FEATURE Pragmatiq
Co-founders celebrating five years in business
In 2017, Stuart Goldwater and Jamie Evans founded Pragmatiq, a Microsoft Gold Partner based in Milton Keynes. In recent weeks, the company has celebrated its fi fth anniversary, alongside winning Employer of the Year at a regional business awards. In the following interview, Stuart and Jamie shed light on what running a business has been like so far, and what’s next for Pragmatiq…
What prompted you to start the business? Jamie: I was already working in the IT industry and the company I was previously working at was implementing Microsoft Dynamics across the entire business. I recognised the strength of the platform and witnessed fi rst-hand at conferences what Microsoft’s vision was. I saw potential in this and knew it was an opportunity to take the leap and build a business.
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Stuart: I had just come out of a 12-year career in recruitment, and wanted a change from the corporate world, alongside the opportunity to experience a diff erent industry. One day, Jamie (my good friend and now business partner) was telling me about Microsoft Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform, and how much the technology was progressing. We had both been interested in starting our own businesses and
saw an opportunity to do so in this space. We were confi dent that we could do so in a slightly diff erent way to those we saw in the market- place, putting a real focus on people, culture and quality.
Has running a business been like you expected? Stuart: Absolutely not. I think when starting your own business, you have preconceptions of what this will be like, but the likelihood is that it’s going to be very diff erent. T ere will be problems and challenges that you couldn’t have foreseen, alongside successes and really great moments that you didn’t necessarily think would happen. Jamie: I really didn’t know what to expect when starting the business, I guess you could say I was pretty naïve. I always knew that getting the sales side going and winning those fi rst few clients was going to be tough, but it was a lot tougher than I anticipated initially. Once we got momentum with that, things became easier in that area, but then the challenges came up in other key areas, such as hiring the right talent, structuring the team, etc.
What are you most proud of achieving over the last five years? Stuart: We’ve had lots of successes and milestones over the last fi ve years, which is important when you’re starting and growing a business. But the thing that undoubtedly gets me most excited and I’m most
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