Thinking Digital
we convert sounds into alerts for people who can't hear well
We create personalised financial news from multiple sources, and give you personalised news alerts and summaries
you can ask alexa and get a news summary from us, or we have web, android and IOS apps too
we want to work with partners, fintech companies, SMEs and more to personalise feeds
http://www.cityfalcon.com/invest to pledge £10 for our next financing round
you have some traction, how do you scale up?
we're looking to raise £1m round through crowdfunding and investors soon
clients like BNP Paribas are already paying us, and we expect to go cashflow positive this year
it's natural language processing so you can ask a wide range of questions
we are here to solve a problem you have never heard of - Engineering information
the most expensive thing on earth is a £56B building in Australia - it was only supposed to b £39B
we have made Halcyon to allow engineering teams to communicate information while working such huge engineering projects
about 4% of engineering projects is wasted due to poor information, adding up to $1B
we are working with huge oil projects and other engineering firms
does the industry acknowledge the problem - how do you tell the story?
the standards body I sit on has shown the collaboration is necessary between these large oil companies
how do you prove it to companies?
we give you a platform to explain what is happening. Worst case is benign for them
we are tackling the lack of communication in different business sectors by translating automatically
we have a product, and a technology platform behind it to translate between multiple languages
we are releasing a private beta of English/Spanish translation which is working with 4s turnround
once we have ti working we will release packages fro different sectors - tourism, business, conversation
our team is completely international
does it rely on third parties?
we are testing 3rd parties against our system to check their accuracy
we have 9000 users already
motorists in the uk spend 4 days per year looking for parking spaces; average parking time is 25 minutes
information is not readily available, and there are multiple options to park
we collate parking info into an app and make it easier to find the best space.
25M people in the UK spend an average £47/year on parking
there are information focused startups and payment focused ones, wee want to combine them
we're at parkrobo.com
there's more pressure on us to write than ever before, with twitter, facebook and blogs crying out for content
our digital productivity coaching system helps anyone who wants to write complete their writing projects
we don't do software, we do productivity and goal setting - like a fitbit for writers
http://www.prolifiko.com is based on a real problem for writers - sticking and finishing a project
we have had a prototype in the market since january - 25% completed a 5 day writing process.
Are you ready to write?
I'm a serial procrastinator, will this help me to stop avoiding things?
it's not about software, but about well designed encouragement
we have had people paying for 6 weeks - some use it for one project, others use it several times a week
what si your most successful nudge?
it's about drawing people into a community, measuring their own practice and sending them emails
they feel accountable to us, through psychology
technology isn't just about business but about changing our behaviour - this next app fits that
9000 people will die from alchohol this year, costing £21B a year
NHS estimates 14% of adults show some kind of alcohol dependency, but only 1% ask for help
our platform lets you sign up anonymously and get peer support from a community
we help you share how thinsga re going, measure recovery, support others, celebrate milestones and find others
we're in a closed beta with a small user group. We plan to use machine learning to prompt interventions
I've done work with the NHS to build software to treat patients, and I wanted to broaden it
how do you monitor incorrect advice and guidance?
it's community driven now, without employee moderators, but we do have moderation tools
TrendListr is an online marketplace for business clothing
trends used to trickle down slowly from fashion to the mainstream, but the net can speed that up
we're a curated marketplace, so sellers have to apply to be listed
we take a small commission, and have no listing fees. We have an easy 1 page listing process
80% of people accessing our platform are on mobile, so responsive design is key
we had a soft launch in February, relaunching next week
I've been a vintage trader for 3 years, so I can get started with my own stock
how do you differentiate from Etsy?
etsy changed their terms of service and opened the floodgates and it lost the quality filter - we curate for quality
I plan to promote using content marketing to the vintage community
we have an episodic show to encourage young people to make good choices in their lifes http://www.trylife.tv/
by 3 episodes we have 9 million followers on facebook - grown organically
you view the films on our website, with facebook for the community - they are screaming out for merchandise
I need a social media team and merchandising team to take advantage of this organic growth
we have a series of other film stories planned
we need to communicate with young people who make emotional decisions
commercial food waste is a global issue - in the UK we waste over 200,000 tons of food
marked down food is usually marked with a yellow label
our app shows nearby stores with marked down food for them to buy
we integrate with supermarkets stock management systems - we help them reduce waste and bring shoppers to them
the app is free to download, there is a subscription and we expect to sell data too
supermarkets have reducing food waste as a major KPI, and are looking for solutions
supermarkets don't have a way to advertise things in this time sensitive way
food charities deal with waste at the end of the day, we deal with it during opening hours
it's populated by supermarkets stock managment systems via an API - EPOCs guns to SMS to us
go to tdcncl.com/vote now to get them to finalists
when I my wofie heard I was investing in a dating app for beards, I had a lto to explain
my story begins with bristlr - I invented a joke to connect those with beards to those who want to stroke beards
this took off by surpise, and so I joined ignite.io - I found saying "tinder for beards" to investors didn't last long
there used to be tens of thousands of dating websites out there, but they collapsed with the rise of apps
if you were match or tinder great, but if you are "lonely norfolk farmers dot com" there is no SaaS for you
we fixed this with M14 industries to make a niche dating app backend for you http://m14.industries
I could tell you all the good things, but I'll tell you how I fucked up instead
I have guided everythign with a post-it note that says "why will it fail?"
you need to keep looking for the holes in your startup boat that would make you fail, and patch them
there are only 2 problems with startups: 1)other people 2)myself
1st problem: no traction - everyone keeps app ideas secret, whereas telling people gets you feedback
2nd problem: investors don't care - most don't care about what you do. talk to enough to find one that cares
3. your chosen industry sucks - we found this with the dating industry - it's full of smoke and mirrors
you can turn this into a strength by identifying the things that are the worst and embrace it
5th problem: I am bad at CEOing - software skill and CEO skills are different
being a CEO is really really hard - skip it with less then 10 people.
Burn Out is a really big problem. I've burnt out several times on bristlr and m14
my first diary mention of burn out began 3 months into bristlr
I wouldn't say I was enjoying my job, but that I wouldn't have any other job
Bristlr and M14 went on Dragons Den earlier this year, and we didn't fuck it up
Dragons Den was hen on Goggle Box, and that was even weirder
between applying to Dragon's Den and appearing on it, I had 2 birthdays
the level of self awareness that John has in this is unusual - you step back and analyse and stay honest
Trying to be open and honest works if we all do it, but when they don't fit it's hard
if an investor says a really bad idea is a really good one, you need to nod anyway
what is the key mistake you'd avoid?
don't do B2C, it's a fucking nightmare - you can get a lot of press, but very hard to get customers
the best business model is a B2B service where you make what costs a hundred grand and sell it for a hundred quid
I like the idea of babies born as a KPI
Bristlr averages one wedding a month - that's a pretty good indicator
i find fundraising incredibly stressful, as it means I leave my company alone for a bit while I pretend to be friendly
so now you're doing the sales for m14?
no, I hate the sales, clients are the worst. I have got quite good at public speaking though
delegating is the biggest thing that I continue to fuck up. I will trust someone else but sit there bricking it
the key thing is to hire the right people, and I have had a lot of trouble finding people that I want to work with
the judges vote is for @braciinc and the people's vote with 32.5% of votes cast is @Oystext they're in the final