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Great community and an established network [Newcastle Journal (England)](Newcastle Journal (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WE'RE always being told that now is the time to be an entrepreneur. Whether we're being nudged by David Cameron or poked by Dragons' Den, there's a recognition that strong communities aren't just built by governments or large companies, but also smaller dreams that have the potential to become big. It may not be on everyone's radar yet, but that's what the North East tech sector has been doing for a few years now. 1 It's been said that the North East is home to more new technology startups than anywhere in the UK outside of London. Whether that's true or not, there's certainly a community of talented people here that are thinking nationally and internationally as well as locally. "It's a great community, and there's an established network here," said Paul Rawlings, founder of interactive technology firm Screach. Rawlings moved from the North West to take part in the first Difference Engine, a digital accelerator designed to give start-ups a boost with a 13-week intensive programme of mentoring and development. He stayed in Newcastle in 2011 to form his company, which allowed users to interact with digital screens using their smartphones. The company recently raised Pounds 1.6m for the UK rollout of ScreachTV, an entertainment network which allows pubs and venues to create their own personalised interactive channel with ads, social media and news feeds, and interactive games. "I think promoting the region is important," he said. "We've got successful companies here like Sage and Eutechnyx. It's an interesting area, and we need to shout about it." Some of this growth has been sparked by investment. The Pounds 125m Finance for Business North East programme was introduced by the European Regional Development Fund and the European Investment Bank with a plan to support 850 businesses and create more than 5,000 jobs. Venture capital firm Northstar Ventures manages two of the programme's seven funds. Investment manager Dr Stephen Price said: "The funds have been massively impactful for the region, particularly in the software space. "They've been important in stimulating demand, and attracting businesses that might not otherwise have looked at the region. We see a tremendous level of appetite for these types of businesses, where the underlying value proposition is driven by technology. "We make investments in businesses that can quickly demonstrate their plan has legs, and one of our great strengths as a team is to work with people, support them and identify any weaknesses." Another great thing about digital is that you don't need a huge team to make a splash. Run out of Boldon by a team of three, ShareMyPlaylists is attracting 1.5 million users a month by allowing them to create and listen to playlists of tracks on digital music streaming service Spotify. "Location was never an issue for us," said CEO Kieron Donoghue. "It was about creating a service there was a need for. Once it was out there, people spread the word virally." ShareMyPlaylists has developed a close relationship with Spotify. It was one of the first apps on Spotify's app platform in 2011, was involved with its Music Hack Day in Stockholm, and recently set up SMPapps to act as a development studio for Spotify apps. Its latest release is a comedy app to find good stand-up on the platform. "Our biggest territory is still the USA, which accounts for around 40% of our usage. They're used to streaming and subscription services like Netflix. However, we get users all over the world. "When complete strangers tweet you about your playlist from all over the world, that gives you huge satisfaction." A regional start-up community can often be accused of being insular, but many of these businesses are looking beyond the North East borders. Mobile group messaging start-up Palringo doesn't get a huge amount of press, but the Cramlington company's application has been downloaded over 22 million times and is hugely popular in places such as Saudi Arabia, Syria and Indonesia. It opened an international office in Dubai earlier this year, and boasts over 300,000 groups where people can chat about everything from news to sport and dinner plans. "The nature of the digital industry is that it's an industry that's born global," said UKTI international trade adviser John Holmes-Carrington. "The moment you put something on the internet you're a global player, and we're encouraging companies to have a strategy to manage that right from the start. "The strength of the North East is that people do think internationally. "There's a huge ambition to take what's made here and make it available worldwide. "You don't have a physical product in digital and there aren't the same difficulties with shipping and logistics. The opportunities are there, and people need to get out there and take them." Companies are also attracting the attention of international buyers and investors, as well as clients. Tim Allison and Mark Hill launched Cupple in 2011 to allow couples to share messages and images in a private app. Despite working on a fraction of the budget of its rivals, it held its own and ended up being acquired by rival Pair for an undisclosed sum in February. Online advertising platform Addiply - which allows website owners to fill their space with relevant and often local advertisers - secured an investment round which included Tokyo-based Power Technology Inc. Dubai-based online advertising firm Clicksco invested in Thap back early last year, and was so impressed that it ended up acquiring the company just before Christmas. Thap creates tailored software that can't just be bought off a shelf, and has worked with sectors including oil and gas. "We're responsible for a lot of their back-end systems now, and things they do day-to-day," said chief creative officer Graham Morley. "Our director Tom Howsam goes over there every three weeks or so to meet with the team and catch up with what's going on, but otherwise we just communicate using project management software. "They saw some of the work we'd done and were impressed, but they were also interested in how we'd built the culture of the business." Thap operates on a four-day week, giving staff the chance to devote Fridays to their own side projects, events and personal development. It also devotes the last Thursday of the month to presentations by staff on things they've found interesting, and holds sessions to talk openly about any problems. "The culture in the region's start-up sector is very similar to the culture we want to have at Thap," said Morley. "There's a lot of buzz around the software industry, and real innovation. You feel like you can get things done quickly down here, put things in front of people and get feedback. "I lived out in Boulder in the USA for a little while, and there was a huge buzz around start-ups out there. It'd be great to re- produce that over here." The strength of the North East is that people do think internationally (c) 2013 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |