OCTOBER 2020
INSIDE THIS ISSUE...
04 06 08 11 13 17 19 21 DATA SCIENCE IS THE 23 NEW OIL
HOW TECH IS EVOLVING (AND AFFECTING) THE FASHION AND TAILORING INDUSTRY
HOW TO BOOST REVENUE USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
FEATURE INTERVIEW WITH CRAIG NEWMARK
HOW TO START A TECH STARTUP INTERVIEW WITH DATA RIGHTS ACTIVIST BRITTANY KAISER THE U.K. BRAND ELEMENT FOR CYBER SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE IS NUMBER ONE IN THE WORLD
HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN SAVE BUSINESS BILLIONS INTERVIEW WITH MYVOUCHERCODES FOUNDER MARK PEARSON
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AUTOMATION IN BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY OR THREAT
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FROM ENTREPRENEUR TO FRANCHISOR
LETTER FROM EDITOR One reason why there has been so much division, suspicion and disunity with regards to AI is that, throughout history as a matter of fact, an individual or group take a truth and stretch it to the extreme left and leave no room for any other thought. They forgot that the coin always has two sides and that the bird flies with two wings. We are seeing the inclusion of AI (artificial intelligence) into our daily lives through the use of technologies like virtual assistants eg Alexa, self driving smart cars and automated customer service. Mark Zuckerberg says,”AI will help humanity reach its full potential.”
CONTRIBUTORS CHRIS WINDLEY
Elon Musk says “AI is the biggest existential threat to mankind.” Should we be afraid of the impact of AI and subsequent automation?
GALINA KARSHEVA
We shouldn’t be afraid of automation, AI or 5G technology. Research shows that with the current AI technology, less than 5% of jobs can be automated.
GARY KING
The key gap will be in skills. The essential skills will find their roots in creativity, thinking and collaboration.
JAMIE HENFREY
RUNE SOVNDAHL
Our future generation need to be empowered with continuos learning, leadership acumen, asking questions and being taught the capacity to bounce back from challenges and adapt to new situations. Technology is neither good or bad but can be utilised for noble purposes. Adjustments are needed in politics, business and in our education systems to match the technological advances in Science Technology Engineering Arts and Mathematics. - Fanele
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OCTOBER 2020
HOW TECH IS EVOLVING (AND AFFECTING) THE FASHION AND TAILORING INDUSTRY Every year, the world consumes more than 80 billion items of clothing. Over in the USA, the purchase of garments has tripled since the 1960s. Fashion brands are now producing almost double the amount of clothing that they were at the turn of the 20th century. Today, we make more, buy more, and sell more. The fashion industry is one of the most fast paced industries in the world. Think about seasonal fashion trends -- here today, gone tomorrow. While there are certain timeless styles, as well as a respectable second hand vintage market, they’re but a drop in the ocean compared to the industry at large. huge increase in garment consumption globally. Used This is driven in part by the right through from initial fabric fierce competition within the production through to milling industry and the relentless of fabrics and garment makpursuit of originality and ining, fabrics mills are now so novation, both in design and efficient that they can weave performance. Retailers are un- much greater volumes of fabric der extreme pressure to source at much greater speeds. new age textiles which will increase their profit margins On top of this, further advances and allow them to sell their gar- in computer technology and ments for less, while still stay- machine capabilities mean ing ahead of their competition. that mills can operate 24 hours Where fashion clothing was once considered novel or rare, it’s become a disposable item over time. Garments are cheaper to produce due to increased mechanisation and the use of technology, from the sourcing of raw materials through to the production and final delivery of garments. The companies who produce and profit from these garments want the clothes not just as cheaply as possible, but as quickly as possible too. The result? A trend you may have heard of called “fast fashion”. Technology, supply & demand Today, technology has been embraced to cope with the Business Digest 3
a day, 7 days a week without stopping . Today’s state of the art equipment can work largely unassisted after initial set up and has almost completely replaced the need for a more expensive and “unreliable” human workforce .
