HEALTHTECH
INNOVATORS
SPOTIFY OF
SHEET MUSIC
Lorenzo Brewer’s tech
start-up nkoda
p40
SOCIAL MEDIA
INFLUENCERS
Brands harnessing
billion-dollar market
p32
FINTECH’S
GOLDEN BOY
Charles Delingpole on
entrepreneurship
p8
UK’S FASTEST-GROWING
COMPANY BULB
p5
ANGELA SPINDLER ON
TRANSFORMING N BROWN
p42
DOODLE AIMS TO
MONETISE 30M USERS
p59
Edition 14, 2019
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CONTENT
08
46 29
42
// COLUMNS
25 Lawrence Jones on culture
“When your company is growing so fast, how do you retain
those essential ingredients of your culture?”
33 Hayley Sewell on influencers
“Influencersshouldn’tadvertiseaproductunlessithasbeen
fullyapprovedandaimedatanappropriateaudience”
54 Neil Lathwood on APIs
“A sort of sales and account management engine, APIs allow
companiestotapintotechcreatedbyothersandadaptit”
68 Gadget Gavin on keeping children safe online
“ What are the practical things you can do? There are two places
youshouldputsomecontrolin–thedeviceandthenetwork”
// FEATURES
05 InsideUK’sfastest-growingcompany
08 FinTech’sgoldenboyCharlesDelingpole
10 101HealthTechInnovators
22 Former CTO on PlusNet IPO
26 Cantechunlockex-footballer’scondition?
29Foundingastart-upwhilepregnant
32 Theinvisibleworldofthemicro-influencer
34 Connectedcarstart-upwejo
35 Andersen EV is simply electric
38 Big-nameCEOembracesstart-uplife
40 Music’shotteststart-upnkoda
41 InvestmentappTickrmakesanimpact
42 Angela Spindler on transforming N Brown
46 Leicester Tigers legend on Switch the Play
48 Focusontechinvestment
51 Councilestatekidsmashingglassceilings
52 Meet the mortgage disrupters
56 AndyLordontacklingskillsgap
59 DoodleCEOonmonetising30musers
60 IsMetaboardsfutureofwirelesscharging?
62 MeetCarFinance247bossRegRixIII
64 Encyclopedia Britannica goes digital
66 Culture Shift fights scourge of harassment
74 LeedsaimingtobeMIToftheUK
75 HeroLabssavingworld’swaterwithAI
76 Can‘bigbeast’Manchesterbecomeglobal
heavyweight?
BUSINESSCLOUD
EDITION 14, 2019
BUSINESSCLOUD.CO.UK
CONTACT US
EditorChrisMaguire:01612157144;chris.maguire@businesscloud.co.uk;@editor_maguire|DeputyeditorJonathanSymcox:01612157143;
jonathan.symcox@businesscloud.co.uk;@jonathansymcox|AlistairHardaker,multimediajournalist;alistair.hardaker@businesscloud.co.uk|
HayleySewell,multimediajournalist;hayley.sewell@businesscloud.co.uk
BusinessdevelopmentmanagerHelenaFurness,helena.furness@businesscloud.co.uk
Events:01612157142|AdvertiseinBusinessCloud:01612153877;sponsor@businesscloud.co.uk
Subscriptions:subscriptions@businesscloud.co.uk|Contributors:JennyBrookfield|Designer:RichardSalisbury
Website:www.businesscloud.co.uk|Twitter:@BCloudUK|Address:BusinessCloud,UKFastCampus,BirleyFields,ManchesterM155QJ
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DISCUSSION CONTACTS
BusinessCloud Media
BusinessCloud_Media
EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION
01612157144editor_maguirechris.maguire@businesscloud.co.uk
Who doesn’t love a good start-up story? The fearless
entrepreneur launching their business and, against all the
odds, conquering the world and growing into a unicorn.
FuelledbyTVprogrammeslikeTheApprenticeand
Dragons’Den,thestart-uprevolutionisunstoppable.Every
year around 600,000 new companies are registered in the
UK,undauntedbythestatisticthatmostwillfail.
Therearelistscelebratingstart-upsandawealthof
advisorsandfundingoptionsavailablebutwhatabout
scale-ups?
Ascale-upisdefinedasacompanywithanannual
growthinemployeesorturnovergreaterthan20percent
overathree-yearperiod,startingwithaminimumoften
employees.
Althoughstart-upsaregreat,therocketfuelofeconomic
growthcomesfromscale-ups.They’veestablishedproofof
conceptsothefailurerateislowerandthey’remorelikelyto
attractinvestment.
It’sthereasonwhyGreaterManchester’sGrowth
CompanyhaslaunchedtheUK’ssecondGlobalScale-up
Programmetogetbusinessestothinkinternationally.More
than230businessesappliedtojointheprogramme,whichis
tryingtofindthenext‘bigbeast’.
Ihostedaneventrecentlyand12techentrepreneurs
sharedtheirstart-upsurvivalguidetips.Bootstrapping
yourbusiness,choosingtherightinvestor,knowingwhento
pivot,recruitingproperlyandgettingtherightlegaladvice
atthebeginningwerediscussedatlength.
Start-upsneedtobeagileandabletoreactto
changesincustomertrends.Mostbusinessestodayare
unrecognisablefromwhentheylaunched.Entrepreneurs
needtorecogniseopportunitiesandprioritiseaccordingly.
BusinessCloud’slatestmagazineisfullofstories
aboutstart-upsand,equallyimportantly,scale-ups.The
challengesforbotharesimilarbutdifferent.
Ilovethestoryofgreenenergystart-upBulb.Founded
byfriendsHaydenWoodandAmitGudkain2015,thefirm
Chris Maguire, editor
BusinessCloud
alreadyhas1.2millioncustomersandhasgrownitsteamto
almost400.
Whenitcomestogame-changingtechnology,lookno
furtherthanconnectedcarstart-upwejo,whichwasfounded
byRichardBarlowin2014.Carsgeneratehugeamountsof
dataandhistechnologycapturesitandprovidesvaluable
informationtoenduserslikeinsurersandlocalauthorities.
It’sthereasonwhyUSautomotivegiantGeneralMotors
boughta35percentstakeinwejo.
I’vesaidbeforethatthepartofmyjobIlovethemost
ismeetingentrepreneurs.LorenzoBrewercanbestbe
describedasthehottestnameinmusicyou’veneverheard
of.Dubbedthe‘SteveJobsofmusicpublishing’hisLondon-
basedtechstart-upnkodaismakingsheetmusicaccessible.
I’venodoubtthe23-year-oldwillprogressfromastart-upto
ascale-up.
RegRixisalreadythere.Herecognisedagapinthe
marketforpeopletryingtoobtaincarfinanceandlaunched
CarFinance247.It’samazinghowthebestnamesareoften
thesimplest.Todayitemploys500peopleandhasaturnover
of£50m.There’sabusinessplantodoubleinsizeby2025.
Growthisvital.
IgaveaspeechrecentlyandIconcludedthatalthough
technologyisomnipresentinourlives,businessshould
alwaysbeaboutthepeople.IwasremindedofthiswhenI
wenttovisitformerfootballerGaryParkinson,whoisunable
tomoveortalkafterastrokein2010lefthimwithlocked-in
syndrome.Hisfamilyareamazingandhopethattechnology
mayfindasolution.Ipraythattheydo.
START-UPS VS SCALE-UPS
3
5
@BCLOUDUK
By any measure,
the rise of green
energy start-up
Bulb has been
staggering.
FoundedbyfriendsHaydenWoodand
AmitGudkain2015,thefirmhasrapidly
builtabaseof1.2millioncustomers–
‘members’–andgrownitsteamtoalmost
400.Howeveritsincrediblesuccess
hasnotbeendowntoaggressivedirect
marketingtechniquesorexpensive
multi-platformadvertising;rather,old-
fashionedreferrals.
HeadofbrandClementineHobson
hasbeenattheforefrontofitsscaling
journeyforthelasttwoyears.“Atthe
timeIjoinedwehad15,000-20,000
members.Thatisrapidgrowthby
anyone’smeasurements!”shetells
BusinessCloud.“Foralongtime,the
growthteamatBulbhadjustthree
people.Wefocusedonasmallnumber
ofthingsandworkedhardatthem:our
presence on price comparison sites,
somedigitaladvertisingandword-of-
mouthmarketing,whereourmembers
refereachother.Thatreferralpiecewas
absolutelyinstrumentalinourgrowth.We
lovetogrowthroughreferralsbecausea
friendofourmembersisafriendofours
ENERGY
SCALE-UP IS
LEAN AND
GREEN
BulbhasbeencrownedtheUK’sfastest-growingcompany
afterbuildingacustomerbaseof1.2millionwiththehelp
oftechnology.JonathanSymcoxreportsontheincredible
riseofaLondonbusinesswhichisleadingthedrivetowards
renewableenergy.
-andwe’dratherrewardourmembers
thanpayadvertisers.ForBulb’sfirstthree
years that was really how we grew the
business–andittookusreallyfar.”
Onlineinvestmentplatform
SyndicateRoomcrownedittheUK’s
fastest-growingcompanyinDecember
2018whileinrecentmonthsithasfinally
dippeditstoesintoTVadvertisingasit
lookstoreachtwomillioncustomersby
theendofthisyear.
TV SPOT
Goingdownthetraditionaladvertising
routewasnotadecisionittooklightly,
despite attracting £60 million in growth
funding.“Atsomepointyouneedtofind
newwaystogrow,”saysHobson.“Over
thepastyearwe’veexperimented:we’re
intellyatthemoment,butbehindthe
scenesweputinayear’sworthofwork
to determine whether that was a channel
thatcouldbeusefultousingrowingthe
businessinasustainableway.”
CEOWoodandCOOGudkawere
movedtosetupthebusinessafterthey
becamedisillusionedbyquestionable
practices they witnessed inside the
traditionalenergyindustry.Woodtold
SyndicateRoom:“Weweretheonlyones
thathadcorporatejobsamongstour
friends,sowheneverwewouldgoto
thepubortoparties,we’dalwaysbein
thecornertalkingaboutwork.Wesaw
first-handhowtheenergymarketwas
broken.Itwasthesamestoryatallthe
bigproviders–poorservice,hightariffs,
inefficiencyandlittleeffortbeingmadeto
championrenewables.”
TheBigSixenergysupplierscharge
customersto‘gogreen’whilethere
isahugequestionmarkoverjusthow
environmentallyfriendlythesegreen
tariffsactuallyare.Meanwhile100per
centoftheelectricityprovidedbyBulb
isrenewable–takenfromindependent
energy generators across the UK – while
itofferssomeoftheUK’sgreenestgas.
“Energy is an enormously distrusted
industry,”saysHobson.“Foundingan
energy company in 2015, it felt to our
foundersliketodoanythingotherthan
100percentrenewableelectricitywasn’t
right.We’rebigbelieversthatrenewable
energydoesnothavetobealuxuryand
itshouldbeavailabletoall.Providing
affordablerenewableenergyhasalways
beentheprincipleaimofBulb.”
FAIR PRICE
According to some estimates, energy
companies are currently holding on to
some£1billionofUKcustomers’money
asaresultofdirectdebitpaymentsbeing
ENERGY
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
6
BUSINESSCLOUD.CO.UK
settoohigh.Theaveragedualfuelbill
attheBigSixis£1,117,thesamelevel
as2010,despiteasignificantlylower
wholesale price: they claim this is a direct
consequenceofrisingenvironmentaland
socialcosts.
MeanwhileBulboperatesasingle
tariffforallcustomerswhichchanges
depending on the wholesale price of
energy.Thattariffrosethreetimesin
2018,butdroppedagaininMarchata
timewhenalltheBigSixandsomesmaller
energysupplierswerehikingpricesafter
regulatorOfgemconfirmedariseinthe
energypricecapforstandardvariable
andprepaymenttariffs.Bulbisnotthe
cheapestsupplieronthemarket,butit
claimsitstariffiscurrently£250cheaper
thanstandardplansattheBigSix,which
havecorneredthree-quartersofboththe
electricityandgasmarkets.
“We’reabouttenpercentcheaperthan
theBigSix,”saysHobson.“Thewaywe
priceourenergyiscostreflective:last
year the wholesale cost of energy went
upalotandourtariffswentuptomatch
that.It’snowbeenfallingforquitealong
time,hencetherecentpricedecrease.
“Wethinkit’srightandfairthatthe
priceyoupayforenergyreflectsthecost
toserveit.Forsomepeoplethevariable
tariffdoesintroduceacertainsenseof
insecurity [when it comes to planning
finances],butoverthelongtermyouwill
getabetterdealonyourenergyifyouare
onavariablerate.”
Bulbcommandsafargreatershare
ofthemarketthanfellowrenewable
suppliersEcotricityandGreenEnergy.
AsofDecember2018,ithadthreeper
centshareofbothelectricityandgas,
accordingtoregulatorOfgem.Ithas
caught up with Shell Energy, meaning only
theBigSixandOvoEnergy,whichisit
closingonrapidly,havemorecustomers.
Hobsonsaystheaimistochallengethe
‘bigboys’withinafewyears.
Ten per cent of its gas is green, which
compares with 14 per cent at Ecotricity
and100atGreenEnergy.Bulbsays100
percentofitsgasiscarbonneutralasa
resultofsupportingprojectsaroundthe
world.“Tenpercentisabout30timesthe
nationalaverage,”explainsHobson.“That
willgrowinanascentindustry,butatthe
momentBulbbuysabout40percent
ofallgreengasavailableinthemarket.
Recentlywe’vetakenthedecisionto
carbonoffsetforthe90percentofour
gaswhichisn’tgreen.Soalloftheenergy
usedbyBulbmembersis100percent
carbonneutral.”
INNOVATION
Greengas–biomethane–isderivedfrom
organic sources such as food or farm
waste.Cutting-edgetechniquesareused
to capture the gas which would otherwise
naturallybereleasedasmethane,a
greenhousegas20timesmoretoxicthan
CO2,intotheatmosphere.
OneexampleisHugginFarmin
Doncaster,SouthYorkshire,whichhas
builtananaerobicdigesterplantand
suppliesgreengastoBulb.“Willieand
LyndaMacIntoshgrowsugarbeetontheir
farm, which goes to the factory and gets
processed,”explainsHobson.“Thewaste
thatcomesbackfromthatisputinto
theanaerobicdigester,whichoperates
notdissimilartoacow’sstomach:allof
themattergoesintothatandit’sturned
aroundandagitatedatstomach-like
temperatures.Itgivesoffagasasit’s
doing that which is captured, clean, and
pumpedintotheNationalGrid.It’sa
closed-loopwayofgeneratinggas.The
wastefromtheprocessalsogoesback
ontofarmstofertilisecrops.It’squitea
magicalprocess:it’slikecreatingenergy
from,sometimes,poo!”
Suchadvanceswillbecrucialtothe
ENERGY
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
FoundersHaydenWood,left,andAmitGudka.
7
@BCLOUDUK
UK’saimofcuttinggreenhousegas
emissionstonearlyzeroby2050.Around
30to50percentofourindividualcarbon
footprint comes from powering our
homes,sousingrenewableenergyis
onewaytodecreasetheimpactinboth
theshort-andlong-term.ACommittee
onClimateChangereportpublishedin
Mayrevealedahugedropinthecostof
renewableenergysuchaswindandsolar
powerinrecentyears.
A third of the energy currently in the
NationalGridisrenewable,compared
to39percentgas,18percentnuclear
andjustfivepercentcoal.“Thatis
unbelievablecomparedtowherewewere
5-10yearsago,”saysHobson.“Over
theEasterweekend,theUKwent90
hourscoal-free–fourdaysofrunningthe
countrywithoutanyuseofcoal.Thatwas
becauseitwassosunnyandthesolar
panelswereworkingsohard!We’reinthe
middleofareallybigtransitionandshift.
It’slikeanewindustrialrevolution.
“There’salotofmisinformationabout
renewableenergy:thecosthasfallen
quitesubstantiallyoverthelastfewyears.
Evenbeforethosecostsavingscame
alongwe’vebeenabletoofferrenewable
energyaffordablybyhavingaleaner,
moreefficientbusinessmodelandby
leveraginggreattechnologytokeepour
owncostslow.”
SMART METERING
Bulbhasalargeproductteamdeveloping
digital tools, such as its app, which will
help its customers manage their energy
consumptionassmartmeteringbecomes
moreprevalentinourhomes.“Energy
isgoingtogetmorecomplexbutmore
importantinourlives,”saysHobson.
“Atthemoment,peoplearepassive
recipients of electricity and gas at home:
the generators are at one end, the grid
isinthemiddleandyou’reontheother
endusingit.Thatrelationshipisgoing
tobecomemoredynamic:youmight
havesolarpanelsonyourroofandbe
puttingbackintothegrid,youmighthave
anelectricvehicleandbeputtingback
intothegridthatway.Youmighthavea
batteryathometostoreenergytouse
atothertimes.Wethinkpeoplearegoing
towanthelpandguidancetofigureout
howtoapproachthis.WeseeBulb’srole
shiftingfrombeinganenergysupplierto
anenergymanager,wherewe’rehelping
people to manage the energy ecosystem
theyhaveathome.”
Bulbhaslaunchedan‘alphatrial’of50
customers,whereitpaysthemtohave
solarpanelsathome.“Ourintentionis
torollthatouttoallBulbmembersand
support that growing community of
generators.Thereareamillionpeople
with solar panels on their roofs and we
expectthattogrowsignificantly.”
Inearly2019Bulbleftitsco-working
basetomoveintoitsfirstdedicated
headquartersinBishopsgatenear
LiverpoolStreet,whichhasallowed
thecompany’scross-functionalwayof
workingtoflourish.“Intheoldbuilding
itwasbecominganissuebecausewe
werespreadovermanydifferentfloors,
sitting in little studios separate from each
other,whichwascausinganumberof
difficulties,”Hobsonacknowledges.“The
growthteam[forexample]hasmarketing
professionalslikemyself,technologists,
designers and researchers, so it has
immeasurablychangedforthebetterthe
wayweworktogether.”
CHALLENGES
There are no plans to open regional
offices.“Growingasquicklyaswehave
bringslotsofchallenges.Oneisstaying
true to the original promises that we
madetoourmembers,”saysHobson.
“Wesetourselvesambitioustargets
fordeliveringexcellentservice.Around
ayearagonowweintroducedakindof
swearjarwhere,ifweletourselvesdown
ontheseservicepromises–ifsomeone’s
hadtowaittoolongtospeaktousonthe
phone[forexample]–weautomatically
apply£10credittotheiraccount.
“Tome,thatfeltlikeareallyradical
movetosay‘wevalueourcustomers’
time’.Iwishthereweremoreutilitiesthat
tookthatapproach.Italsointroducesa
laser-focusbecausethereisarealcostto
thebusinessifwedon’tgetitright.”
Bulbhasagoodtrackrecordof
customerservice,with90percent
ratingit‘great’inarecentpollby
MoneySavingExpert.Andthisagainst
abackgroundofawhopping3.8m
complaintsmadebydisgruntled
customersaboutenergycompaniesto
Ofgemin2017alone.
Another challenge is around
maintaining company culture, which is
setbythewiderBulbteam.“Sometimes
Igoonholidayforaweekandthereare
tennewmembersoftheteam!”says
Hobson.“Itmeanseveryoneisconstantly
havingtoshiftrole,fromthetopdown:
what’srequiredfromHaydenandAmit
changesfrommonthtomonth.Everyone
intheorganisationhastobenimbleon
theirfeet.Werunworkshopsasateam,
abottom-upapproach,whereeveryone
canbeinvolvedindefiningwhatour
culturelookslike.Onemightbe‘bea
radiator,notadrain...’
“I’vebeeninverylargeorganisations
beforewhereI’vestoodinthelobby
andseentheculturalvalueswrittenon
thewall,butthey’relonganddifficultto
understand.Idon’tfeeltheorganisations
themselvesreallyreflectthem.
“Wewereconsciousquiteearlyonthat
part of the success of any company, and
particularlyastart-up,isdowntohaving
asharedculturethateveryonebuysinto
andpractises:ithastobealivingpractice,
rather than something which sits in a
documentsomewhere.”
ENERGY
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
“We see Bulb’s role shifting
from being an energy supplier to
an energy manager, where we’re
helping people to manage the
ecosystem they have at home.”
Clementine Hobson
It’s probably
fair to say
that Charles
Delingpole was
destined for
greater things
than picking fruit.
Theserialentrepreneurwasbornin
Birminghamandattendedboarding
schoolinWarwickshirefromtheageof
sixbeforestudyingattwooftheworld’s
mostprestigiousuniversities.
Howeveroneofhisfirstjobssaw
himpickingstrawberriesfor£1.20an
hour – something which spurred him on
tocreatehisfirstventure,TheStudent
Room,anearlyonlinecommunity.“As
soonasIputthewebsiteonlinein
1999,therewasahugeuptakesoitwas
immediatelypreferabletoworkingona
farm,”herecallsofthoseschooldays.
Twoyearslaterheintroducedadverts
andstartedchargingforaccess.By
the time he went to uni, the platform
wasmakingthousandsofpoundsin
revenue.Howeverhedecidedtomove
on after completing his political studies
atCambridgeandLSE.”Iprobablydidn’t
sellitforenough,”hetellsBusinessCloud.
“Butwestartedeverythingbefore
FINTECH’S
GOLDEN
BOY
Onesummerhepickedstrawberries
for£1.20anhourbut,20years
on,CharlesDelingpolehasbuilt
businesseswhichhaveattracted
morethan$100millionininvestment.
He discusses entrepreneurship and
thefinancialcrimearmsracewith
JonathanSymcox.
Facebookand,whileFacebookwas
winning the Olympics, we were doing the
schoolegg-and-spoonrace!Itwasvery
small-scale,tenpeople.Itnowhas70
peopleanddoes£7mrevenue,butit’sstill
tinyincomparisonwithFacebook.”
Hespentthreeyearsadvisingdigital
andmediacompaniesatJPMorgan,an
experiencewhichpreparedhimwellfor
hisstellarfutureFinTechcareer.“Igot
toworkwithCEOsandsawhowthey
rantheircompaniesandlearnedtothink
aboutthestrategyoffinance,”hesays.
DAWN OF FINTECH
StartingupMarketInvoicewithAnil
StockeratthedawnofLondon’sFinTech
boomin2010couldhavebeenadaunting
prospect,butnotforthehungry
Delingpolewithabookfullofcontacts.“It
requiredcredibility,contactsandcapital.
We had to pitch to hedge funds and deal
withregulatorsandbanks,”hesays.“I
didn’tjustdothatfromscratch!”
Thepairinitiallyplannedtobuyan
existingcompanyusingfundsfromwilling
investors.“Wemetlike50companiesand
none of them seemed to
beagoodoptionbecause
theyweresubscaleor,if
theownerleft,itwouldbe
problematic,”hesays.“So
we thought we could lend
moneytotheminstead.
“Backin2009theworld
was collapsing: companies
weren’tlendingand
bankswereverybadat
technology[whereas]we
knewabouttechnology.
Thebanksweresuffering
and it was a good opportunity to try
andattackthem.FundingCircleand
Crowdcubewerelaunchingatthattime:
thatwasthefirstwaveofFinTech.”
Ittookthemfivemonthstogettheir
firsttransactionandninemonthstoget
theirfirstmillionpoundsinvolume.“That
8
BUSINESSCLOUD.CO.UK
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
BIG INTERVIEW
mightmakeyou£6,000,”Delingpole
explains.“Weweretwoyoungguys
andwehadtoworksuperhardtoget
anywhere.Mostcompanieswhotriedthe
samethingfailed.Itwasahugechallenge
tobuildthatcompanybecauseitwasnew
inmanyways.”
DelingpoleleftMarketInvoicefour
yearsagobuthasnoregretsaboutthat
decision.TheFinTechrecentlysecured
£56m in new funding while he still holds
sharesinthebusiness.“Itemployed60
peoplewhenIleftandwasgrowingvery
quickly.Itwasinaverygoodplace.Itwas
therightchoice,”hesays.“Anil’sagreat
businessleaderandhe’sdoneagreatjob.
IfeltitwoulddoverywellevenifIwasn’t
involvedonaday-to-daybasis.”
NEW VENTURE
Readytobuildanotherbusiness,he
turned his attention to the “nightmare”
of compliance, which he says is a huge
problemacrossamultitudeofindustries.
“Ihadtonsofideasfromtalkingtofriends
whowerestillinbanks.Theyweresaying
‘listen,complianceisanightmare-it’sour
biggestproblem’,”heexplains.
“Iknewitwasaproblemat
MarketInvoice.Youhavetolendmoney
topeopleyou’venevermet.Andyoualso
takemoneyfromallovertheworld.We
hadoneclientwhowantedtoinvesta
millionpoundsinaplatformfromanoffice
inJerseythroughsixlayersoftrust.Itwas
acompletenightmare.”
HisnewventureComplyAdvantage,
whichisintheprocessofrebranding
to Mimiro, helps companies including
SantanderandtheBankofAmerica
analysetheriskoffinancialcrimethrough
theuseofmachinelearningalgorithms.
Theseabsorbandscourmillionsof
structured and unstructured data
sourcestobuildasnapshotofanentity’s
riskinreal-time.
Traditionally,checkingtheveracityof
fundsisanextremelytime-consuming
andexpensiveprocess,evenwiththe
adventoftechnology.Soitcomesas
nosurprisethatDelingpole’sfirmhas
alreadypartneredwithmorethan350
customersinover45countriesandraised
$30minfundingrecently,takingitstotal
externalinvestmenttoaround$40m.
“I’dbuiltdatabasesystemsatThe
StudentRoomwhilesomeofthe
companiesIworkedwithatJPMorgandid
thisstufftoo.Iknewitfromatechnical,
commercialandbusinessperspective
reallywell,”saystheCEO.“Ialsostudied
politicsatCambridgesoIwasinterested
in terrorist groups and geopolitical
sanctions.
“Isawitasaconfluenceofallthe
knowledgeI’dbuiltup–andeverything
Ifindinteresting–inone:global,
technology,financeandalsoavery
important moral case in terms of allowing
people to send money to their families
overseas.It’snicethatthere’sasocietal
benefittoit.”
Hecontinues:“There’sanarmsrace.If
you’reamoneylaundereroraterroristor
drugdealer,thereareahundreddifferent
waysthatyoucanhidethemoney.Every
industryandeverygeographyintheworld
issusceptibletobeingusedtohidethe
proceedsofcrime,humantrafficking,
animaltrafficking...everyonetherefore
needsustoavoidmoneybeinglaundered
orterroristsbeingfinanced.”
FUTURE PLANS
The entrepreneur outlined plans to
doublethesizeofthebusiness,whichhas
seen300percentrevenuegrowthinthe
past12monthsandhasrapidlyexpanded
intheUnitedStates.
“Companieslikeusareanasset
class,”saysDelingpole.“Therearemany
SoftwareasaServicedatacompanies
thataregrowingatsimilarrates.”
London-andSanFrancisco-based
venturecapitalfirmIndexVenturesled
the recent Series B round, which drew
participationfromexistinginvestor
BaldertonCapital.“Theinvestorsexpect
ustocarryontriplingandeventuallyto
IPO.We’reawayoffthatatthemoment–
there’snotime-frame–butanycompany
thatIndexinvestsinwouldbeexpected
todothat.”
Thetechiscloud-based,negating
theneedforanyexpensiveon-premise
deployment.“We’vegot90engineers
buildinganamazingsystem.Wecould
startfromscratchbecausewedidn’thave
anylegacytechnology,whereaseveryone
inthemarkettodayhasthishorrendous
oldtechnology,”saysDelingpole.
“Ourcustomershavetointegrateinto
us.Thefutureiscloudandeveryone
integratingwithAPIslikeours.We’re
skatingtowherethepuckwillbe,rather
thanwhereitisnow.
“Theincumbentshavefailed.Sowe’re
justgoingtosolveit.”
Delingpole,whohasbackedten‘super
early-stage’start-upshimselfasanangel
investor,hasseenComplyAdvantage–
which featured on our list of ‘101 FinTech
Disrupters’lastyear–growfrom“10
people coding in my garage and two sales
guysinmylivingroom”toanorganisation
which employs 160 people in Singapore,
London,RomaniaandNewYork.
“Weshouldbe300peopleattheendof
theyear,”hereveals.“Buildingacompany
from scratch is super hard and I prefer
nottodoitagain.I’dmuchratherdouble
thesizeofthiscompanythanbuildtwo
separatecompanies.
“I’vegotnointentiontoleaveand
there’snoreasonformetodoso–unless
Igetfired!”
9
@BCLOUDUK
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
BIG INTERVIEW
The HealthTech
sector is
booming thanks
to accelerating
technologies
such as AI,
wearables & VR.
Thegovernmenthasoutlineda
ten-yearstrategytotransforma
creakingNHS,withtechcrucialto
theplantoimprovepatientservices
andsavemoneyintheprocess.
Tech is helping patients to monitor
their ongoing health issues and
flaguppotentialproblemsbefore
theyhappen.Itisalsohavingareal
impact on how we diagnose and
treatillnesses.
Fromappstohelppeopleliving
withdementiatocutting-edge
cancerresearch,3Dprintedorgans
that allow surgeons to practise on
life-likemodelsbeforeanoperation
andvideoGPconsultations,there
arethousandsofexcitingtech
companieswhicharemakingareal
differencetopeople’slives.
That is why BusinessCloud has
beenonthehuntforthenation’s
topHealthTechInnovators.
JennyBrookfieldreports.
l Dr Julian, London
AandEdoctorDrJulianNesbittcreated
theDrJulianappafterseeingthe
numberofpatientswithmentalhealth
problemswhowereplacedontowaiting
lists.Hisappconnectspeoplewith
therapists,matchingthetwobasedon
the needs of the patients, who are then
offeredconsultationsviavideolink.
l Patchwork, London
FoundedbytwoNHSdoctors,
Patchworkaimstohelphospitals
cutagencyspendingbyofferinga
placewherevacantshiftscanbefilled
byexistingstaff.Healthcareknowledge
providerBMJacquiredaminorityinterestin
thehealthtechstartupinNovember2018.
l Medic Footprints, London

