with tech focused startups in mind.
Our content has been externally assessed, and the Academy has been approved to offer an accredited diploma to entrepreneurs who wish to make their learning official with one of our certified programmes.
Purposeful Products is also a service provider, offering access to 50+ hours of tech-focused content to augment existing programmes run by accelerators and other organisations that support entrepreneurship.
Benefits include: content focused on the practical aspects of starting and running a tech driven business, founder resources, introductions / connections, community membership, and 1-1 / group mentoring.
Start date: Available to the public in London from July 2019, global from August 2019. Currently available to startup accelerators and 3rd party service providers.
Duration: Flexible. 8 weeks – 12 months
Applications open from: Now open, contact hi@purposefulgroup.com for details.
Application cut-off date: None. Each individual will follow their own personal timeline.
https://www.purposefulgroup.com/tech-startup-academy.html
EIT Changemakers Programme (King's Cross, London)
Are you interested in the FoodTech or AgriTech sectors, and in solving major world challenges?
EIT Food is Europe's leading food innovation initiative, supported by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology.
The Change Makers Programme gives diverse talent (women and non-binary, LGBTQI+, and black, asian and minority ethnic people) the chance to become agrifood tech innovators and entrepreneurs, through events, mentorship and participation in a "startup weekend" of support and training to tackle the most pressing issues facing the global food system (food, agriculture and fisheries) from how food is produced, distributed, consumed and disposed of, and making the food system healthier, more trusted, and more sustainable.
To apply for the EIT FoodTech programme you don't need to have an idea, but need to be enthusiastic, ambitious and interested in launching a startup, or joining a team. The programme is being delivered in collaboration with YSYS, and Impact Hub King's Cross.
Participants will pitch their sustainable business ideas for a chance to receive a mix of grant funding and support, worth a total of 25,000 euro, split across 3 winning teams.
Start date: There will be meetups in July and August, 2019, with the Changemakers Programme taking place from October 4th-6th, 2019
Applications open from: 24th July, 2019
Application cut-off date: 1st September, 2019
EIT programme details: https://www.eitfood.eu/Entrepreneurship/projects/change-makers
Food & Health Meetup (July, 2019): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eitfoodchangemakers-food-and-health-meetup-tickets-64183504590
Hatch Enterprise programmes (South London)
Hatch Enterprise is currently running multiple programmes which offer 3 levels of support to assist female entrepreneurs:
Launchpad - (October 2019.) Test your business idea and get access to business workshops and mentoring to develop your idea into an MVP with additional marketing, finance, pitching, and sales support.
Incubator - a 6 month programme to grow your business with workshops, 1-2-1 business coaching and mentoring.
Accelerator - receive a business audit, and get prepared for scaling and funding with tailored business coaching, financial and legal support, and an opportunity to pitch your business to investors.
Start date: October 2019
Application cut off date: See website for details.
Applications are now open.
Apply here: https://femalefounders.london/
The Company, The Winch (North London)
This is a programme for 18-25 year old entrepreneurs.
The Company supports young adults with an entrepreneurial spark to take the first (or next step) towards becoming their own boss.
The Winch take a holistic approach to working with young entrepreneurs, ensuring that Associates have the professional skills and personal development support needed to succeed. It's a brilliant approach that takes into account entrepreneurs' whole lives, and not just the "business compartment!"
Apply here, and please feel free to spread the word to any young people you know that have an idea, and are interested in running their own business!
Benefits include: The 12 week programme includes workshops, mentoring and activities, office space, up to 3 years additional support, and the chance to pitch for investment.
Start date: September 2019
Applications open from: Open now
Application cut off date: September 2019
Website: https://thewinch.org/services/the-company/
LinkedIn company page: https://lnkd.in/ehRRKk8
We in Social Tech Accelerator (Wood Green, London)
Closed for cohort 2, but included because it's well worth keeping an eye out for applications for cohort 3 in Autumn, 2019!
We in Social Tech (WiST) is a free 6-month accelerator programme in North London for female-led businesses and applicants can apply if businesses are either female led, or teams are at least 50% female.
The programme accepts entrepreneurs who are idea stage, and those that have an existing business, who are social enterprises, community enterprises, or in the "tech for good" space.
Benefits include: access to two mentors per business, work space, regular workshops and more.
Start date: Cohort 3, January 2020
Applications open from: Applications will open again later this year
Application cut-off date: TBC
https://www.weinsocialtech.co.uk/
Now closed...
OpenDoor, Plexal (Stratford, London)
Plexal was officially opened by Mayor of London in 2017 and is based on the site of the press centre for the London 2012 Olympic Games in East London.
OpenDoor from Plexal is a new programme for startups working on ideas that improve social inclusion. The focus of the first OpenDoor programme is to make work inclusive for everyone and teams should be user-centric with an emphasis on delivering impactful solutions.