manufacturers can even employ human scanning and measuring machines. The claim, of course, is that these can measure so accurately that there is no need for human involvement in the measuring and styling of many new clothing items. Once again, the end goal is the same: increased production quantities, shorter timeframes, higher profit margins. Textiles, tech & the human experience
It’s fair to say that without the use of advanced technology, we may not have been able to produce so many revolutionary fabrics which are stronger, lighter Computer technology plays a and often extremely luxurious. much greater role in the deThis is one area where I feel we sign process too. Whereas in can be very grateful to tech in the past, designers and cutters used their own skills to meticu- the fashion industry. However, for lously ensure that every square me the art of creating a hand taicentimetre of fabric was used, a lored luxury suit has never been about speed or narrow cynical machine can do this just as efefficiency. There’s a certain refectively, if not even more so in spect we should still hold for the many cases. Nowadays, clothing human creative process, and the
experience of both making
and buying clothing. The apprenticeship, that passing on of knowledge from experienced craftsman to keen young enthusiast. These, in my view, are the essence of great clothing design and production. A knowledgeable craftsman knows his trade inside out, and in the world of tailoring, they will be able, almost instinctively, to interpret the subtleties between function, fit, cloth, and cut when measuring a client for a new luxury garment. For me, that’s an experience, for both maker and consumer, that can’t be replaced by technology. Environmental Impact
is made from a chemical reaction of coal, petroleum, air, and water. The pollution caused when burned makes this approach just as bad. For the record, it’s pretty hard to steer clear of synthetic fibres as a consumer. They’re used in 72% of our clothing. And of this 72%, 21.3 million tonnes are polyester. Of course, we in the western world so often remain unexposed to and protected from these harsh facts. It’s no secret that most of our clothes are produced in developing countries such as India, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam. A cynical mind would call it smart economics, to produce high volumes of decent quality clothing for a pittance.
quality over escalating quantity. They know that a bespoke garment, when made properly, will always outlast an off the peg garment. As well as this, the style will usually be much more timeless. Sure, we all know that buying quality costs more up front, but it pays dividends in the long term, both economically and environmentally. Unlike the world of fast fashion, Savile Row tailors want people to buy less, but buy better.
As for the ethicality of fabrics that they use, well that’s up to the tailors themselves. A Savile Row tailor worth his salt will insist on using organic and natural fibres which don’t require chemicals to be produced. They will also choose to buy textiles But consider the environmental impact. It takes 200 tonnes of fresh from countries where there are higher standards of production water to dye a tonne of fabric. In quality, and therefore better cotton growing countries like India, it working conditions and montakes over 20,000 litres of water to produce just one kilo of cotton. Harmful toxins etary compensation and environmental regulation. from chemical dyes and pesticides are then washed into rivers and oceans. And it doesn’t go away there. We fish those oceans Unlike the world of fast fashion, Savile Row tailors want people and drink from these rivers. In India alone, too many people already struggle to access to buy less, but buy better. clean drinking water. It seems unthinkable that textile producers are willing to dump chemicals such as lead and mercury into the rivers and oceans. Thus the environmental impact is intrinsically linked with the human cost. As for the cotton that was produced -- it’s used in garments that could well be thrown away within a year. It’s a pretty sad circle of life.
Our new found obsession with fast fashion is coming at a cost though. After the oil industry, fast fashion is the second largest polluter in the world. Environmentalists have been warning us for a number of years now about the global impact of our production and consumption. We’re using up extreme volumes of natural resources, chemicals, and water in our pursuits. Meanwhile, textile waste as well as clothing that’s just a year What can we do to change? or two old is winding up in landfill sites, incinerators or There is hope though. In fact, quite a lot of hope. But a mentality shift has to take place the ocean.