DrAbeynaJonesset
up Medic Footprints
tohelpdoctorsfind
other outlets for their
talents.Herwebsite
has11,000subscribers
andshe’saimingfor
90,000by2021,with
her community aiming to cut down on the
stressanddepressionsufferedbymedics
whocouldconsideralternativecareers.
l Open Bionics, Bristol
Thereisglobaldemandforthebionic
armsproducedbyOpenBionics,in
Bristol.Theaward-winning
roboticscompanymade
theworld’sfirstmedically
approved3D-printed
bionicarmandhasa
developmentcontract
withNHSEnglandtomake
itsarmsmoreaccessible.
l Little Sparks Hospital,
London
SetupbyDrChrisEvans,LittleSparks
has a host of methods for preparing
childrenforsurgery.
Itsinnovations
includeavirtual
reality app, so
childrencanlook
around a hospital
beforetheygo
in for a procedure,
a range of superhero
Join the discussion on #HealthTech101
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
10
BUSINESSCLOUD.CO.UK
hospital gowns and an app that
giveschildrengamestoplaywhile
wearingabreathingmasktoundergo
generalanaesthetic.Ithaswonthe
HeathrowInnovationOriginality
Prize2018andvariousotherawards.
l Equivital, Cambridge
Equivitalmakeswearabletechthat
monitorsforhealthconditions.It
istheonlywearabletechbusiness
intheworldtohaveclearancefor
sensorstobeworninwarzones.
ItsLifeMonitorwaswornbyFelix
Baumgartner during his famous
RedBullStratosspacedivein2012.
l InTouch with Health,