Qualifying teams need to deliver solutions that:
· make it easier for people from under-represented groups to find quality work and thrive in their roles
· make workplaces more inclusive
· support entrepreneurs with inclusion challenges to start and grow successful businesses
Benefits include: support from business leaders, introductions and connections to investors, mentoring and free desk space.
Applications open from: now open
Application cut-off date: midnight, 12th July, 2019
https://www.plexal.com/apply-now-for-opendoor-our-inclusion-accelerator-programme/
FoundersDoor (East London / City)
FoundersDoor is a pre-accelerator that support 18–24 year olds from diverse backgrounds, helping them to get their startup ideas off the ground.
The programme is funded by OneTech, part of Capital Enterprise, and supports underrepresented tech founders in London, and is a stepping stone for young founders to prepare for a full-time accelerator, or their first investment round.
Benefits include: Saturday workshops and masterclasses to accelerate startup growth, support and coaching mentorship, invites to events, funding support, free office space at WeWork for 2 months, a network of entrepreneurs, technical experts and investors, a chance to receive equity-free funding and prizes at the end of the programme.
Start date: 6th July, 2019
Duration: Ends 18th August, 2019
Application cut-off date: W/c 24th June. Only startups who have taken part in FoundersWeekend will be eligible. Follow this link to attend the founders weekend: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/onetech-talent-founders-weekend-28-30-june-18-24-year-olds-tickets-60526321858
Zinc – Mission 3 (East London / City)
Mission 3 - To add 5 more high-quality years to later life.
Zinc is a mission led accelerator that supports entrepreneurs in creating companies that address major social challenges in the developed world. For their 3rd mission they are looking for 50 creative and entrepreneurial individuals who want to transform the quality of later life and have identified 10 opportunity areas.
They want to hear from people from across all backgrounds and skill sets including medical and social care professionals, creative technologists, entrepreneurs, designers and creatives, and social scientists.
Benefits include workspace in the City of London, connections, coaches, advisors and experts. Entrepreneurs are paid a stipend of £12,000 over the duration of the programme, and Zinc takes 8% equity as a founding shareholder.
Start date: 30 September 2019
Duration: 9 months, split into 3 phases – match, hatch and accelerate
Application cut-off date: 30th June, 2019
https://www.zinc.vc/mission-3
The company runs an "Open Incubator" called the Tech Startup Academy™, which includes a full programme offering entrepreneurs the opportunity to gain an accredited diploma as well as a range of individual workshops - all specifically designed for tech startup founders.
tips for tech startup founders - how to pitch to the right investors
Today I wanted to share some information about finding investors.
Have you heard of Decksender?
It's a brilliant resource for tech startups seeking to raise investment and sending out pitch decks.
You can get access to a massive list of investors here.
Decksender allows tech startup founders to describe their startups. The app will then match you against every investor on the platform and will guide you towards the best investors to send your pitch to!
Here's a huge tip for software entrepreneurs new to raising business investment: focus on angels and "pre-seed" VC's if you're at idea / prototype / MVP or are just launched and still building traction. It's common for entrepreneurs to approach the wrong types of investor, which reduces their strike rate, and is an inefficient use of time. Unless they have a focus on early-stage businesses, most VC's have little interest in startups without any revenue or track record of success as they are classed as too high-risk as an investment. VCs generally invest in more established startups, so unless the VC states otherwise, Angels, friends and family are the best places to secure your first round of investment.
To increase your chances of success, align your fundraising efforts to match the specific industries and startup / business stage that investors are most interested in. Many investors state the sectors or types of startups they invest in on their LinkedIn profiles or websites.
Investors looking for "seed" stage startups are looking for more established startups with early traction, and those already generating at least a minimum level of monthly revenue, with a clear and realistic strategy to ramp this up. (Once again, it's all about research - read up on the investor / investment company to check whether you qualify.)
Series A and B fundraises come much further down the line and startups have usually gone through several rounds of fundraising before reaching this point.
https://decksender.com/
THE AMAZON AWS SUMMIT LONDON, 2019
I attended the AWS Summit for the second time last week (Wednesday, 8th May). Here are my notes!
I would estimate that it was at least 3-5x larger than last years' event, based on the number and size of the "theatres" used as breakout rooms and the mini Wembley stadium that was the main auditorium!
As a mentor and provider of workshops and a programme for tech startups, I want to be able to point entrepreneurs in the right direction and to help them to understand their options from idea stage right through to planning, prototyping, build, launch and beyond. AWS is THE major player in terms of the number of cloud service offerings available, offering access to many of their services for free to startups for 12 months via their "AWS free tier" initially, and at non-prohibitive price points thereafter, based on pay-as-you-go usage rates.
The number of services AWS provides is evolving at an impressive rate, so I attended the Summit to ask questions, and get a handle on new services.
