TechNation200 Almanac 2015/16

See the full profile interviews at www.techcityinsider.net
David Levine
Chief executive
Digital Bridge
“The problem we are solving is that of the imagination gap
– our inability to imagine what our wallpaper, carpets,
furniture, laminate or whatever might look like in your
room. With us, you can walk into a room, hold your iPad up,
take a single picture, then the computer vision platform we
have developed automatically recognises the walls, floors,
ceilings and lighting conditions in that room, then allows the
consumer to visualise what things will look like. There are a
number of tools that use augmented reality, but decoration
is a considered purchase. With us you can take your time.”
Retail technology startup Digital Bridge helps home shoppers visualise
what a store’s products will look like in their own homes, with a
simple-to-use computer vision platform that recognises the space.
@DigitalBridgeEU
Eudie Thompson
Founder and chief
executive
Bright Future
Al Mackin
Founder
Formisimo
“There’s a huge problem for every online business – converting website visitors into paying
customers. A critical end point in the online buying or interest process is to fill in a form or a
checkout. The processes are painful, annoying and really frustrating. People hate them. It’s
not that businesses don’t care, it’s that they don’t have the data to show them how to make a
great process. Formisimo’s analytics platform shows our customers what their customers are
doing with online forms and checkouts. We reveal the pain points and show companies how to
make their process awesome and increase online sales.”
Online retailers are losing revenue, and goodwill, because of poorly designed online forms. As many as two in
three forms are abandoned before fi nal payment. Formisimo offers compelling evidence of the need to improve
form design. @formisimo
“We all talk about skill
shortages and every
single business that we
come across talks about
the shortage of IT software
people. We are exporting
IP by having software
developed offshore, due to
companies wrongly thinking
that it’s cheaper. The whole
idea behind Bright Future
is to take a long-term view.
For the first three years,
we developed a number
of apprentices, alongside
strong experienced staff
who monitor and do
programme with them. We
take on 140 apprentices
each year and we are
building what I believe
will become the strongest
technology business in the
country.”
Salford-based software business
Bright Future aims to keep IT
onshore in the face of the tech
skills shortage by drawing heavily
on apprenticeships, with new
young staff coming through from
Manchester schools.
@GetBrightFuture
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