Cirencester

InTouchwithHealth’spatientflow
managementsoftwareisusedby
morethan100UKhospitals.Itrecently
expandeditsoperationsintofive
overseasterritoriesincludingtheUAE
andAustraliaasitchasesambitious
globalgrowthtargetsthroughout2019.
l Walk with Path, Essex
MobilityspecialistWalkwithPath
makesashoeattachmentthatshines
alighttohelpthosewithParkinson’sor
MStowalk.Amultipleaward-winner,
theinnovationaimstopreventinjury
andimprovemobilitybyprovidingvisual
cluesandfeedbackforthewearer.
l Doctorpreneurs, London
Doctorpreneursisaglobalcommunity
for doctors interested in healthcare
innovation,techandentrepreneurship.
Ithas15,000members,forwhomit
organiseseventsandofferssupportin
gettingtheirentrepreneurialideasoff
theground.
l Orcha, Daresbury
GPscanprescribeappstopatients
thankstoOrcha,theDaresbury-based
techbusiness,whichcompareshealth
apps to show those
which are most
effective.It
aims to
drivewider
adoption
of digital
tech in health
and,in2018,
it was enlisted
by
NHSDigitaltoconductappevaluations
forthecentralNHSLibrary.
l Elder, London

Elderoffershealthcaremanagement
technology that matches those in need
offull-timecarewithlive-incarers.
ItwasfoundedbyPeteDowdsand
TomBrooks,whobothhaddifficult
experiencesinfindingcarefortheir
elderlygrandparents,andislooking
after hundreds of customers across
theUK.
l Invatech Health, Bristol

Invatechoffersworkflowsoftware
to pharmacies and care homes to
ensuremedicationisprescribed,
dispensed and monitored safely and
accurately.Thecarehomeplatform,
which aims to eradicate errors,
provideshomeswithadirectlinkto
pharmaciestomanageresidents’
medicationaswellasserviceslikea
hand-helddevicethatscansabarcode
asmedicationisadministered.
l Oxford Heartbeat,
London
BasedinLondon,OxfordHeartbeat’s
aimistomakesurgeriesasminimally
invasiveaspossibleusingbigdataand
AI.Itssoftwareturns2Dscansinto3D
modelstoenablesurgeonstovirtuallytest
proceduresbeforethey’reintheoperating
theatre.
l Babylon Health, London
Mobile-basedhealthcarebusiness
BabylonHealthallowsdoctorsto
diagnoseandprescribemedicationto
patients.ItsGPandHandappoffersAI-
powereddiagnosesbyrecognisingthe
wayhumansexpresstheirsymptomsand
connectspatientstoaGPviaavideocall.
Ithas48,000patientsregistered,making
itoneofbiggestGPpracticesincountry,
andthebusinessisplanningtoexpand.
l Benevolent AI, London

BenevolentAIusestechnologytospeed
upmedicaldiscoverybyanalysinglarge
scientificresearchdatasetstocreate
itsowninsights.BasedinLondon,with
officesinCambridge,NewYorkand
Antwerp,thebusinessaimstoaccelerate
thejourneyfromdatatomedicineand
iscollaboratingwithAstraZenecato
discovernewdrugsforkidneydisease.
l endoscope-i,

Birmingham
A team of two ENT surgeons and two
engineersmakeupendoscope-i,whose
deviceattachestoaniPhonetoenable
medics to photograph what they see in
patients’ears.
l Forward Health, London
Foundedbyateamofjuniordoctors,
ForwardHealthoffersasecureand
healthcarecompliantmessagingservice
fordoctorsandnurses.Itaimstoofferan
alternativetodeviceslikepagers,whichare
stillusedinhospitals,anditreceived$3.9m
fundingtoexpandin2018.
HealthTech 101
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
@BCLOUDUK
11

l OurPath, London

OurPathisasubscription-based
weight-lossappthataimstotackle
diabetesviaathree-monthonline
programme to help people change their
lifestylehabitsandbecomehealthier.
Itraised$3min2018andispartnered
withtheNHSinHumber,Bristol,North
SomersetandSouthGloucestershire,
withplanstoexpandfurther.
l uMotif, London

PatientdataplatformuMotifworks
withthelikesofAstraZenecaand
collects data generated in clinical
trialsthatwouldusuallybegathered
throughpaperwork.Thebusiness
raised$3.2min2018whichitplans
tousetoexpandoperationstothe
Asia-Pacificregions.Itcurrently
operatesmostlyintheUSandEurope.
l HomeTouch, London