It was tough to choose which breakout sessions to attend, (please see the images below) but I chose ones covering machine learning (Become a machine learning developer), computing storage (Amazon EC2 foundations and cost optimisation), microservices (modern application architectures), systems architecture (Are you well architected?), and the use of AI services in applications (Build intelligent apps using AI services).
A huge choice of sessions to attend at Amazon's AWS Summit, 2019
Summit attendees were free to engage in a little "lightning learning" at set times just by sitting in front of the screen and putting on the head phones provided...
Breakout sessions
A book could be written to cover all the AWS Services and their applications (and I have promised myself not to write any more for now!) but I have summarised some of the sessions I attended and some of the use cases presented, along with links for further investigation.
Session 1 - Become a machine learning developer
Presentation from Lars Hoogweg, CTO, Lebara.
Lebara presented their own case study, discussing the different categories of fraud that the business faces on a regular basis. Lars explained that as a result of using SageMaker, (AWS's machine learning service) and bringing together subject matter experts from AWS and Lebara, this had enabled them to detect new cases of fraud AND identify further opportunities for fraud detection within 3 days of using the tool.
They are currently planning to put these learnings into production.
A huge audience at the machine learning session, and this wasn't even the largest conference room!
Amazon SageMaker is part of AWS's 12 month free tier for startups: https://aws.amazon.com/free.
https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sagemaker/latest/dg/how-it-works-mlconcepts.html
Setting up your machine learning model. Copyright, Amazon, AWS.
Session 2 - Amazon EC2 (Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud) – Computing storage at scale
AWS offer pay-as-you-go services, but for larger, and very resource intensive activities, this payment model can become expensive.
This is less of an issue for early stage startups, but it's important for all businesses to forward plan, and I strongly recommend that new startups consider whether the free, or low-cost services they are using today will still be a viable option as they grow. Usage levels increase over time, which can push businesses onto higher price tiers. It's important to do at least a few sums and some due diligence based on projected future use to see if the service will still be affordable in the future – if not, it means uprooting and moving away from a service you may be otherwise satisfied with to search for alternative suppliers, which can take time, and tie up internal resources.
AWS actively supports clients in understanding the value of rightsizing – optimising usage and performance for the most economical price, and offers autoscaling options to achieve a balance. The service assists in a number of ways including scaling dynamically which adjusts services based on "targets" set, and predictive scaling based on trends, and spikes in traffic. The scheduled scaling service can be used to scale and cope with load, adjusting at the right time(s) based on usage trends which are known and already understood by your business.
Amazon also offers various instance purchasing options, including Spot – effectively a borrowed, but cheaper resource which Amazon can take back with 2 seconds' notice, but which is useful for flexible, fault tolerant services running within a business, On demand – useful for handling spikes in traffic, and Reserved Instance (RI) – for steady, ongoing use.
Session 5 - Build intelligent apps using AI services
I went 50/50 on the 4th and 5th sessions of the day, and moved on from the Are you well architected? session, and luckily managed to catch the live demonstration and case study delivered by Gareth Butler, Senior Programme Manager, at HSBC during this session.
With over 235,000 employees, HSBC have a heavy requirement from internal staff for information. The number of queries is both large, and repetitive in nature.
HSBC have used AI to create their HSBC Risk Innovation Assistant - a text and voice based information service for staff.
Results are returned with matches highlighted in text, and the assistant is also able to "reply" with answers to employees.
The assistant is multi-lingual – it detects the language of the query and returns results in this language. (Amazon Translateoffers more than 12 languages including 2 Chinese languages, Arabic, Turkish, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and Japanese.)
We saw a live demo of the assistant – Gareth asked it a compliance related question from the stage. The system then replied back to explain the nuances of the relevant compliance rules, and highlighted the potential exposure of HSBC to reputational risk.
To set up this sort of service, documents first need to be ingested into Amazon S3 (Amazon Simple Storage Service), where the content is tagged. It must then be passed to Amazon EC2, which then allows the data to be utilised by Elastic search.
The "conversational" part of the service is made possible thanks to Amazon LEX which handles automatic speech recognition, ASR, and its understanding of natural language makes it possible for LEX to understand the nuances of speech. The demo was pretty impressive from this perspective - Gareth's question was answered with the briefest of pauses and LEX understood the context of his question, providing a direct answer to the question asked.
The large number of data warehousing companies presenting at the Summit. I didn't count them, or compare the relative ratios of DW companies to other types of business (sorry, I'm being a nerd here, but that's how you'd prove this objectively, right?) However, I don't recall seeing as many of these types of companies in attendance last year.
Does this reflect a growing trend as more businesses recognise the importance of making data driven decisions, and collect increasingly large data sets in order gather more insights? In addition to data warehouses, businesses are now also using data lakes, whereby data is pooled ready to be prepared and utilised for different purposes when needed. (The link provided goes to a site which offers a neat description of the differences between data warehouses and data lakes.)