amongst both consumers and manufacturers, and it’s the former who can influence An even more alarming issue the latter group. Awareness is a good place is that many chemicals used to start -- an appreciation for how your in the textile industry cause clothes are made. Then comes the willingsevere harm to the environness to change how you buy. Longer lasting ment, and indeed factory clothes, made by experts who respect the workers and even consumers. industry and care about the impact of what Synthetic fibres such as polythey do. In the UK, this is where a good Savile ester are made from plastic, Row Tailor has an edge. and can take up to 200 years to decompose. That is, unless They choose to make clothing from the we incinerate it... But think finest material, and they will always choose again -- synthetic polyester
Author: Jamie Henfrey Jamie Henfrey founder of Marc Oliver Bespoke Tailoring since 2008 and since then the label has quickly established a reputation for combining Savile Row craftmanship with renowned Italian design to produce hand tailored luxury Suits of unsurpassable quality and comfort. Business Digest 4
OCTOBER 2020
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HOW TO BOOST REVENUE USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Technology has now become a critical part of our lives today, it has revolutionized the world and created tools which have made things easier and better. New technologies are emerging and Artificial Intelligence (A.I) is among the top trends. Businesses strive to remain competitive in the industry and that is why we are seeing many businesses embracing this technology to their advantage. A business may adopt this technology for many reasons and the overall goal is to increase in revenue. Marketing determines how successful an enterprise will be and businesses opt for the best channel to market their products. With the AI marketing tools, businesses are able to predict consumer behavior and use the advertising platforms to reach the targeted market which will yield astonishing results in the sales. A.I can also be used in sales since it automates the process. This technology can help to generate sales leads as it mines a large amount of consumer data and then identifies the leads that seem to be profitable thus enabling a business to maximize the sales opportunities. A business can cut costs and save money using AI
since it automates workflows and optimizes routine tasks. Some tasks can be tedious and this technology relieves such tasks. AI is more accurate compared to humans who make errors and mistakes which build up to enormous operational costs. So, as long as AI systems are correctly set up, it will largely lower the rate of errors and capitalize on efficiency.
Another way in which AI cuts costs, is through better data analysis since its capable to recover large sets of data and translate the information into a more understandable way, for humans to examine. Through this, a business can develop better strategies of pricing their products in order to increase profits, identify the areas where operational costs can be minimized in order to save more money, and point out the inefficiencies in
the production process; this is done by applying an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which includes AI technology that easily identifies the inefficiencies that are in the production process of the business and makes the process work better. Automating businesses` customer service also cuts costs. We know that customer relation is a fundamental aspect of the success of a business and the main objective of a business is to maintain its customers as it makes more and that is why customer service offices are important. Instead of hiring lots of employees to do that, many businesses are opting to automate their customer service operations by using chat-bots which saves on time used in answering queries and giving out feedback. They also help in cutting costs by doing away with call centers which charge expensively while still ensuring that all the customer questions are handled appropriately. It also offers continuous transactions which reduce frustrations among the customers. The embrace of AI in business operations is the way to go in boosting revenue.
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OCTOBER 2020
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CRAIG NEWMARK
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OCTOBER 2020
INTERVIEW WITH CRAIG NEWMARK Craig Newmark is the Founder of craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. Craig is a Web pioneer, philanthropist, and leading advocate. Most commonly known for founding the online classified ads service craigslist. Q) Craig you’ve lived for many years a life that you crafted for yourself with craigslist, can we go back to a time before craigslist. What was your upbringing like and did your parents influence you in a way that has impacted you to this day?
to what people wanted and needed, and took it from there. In 2000 I turned over all responsibility and management decision making power to Jim Buckmaster, and he continued that tradition. It’s all been completely surreal.
I can’t remember much specific. My Sunday School teachers, Mr and Mrs Levin were very influential. From them, I learned the Golden Rule, and the guidance that I should know when enough is enough. Q)) It’s not gone unnoticed that you have a love for all birds, has this always been something you have always been into and do you have a favourite and why? I think it started in the mid eighties when I lived in the Detroit area, and I have no idea how it happened. Let’s talk about craigslist Q)) The idea for craigslist, how did it come about and did you ever imagine it would have become the success that it is to date? Mostly, I started a simple events list and then listened
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(Photo credit: Stephanie Canciello, Unali Artists)
Nowadays, I do customer service work at Craig Newmark Philanthropies. One of the key things I’ve personally taken away from you, is to listen, get feedback and then to take action on that feedback, so I thank you for that!
CRAIG NEWMARK AND STEPHEN COLBERT AT THE IAVA HEROES GALA, 2018 PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES PROVIDED BY IAVA
Your role at craigslist is customer support as it has been from day one. Q)) Have you always been at the reigns of customer support and do you feel you will ever let it go? I’ve never been at the reins of anything at craigslist since 2000.
Q)) Do you think listening has been one of your keys to the overall success of craigslist and how can startups implement this simply and effectively? Very much so, trying really hard. Listening is much more difficult than people think. Q)) Who do you personally know and admire in the tech scene and for what reason?
