Manoj Ranaweera, MBA, B.Eng (Hons)

manoj.ranaweera@unified.vu
+44 7769734491
@manojranaweera
Blog:
​http://manojranaweera.me

I have been a Tech Entrepreneur, CEO, CTO, Strategic Advisor and











Consultant since 2004 and have founded multiple ventures. I have identified market opportunities;












designed, built and commercialised technology products and platforms; financed and successfully











exited from a number of these ventures.

I continue to advise technology companies in setting up, designing and developing software products,














commercialisation, go-to-market strategy, partnership development, investment and acquisition,








especially in SaaS through
​Venture 9
​.

2015 to present: ​UnifiedVU
​: Founder, CEO & CTO, UK
One User Interface to improve daily jobs and workflows across multiple software done faster and















better. Challenge was to bring a new software product concept to market and create a highly scalable















business.

● Assembled the team, self-funded the business and built the company up from initial concept














to early customers including developing strategic partnerships.
● Own and manage product roadmap including architecture and technology stack.
● Currently connects with 24 services from Pipedrive, Salesforce, Xero, Zendesk, MailChimp to












Google and Tide Bank including listings on a number of partner sites.
● Continually building the brand and applications from Single Customer View to Revenue












Blocker Analysis and bespoke applications.
2013 to 2014:
​Causeway Technologies
​: Strategy & Commercialisation
Causeway was the market leader for providing technology solutions to construction sector. Hired by














the CEO, the challenge was to commercialise Livestax, an in-house developed technology project.

● Worked closely with the development team and senior management to turn project into viable














technology platform and eventually a new company.
● Structured the business and launched to 300+ employees of parent company in Jan 2014.














Feedback led to rebuilding the platform to be more agile.
● As the Technology partner, supported charity events, Dallaglio Cycle Slam and Virgin Strive













Challenge with Livestax and live tracking from Causeway Telematics.

2011 to Present:
​Cazoomi​: Board and Strategic Advisor, USA
Cazoomi connects over 100+ SaaS apps via SyncApps, the integration cloud for SMBs. Challenge














was to work with the senior management team guiding the company through expansion.

● Provide strategic advice on revenue growth, partnerships, team development and acquisition











targets.


2007 to 2015:
​edocr​: Founder, CEO & CTO, UK
edocr.com was a niche social network centred around documents, which allowed businesses to build













brand awareness, demand generation and capture leads from their documents. Challenge was to turn














an idea into a product and commercialise through a new company.

● Assembled the team, self-funded the business and built the company up from initial concept.
● Helped 1.2 million+ prospects to discover 60,000+ businesses. Used by over 200,000+












professionals and businesses from 200+ countries.
● Adopted a partner-lead strategy with 23 integrations from HootSuite, Marketo, Zendesk to












Salesforce helping the business to grow by 250% in 2012.
● edocr was acquired by Accusoft, Inc in March 2015
​.
2007 to 2007​:
​Causeway Technologies
​: (Interim Management), UK
Causeway was the leading software company in the UK serving the construction sector. Challenge














was to pass down the knowledge acquired from ebdex into Tradex team.

● Reviewed the existing strategy of Tradex platform, an EIPP hub, from go-to-market strategy













to team composition and operations management.
● Developed a channel-based strategy to achieve a step change. Increased collaboration with










competitors to educate the market and promote interoperability.

2006 to 2013:
​Techcelerate​: Founder, UK
Founded with the help of KPMG & TechCrunch, Techcelerate built the ecosystem for tech startups in
















Manchester by bringing tech entrepreneurs, investors and dealmakers together. Challenge was to












build a thriving tech ecosystem in Manchester from nothing when no government support was














available.

● Built a network of 2300 strong community including entrepreneurs with exits over £1bn+ to













those who were just starting up. Ran over 100+ tech entrepreneur events.
● Launched Northern Tech Awards
​, an annual black-tie Gala Awards ceremony that recognizes












top tech entrepreneurs.
​Business was acquired by GP Bullhound
​.
● Setup and ran Tech Centre Manchester, a joint venture with Bruntwood, providing office













spaces for early stage technology companies.
● Setup Foresight North with Dr. Angel Salazar to provide research and analysis on tech














companies and sector.

2005-2006:​
​BT​: CRM Strategist (Interim position), UK
BT Retail Service Provider Group served the second tier Internet Service Providers in UK. Challenge















was to develop a technology solution outside Siebel to help better understand a large group of
















partners.

● Developed Customer Intelligence to understand key business drivers. Positioned products










and services to increase key metrics through sell to/through strategy.
2004 to 2006:
​ebdex: Founder & CEO, UK
ebdex developed an electronic document exchange (EIPP) allowing companies to exchange invoices












and purchasing documents with trading partners without rekeying. Challenge was taking an idea,













developing a product and commercialising it, well before the resurgence of APIs.

● Conducted extensive research to identify market need, analysed competitive landscape, and











developed strategy to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

● Outsourced technology development, developed route to market including partnerships with










Oracle, Sun Microsystems and Pegasus.
● Recruited trial customers and negotiated terms for £250,000 debt finance package.

1999–2003:​
​Parsons Brinckerhoff​: Project & Bid Manager, UAE & UK
Parsons Brinckerhoff was a leading engineering and construction management firm with revenues












over $1.5 bn and 9,600 employees. In addition to business development role, was seconded to















National Grid for 2 years managing £7m+ contracts.

1998–1999:​
​Parsons International​: Business Unit Manager, UAE
Parsons was a multinational engineering and construction business with revenues over $3bn and













10,000 employees. P&L responsibility for all Control System Projects in the Middle East.

1992–1998:
PB Merz & McLellan​: Project Team Leader, UAE & UK.

PB M&M was an international consultancy specialising in power and rail. Delivered multi £m














technology contracts in UK & UAE for Transportation, Utilities and Oil & Gas sectors.

QUALIFICATIONS:
2002 to 2005
Manchester Business School, Executive MBA
1988 to 1992
University of Brighton, B.Eng (Hons) in Electronics Engineering.