Some more images!
The innovation flywheel
Idea - experiment - feedback - repeat!
This was taken in the main auditorium - the "mini Wembley stadium" I mentioned earlier - look at the size of the screen relative to the speaker - it was monstrous!
The main conference area and exhibition stands
Characteristics of a well architected system
This year there was a nice startup section helping startups with the setup of their basic systems architecture...
Did you attend the AWS conference? What was your impression?
APP DIY - HOW TO BUILD A mobile APP WHEN YOU CAN'T CODE
Welcome to interview 4 in the software buying series, and our second interview about the things you should consider when using app builder software to create software by yourself - without needing to know any programming languages, or write any code!
Robert Cardiff is the Director of Sales at BuildFire, a mobile app builder platform which describes itself as "The world's most advanced mobile app builder."
We'll find out more about Buildfire, and the app builder market in general, which empowers non-technical entrepreneurs and business owners, and allows them to create their own mobile apps from scratch.
Welcome Robert!
Thanks for joining me today. What can you tell us about BuildFire?
Buildfire got started about 5 years ago.
Our 2 co-founders started off building apps, and got some customers who were asking for iOS and Android mobile apps. They found developers from overseas, and started building apps for their customers from the ground up.
A few apps in, they started to realise that they were building the same things for every customer.
Separate code bases are needed for iOS and Android, but they needed to build a dashboard for the clients to manage typical things like push notification messages used to send updates to users, and content management tools to manage the text visible in the apps.
Every time changes were required for these elements, a developer was needed to push the new updates, or files.
So they thought: "Why don't we build the fundamental pieces needed for mobile apps and then we can customise the apps from there to change the layout, and add additional features?"
So they built Buildfire 1.0, which:
Speeds up the process of developing apps
Makes it significantly cheaper to build them,
Makes them more reliable, and
Makes them more cost effective for customers
Our purpose statement at BuildFire is:
"BuildFire empowers the business professional to solve complex problems with elegant mobile solutions that are simple to build, easy to manage and available to everyone."
Today, we have apps being used in every single country except for North Korea.
We've had great success, because we've already created all the fundamental mobile components that typically take many months to develop.
If you're serious about developing a mobile app, chances are we are a perfect fit!
Maybe we'll see the North Koreans using BuildFire in the future! I can see how having these common reusable components is a pretty smart idea. It's efficient! Every app needs login / logout screens, password management / reset functionality, basic navigation and settings management etc. Every company with a decent app will expect to create these items, they're pretty much universal, so it makes perfect sense.
How would you describe the app builder market today, and how would you describe your positioning in the market, in comparison with your competitors?
We're very aware that there are tons of competitors in our space, and you have 2 different options: i) rigid platforms where you're quite boxed into the functionality offered, or ii) huge monster companies like IBM with products where you still need to build everything up from scratch using their tools, although for small businesses, spending several hundred thousand dollars on tools like that just isn't a realistic investment.
Definitely not!
With Buildfire we sit in the middle, we have a quality product, and scalable core infrastructure, we provide customers with a management dashboard, and we have a bunch of features that can be used across a range of apps to solve problems, or to capitalise on opportunities that are relevant for businesses.
Just to clarify, what kind of volume of apps does BuildFire manage?
We have 5,000 apps in the App Store, and over the course of 5 years, over 10,000 apps have been created.
Thank you. So, what should a person know before getting started with Buildfire?
Be aware of the options available.
When we do a demo with a client, or prospect we'll educate them and say: "You can hire a local developer in your own country, and potentially get a great product, and the developer will speak your language, and be in your time zone, but you'll be paying a high hourly rate. Or, you could outsource the development overseas for $30-40+ an hour.
Then there are the app builder platforms which are quite rigid, and whales like IBM, and the more full-featured ones like ours.
Do you class yourselves as a SaaS business?
We are a SaaS platform. We have apps that have millions of end users on them. We can set up your app, and develop code for you, or you can have your own developers, or designers do the work for you.
Alternatively, you can figure things out for yourself.
Could you give us an example of how long it might take to build an app using your platform?
You can build an app in less than a week!
That's fast! What kind of app?
To give you an example, an education app. Without any technical, or coding knowledge, you can go to our website, click on the button in the top right hand corner to say you want to build an app, say you want to build it yourself, choose an education template, name it, and start putting in your app icon design, your landing screen designs, and start uploading your YouTube videos, and your PDFs and you're done!
We do have people come onto the platform and create apps very quickly.
As an example, there's a blogger with a pretty good online following, who has scaled their app to millions of end users without doing any custom development on the platform, they just used the templates that we have.
At the other end of the scale, if you want to develop a custom app on our platform, you can spend 3 to 6 months developing custom integrations with different back-end systems, pulling in the relevant data, and displaying the data how you want it.
