Travelling the same journey

May 26 2008 by Iain Laing, The Journal

We have brought together two entrepreneurs in the technology world, one starting out and one in a large and growing business, to ask each other five questions.

FORMER architect Sarah Taylor, 26, runs Urban Digger from Northumbria University’s Hatchery, with business partner Chris Gifford, 24. Their web business offers first person advice on a range of European cities to travellers to give them an insiders’ guide to visiting, eating, living or working there.

Entrepreneur Graeme Lowdown launched Nomad Digital in 2002. It is a pioneering technology firm that uses the latest wireless developments to provide high speed data access on trains. Already it has its technology installed in North America, South Korea, Holland and the UK on Heathrow Express and Brighton Express.

Sarah Asks Graeme

1. Where did you look for mentoring and financial backing when you started your business?

After working for a large multi-national engineering firm for many years I had a burning desire that kept me awake at night to start my own business. You really must have this passion; you really must want to do it if you are to succeed in your business.

So I left a very good job in Switzerland and came back to the North East to set up my first company called ‘Industry Online’. Sitting at an empty desk on day one I turned to friends I knew already running their own company, selling organic baby food of all things, and asked them for some advice on getting started. I eventually got venture capital funding from the same investor that helped their business and they introduced me to a very good accountant and lawyer, which is invaluable.

2. Did you have problems and how did you tackle them?

We had stacks! Our company mantra is ‘every day we hope for a better class of problem!’

When we started Nomad we faced problems in the first few days that could have killed the business, but that’s what being in business is all about – problem solving. You should always expect problems, and anticipate they will happen when you least expect it!

3. How do you differentiate your business model from your competitors and stay ahead in such a high growth market?

There wasn’t a market for our services before Nomad got into it, so we were a market leader from day one! We were creating and satisfying a market demand at the same time.

The benefit that gives us is a time lead on any competition, we can create and patent our technology early. We are an intellectual property and technology-led firm.

4. How do you envisage the future for wireless technologies?

It’s an exciting future; the speed of technology developments is rapid and the applications for wireless technology are endless.

For example battery technology is changing, so mobile devices are becoming more versatile. All sorts of objects will soon be able to talk to each other using wireless technology, we are already seeing it with cardboard boxes in supermarkets that can be tracked using wireless technology.

But we will face more regulation and need to influence the pace of regulatory changes, but by being in constant contact with the likes of Ofcom, hopefully we will be at the forefront of it.

5. What are your plans to roll out the business model and expand internationally and how will you find the right people to work with you?

Getting the right people is the most important thing you can do. When you get a geographic shift, that can become harder to manage, as different cultures come into play.

Nomad has gained a great deal of advice from the Entrepreneurs’ Forum and its equivalent in Scotland, The Entrepreneurial Exchange, and when we opened an office in Beijing a year ago we used these contacts to help us find a good person there.

I would advise you to find people who have experience in the markets that you are looking to enter for help. It is difficult enough to recruit in your home territory so use ‘on the ground’ help when recruiting abroad. I would also say retaining staff through something like an employee share option scheme is a great way to develop your business when it is young.

Graeme Asks Sarah

1. What has been the biggest challenge in setting up your business?

Finding the right kind of advice – we were approached by a lot of enterprise agencies when we first started up, some of which were excellent such as The Prince’s Trust that gave us a small loan and mentoring support. Others tried to shoehorn us into working with suppliers that just didn’t fit our needs, and held up our progress to be honest.

We found the Entrepreneurs’ Forum later down the line, but the advice we now get for free direct from their members who are other business owners is great.

2. How did you go about identifying a market opportunity?

I spent a lot of time travelling whilst at university, and found friends would often ask me for tips on where to go for meals, accommodation or good entertainment when they travelled abroad.

I did some market research into how much people researched their destinations before they set off, and made some excellent contacts of locals who provide insider information on the city they inhabit.

The growth of social media websites has been astronomical. We soon spotted there was an opportunity for a My Space or Facebook -style web community dedicated to travel.

3. Has being based in the North East been an advantage or disadvantage in building your business?

A huge advantage. Newcastle is fast becoming seen as a great place to live and do business. It’s exciting to be part of a place where economic success is growing.

The Hatchery at Northumbria University has been vital to our business getting off the ground, giving us free office space, phones and internet access. The North East is not too big and business networks are close and easy to get into.

4. How do you view the future of the internet?

There are a lot of exciting developments with Web 2.0 and the adoption of social media spreading like wildfire. Web 2.0 within mobile communications is a new way forward, and the application has been affordable for us to embrace.

Challenges we will face are the breakneck speed in which opportunities present themselves, and the rapid pace we need to react to keep ahead of the game.

5. What would have been the biggest help to you in founding your business?

Help in finding sources of finance. Banks saw us as young, and being a ‘dotcom’ company a high risk proposition. We had to rely on the ‘friends, family and fools’ option to get off the ground financially.

That meant we had no financial safety net, except that we are young and we can always try again. You can’t let fear of failure hold you back though, and we are confident we have a great business that could be the next big thing.

Head to Head is run in conjunction with The Entrepreneurs’ Forum – a membership organisation that brings together business owners at all stages of their journey to share experiences, knowledge and support.

The Forum runs a series of events throughout the year around the region.

They also run a mentoring programme to help people running growth businesses benefit from the wisdom of more established entrepreneurs. For more details go to www.entrepreneursforum.net