“There’s no genius behind it. It’s persistence and listening to people.” - Craig Newmark I like the way Jeff Bezos supports the Washington Post and leaves them alone in terms of editorial decisions. There were rumours that the past US election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton was rigged using Technology, Q)) Do you have any concerns about how technology will affect the future? Very broad question, but, yes. Combating fake news is an area you have been actively involved in as you partnered with Facebook on the Journalism Project. Q)) How has that been going for you and what wins and struggles have you had? Seems to be going well, but it’s way too early to tell. Q)) What are some of the other major concerns of what fake news can do to society? It can entirely destabilize
a country, which is the goal of some of our foreign adversaries and their domestic allies. Q)) Which jobs do you predict will be replaced by Artificial Intelligence and how will the people in these roles adapt to this change? No one really knows, and I shouldn’t speculate in so broad an area. Some people will adapt, some won’t. We have the resources in the USA to lend everyone a hand, and I should do something about that. Craig I have to give Craig Newmark Philantropies an intro as this is something that has been born from yourself and the success you had with craigslist. Craig Newmark Philantropies is the umbrella company you set up for your Philanthropy endeavours. Let me briefly outline the amazing donations you have made from Craig Newmark
Philantropies Donations; ● 2017 - $500,000 to Wikipedia to reduce harassment and vandalism on their site. ● 2017 - $1 million each to ProPublica and the Poynter Institute. ● 2018 - $1 million to Mother Jones to help the magazine combate fake news. ● $20 million to CUNY Graduate School of Journalism now the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. ● $50 million to the Craig Newmark Foundation to support military families, voter registration and women in tech. In 2018 your donations to charitable causes totalled $143 million. Craig, you have really helped so many people and in doing so have carved a legacy for yourself and others to aim for in the very fabric of time. Q)) What are you searching for when choosing who to help and the potential impact you can make? I’m looking for groups which have a track record for effectiveness and trustworthiness.
Interview by Russ Turner Director at Business Digest Magazine
Craig and Eileen Newmark supporting veterans & military families at Bob Woodruff Foundation’s Stand Up For Heroes event, 2018 Photo credit: Stefan Radtke
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OCTOBER 2020
How to start a tech startup Technology has become a basic fundamental aspect of our lives, more so in the business world. Companies have emerged across the world offering new technology products and services. Many ask where they need to begin from in opening of a tech company. Here is a guide on how to commence. HAVE A VIVID VISION Having a clear dream of what you want to start is essential. Rather than trying everything in the tech industry, having a narrow focus will help save on resources and time. You can start by identifying what areas you are good at or interested in. Once you identify a habitual cultivation in the area is important so that you may be more skilled. PREPARE TO FAIL Starting a new project comes with hopes of achieving greatness. No one wants to ask themselves what if it fails. There should be an understanding that for one to succeed failure must have preceded. Being strong-willed when the revenues are lower than average, having your skilled employees quitting and running low of money is what will make you stand-out. Understanding the risks
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associated with the business is important as it will help you prepare. Running blindly into a new venture tends to hurt more once you encounter these challenges.
FAMILIARISING WITH TRENDS AND MARKETS
Technology keeps changing and shifting as time goes by. As one who is aspiring WALK WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE in joining the industry understanding these Spending time with people trends is very essential of similar minds will help in to the success of the shaping your path. Work with business. people of different startups not necessarily those on your Trends in the tech world niche. is like surfing. One has Also reading blogs and magazines of people in the tech industry will help in broadening your mind. You will realize that competition in the tech industry is stiff and surrounding yourself with likeminded people will not only help in increasing sales but also offering support.
to read and observe the ocean water and get up on your feet at the right time to ride the wave. Creating something that adds value to humanity and not losing yourself in the process is the challenge that needs to be balanced.
When your plan is set and having secured appropriate funds one NETWORK WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE is sure of building a successful tech startup. No man is an island. Taking Remember you are your advice from people who are only limitation so apply the in quite a similar venture as above strategies today yours is key as it will always and reap the fruits of a help you in making informed successful tech startup. decisions concerning the business. Advises add strategic value to the business. One is made to understand more about the markets and networks surrounding the business. Also utilizing the help of mentors helps one in becoming a great leader who will navigate their company through high and low tides.