A very simple wizard helps you to get started with BuildFire
Once you're ready to deploy to iOS, or Android, there are additional costs, and you'll need to get the app approved.
There are some limitations to approval, and app marketplace submission costs to pay. The approval process can take between 1-3 weeks depending on Apple and Google and how they're feeling!
(If you're wondering about app submission costs, these are $99 USD annual membership to have an app in Apple's App Store, and a $25 USD one off registration fee for the Google Play Store.)
Yes, I talk about that in Don't Hire a Software Developer Until You Read this Book, my handbook for tech startups & entrepreneurs. If you're not careful, you'll play "app ping-pong" with Apple in particular, who will bounce your app back to you repeatedly if it's not up to their standards.
Allow plenty of time for app store rejections - especially if you're new to app development, because you'll have to keep resubmitting your mobile app until the folks in the app marketplaces are 100% satisfied.
This is also why product, and usability testing throughout the development of your app is so important. Even if you're blind to the bugs, usability issues, and kinks in your app, the app stores won't be and you could end up with a long list of amendments to make before you'll be allowed into the app marketplaces, frequent feedback means that you can "clean up" the app as you go along, rather than having a shocking amount of rework to do when you mistakenly thought the app was ready for use!
The "back-end" of the product, and what goes on behind the mobile screens is the backbone of an app, so when I prepared my questions for you, I wanted to consider how well different app builder tools can support long-term growth. These NFRs, or non-functional requirements, are capabilities, qualities, and boundaries that a system should have that go beyond the functionality and features that an app user can see, or touch. Often people don't give them a lot of thought, but without these, most software would be unusable, or of extremely poor quality.
EXTENSIBILITY is about the ability of an app to be extended so, I'd like to confirm whether it's possible to hire a coder to do major coding on top of the existing platform, or to add custom code within the app? How would this work?
If you wanted an ecommerce store, there's no way you'd build an ecommerce platform from the ground up, you'd go to Shopify, and if you were going to go and start a blog, you'd probably go to WordPress, because they power something like 30% of the world's websites, and it has templates, and plugins.
We also offer templates and plugins, and we say that what WordPress does for websites, we do for mobile apps.
If you need something that's custom, we can help with that. People come to us and say: "I only have $1000 and I just want to set up an app to help us communicate more effectively with our customers", then 6 months down the line they say: "Hey, I want to integrate our back-end ordering system into the app, so customers not only get announcements about new products, they can order products using the app." We can then do that custom back-end tie-in for them.
You can also use your own developer to create the features you want, and integrate that feature into our core. We have a developer portal that allows for a fully custom mobile app on the front-end to be built while leveraging our core solution.
MAINTENANCE, AND AVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICE
What is the standard uptime / availability of your service?
It's 99%.
(If you're wondering, that translates to just over 7 hours of unplanned downtime per month...)
How do you monitor app health and maintenance for each customer?
We have a DevOps team constantly running tests on the servers to ensure that each app is healthy. When there is an issue with a feature the customer reports the issue and our support team creates a development ticket and our developers fix the issue.
How would I report an issue and get it resolved?
Each customer has the ability to reach out to our support team through the BuildFire Web Control Panel, and to notify our support team of an issue.
Our support team reviews and confirms the issue, and then creates a development ticket. When the issue is fixed we notify the customer and ask them to test the fix.
What's your average turnaround time for fixing production bugs?
It varies depending on type of issue.
What security measures exist to prevent app cloning, hacks, and to keep customer data, including credit cards safe?
We run penetration tests regularly (this involves hacking, or attacking one's own systems, or hiring testers, or specialist testers such as "ethical hackers" to do this for you, to identify vulnerabilities so they can be addressed.) We maintain the most up-to-date standards related to data compliance.
SCALABILITY is the ability of an app to grow, and to support growth in terms of increased users and other increases in demand for resources such as database storage, memory, and other computing requirements.) How does BuildFire enable users to scale their apps?
Finding an app builder product that you can grow with is something that I'd encourage every business to be conscious of as they develop their mobile strategy.
With BuildFire, you can start small, and grow, so that mid-way through the process, you don't have to switch platforms, because you can't scale and have to deal with that headache.
We have a global cloud infrastructure that handles scalability and any latency issues related to geography.
Latency issues present themselves in the form of slowness and delays when using apps. You can find a checklist of NFRs taken from one of my software survival guides here.
Let's explore this further - if downloads of my app suddenly exploded, and the number of daily users I have on the app dramatically increases, say from 1,000, to 100,000, to 1,000,000 daily users just to give an extreme example (to put this into context, Twitter has more than 150 million daily users, and Instagram have more than 500 million daily users) or I had a sudden extreme spike in traffic, which can happen if content that drives visitors to your app were to go viral, for instance, how would BuildFire handle that? Are there any boundaries on scalability?