HomeTouchfindslive-incarersand
reviewscareplansfordementiapatients.
SetupbyaformerNHSdoctor,the
businessisresponsiblefor40,000hours
ofcareeverymonthviacarersthatare
matchedtothepatientstheylookafter.
Ithasraised£5moffundingtodate.
l ZoomDoc, London
ZoomDocallowspatientstohaveinstant
telemedicine consultations, as well as the
abilitytoinstantlybooka
GPtoarriveattheir
preferredlocation.
Thebusiness
launched a £2m EIS
funding campaign in
2019tobringmedics
to patients within an
hour.TennisplayerAndy
Murrayisaprimaryinvestor,following
ZoomDoc’ssuccessfulcrowdfunding
campaignwhichclosedinJanuary2018.
l Mistura Informatics,
Ashington,
Northumberland
Misturamakeselectronicresourcesfor
pharmacists, medics and healthcare
professionalssotheycanadviseandinform
patients,carersandserviceusersabout
theirmedication.Itwaschosenaspartof
anacceleratorprogrammeinNewcastle’s
Biospheretoadvancedigitalprojects
toimprovethelifeofelderlypeople.

l Elucid mHealth,
Manchester
ElucidmHealthmakessmartmedicine
dispensersthatprovidesimple-to-use
access, control and monitoring of each
individualdose.Itstechnologyhastwo
patentgrantsandanumberofpending
applicationsandithasbegundiscussions
withseveraltoptierpharmaceutical
firmsonpossiblyadvancingthe
useofitsPillConnectsystem.
l Health Diagnostics,
Chester

HealthDiagnosticscreatespatient-
focusedsystemsandsoftware.It
workswithmorethan25NHStrustson
deliveringNHSHealthChecks,withthe
softwareprocessinginvites,assessing
cardiovascularriskandtransferring
healthcheckdatatopatientrecords.
l Lantum, London

Lantumenableshealthworkerstofind
locumshiftsandisusedby17,500
clinicians.ItaimstohelptheNHScut
downonagencyfeesandmakeiteasier
formedicstofindadditionalwork.
Foundedin2012,itraised£3.2mina
seriesAroundofinvestmentanda
further$7minseriesBfundingin2016.
l Sensyne Health, Oxford
SensyneHealthplcisahealthcaretechnologycompanythatcreatesvaluefrom
acceleratingthediscoveryanddevelopmentofnewmedicinesandimproving
patientcarethroughtheanalysisofreal-worldevidencefromlargedatabasesof
anonymisedpatientdataincollaborationwithNHSTrusts.Thisanonymisedpatient
dataisethicallysourcedinthatanyanalysisofit–andhencethecompany’saccess
toit–mustbepre-approvedforeachprogrammeonacase-by-casebasisbythe
relevantNHSTrusts.Thisistoensurethatthepurposeoftheanonymisationand
theproposedanalysisaresubjecttoappropriateethicaloversightandinformation
governance,includingconformancewithNHSprinciples,UKdataprotectionlaw
andapplicableregulatoryguidance.SensyneHealthisanearlysignatorytothe
DepartmentofHealthandSocialCare’s‘InitialCodeofConductfordata-driven
healthandcaretechnology’.SensyneHealthislistedontheAIMMarketofthe
LondonStockExchange(SENS.L)andisbasedintheSchrödingerBuilding,located
onOxfordSciencePark.
Join the discussion on #HealthTech101
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
12
BUSINESSCLOUD.CO.UK
l Feebris, London

London-basedAIplatformFeebris
takesmeasurementsfromwearables
andscansthemfordiseases.Targeting
conditionslikepneumoniaandasthma,
thebusinessisfocusingonelderly
communities at the moment, aiming
toavoidhospitalstaysbyidentifying
conditionsbeforetheyescalate.It
receivedfundingfromtheSocial
TechTrusttoscaleupitsoperations.
l Cera, London

Cerafindsandmanageshomecare
forelderlypeople.Ithaspartnered
with the NHS, digitalising all processes
operations,recruitmentandcarereports.
Asaresult,thehealthsectorisable
topaycarershigherwages.Cerahas
alsoreceivedsignificantVCfunding.


l PushDoctor,
Manchester

OnlineGPservicePushDoctorworks
viaasubscriptionpackageandcurrently
hasareachof1.2millionpeople.In
January2019,thebusinessannounced
adealwiththeUrbanHealthandI3
primarycarenetworksinBirmingham
-covering13practicesand88,000
patients–toenablethemtomakea
digitalappointmentwithanonlineGP
tohelpthemgetseenmorequickly.
l Doctorlink, London

GPsurgeriescanuseDoctorlink’s
tech platform to allow patients to
bookappointmentsandaccess
medicaladviceviatheirwebsite.It
offersatriageservicethatallows
patients to understand what
mightbewrongwiththembefore
theybookanappointmentwitha
doctor.Itraised£20mininvestment
during2017toexpanditsreach.
l Echo, London

Multipleaward-winningEchois
aprescriptionserviceappthat
allows patients to order repeat
medication at the touch of a
buttonandhaveitdeliveredto
theirhomefreeofcharge.It
workswithNHSprescriptionsand
sendsreminderstousersabout
whentotaketheirmedication.


l Thriva, London

Thrivaoffersat-homefingertipblood
testsfordifferenthealthconditions.
Usersarethenofferedpersonalised
onlinereportsandevidence-based
advice.Itlaunchedasaliva-based
cortisol stress test and two female
hormonetestsin2019,expandingon
thetestsitoffersandmakingiteasier
forpeopletomonitortheirownhealth.
l Andiamo, London

Andiamomakes3D-printeddevicesto
supportthespineandlimbsfordisabled
children,inspiredbytheexperienceof
foundersNaveedandSamiyaParvez
withtheirownchild.Itmakessplints
andbracesmuchquickerandeasier
thantraditionalmethods.Thebusiness
received£1.7mfundingin2018andwas
afinalistintheWeWorkCreatorAwards.


l Sano Genetics,

Cambridge

SanoGeneticsoffersaplatformthat
pools genetic information to allow people
toowntheirowndata.Itenableslarge-
scale genetic and medical research
withoutsacrificingdataprivacy,enabling
peopletotakepartinresearchandthen
owntheirresultingdata.Thebusiness
received£500,000seedfundingin2019.
l Now Healthcare Group,
Salford
NowHealthcareGroupprovides
patients with remote access to primary
careservicesthrough
app-basedvideoand
telephone consultations
thatareavailableonthego.
ServicesincludeNowGP,
for consultations with a
doctor, and NowPatient,
enablinguserstoorder
prescriptions, and there
are more than 2 million
peopleusingthemthanks
toNow’spartnerships
withbluechipclients.
l IamYiam, London

AIpersonalhealthplatformiamYiam
measures more than 400,000 genetic
markerstohighlightareasofactivity
ornutritioninusers.Itspersonalsmart
healthassistantofferspersonalised
adviceincludinglifestyleanalysis,
goalsettingandweeklyshopping
lists.Usersmakeaone-offpayment
andcantrackthemselvesagainst
theirfriendstoreceiverewards.

l Doctify, London
Doctify’splatformenablespatientsto
searchfor,compareandbookprivate
doctors.Ithashelped1mpatients
since its launch in 2015 and raised
morethan$1min2016.Co-founder
StephanieEltzwasanorthopaedic
surgeonbeforelaunchingthebusiness.
l White Lab, London
WhiteLab’sSensioAirisasmart
indoorsallergyandairquality
trackerandapp,whichlogs
symptomsandtracksallergens.It
monitorstheairqualityin320cities
across the world and won a CES
2018InnovationAwardin2018.
HealthTech 101
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
@BCLOUDUK
13
14
BUSINESSCLOUD.CO.UK
l Peek Vision,
Hertfordshire

PeekVision’ssmartphoneapp
tests and scans eyes and is used in
developingcountries.Theoptician-
styletestissimpletouse,enabling
eyecheckstobeconductedinhomes,
communities,andschools.Itsschool
eye health screening and treatment
programmeinKenyawonthe2018
AllAfricanPublicServiceInnovation
Awards(AAPSIA2018)ataceremony
heldinEthiopiainDecember2018.
l Concentric, Cardiff

Cardiff-basedConcentricprovidesa
platformtohelppatientsmakeshared
decisionswithsurgeons.Itdigitises
the paper process, which is predicted
tosavehealthboardsmoneythrough
reduced medical negligence costs
andavoidingunnecessaryoperations.
Itreceived£350,000fundingin
April2019toscaleupitsefforts.
l Elvie, London

Elviemakessmart
tech for female
care, including
breastpumps
andpelvicfloor
trainers.The
devicesofferreal-
timefeedback
viaanappanda
gamificationelementtoencourage
womentousethem.Itraisedarecord
$42minvestmentinApril2019,
whichitintendstousetodoubleits
workforcebytheendoftheyearand
spendonresearchanddevelopment.
l Femeda, London

Femedahasdevelopedarangeof
groundbreakingmedicaldevicesfor
female urinary incontinence including
apelvicfloormusclere-trainer.

