southern tech 100
Future stars competition Winner
Gold-i
In 2009, after a 20-year career in senior technology roles in the City, latterly at an online foreign exchange ‘FX’ broker, Tom Higgins set up Gold-i, based in Guildford. His aim was to create the market-leading technology specialist for the global retail FX sector.
“Every time I thought we were sailing towards the J-curve of rising revenues ... every time I thought we’d cracked it, something else happened to bring us back down to earth again.”
There have been enormous changes in the industry since Gold-i started trading. Higgins cites ever-changing regulation as one example of the uncertainties which constantly assail the industry. This makes it essential to avoid complacency, since “there is always something lurking around the corner which can bite you.
“Being self-funded focuses the mind somewhat – you’re the one risking everything.”
Tom Higgins and the team at Gold-i
With no outside investment, Gold-i has always had to be extremely cautious and prudent regarding its business operations and any expansion plans.
“The first five years were more about survival, about being reactive rather than proactive.”
Higgins recalls that it was difficult to have a strategic outlook for Gold-i while the business was still establishing itself. However, since joining a mentoring group of fellow CEOs, Higgins has come to appreciate the value of having a longer-
SOUTHERN TECH 100
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term vision, both for his continuing personal development and for that of the Gold-i employees:
“Obviously the longer-term the vision, the less clarity there will be … but it’s vital for Gold-i’s staff to feel engaged with the company’s future direction.”
Consequently, Gold-i now has strategic plans in place for two to five years, which are reviewed every other month at Gold-i’s board meetings. This ensures that the day-to-day needs of the company are balanced with the laying down of foundations for a solid future.
Finalists AuDeo Systems
Based in Basingstoke, Audeo was established in 2004 as a reseller of video conferencing and related technology, before embarking upon a major strategic change in 2014 which revolutionised its business.
Kevin Wilson, managing director, AuDeo Systems, said: “We’d been pottering along for about 10 years, trying to generate growth, but it was hard work – the conferencing technology was often difficult to scale, unreliable, and not at all user-friendly.”
That same year, AuDeo broke from Polycom, a major US vendor, and partnered up with a new entrepreneurial UK vendor called Starleaf, which specialised in cloud video conferencing technology.
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The results were astonishing. In less than two years, AuDeo had:
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Recouped all the business previously abandoned post-Polycom;
Doubled its turnover in 2016;
• Targeted a further doubling in turnover for 2017 and 2018.
While these figures may already appear impressive, Wilson is ambitious and confident of further success, citing market research which predicts that the unified business communications market will increase from $8 billion in 2016 to $80b by 2022.
Ancoris
Founded in 2003 and based in Bracknell, Ancoris has been a cloud services provider, partnering with Google Cloud since 2009, and specialising in building web and mobile solutions to allow companies to harness the efficiency of cloud-based solutions.
David McLeman, managing director, Ancoris, said: “The banking crisis in 2008/9 forced us to re-evaluate our strategy; we became an early adopter of cloud computing and haven’t looked back since.”
Since 2012, the business usage of cloud computing has accelerated out of all proportion, driven by advancements in technology and investment by companies, such as Google, in the development of cloud platforms. Ancoris’ role has been to help companies introduce new ways of working enabled by the cloud, helping employees to become more agile and effective.
Ancoris’s revenues have grown by 32% annually since July 2011, and for the 2016/17 financial year (which ends in July), it is already on track for well over 50% revenue growth. With a strong sales pipeline, Ancoris now confidently expects in excess of 30% annual growth for the foreseeable future.
For a fuller article visit
businessmag.co.uk 50
businessmag.co.uk THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – APRIL 2017
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