That is why we recommend using a service like ours! Those big headaches about scaling up to many thousands of users are things you don't have to worry about as a business owner.
As usage increases, our architecture spins up multiple servers to handle an increase in demand.
Can Buildfire apps be internationalised to support multiple languages?
Yes. We have over 20 languages that an app administrator can choose from to set as the core language for standard fields. Additionally, an app administrator can build different sections with the same content in different languages.
If I build an app using your platform, who owns the app, the code, and the Intellectual Property (IP) behind the app?
The content, data, user information, revenue generating potential, and design is 100% your property.
BuildFire has developed over 50 different features (e.g. YouTube integration for video streaming, chat forum, etc.) We own the IP for those.
We also provide it as an open source feature, so if a developer wanted to make a copy of the code, enhance the feature, and maintain it, then that developer or app owner would own the IP.
Additionally, when we develop custom features / integrations for our customers, the customer owns the IP.
What happens to apps that are not in use, but still exist on your platform?
Do those customers still pay you a fee, and can customers leave "dormant" apps on the platform for an extended period if they need to?
We provide the ability for a customer to remove their app from the app stores and pay us a small monthly or annual fee to keep it "dormant" whilst still retaining access to their app. In the event they cancel the hosting subscription altogether, then the customer would no longer have access.
In the event we develop a custom code (plugin) for a customer, they will always have access to that code because they own the IP.
What skills, or knowledge are needed before people start using your tool? Are there any top tips that you can share for new BuildFire users?
First, they need an idea for an app that solves a problem.
They also need the time to add content into the app, and to make it an app that is worth downloading.
If users are not doing any custom development, the app still needs to be made as attractive as possible using the features, or templates we provide. You can use an online design editor like Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator to create app icons, loading screens, banners, elements, and tools to crop and resize images.
We recently launched a photo editor right inside our platform too, so that's another option.
What you don't need is a development background.
My mom is the least technical person I've ever encountered. I said to her: "I want you to build an app" and she said there's no way she could ever do it, but I talked her through it. She selected a template, and we started dragging and dropping, and adding and removing features, and before she knew it, she had developed an app.
We have a full development and design team to assist you. It's not a 1 person development team, where if something happens to them, you're out of luck. We have a team of 35 people to support you.
Planning, and clarity are essential, in terms of at least having a clear starting point in terms of a target market and the key features you need in order to solve a problem, otherwise you'll go round in circles without a clear idea of what you're trying to achieve!
Can you give us a high-level breakdown of the types of people, and businesses that use your app?
Typically, there are a few types of customers – there are customers with a design who have a few support questions, and we answer them, and they're off to the races.
The next type does not have a design background, and they want to set up an app, and do most of the heavy lifting but need help from a designer.
Are there any use cases for which your platform would be unsuitable? If so, why?
In the event a customer wanted to develop a mobile app game that needed a high-sensitivity touch screen, we would recommend developing the mobile app from the ground-up for iOS and Android.
If someone wanted to mix and match – to do some DIY work, and get some design help from you – how much should they expect to spend?
We have a professional services team, and a design team, and in 3 to 5 hours they can work alongside a customer to help them with the design related elements that the business owner might not know how to do themselves.
5-10 hours of work for our design team might cost $750 / £565 upwards. For that price, we'll have a designer create some design assets for you, and help you set up a structure for your app, and show you how to put the content in it, so when you're ready to publish the app it's aesthetically pleasing to whoever is going to download it.
From there, the sky's the limit. It depends how much custom work you need.
We have custom apps where users have spent a quarter of a million dollars on customisation, and built apps for Fortune 500 companies that have paid us $150,000 for a custom integration to their back-end employee management system. At the other end of the scale, we have a small, non-profit church with a budget of $500, who pay us $60 a month to have an app so they can better communicate with their audience.
So it really varies!
Can we talk more about the key features of your app? Which features and benefits do you think are most helpful for users? You mentioned photo editing, but also your templates…
A lot of people need inspiration to start with.
If you go to Buildfire.com, and choose the option to build an app on your own (see the previous screenshot above), and right there you're prompted with a range of options as a starting point; whether it's a university app, an internal communications app, a restaurant app, including online ordering features – there are different options that people can choose so they can get started right away.
On the left BuildFire display a list of template categories, along with visual representations of some of these so it's easy to visualise some of the possible end results.
So, for example, if I'm a restaurant, I may have a bunch of people who buy from me repeatedly, and I might want a lot of features for my app:
I want to let customers know I have a workshop to teach people how to cook
I want them to know our company history
I want them to see our menu
I want people to be able to order from the app
I want a loyalty / points and rewards programme so customers can collect points and eventually get a free drink, or a free dinner etc.
All the features I've just listed are already developed, but if you don't want all those features yet, you can choose which ones you want, and remove the others with just a click of a button to edit the app.
The list above is a nice starting point for noting down the list of features you require.
