When I was working for a law firm, I represented a lot of venture capital firms, start-ups, and big multinationals. This made me realize two things: first, that I wanted to become an entrepreneur, and second, that I was really frustrated that lawyers didn’t have good technology at their disposal to do their jobs better. My idea was that if you could train a computer to understand the language of lawyers—to understand legalese—you could have a very big impact on the industry.
Seven Hills was founded on the belief that business should act as a force for positive change in society. My business partner, Nick Giles, and I founded our campaigns business because we wanted to back disruptive companies and leaders who are dedicated to improving people’s lives. We call them the Changemakers.
Never did I imagine my search online for a squash court would result in running a global software company. About 10 years ago I was searching online for a squash court near my house and found it virtually impossible to find any information on Google. When I finally found details of a court, they couldn’t take bookings or payments online, or even over the phone; you had to turn up in person to book and pay, to go away, and then to come back another time to play. As you can imagine this was extremely frustrating and I knew there had to be a better way, especially when the UK was bidding for the Olympics and trying to make it “easier for people to engage in sports”.
First thing would be to tell my younger me “Don’t Be So Sensitive!!!” When I was young, I took to heart what people said, thought, did and dwelled on it way to long, often to my detriment. I went to school at a tough Comprehensive school in Lowestoft, where my Dad taught. Got bullied, didn’t do as well as I could have, kind of internalised it. On the day of my last A Level, at 4pm I cycled overnight to Cowes, around 170 miles via Oxford with just some glucose bars. Soon as I’d escaped the bad un’s and naysayers, teaching sailing at the NSC in Cowes, with amazing talent and friends, I started to believe in myself, to be the best I could be in life.
People are your biggest asset
Once your business has taken shape, and the plans have become a reality, tech start-ups must face the challenge of expanding their talent pool. New recruits are not just filling a role; they will play a vital part in growing your company, helping you to scale-up. Like anything new, it can take time for somebody to settle in and learn the ropes but as a start-up, the first few years are a critical period.
Just last week, Echo was featured in the NHS Digital Annual Report for 2017-18. This landmark caps a stellar twelve months for the business, during which time we’ve trebled our numbers; appeared on the official NHS Apps Library; been named ‘Best British Startup’ at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona; and received £7 million in Series A funding – with backing from the likes of White Star Capital, MMC Ventures, Public.io, LocalGlobe and Global Founders Capital.
VoxSmart is a privately held UK limited company who pioneered a unique method of recording BlackBerry devices in 2011 for UK Banks under strong regulatory and political pressure following the 2008 financial crisis. Whilst the company enjoyed some early success its failure to invest in technology and meet the evolving requirements of the market caused it to stumble and nearly fall.
Prior to Peanut, I was Deputy CEO at Badoo, the European dating behemoth. I joined Badoo at a time when dating ‘online’, was, let’s say, niche. People would talk about it in slight disbelief, “and you know, they met, ON THE INTERNET!”. Laughable to think about those times and how far we’ve come. We all know how the evolution of mobile, social, and the need and want to make connections has been transforming over the past 8 years. Indeed, to think about a dating app where women would do something as simple as sending a message first, and the impact that would have not just on the dating industry, but on social norms as a whole (I was formerly on the board of Bumble), is remarkable. So, thinking about social, and the impact of social networks on motherhood was somewhat of an inevitable step.
Finance and technology are almost indivisible. Nowhere comes close to London in terms of dominance as a financial centre and, by extension, a fintech hub. 