l EMIS Health, Leeds
Establishedin1980,EMISHealthprovides
patient record systems and software
and has more than 40 million patient
recordsonitssystem.Ithasacquired
sevenorganisationsduringitslifeand
has60,000weeklyusers.Revenuefor
thesixmonthstotheendof2018was
£84.5m,withprofitsrecordedat£13m.
l Medopad,
London
Medopad’sappsconnect
patients and medics, using
AItopredictconditions.
Thebusinessworkswith
healthcareprovidersand
produces data collection
platforms for life sciences
partnersandinjuryanalysisfor
sportspartners,forexample.The
businesshasmadeaseriesofacquisitions
andisaimingfor1bnpatientusers.
l Orchard Therapeutics,
London
Abiopharmaceuticalbusinessfor
patients with rare diseases, Orchard
Therapeuticspartnerswiththelikes
ofGreatOrmondStreetHospitaland
UniversityCollegeLondon.Withoffices
intheUKandUS,itdevelopsinnovative
genetherapiesandhasraised$280m
funding.
l Kheiron Medical
Technologies, London
LaunchedinJanuary2019,Kherion’s
AIsoftwareoffersbreastscreening
forearlierdetectionofcancer.A
trial was launched on historic scans
inLeedsandthebusinesshas
receivedgovernmentfundingaspart
oftheNHSTestBedprogramme.
l Moodbeam, Hull
Moodbeam’swearabledeviceallows
users to monitor their
emotionalwellbeing
and log their
mood.Itlinks
to an online
andmobile
platform
andgives
insights into
how moods
changeover
time, showing
patterns and
trends that can
supportpositivechange.
Thebusinessreceived£200,000
funding from the Northern Powerhouse
InvestmentFundin2018toenable
thedevicetogointoproduction.
l Zava, London
Patientsfillinanonlinemedical
questionnaire,whichisreviewed
bydoctorsbeforemedicationis
prescribedandsentout.Zavaaimsto
offerpatientsadiscreetmedication
serviceandhasprovidedmorethan
twomilliontreatmentssince2011.It
operatesintheUK,France,Germany,
Switzerland,AustriaandIreland.
l Cell Medica, London
CellMedicaistransformingthelivesof
cancerpatientsthroughcelltherapies.
HeadquarteredinLondon,UK,italso
hasfacilitiesinHoustonandZurich.Itis
focused on transforming the treatment
of solid and hematological cancers
bydevelopingnext-generationcell
therapiesinpartnershipwithhospitals.
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
Join the discussion on #HealthTech101
l Mable Therapy, Leeds
MableTherapyspecialisesinspeechand
language therapy software that uses
cuttingedgeUIanddatavisualisation
systems.Mablecliniciansdeliverthe
therapywithinschools,usinggamification
toaidlearningandcarryoutassessments.
The software, which has changed the
waytherapyisdelivered,collectsdataon
thechildandtracksprogress,whichcan
besharedwiththeschoolandparents.
l EYOTO, Birmingham
Anotheruniversityspinout,thistime
fromAstonUniversity,EYOTOis
developinghardwareandsoftware
productsusingAIforeyetesting.The
business,formerlyAstonEyeTech,
raised £5m in 2017 in a series A round led
byMerciaTechnologiesandlaunched
undertheEYOTObrandin2018.
l Autolus Therapeutics,
London
Autolus Therapeutics specialises in T
cell programming technology for the
treatmentofcancer.Itisengineering
precisely targeted, controlled and highly
activeTcelltherapiesdesignedtobetter
recognisecancercells,breakdowntheir
defencemechanismsandeliminatethem.
Foundedonadvancedcellprogramming
technologypioneeredbyDrMartin
Pule,thebusinesswasspunoutfrom
UniversityCollegeLondonin2014.
l Co-op Health (formerly
Dimec), London
DimecrebrandedtoCo-opHealthfollowing
theacquisitionledbyCo-opVentures
in2018.Thebusinessdevelopedanapp
thatenablespatientsandGPstointeract
andmanagetheirprescriptionneeds.
l Bond Digital Health,
Cardiff
BondDigitalHealthisasoftware
consultancydevelopingend-to-end
digitalconnectivitytoolsforlifesciences
andmedicaldevicesinnovators.Founder
IanBondisalong-termsuffererofCOPD
andhadbecomefrustratedathisown
experienceswithhealthservices.The
personalisedself-managementdata
recordhecreatedwasthefirstofBond’s
products.
l Proton Partners,
Newport
ProtonPartnerswasthefirstprovider
ofprotonbeamtherapyintheUK
andisintheprocessofdevelopinga
networkofoncologycentrestodeliver
it.ItsRutherfordCancerCentreSouth
WaleswasthefirstclinicintheUK
toprovidehighenergyprotonbeam
therapyandtreatedthefirstnon-NHS
patientwithhighenergyprotonbeam
therapyintheUKin2018.Ithascentres
inReadingandNorthumberlandand
oneinLiverpoolisunderconstruction.
Eachcantreatupto500patientsayear.
l Current Health,
Edinburgh
Predictiveanalyticssoftwareplatform
CurrentHealthtook$8minseed
fundingin2018.Thebusiness,formerly
knownasSnap40,identifiesinreal-
timethosewhosehealthisatriskof
deterioratingviaawearabledevice.The
fundingwastoenableUSexpansion.It
also won a £1m NHS England contract
inApriltofurtherscaleitstech.
l Care Sourcer, Edinburgh
Care matching software platform
CareSourceroffersafreematching
serviceforelderlypeople.It
raised£8.5min2018toexpand
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
@BCLOUDUK
15
l Priority Digital Health, Cambridge
PriorityDigitalHealthbuildssmartdigitalplatformswithafocusonhealth
promotionanddiseasepreventionthathelppeoplefindandbookintothemost
appropriatesupportfortheirneeds-quicklyandeasily.Itchangesbehavioursand
reduces waiting times, freeing up time for clinicians and HCPs to spend more time
withpeoplemostinneed.CommissionedbytheNHS,LocalGovernmentPublic
Healthdepartmentsandcommercialorganisations,itdeliversservicesinDiabetes
Education,IntegratedLifestyleServices,WorkplaceHealth,StopSmokingandthe
deliveryofHealthChecks.PoweredbyapowerfulCRMandhostedwithintheHSCN
network,itsproductsaredesignedtoworktogetherorstand-alone:
•priority.you-reducingdemandforGPappointmentsthroughonlinecare
navigation
•priority.me-everythingforlifestyleserviceprovidersinoneplatform
•priority.sp-geolocationplatformrespondingtosocialprescribingneeds
•priority.connect-interoperabilitythroughAPIsandintegrationswithEMISHealth,
PatientActivationMeasuresandNHSDigital
HealthTech 101
101 HealthTech Innovators
itsservicesfromEdinburghand
LondontotherestoftheUK.The
businessisalsoaimingtogrow
from20to100employeesby2020.
l Clevermed, Edinburgh
Clevermedprovidespatientdata
management systems that are used
in250UKhospitals,specifically
for maternity and neonatal care
records,aswellasinNewZealand
andAustralia.Itaimstostopthe
need for women to carry paper
recordsduringpregnancy,keeping
information in one place regardless
ofwherethepatientis.Thebusiness
wascitedinaParliamentaryReview
highlightingitsachievementsin2018.
l Damibu, Liverpool
Award-winningdigitalhealthtechnology
studioDamibuworkswithNHSclinical
commissioning groups, NHS trusts
andotherpublicsectorbodiesto
developsimpleinnovativesolutions
tocomplexproblems.Itsprojects
includeappstoimprovechildren’s
healthandforthoselivingwith
dementia.Itsworkwasrecognised
intheMedilinkNorthofEngland
HealthcareBusinessAwards2019.
l Servelec Group,
Sheffield
ServelecGroupmakes
patient management
software, which is
usedby49NHStrusts.
InJanuary2019,it
acquiredNorthwich-
basedC:Vision,whichhad
40staffandprovidescase
management and information
tolocalgovernmentchildren’s
andyoungpeople’sservicesteams.
l Vision, London
Visionmakesintelligentsoftware
foruseinGPpracticesthatallows
medicalrecordstobeviewedremotely,
appointmentstobebookedonline
andhealthteamstocollaborate.
l Positive Solutions,
Chorley
PositiveSolutionsspecialises
in pharmacy management
tools for order management,
dispensingandEPOS.Italsooffers
care home dispensing solutions,
pharmacydesignandshopfitting,
retailandmerchandisingservices,
websitedesignandacomprehensive
portfolioofpartnerproducts.
l Silverlink Software,
Newcastle
Silverlink’spatientadminsystemsare
usedby13NHSacutetrustsinthe
UK,covering45hospitals.InFebruary
2019,itlaunchedabedmanagement
systematLiverpoolHeartandChest
Hospital,allowingbedstobemanaged
usingintuitivetouchscreensthathave
replacedwhiteboards.Itenablesstaff
to create a graphical representation of
theirward,allocateandmovepatients
betweenbedsusinga‘draganddrop’
systemandmanagecleaningstatus.
l 3D LifePrints, Liverpool
3DLifePrintsworks
with hospital trusts
across the UK
including Alder
HeyChildren’s
Hospital.It3D
prints models
for surgical
training,
models for
demonstrating
to patients,
medical software
andmedicaldevices.
l Baby2Body, London
AppBaby2Bodyisusedduring
pregnancy for coaching in health
andwellbeingandpersonalisesthe
informationitsendstousers.Founder
MelindaNicci,anex-sportspsychologist
andfitnesstrainer,islisted
as one of the most
influentialwomenintech.
l Vitaccess,
Oxford
Digitalhealthcareresearch
scale-upandstrategicconsultancy
Vitaccess was named a Tech Nation
RisingStarfor2019.ItsMyRealWorldapp
enablespatientstotracktheirdiseases
andtreatments,producingreal-timedata
onhowtheyimpacttheireverydaylives.
l Unmind, London
Unmind produces mental health
toolsandtrainingforworkforces,with
clientsincludingWilliamHill,Yorkshire
BankandJustEatusingitsplatform.
Foundedin2016,thebusinessworks
with organisations with more than 1,000
employees and the system can direct users
toappropriatementalhealthservicesif
necessary.
l Big Health, London
Big Health creates automated and
personalisedmentalhealthprogrammes.
It has partnered with the NHS to
provideonlinesleepimprovement
programmeSleepiotopatients.
DevelopedbyProfessorColinEspie
fromOxfordUniversityandCEOPeter
Hames, the programmes are now
availableto12millionpeopleworldwide.
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
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BUSINESSCLOUD.CO.UK
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COVER STORY
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
@BCLOUDUK
17
in
KM Capital is a tech-focused
investment fund looking to
identify scalable and disruptive
early-stage businesses. We
are headed by Adam Kamani,
who co-founded one of the
world’s fastest growing fashion
brands, prettylittlething.com
We create lasting
relationships
We back exceptional teams
with the ambition to grow big
businesses, our focus is on
identifying entrepreneurs that
can scale explosively to
create, transform or dominate
an industry.
GET IN TOUCH:
invest@km-capital.co.uk
www.km-capital.co.uk
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KM Capital
l Creo Medical, Chepstow
AIM-listedCreoMedicalisaworld
leaderinnon-invasivesurgerymedical
devices.Itraised£50min2018to
enableittotargettheUSmarket.The
company’smissionistoimprovepatient
outcomesbyapplyingmicrowaveand
radiowaveenergytosurgicalendoscopy.
l Zesty, London
Zestyisanappallowingpatientsto
find,compareandbookhealthservices.
Theonlinehealthcarebookingservice
isbackedbyInnovationCapital,
MangroveCapitalPartners,TAVenture
andABRTVentureFundandhas
receivedmorethan$10minvestment.
l Antidote, London
Antidoteenablespeopletosearchfor
clinicaltrialssuitableforthemand
helpresearchersfindsuitable
candidates.Itsgoalistoslash
thefigureof80pcoftrials
beingdelayedorcancelled
throughlackofparticipation.
Thebusinessraised$11min2017.
l Signum Health,
Caerphilly
SignumHealthhasdevelopedanAI
andcloud-basedplatformtoenable
healthcare professionals to remotely
diagnoseandmanagepatients.The
businesstooksix-figureinvestment
in2017.Itsintegrateddigitalplatform
enablesprofessionalstoelectronically
and remotely, diagnose, triage and
referpatientstoavarietyofhealth,
socialcareandwellbeingproviders.
l HealthUnlocked, London
Akindofsocialnetworkforhealth,
HealthUnlockedaimstoconnectpeople
with the same health conditions so that
theycansharetheirexperiences.Ithas
onemillionmembersworldwidewho
use the community, which is moderated
byexpertsfromorganisationssuchas
the British Heart Foundation to ensure
thequalityandreliabilityofthecontent.
l Howz, Manchester
HowzispartneredwithEDF
Energytodevelopitshome
monitoring system for
the elderly and those
with dementia, which is
in hundreds of homes and
beingtrialledbytheNHS.
Howzlearnsroutineswithin
the home and spots changes
early,helpingyoutoactquickly.The
system uses sensors that alert family
membersifchangesinusualactivityare
detected.
l Ieso Digital Health,
Cambridge
Award-winningIesoDigitalHealth
offersfreeonlinecognitivebehavioural
therapy to treat mental health
conditions.ADeloitteFast50Awards
winnerduring2018,thebusinessraised
£18min2017todevelopitsservice,
whichisofferedfreeontheNHS.
l Fertility Focus,
Warwick
FertilityFocusisadeviceand
smartphoneappthatenablesusers
topredictfertility,saidtobetheonly
monitorcapableofpredictingovulation
upto24hoursinadvanceandconfirming
theexactdateofovulationwith99pc
clinically-provenaccuracy.Itraiseda
seriesAroundof$2.9minJanuary2019
to further commercialise its product,
Ovusense,inNorthAmericaand
Europeandfundadditionalclinicaltrials.
l Healthera, Cambridge
Healthera is an app that connects patients
topharmaciesandGPs,allowingthemto
orderprescriptions,accessclinicalservices
andmonitortheirmedicationintake.The
businessraised£3minseriesAfundingin
2018.
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
18
BUSINESSCLOUD.CO.UK
l Vapour Cloud, Elland
DigitaltransformationspecialistVapourCloudisthebrainsbehindTeleDOC–the
firstvideotoolofitskindfortheUKhealthcaresector,poweredbyafree,simple
SMS.Withcutting-edgeWebRTCtechnologyatitsheart,TeleDOCenablesGPs
andothermedicalprofessionalstoholdsecure,encrypted,recordable,geo-tagged
videocallswiththeirpatients,wherevertheyarelocated,onanydevice,and
regardlessofthetechnicalliteracy.Theresultistheabilitytoefficientlydiscussand
diagnosehealthissuesremotely,beforestoringtheencryptedvideofileinasecure
vault.And,becauseTeleDOCworksbysendingthepatientaone-time-useSMSor
email,withhyperlink,whichautomaticallyactivatesthevideoconsultation,thereis
nocosttotheuser.Withnousername,passwordorapprequired–onlytwoclicksto
authorisethecamera–theresultismaximumeaseofuse,beforetheappointment
iscarriedoutinmuchthesamewayasaface-to-facescenario.Thepatientalso
‘meets’withtheirownGP,ratherthanastranger.
Join the discussion on #HealthTech101
l Oxehealth, Oxford
Oxehealth’sdigitalcareassistantuses
sensors and infrared technology to
monitor patients when healthcare
assistantscan’tbethere.Itmeasures
pulserateandbreathingrate,and
detectsactivity,sendinganalert
ifsomethingisamiss.Itsecured
‘world-first’accreditationforits
opticalvitalsignstechnologyin2018.
l Vida, London
HomecareserviceVidamatchescarers
topatientsanddeliverspersonalised
careprogrammes.Formercancer
researchscientistDevikaWood
workedatGooglebeforefoundingthe
business,whichturnedover£1.5m
initsfirsttenmonthsoftrading.
l Perfect Ward, London
PerfectWard’ssmartdocumentanalyser
captures healthcare inspections onto
phonesortabletsandprovidesreal-
timereportingonanyissues.Itaims
tohalveinspectiontimeandcutdown
ontheneedforpaperwork,while
enablingissuestobequicklyidentified.
l Jellagen, Cardiff
MarinebiotechbusinessJellagenextracts
jellyfishcollagenformedicalusesand
was commercialised for research in
2018.Sinceitwasfoundedin2013,
thebusinesshassecuredconsiderable
investmentfrombothprivateinvestors
andpublicsourcestodevelopitsproduct
for use in the food, cosmetic, medical
deviceandpharmaceuticalindustries.
Itlaunchedinresponsetoexploding
jellyfishpopulationsandsafetyconcerns
aroundmammal-derivedcollagens.
l Virti, London
VirtiusesAIandVRtotransport
usersintorealistic,hard-to-access
environmentstosafelyassess
themunderpressure.Theaward-
winningbusinessaimstoimprove
human performance and reduce
anxiety.ItjoinedtheNHSInnovation
AcceleratorProgrammein2019.
l SurePulse, Nottingham
UniversityofNottinghamspinoutSurePulse
aimstosavethelivesofbabiesborn
notbreathing.Itsheartratemonitor,a
sensorbuiltintoahat,givesclinicians
an accurate reading when resuscitating
babies.Thedevicewascertifiedin
2019,makingitavailabletoclinicians.
l C the Signs, London
‘C the Signs is a digital tool that uses AI and
thelatestevidencetohelpGPsidentify
patients with cancer at the earliest and
mostcurablestage.Itusesadvanced
algorithmscombinedwithoptimisation
andprioritisationsystemstoreflect
thenaturaldecision-makingprocessof
doctors,translatingcomplexresearchand
guidelines into a simple process for the
user.Itiscurrentlyworkingwithseveral
NHSclinicalcommissioninggroups.
l Dietary Assessment
Ltd (myfood24), Leeds
myfood24 is a dietary assessment
apptosupportacademicresearch.It
providesreal-timefeedbackonfood
andnutritionintake,whichisthenused
byteaching,researchandhealthcare
professionals.Originallycreatedasa
UniversityofLeedsresearchgroup,the
spinoutcompany,DietaryAssessment
Ltd, was created in 2017 to respond
togrowingcustomerrequirements.
l MeeTwo, London
MeeTwo is a free mental health social
media platform that helps teenagers
toopenupabouttheirmentalhealth,
usingpicturesorwordstoexpress
themselves.ListedintheNHSApps
Libraryandamultipleawardwinner,it’s
curatedbyqualifiedpsychologistsand
everypostismoderatedbeforebeing
published.Itofferspeersupportfrom
otherteenagersaswellasexperthelp,
andthedataisusedtoprovideinsights
intoteenagementalhealth.
l Ingenica Solutions,
Hampshire
IngenicaSolutionshasatrackrecord
indeliveringsignificantreturnson
investmentsforNHStruststhrough
itsITsolutions.Itworkswithanumber
ofNHSfoundationtruststoenable
dramaticimprovementsinbackoffice
efficiencyinthehealthcareenvironment.
l Sky Medical Technology,
Daresbury
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
@BCLOUDUK
19
HealthTech 101
SkyMedicalTechnologyisthe
parentcompanyofFirstkind,which
developedtheOnPulsetechnology
platformandgekowearablemedical
device.Thedeviceandtechplatform
stimulateimprovedbloodflowfor
woundhealingandthepreventionof
otherconditions.Itwonaninnovation
awardin2019foritsapproach
totechnologyandpartnerships.
l Steeper Group, Leeds
SteeperGrouphasbeenworkingin
thefieldofprostheticssince1921.
Todayitcombinesitsartificiallimbs
withassistivetechnology,including
home control, communication and
environmentcontroldevices.Ithas
aclinicinLeeds,aprivateprosthetic
centreinLondonandaUSbase.
l Medicalchain, London
Medicalchainusesblockchain
technology to securely store health
records and maintain a
singleversionofthe
truth.Different
organisations
such as doctors,
hospitals,
laboratories,
pharmacists
and health
insurerscanrequest
permission to access
apatient’srecordtoservetheir
purpose and record transactions on
thedistributedledger.Itannounced
itsfirstpartnership,withTheGroves
MedicalGroup,inLondon,in2018.
l Oviva UK, London
OvivaUKisahealthimprovementtool
thatcombinesexpertadvicefrom
dietitians with digital tools to help people
withconditionssuchastype2diabetes
improvetheirhealth.Itpartnerswiththe
NHSandhaswonanumberofawards.
l Raremark, London
Raremarkwaslaunchedin2016for
familiesaffectedbyraredisease,
an online community where people
canlearnaboutacondition,take
partinresearchandhavetheirsayin
howtreatmentsaredeveloped.The
company’sworkhaswonmultiple
awards, including the UK Business Angels
Association’sEntrepreneuroftheYear,
anditwasnamedasachangemaker
atthe2018LondonTechWeek.
l Tunstall Healthcare,
Whitley Bridge, North
Yorkshire
TunstallHealthcareaimstoprovide
‘connectedhealthcare’,including
connecteddevicesandservicesthat
monitorthehealthandwellbeingof
peopleincare.Foundedin1957,it
operatesinmorethan30countries
and employs around 2,000 people
globally–around615oftheseinthe
UK.Aconsumerarm,IndeMe,gives
carersandfamilymemberspeace
of mind through pendant alarm
servicesandfall-detectiondevices.
l Mendelian,
London
Mendelian diagnoses rare diseases
using machine learning, which
helps specialists narrow down
possiblecausesofsymptoms.
It has more than 50,000 users in
150 countries and aims to cut down
thetimetakentodiagnosepatients.
l Cardiocity, Lancaster
Cardiocitybuildsmedicaldevicesthat
makeiteasierforpeopletomeasuretheir
physiologicalperformance.Established
in 2011, it uses the concepts of telemetry
fromtopflightmotorsportintheworldof
mobilehealth,exportingproductsincluding
itsRhythmPad,whichmakesscreeningfor
cardiacarrhythmiasextremelysimpleand
canbeusedattachedtotheclinician’sPC
orinreceptionasawhile-you-waitsystem.
l Salve Technologies,
London
SalveTechnologiesmakesamobile-
firstpatientengagementplatform
thatautomatesclinicworkflowsand
guidespatientsthroughtreatment.
ItisliveinclinicsacrossEuropeand
thousandsofpatientshaveusedthe
productsinceitslaunchinOctober2017.
l Feedback Medical,
Cambridge
FeedbackMedicalhasglobalcustomers
for its medical imaging technology,
whichadvancestheworkofradiologists,
clinicians and medical researchers
byimprovingworkflowsandgiving
uniqueinsightsintodiseases,such
ascancer.ItsTexRADproducthas
featured in more than 100 academic
publications,wonnumerousawards
and is currently used in more than 50
prestigiousinstitutionsworldwide.
l MedShr, London
MedShrisasocialmedia-styleplatform
toenablecliniciansandhealthcare
professionals to discuss cases and
medicalimages.Ithas850,000
membersinmorethan190countries.
l Mindmate, Glasgow
An app for those with dementia and
Alzheimer’s,Mindmatewasfoundedby
universitygraduateswhohadexperienceof
caringforthosewiththeconditions.Used
bymorethan1mpeople,itaimstohelp
sufferersstayactive,havesomewhereto
collect their memories and stimulate their
brains.Itreceived$2mfromUSinvestors
in2018.
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
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theirhindlegsoffforfiveyears.Itfeltso
unfair.Ididn’tparticularlylikeinvestment
bankersafterthat.Itfeltlikesellingyour
soul...theyweremakingallthemoney
whileweweredoingallthework.”
TheflotationvaluedPlusNetataround
£35millionandCTOSadlerfound
himselfsweptintoariverofnumbers
alongsideCEOLeeStraffordandCFO
NeilComer.“Whenyou’rebuildinga
businessyouknowthepeopleyou’re
workingwith-eventheirspouse’sand
children’snames,”heexplains.“Following
a period of fast growth, you suddenly
hit200peopleandbegintoforgetsome
ofthosenames.It’simpossibletoknow
everybody.
“Yougetintojustnumbers,then
whenyoufloatyouhaveanumberthat
changeseverysecondofthedayand
itbecomeshypnotic.Youforgetwhat
therealbusinessisabout:employing
He was the
technical whizz
behind PlusNet
but also knows
a thing or two
about running
a business.
DeanSadlerhasbeenthroughstock
marketflotations,tradesalesand
managementbuyouts.Sowhenhewarns
thatthe‘hypnotic’effectofmoney
canblindmanagementtowhatismost
important-thepeoplewithinabusiness
andhavingfun-youknowheisspeaking
fromexperience.
NowCEOofaward-winning
recruitmentdisrupterTribePad,Sadler’s
careerbeganbackin1999whenhe
appliedforajobatForce9Internet.He
wrotetheback-endoperatingsystem
fortheSheffieldcompanywhichwould
rebrandasPlusNetandbetheUK’ssixth-
largestinternetserviceproviderwhenit
floatedontheAIMin2004.
“The process leading up to the IPO
wasexciting,”Sadler,whohailsfrom
Gloucestershire,tellsBusinessCloud.
“It was enticing, the London scene, the
moneyandthefancyoffices.Butthen
yourealisethatsomeoftheguysyou’re
dealingwithhaveearnedmoremoneyin
aweekbyhelpingusfloatthebusiness
thanyourguyshaveearnedbyworking
people,makingsurethey’regotagreat
set of opportunities in front of them and
havingfun.Whenmoneyistheprimary
motivator,youlosealotofthatfun.”
TRADE SALE
WhenBTboughtallPlusNet’ssharesin
2007,thefirmwasworthapproximately
£67m.Despitebeingoperatedasa
standalonebusiness,Straffordand
Comerweresoondismissedbythe
parent company after they were accused
ofplanningtolauncharivalbusiness.
Sadlerhandedinhisnotice.
“Whenyou’rerunningabusinessand
makingthedecisions,Ijustwasn’table
tothensay‘allofthathasmovedoverto
you,MrCorporate-tellmewhattodo
andI’lljump’.It’snotinmyDNA,”hesays.
Atthetimehedescribedtheprocessof
leavingPlusNetasanecessary“divorce”.
Hefoundhimselfinthepubwondering
whattodonext.“OneminuteI’mCTOat
a company which is on the TV and radio
andeverybody’sheardof-andthenext
I’munemployedand,moreimportantly,
unemployable!Nobody’sgoingtorecruit
me:Idon’twearashirtandtie.Itypically
wearflip-flops,”hesays,laughing.
“I said ‘right, I need to do something
becauseI’mmarriedwiththreedaughters
andthey’regoingtospendallmymoney
ifIdon’tdosomethinginthenextcouple
ofyears’.
WE SOLD
OUR SOUL
IN PLUSNET
IPO
Dean Sadler helped to float the
internet service provider and was later
involved in its headline-making trade
sale to BT. Now CEO of Sheffield-based
TribePad, he tells Jonathan Symcox
that running a business should be
about fun rather than money.
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
BIG INTERVIEW
23
@BCLOUDUK
“Threepintsofbeersin,weasked
ourselves‘whatwasthebiggestproblem
wehadatPlusNet?Recruitingpeople.
Let’sdosomethingonrecruitment’.
“Itwasthebeertalking!ButIalways
knewIwantedtostartsomething.”
HURDLES
Sadler was part of the team which
foundedTribePad,aplatformwhich
connectsemployersandjobseekers,in
2008.Howeverduringtheearlymonths
theywerefrustratedbytheirinabilityto
selltheconceptofvideointerviewing“as
thetechwasyettocatchup”.
“There were so many hurdles,” he
reflects.“Afterninemonthsoftrying
tobuildthattechnologyandsellit
wepivotedthebusinessandasked
companieswhattheirpainpointswere.”
Heapproachedsomeoftheworld’s
biggestcompanies,includingUSgiant
Walmart.“Bydoingthatweremained
aboutayearaheadofthecurveinterms
ofbuildingtechnologywhichbusinesses
actuallywanted,”hecontinues.“Wewere
demand-drivenfromthenon:wedidn’t
definewhatweweregoingtobuild;we
weretechnologistssolvingtheproblem
broughttousbythemarket.”
Howeverithasnotallbeenplainsailing
sincethenatTribePad,whichcarriesout
psychometricprofilingofcandidates.
InJuly2016Sadlerandtheboardof
directors led an MBO in order to put in
place a scaling strategy which is now
reapingdividends.“Partofthebusiness
wasownedbysomebodywhohadmaxed
outintermsoftheircapabilitybutalso
theirdesiretomovethebusinessforward
atpace,”Sadlerexplains.“Theywere
moreinterestedinalifestylebusiness
thanagrowthbusiness.Therewasno
animosity: it was a decision that the
individualneededtomakefortheirfamily
andwejusthavetomoveon.”
SCALING STRATEGY
The newly formed management team
doubledtheworkforcewithin12months
and focused on areas which were
previouslynotconsideredapriority.“We
wentfromapurelytechnical-oriented
business,where95percentofour
employeesweresoftwaredevelopers,to
just60percentdevs,”saysSadler.“We
recruited account managers, support
managers,salesandmarketingstaff.We
recruitedgoodpeoplewhocouldmove
thebusinessforwardatafasterpaceand
fillinthegapswehad.”
TribePadhasgoneontoaddanother30
percentstaffandthebusinesshasbeen
growingatabout28percentyear-on-
yearsince,withrevenueinsevenfigures
andfive-figureprofit.Thestaffofaround
40processesoveramillioncandidates
per calendar month for clients including
theBBC,TescoandKFC,whileitserves
clientsin127countriesand17languages.
The company has also now gone
backtoitsrootsbydevelopingvideo
technologywhichiscapableofrecording
theresponsesofintervieweesandalso
readingtheiremotionalreactions.“We
canworkoutyourreadingage,the
grammaticalsyntaxofthewordsyou’re
usingandyourpersonalityprofile–
whetheryou’reextrovertorintrovert,for
example,”saysSadler.“Weknowifyou’re
smiling,frowning,whereyou’relooking
andwhatyou’resayingasyou’redoing
thesethings.
“We’retryingtolookaftertwopeople:
thebusinessownerandthecandidate.By
buildingupawholepictureofsomebody,
wecanfindpeoplewhoseCVswould
beunimpressiveifarecruiterlooked
throughthemfor30seconds[butwho
aretheperfectfitforarole].
“IfyoulookedatmyCV,itwouldbevery
sparse:wenttouni,travelledtheworld,
wenttoPlusNetthenstartedabusiness.
Howeveralotofexperience,skilland
expertisehasbeengathered.Wewantto
findthediamondsintherough.”
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
BIG INTERVIEW
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Whilst we all may dream of overnight
success as business leaders, just like
driving, the faster you do it, the more
difficult it becomes.
Whenyou’redrivingacarat30mph,
youfeelincontrol.Itcornerswellandthe
likelihoodofacatastropheislow.Compare
thattodrivingat130mphandyouhavejust
increasedtherisksofcrashingsignificantly.
Abusinessisverymuchlikeamovingvehicle:
theyaredifficulttomanoeuvreatspeed.
Changingthedirectionofafast-moving
businesscanbetricky.
Thebiggestchallengewhengrowinga
businessispreservingthekeyingredients
thatmadeitspecialinthefirstplace.The
most important and often misunderstood
ofthesecomponentsisculture.Onpage5,
BusinessCloudspeakswithenergycompany
Bulb,whichhashadanextraordinarygrowth
trajectory.
It’ssimpletocreateandkeepapositive
culture in the early years when you are a
smallteam.Start-upsareoftenexciting
environmentsandwitheveryoneinthesame
roomorbuilding,communicationcouldn’t
beeasier.AteverystageofUKFast’sgrowth,
people told me that the challenge was to
maintainthatculture.WhenIlookatUKFast
now,itisclearjusthowimportantourculture
isandtheroleitplaysinoursuccess.It’s
ourculturethatmakesuswhoandwhatwe
aretoday.Itstartedbyaccident20years
ago.Wewererecruitingpeopleonattitude
aswehadlimitedknowledgeofwhatskills
weweregoingtorequire!Ironicallyitwas
thebestthingwecouldeverhavedoneand
it’ssomethingstillattheheartofallour
recruitmenttoday.
Thoseearlyteam-mates,Gail,Neil,Rich,
myselfincluded,whilstalittleolder(and
hopefullywiser)wearetheguardiansand
custodiansofourculture.Whilstmany
people still tell us we are doing it wrong and
thatweshouldhirewithafocusonskills,I’d
saywedothingsalittledifferently.
Skillscanbetaught,butcultureand
creatinganenvironmentwhereeveryone
fitsinandenjoyscomingtoworkhastoplay
asignificantroleinhowwehire.Atitsmost
simple,culturecomesdowntorecruitment.
Who you employ has to add to the culture,
ratherthandilutingit.It’ssomethingthatwe
alltakeincrediblyseriously.Ourrecruitment
process includes psychometric testing which
givesusapictureofhowapersonwouldfit
withtheexistingcultureofthebusiness,as
wellaslearnanddevelop.It’safascinating
toolthathelpsustobuildonthestrengthsof
ourpeopleandsteersusawayfromdilutingit.
That’snottosaythatit’sallbeenplain
sailing.We’vemademistakesandit’susually
whenwearetryingtoexpandatspeed.We’ve
definitelyfallenfoulofgrowingtooquicklyat
times.Weonce,manyyearsago,outsourced
ourrecruitmenttobringinalargegroupof
newrecruitsveryquickly.Whilstitwasagreat
ideainprincipal,itdidn’tworkatall.We’d
unwittingly changed a winning formula and
outsourced an integral function of what made
uswhoweare.Notonesinglepersonfrom
thatintakeiswithustoday,fiveyearson.It
wasacostlymistake.Ontheonehanditwas
an unmitigated disaster, on the other hand
itprovedthatourprocessworksandwe’ve
stucktoitlikeglueeversince.
Culturecannotsolelybewordsonthe
officewall,dreamtupbytheCEOoreven
worsethemarketingdepartment.Your
colleaguesarewaytoosavvytofallforthat
andtheyneedtobeinvolvedinformingthe
cultureyouagreeupon.Onceyouhaveit,you
needtoeat,liveandbreatheyourculture.
People are smart and if one of your core
valuesisKINDandyouknowthatpeoplein
yourbusinessareoccasionallyabruptwith
customers,youwon’tjustlosethecustomer,
youwillloseyourteam-matestoo.
Brandsarebuiltonwhoweare,whatwe