Just start by saying "I want customers to be able to do…. [insert activity] using the app" and create a list of items grouped into topics, or categories.
Agile teams will say "As a customer, I want to be able to [Insert activity], so that I can [insert benefit]."
This is done to make sure that build requirements are clear, but also because by stating the activity and benefit, you can really see what the customer will get from using each feature, and this will help you to prioritise one feature over another in terms of value. This is important, because there is ALWAYS more to do, than time and money available, so by picking the right activities and benefits, and not wasting time on low value, or "meh, so what?" features (even if YOU personally like them) this can really make a difference. In the interview with Christopher Gimmer from Snappa, we talked about teams being more excited over features than their customers, and this is a very good way to waste time and money!
Two entrepreneurs could choose to build the same app, and one could end up with a much better product, because they made better decisions about which features to build (and which to drop!) This will also come down to how well the entrepreneur identifies, and interprets the needs of their target market, the problems they have, and the method they use to solve those problems. So don't just build based on your own ideas and opinions – you need external feedback!
What other advantages do app builder tools have over hiring a developer to create an app for you?
A big one is this - when you hire a developer to build a mobile app, you might say: "I want people to be able to book rides, and on the other side: "I want drivers to be able to see those rides, and choose a ride, and despatch their vehicle to collect the user."
I'm talking about Uber, right? But then the developer finishes development for your Android, or iOS app, and you say: "I also want to be able to see all the rides coming through, the back-end analytics, what's happening, and who's being dispatched" and the developer says, "well, you didn't tell me you needed that before", and you say "well that's obvious I need to be able to manage this!" and they say, "Well… that's an extra $X,000."
What we've done at BuildFire, is built up a web control panel, where everything that has been built, can be managed, along with a robust analytics system, because whatever you've selected for the front-end of the app that the user can see, needs to be controlled and managed from a business standpoint at the back-end, and all that needs to be considered.
A developer might literally develop exactly what you've asked for, but not necessarily think about all the use cases, (the scenarios and circumstances under which users will need specific functionality) or edge cases (less common scenarios) that you haven't thought of because you've never developed software before.
That's one of the key challenge in building software for people who are new to it. Be careful what you ask (or don't ask) for! This is where Purposeful Products steps in to help its clients.
You do need to plan at a more detailed level than most entrepreneurs realise when they first start thinking about building an app, otherwise both you, and the developer(s) relying on details from you will be stumbling around in the dark, and this is often how people end up with a "bad" product that isn't fit for purpose because it doesn't hang together well, or have all the key elements it needs.
Nothing is obvious, and everything has to be clearly stated because developers aren't mind readers, and are expecting you to provide them with information because you're "the boss", and you're paying them to do a job for you!
People often forget (or don't know to ask about) account administration, app monitoring, analytics tools, and functionality (or integrations) to provide customer support.
The onus is on the entrepreneur to think of these things and be clear about how the whole app needs to work.
The problem is that entrepreneurs new to tech don't yet know about all the elements that go into building an app, so there are often big gaps in their knowledge about what is possible, and what they should do, and ask for.
Book a free 30 minute consultation session to ask us any questions about getting started via our Calendly appointment booking page: https://calendly.com/purposeful-products.
When you develop mobile apps, you have to develop them in multiple languages – possibly for iOS, Android, or Windows (although it's a little outdated) so you have multiple coding languages there, and you've got to hire a developer for each one of those, because finding someone who knows how to write code in all these languages, is not typical…
(iOS programming languages include Swift, and Objective-C, and Android apps can be coded in Java, and possibly C, or C++.)
Right, and even if they can develop in 2 or 3 of those languages most developers have a particular strength, so they will be more proficient in one than the others, so it might actually be best to hire a specialist who really understands each platform so you get the best results in each case…
This is why hybrid apps can be hugely convenient - another topic I cover in Don't Hire a Software Developer Until..., Hybrid apps are written in HTML5, and display characteristics common to both native apps developed exclusively for a particular app store, and web apps. They are actually web apps, which can put into "wrappers" and submitted to the Apple, or Google Play stores. Sadly, we've worked with people who had already paid to have an iOS app built by the time they made contact with us, when they could have built a hybrid app suitable for the web, iOS, and Android.
If you don't require complex app gestures, a hybrid app maybe more than adequate to meet your needs, so if you want to build an app, consider how viable a hybrid app is before you shell out cash for separate apps.
It's also important to remember that an app is a living breathing thing, it's not like a website that you can build once and it'll work as long as you keep paying your hosting fees.
iOS and Android come out with new operating system updates every 3-6 months, so you'll probably need a developer on hand to maintain your mobile app(s) full-time.
We're always maintaining, so when the iPhone X comes out, we'll be developing updates for that app - you're also paying us for that.
You've got to think about:
Multiple code bases – Android, iOS etc.
Databases – choosing the best one for your needs, and authentication and security to protect your data
Robust firewalls that are kept up-to-date with the latest security protocols
Hosting your data, and the storage of videos, images, and assets
Keeping the app up to date - developing your own updates, releasing fixes, and keeping up with App marketplace updates
I explain how to plan what you need to build, step-by-step, and to create user journeys, and wireframes for your first software release in Don't Hire a Software Developer Until you Read this Book. Understanding the components of an app, including what you can see, as well as what is needed behind the scenes, at least from a high level is important, and I explain all that in the book and audiobook, because how well you cover the bases can affect your success too.
There are different types of developers - you don't want a rookie developer, or a "yes man" who won't question you, ideally you need assistance from one who understand tech, and business.
You do need a business minded developer to guide you.
Aside from charging upfront for an app, does your app handle in app purchases, and/or support monthly recurring subscription charges?
Yes. We have an integration with Apple and Google Play to facilitate in-app purchases.
This feature allows the app administrator to segment parts of the app based on in-app purchases. Once a purchase has been made, then the section is made available to the user.
We provide in-app purchases on our Professional Hosting Plan for $149/month.
Can you talk to us about last years' Apple's announcement? This looked like a serious threat, or even "the end" for apps created using templates, and the app builder market as a whole:
From Apple's App Store Review Guidelines:
"4.2.6 Apps created from a commercialized template or app generation service will be rejected."
What are my options following this change?
In the US, a large number of people use iPhones. When Apple released its 4.2.6 guideline saying that people could no longer use services like BuildFire, that was a big issue for our company, and other services like ours.
What Apple were saying was that they are trying to clean up the quality of apps in the App Store, meaning that they want unique apps. But the problem is, whether apps are templated, or custom many requirements are the same - people want geolocation, push notifications, list views, map views, to sell products…
Apple has since released an update that said that people can still use app builder platforms, and as we move forward, app builder platforms aren't having specific issues having apps approved in Apple's App Store.
Thanks for that, Robert. It's great to know that the app builder market is still open for business, because your industry really has increased the options, and opportunities available for entrepreneurs.
Another important thing to mention whilst we're on this topic, is that apps which aren't very interactive, and are too much like basic websites will also be rejected by the app stores, so that's another thing to be aware of when you're building an app. I also mention that in my software survival guide.
I've found the latest version of 4.2.6, which now reads:
"4.2.6 Apps created from a commercialized template or app generation service will be rejected unless they are submitted directly by the provider of the app's content. These services should not submit apps on behalf of their clients and should offer tools that let their clients create customized, innovative apps that provide unique customer experiences. Another acceptable option for template providers is to create a single binary to host all client content in an aggregated or "picker" model, for example as a restaurant finder app with separate customized entries or pages for each client restaurant, or as an event app with separate entries for each client event."
You can find the updated guidelines here: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#minimum-functionality.
The challenge of being in tech / software development is that there is constant change, and these changes can have major implications for you as a business owner.
It's important to keep an eye on app marketplace guidelines, as any rule changes issued by the app marketplaces can impact on your app sales, functionality, back end technology, and even your right to use the platforms themselves.
TechCrunch have also written an article on the topic that you can find here.
If that were to happen again, and Apple released another guideline like 4.2.6 then I think there would be a big push towards progressive web apps (PWAs). That is something that Buildfire is positioned for.
I'm glad you have that as another option, and one lesson from all this is try not to keep all your eggs in one basket!
This applies to all areas of business, for example:
Relying on one source of leads for your business. (Facebook ads, Google ads etc.)
Having your app in just one app marketplace
Even developing an app on an app builder platform ties you to that company - once you build on the platform, your future becomes intertwined with theirs.
Developing your own app, on your own platform gives you additional control, but this comes with risks too, so we aren't talking about making one single risk-free decision, or saying "this option is definitely good, and that option is definitely bad" (a nice idea, but impossible, because tech is too complex!)
This is about assessing the risks, and advantages and disadvantages of everything you choose to do, and minimising your exposure to them through: i) the decisions you make, and ii) the actions that you are able to take to reduce and control your risks - a fundamental part of project management, and protecting your business interests.
In the case of choosing an app builder tool, you need to do some due diligence research, for example:
How long has the app builder company been established?
How many apps do they support?
How many end users consume the type of apps that businesses and entrepreneurs are creating using these apps?
How complex is it to build apps on the platform?
What support is available if you get stuck whilst building your app?
What infrastucture does each service provider have in place to support growth, and to help you extend your product?
What control, and ownership do you have over your product?
Thank you, Robert. We've covered all these questions in the case of BuildFire!
What's next for your company?
BuildFire WorkForce for teams... we are working to help companies to "Streamline employee communications, Engage employees in a more meaningful way and Measure success!
Where can people go to find out more about BuildFire?
People can find us at: https://buildfire.com/.
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