believeinandhowwemakepeoplefeel.Ifyou
wanttohavethebestcustomerservicein
your industry, you need a culture of nurturing,
supportivepeoplewhogenuinelycarefor
thosearoundthem.Itiscommonsense,but
somethingfewbusinessownersexecutewell.
So if you want to accelerate fast, get your
cultureright.Therearemorefailuresin
businessthansuccessesandIdon’tknowone
thatnailsitsculturebutfailselsewhere.The
twogohandinhand.
Sohowdoyoubuildyourculture?Think
aboutwhatyouwanttoachieve,your“why”
asSimonSinekcallsit.What’stheultimate
reasonyoudowhatyoudo?Whyhaveyou
chosenthebusinessyouarecurrentlyin?
Writedownthevaluesthatareimportant
toyou.Geteveryonetodothisinthe
businessandtheninvolvetheminaprocess
ofelimination.Distilitdowntojustfourorfive
‘corevalues’-thosethatresonatewithand
exciteeveryone.
I’ddefinitelyrecommendSimonSinekand
JimCollinsastworeferencepointsforthis
exercisetokickstartyourprocess.
Lawrence Jones
MBE is the
co-founder and
CEO of managed
hosting and cloud
firm UKFast. In
his latest column
he looks at
maintaining culture
in a fast-growing
business.
The Culture Club
COLUMN: LAWRENCE JONES MBE
www.lawrencejones.co.uk/
/LawrenceJonesCEOUKFast
lawrencejonesmbe
@lawrence_jones
@BCLOUDUK
25
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
26
BUSINESSCLOUD.CO.UK
There’s one
photo from Gary
Parkinson’s
football career
that has pride of
place in his house.
Takenin1994,itshowshimholdingthe
DivisionTwoplay-offtrophyaloftat
WembleywithhisbestmateDavidEyres
aftertheirgoalshadsecuredafamous2-1
winforBurnleyagainstStockportCounty.
Fast forward 25 years and the two pals
arereminiscingaboutwhatwasprobably
the greatest day of their careers in the
kitchenofParkinson’simmaculatelytidy
homeinBolton.“ItwastheworstgoalI’ve
everseentowinagamebutprobablythe
mostimportant,”ishowEyresdescribes
hisformerteam-mate’sdeflectedstrike.
Forasplitsecondit’sjustlikethe
CAN TECHNOLOGY
UNLOCK EX-
FOOTBALLER’S
CONDITION?
FormerMiddlesbrough,BurnleyandPrestondefenderGaryParkinsonisunabletomoveortalkaftera
strokein2010lefthimwithlocked-insyndrome.Hisfamilyhopetechnologymayfindthesolution.
ChrisMaguirereports.
olddays–butsomethingisdifferent.
Parkinsonsufferedalife-changingstroke
in2010thatnearlyclaimedhislife.
Diagnosedwitharareconditioncalled
locked-insyndrome,he’sunabletomove
ortalkbutiscompletelyawareofwhat’s
goingonaroundhim.Hecommunicates
byblinkinghiseyesandusingapieceof
eye-trackingtechnologycalledTobii.
HisdevotedwifeDeborah,whohas
beenhischildhoodsweetheartsince
meetinginMiddlesbroughattheage
of16,ishopingadvancesintechnology
mayfindthesolutionforthecondition.
“Medical science is changing all the time,”
saysthemother-of-three.“Researchis
beingdone.Whoknowswhetheritwillbe
inGary’slifetime–butIbelievetherewill
besomethingoutthere.Garyhasnever
givenuponanything.”
Herfamily’slifechangedforeverone
TuesdayinSeptember2010.Herhusband
was42andworkingasayouthteam
coachatBlackpoolFCwithaspirationsof
onedaybeingamanager.Deborahrecalls
howherhusbandhadbeenhisnormalself
whenhereturnedfromworkandthepair
enjoyedaglassofredwineeachbefore
goingtobed.“Intheearlyhoursofthe
morningGarysaidhehadaheadache.
Heaskedforsomepainkillers.Iwent
downstairsforaglassofwaterandbythe
timeIgotbackupstairsIcouldseethe
coordination had gone from his face and
hishands.”
He also struggled to open his eyes so
at6amshecalledanambulance.“Ididn’t
suspecthe’dhadastroke.Ithoughthe’d
hadareactiontosomething.”
Parkinsonwasabletowalktothe
ambulance,whichtookhimtoRoyal
BoltonHospital.Initiallyitwasthought
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
BIG INTERVIEW
27
@BCLOUDUK
GarywithwifeDeborah.
Parkinson,right,withEyresatWembley.
heonlyhadanearinfection.“Helosthis
feeling in his left side and that was when
Iknewitwassomethingmoreserious,”
saysDeborah.Shewenthometopick
upsomepossessionsandcheckonher
childrenastheirsonLuke,then17,was
lookingafterhisyoungersistersChloe
andSophie.Bythetimeshereturnedto
thehospitalanhourlaterherhusband’s
conditionhadtakenadramaticturnfor
theworse.“He’dbeentakentointensive
care and was induced into a coma and
wasonlifesupport,”shesays.“Hewasso
gravelyillhewasgivenlastritestwice.”
DIAGNOSIS
Ittookthreescansbeforehewas
diagnosedwithhavinghadastroke–but
thenewsgotevenworse.Whenhewas
takenoffoneofthemachines,hisbody
wascompletelyunresponsiveandhewas
foundtohavelocked-insyndrome–a
rare neurological disorder which causes
completeparalysisofallvoluntary
musclesexceptfortheonesthatcontrol
themovementsoftheeyes.
Deborahsaystheeasiestwayto
describelocked-insyndromeisto
imagineallthenervesarewires,travelling
upthespinetothebrainandthengoing
offindifferentdirectionstocontrol
movement.Thestrokedamagesthe
brainstemandpreventsmessages
gettingtothebrain.Herhusbandalso
hasatracheotomytoassisthisbreathing
andisfedthroughhisstomach.“Weknow
peoplewhohavecomeoutoflocked-in
syndrome,”saysDeborah,althoughshe
acceptstheoddsaren’tencouraging.“If
youlookinthemedicalbooksitsays2-3
monthslifeexpectancy.Herewearemore
thaneightyearslater.”
IntotalParkinsonspenttwoyearsin
hospitalbutwasabletoleaveafterhis
housewasspeciallyadapted.“Itwas
difficultforGarytocometotermswith,”
admitshiswife,wholooksafterhim
alongsideateamofdedicatedcarers.“He
worriedabouteverybodyelse.Hewanted
everybodyelsetobehappy.”
Garycommunicatesthroughblinking.
“Hiseyeslookupfora‘yes’anddownfor
a‘no’,”shesays.“Hewillblinkhiseyesto
indicatehewantstotellussomething.”
Garybuildsupwords,oneletteratatime,
byblinkingacertainnumberoftimesto
indicateeachletter.
Parkinson,whoisakeenhorseracing
fan, also uses a sophisticated piece of
eye-trackingtechnologycalledTobii.
“Garyusesapieceofequipmentcalled
abrainfinger,”explainsDeborah.“It’sa
bitlikeaheadbandthatstrapsontohis
headandithadlittleprobesanditcan
pickupmuscleandfacialmovement.Gary
willtwitchhismouthanditwillmovethe
cursoronthescreen.It’samazingbut
Garygetsfrustratedwithit.”
Parkinsonbeganhiscareerasan
apprenticeatEvertonin1985but
wasbestknownforhisspellsat
Middlesbrough,Burnley,PrestonNorth
EndandBlackpool,beforeacruciate
ligamentinjuryforcedhimtoretirein
hisearly30s.“Asaplayerthereprobably
wasn’tabetterstrikeroftheballwithhis
rightfoot,”ishowEyresdescribesthe
defender.
Hehasaclosenetworkofformer
footballerfriendswhovisithim,including
BernieSlaven,exEvertonandManchester
UnitedmanagerDavidMoyes,Lee
Turnbull,EyresandcurrentBlackburn
managerTonyMowbray.Eyres,whocalls
hisformerteam-mate‘TweetiePie’on
accountofhisblondhairinhisyouth,isa
regularandwelcomevisitor.
“Garyusedtocallme‘BigEars’,”he
recalls.“Assoonassomebodyshouted
‘BigEars’IknewitwasParky.”
Despitetheirfriendship,thetwowere
ultra-competitivewhentheycameup
against each other later in their career,
playingforOldhamandBlackpool
respectively.“Hewasoneofmymates
andhesaid‘I’mgoingtokickyouBig
Ears’,”recallsEyreswithasmile.
FIGHTER
IaskParkinsonifitfeelslikebeingbackin
the changing room when his old Burnley
team-mateturnsup.Hiseyeslookupto
indicateyes.“HasDavidgotanyfunnier?”
Iask.Garylooksdowntoindicate‘no’.Of
thestroke,Eyressays:“Garyhasalways
beenafighter.”
Deborahsaysthefootballworld
couldn’thavebeenanynicerandpraises
theroleoftheProfessionalFootballers’
Association and especially its chief
executiveGordonTaylor,whocameto
seeherhusbandsoonafterhisstroke.
“Theyhavebeenverysupportive,”says
Deborah.“GordonsendsaChristmas
cardtoGaryeveryyear.”
AgainstalltheoddsParkinsonrecently
celebratedhis50thbirthdayandlikes
spendingtimewithhischildrenLuke,26,
Chloe,22,andSophie15.Lukerunsthe
GaryParkinsonTrustTwitteraccount@
GaryParkyTrust.
Deborahisaremarkablepersonbutis
quicktodownplayherselflessness.She
saysthe‘loveofGary’andherfamilykeep
hergoingbutadmitsthatfundingextra
serviceslikeherhusband’sweeklytripto
thehydrotherapypoolandshortbreaks
tospecialdisabled-friendlycottagesnear
BlackpoolatBrickhouseFarm,aredifficult
butessential.
Fornow,she’shopingthattechnology
canunlockherhusband’scondition.
“If you look in the medical books
it says 2-3 months life expectancy.
Here we are more than eight years
later.”
Deborah Parkinson
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
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Changing the way
businesses buy and
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A LABOUR
OF LOVE
HannahFeldmanbuiltupfamilyleisureplatform
Kidadlwhilepregnantthennursinghernewbornbaby.
AformercolleagueofDragons’DenstarJamesCaan
CBE, the London entrepreneur draws comparisons
betweenmotherhoodandentrepreneurshipin
conversationwithJonathanSymcox.
Most
entrepreneurs
would agree that
building a business
is incredibly
difficult.
Addingchildrenintothemixcanfurther
complicate the process – yet the story of
entrepreneurHannahFeldmantakesthis
narrativetosomethingofanextreme.
Alreadyamothertothree-year-old
twins–nowagedsix–shediscoveredshe
waspregnantjustweeksafterfounding
family leisure platform Kidadl in London
withSophieOrman.
Feldman’sbackgroundwasinlawand
corporatefinanceandshealsoworked
closely with recruitment entrepreneur
andformerDragons’DenstarJames
CaanCBEonhisinvestmentdealflowat
HamiltonBradshaw.
Havinglongharbouredanambitionto
startherownbusiness,shewasn’tgoing
to let the prospect of another child throw
heroffcourse.“IfoundoutIwaspregnant
eightweeksafterIquitmyjob,”shetells
BusinessCloud.
“Beingverycandid,I’dhadIVFforthe
twinssoitwasn’tinanywayalikelihood
thatthiswouldhappen!I’dchangedmy
mindset,knowingIwasgoingtostarta
business,somaybeeverythingrelaxed...
“I felt so ill that I went to see the
doctor,whotoldmeIwaspregnant.For
onceinmylife,Iwasspeechless!Itwas
anincrediblemiracle,andanincredible
surprise.
“I went straight to see Sophie and she
said‘that’sgreat-you’rethepostergirl
forthebusiness!’”
Therewerenovisiblerolemodelsfor
Feldman to follow and she is pleased that
pregnancyisnowenteringthenarrative
aroundstart-upbusinesses.“Westarted
ourpre-seedfundraisethreemonths
later.Ihadalargepashminaandabig
smile!Itwasn’t‘wearalycradressand
talkaboutmybump’–itwasn’treally
discussed.Iwasjustawomanwhowas
pregnantwhowasfundraising.
“Pregnancy is not a challenge unless
you’reoneoftheunfortunatewomen
whohaveterriblesickness.You’rejust
aliveandpregnant.Itmakesnodifference
toyourmentalcapacity.
“I did the entire fundraise for the
businesspregnantandIclosedthe
moneywithanewborn.”
COMMITMENT
Shesaysbuildingacommunityof120,000
parents in the capital – who use the Kidadl
platformtodiscoverandbookfamilydays
out – demanded a similar commitment to
thatofraisingachild.
“It’sevenworsewhenyou’rewalking
aroundLondonwithabreastpump,let
metellyou!Youhaveatinybabywhose
life is dependent on you – if you choose
tobreastfeed–andyetyouhavea
businesswhichabsolutelyisthesame
responsibilityashavingachild.
“Youcan’tleaveithangingonacliff:you
havetotryandjuggletheballsandmakea
meaningfuloutcomefromthesituation.”
Havingstartedhercareeratlawfirm
Linklaters,Feldmanspentfiveyears
asaninvestmentbankeratUBSwhere
she managed the personal money and
tradingportfoliosofseveraloftheUK
andEurope’stopbusinesspeople.She
describesgettingtoknowtheirstoriesas
“anexcitingtime”.
HoweveritwasafterjoiningCaanat
Hamilton Bradshaw that the dormant
seedofherdesiretobuildherown
businessbegantogerminate.“Jameswas
fantasticandcompletelyinspirational.
Everydayyouwouldseethecoalfaceof
businessthatIhadneverseeninprior
roles,”shereveals.
“He’sacompletestrategicthinkerand
is always a few steps ahead when it comes
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
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BUSINESSCLOUD.CO.UK
tomappingoutadeal.
“Heinvolvedmeineverythingatboard
level,soIgothugeexposuretothekinds
ofdealsthatwerebeingdone.Heinspired
metothinkitwassomethingIcould
legitimatelypursue.I’dseenfirst-hand
howaddictiveitistobuildsomethingthat
doesn’texist.
“I’vewantedtobeanentrepreneur
sinceIwasateenagerbutIdidn’thavethe
confidencetopursueapathsodifferent
to my peers until I got older and realised
youjusthavetotaketheleap.Nooneis
going to tap you on the shoulder and say
‘goandbeanentrepreneurtoday’–you
havetodecidethatthisopportunityin
frontofyouistoogreattopassup.
“Youhavetobehappytotakeallthe
painthatgoeswiththat,andsacrificein
income and a degree of comfort in your
life,becauseyou’resocompelledtogo
anddoit.”
In the meantime Feldman was
appointed head of strategic partnerships
atCaan’sportfoliocompanyBluebox
CorporateFinanceGroup.Sheturned
downthreeofferstoco-foundstart-
ups in those years as she did not feel
passionateenoughabouttheproblems
theysoughttosolve.“IfIwasgoingto
quitmyjobandpursuesomething,ithad
topullatmyheart-strings.”
COMMON PROBLEM
When she met Orman, who had
previouslybuiltandscaledglobalevents
businessSMiGroup,sherealisedthey
sharedacommonproblem:finding
affordableandage-appropriateactivities
forfamilydaysout.Theydecidedtotake
theplungetogether.
“Sophie had an older child who was ten
yearsofageandalsohadthisproblem,”
saysFeldman.“Ithinkit’saricher
tapestry of life to see the world through
yourkids’eyesandtogetoutandexplore
lifeasafamily.
“Ididn’tthinkthattechnologyoffered
methetoolstodothat.Ithelpedmeto
getmyshirtlaundered,domybanking,
networkwithmyfriends-butitdidn’t
offermetechattherightsophistication
tohelpwiththemostimportantjobofall,
which is raising my children and getting
outandmakingthekindofmemoriesthat
childhoodisallabout.”
Asafathertotwoboyswhoareof
similaragetoFeldman’stwins,Ihaveto
agree.AtweekendsItendtofallbackon
establishedactivitiessuchasmoorland
walksandvisitstocastleruins,which
palebycomparisonwiththefancydress
sleepoveronaTudorboatsherecently
triedoutwithherkids.
“Iwasabsolutelyinthemidstofthe
pain point which continues as your
childrengrowandevolve:PeppaPigand
PawPatrolsoongivewaytoLaserQuest
andbowling,thenadventuresportsand
canoeing.It’samoveablefeast,”she
says.“Mykidshaven’tstoppedtalking
aboutthesleepover.Therewereanimals
on the ship and they were taught how to
fireacannon!Itbroughtthatwholeperiod
ofhistorytolife.”
HOUSEHOLD NAMES
Kidadlworkswithhouseholdnameslike
DisneyonIceandWembleyaswellas
topLondontheatresandattractions.
It will now launch its Android, iOS and
webplatformsglobally.Formerlong-
timeEurostarcommercialdirectorNick
Mercer, who was also part of the founding
teamatAirMiles,recentlyjoinedasa
non-executivedirector.
“We’vegrownexponentiallywith
prettymuchzeromarketingspendas
parentstellotherparentsaboutus,”
saysFeldman.“Youhavesomeboroughs
whereyouhavealmosteveryparent
usingtheproduct.Wewantthattogo
outacrosseveryLondonboroughand
GreaterLondonboroughinrequisite
depth.
“Thenwe’llgointokeyhubsthathave
the right concentration of parents who
canconsumeandenjoytheinventory
weekin,weekout,inadditionto
touristswhoarelookingforthekindof
experiencestolivelikealocal.It’sthat
blendthatmakesacityaKidadlcity.
“Wewantedlastyeartobetheone
wherewebuiltandlaunchedtheproduct
andthisyeartobetheonewherewetake
ittoscale.Wearenowingrowthmode
movingthebusinesstowardsaSeriesA.
Parentstheworldoverwantbettertools
togetoutandaboutwiththeirkids.”
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
BUSINESSCLOUD EDITION14,Q22019
30
“No one is going to tap you on
the shoulder and say ‘go and be an
entrepreneur today’ – you have
to decide that this opportunity in
front of you is too great to pass up.
You have to be happy to take all
the pain that goes with that, and
sacrifice in income and a degree of
comfort in your life, because you’re
so compelled to go and do it.”
Hannah Feldman