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OCTOBER 2020
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BRITTANY KAISER
INTERVIEW WITH BRITTANY KAISER Brittany Kaiser · Co-Founder at Own Your Data Foundation, #OwnYourData campaign, and DATA (the Digital Asset Trade Association) Brittany Nicole Kaiser is the former business development director for Cambridge Analytica, which collapsed after details of its misuse of Facebook data were revealed to have potentially impacted voting in the UK Brexit referendum and the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Russ - Other than the obvious goal of #OwnYourData.. What motivates you and how are you working towards making these goals happen? Brittany - My goal in this entire data rights and privacy conversation is to enable people to protect their own human rights and achieve their basics needs for themselves and their families what the ultimate goals really is. Is for people to able to own their data and received a dividend or a portion of this multi trillion-dollar industry. What Mark Zuckerberg will tell is that our data is only worth 17 dollars a quarter because he doesn’t want you to care about it. But what he fails to recognise it that 2 billion people live on less than 2 dollars a day so 17 dollars a quarter is life changing for billions of people already and that’s just if we take Mark Zuckerberg’s word for what our Facebook data alone is worth. You’ve also asked me how am I going to achieve that and it’s three different programs or initiatives at once and that’s firstly education and then legislation and regulation and lastly technology. So the more laws and regulations that we can come up that don’t stifle innovation that still allow the good actors you know well meaning entrepreneurs to innovate and build technology but it protects us from the bad actors who are not interested
in consumers and users rights they’re just interested in producing profits for their shareholders. We need technology that will protect our privacy, we need technologist that can build us solutions that allow us to own our data and stop our data from flowing out of our devices. Russ - The option to share ones data is not actually a choice in the US, it’s an automated pre-opted decision made by the United States government, this is truly a matter of concern! how can this be prevented and if things continue where do you see this heading in the future? Brittany – You’re exactly right, we have no national data legislation that opts us out like you luckily do in the European union, where you are opted out and you have to opt in explicitly to what you are willing to have your data collected for and used for, I really look towards a near future where we can have a natural privacy legislation in every country so that our dats rights are protected in law. But now as we don’t have that legislation it means that we need as much information for people as possible so that they understand how to protect their privacy themselves and we need as many technology products as possible. At this point in the United States I would say that it’s technology that’s going to protect us, it’s education that’s going to protect
us because right now the law is not in a place where it will, it’s getting there. I actually just got off a round table discussion with Alastair Mactaggart who helped write CCPA and is leading on Prop24 the update to that in California and that;s the strongest and nearly only privacy legislation we have in the United States. Russ – It has come to light as you made us aware that people data was unethically used and abused in the 2016 US and Brexit elections. How do we regulate this kind of data abuse? Brittany – The 2016 both US and Brexit elections are a prime example of why we need our data rights, the situations was that we never consented for our data to by these individuals. Even specifically in the Brexit case members of the UKIP party did not consent for their data to be used for the leave EU campaign. And that’s one of the specific issues that I brought to light as a whistle-blower. And in the US governance owners did not consent for their data to be used to support Donald Trump but that’s how their data was used. Russ - Could you summarize exactly what was going on, what your role was at Cambridge Analytica and just some of the thoughts that were going through your head at the time of this event? Brittany – When I came out as
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a whistle-blower on march 2018 I started a campaign to kick off the own your data movement and that was specifically to ask Facebook to let us own our data, to give us control about what’s collected about us and how it’s going to be used. And if it’s going to be used to pay us for it. I’m still advocating for exactly the same thing and were starting to see laws around the country that are starting to provide those types of rights. To explain my role at Cambridge Analytica it helps to understand how I got there. I got involved in technology and politics on the 07/08 Obama campaign at 19. I was one of the first people to join the media team at their HQ with Chris Hughes the Co-Founder of Facebook and a handful of other people where we really invented a social media strategies and started building the basic tools that you could use to collect data from social media it was very rudimentary in the beginning. And what we could see is that the more data we had about people the more we understood what people care about. The more that we could create policies in our platform that actually solved the issues in American citizens and their families lives.
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I joined Cambridge Analytica part time while I was still righting my PHD to learn more about data science for my research after being there and realising how powerful these tools were I joined full time as a director of business development which meant I was flying around the world meeting with presidents or prime ministers or people that wanted to be government officials or commercials companies and helping them design a data strategy. I saw this as incredibly exciting as a way to achieve more of my goals in my career but It wasn’t until I started realising what a black box industry that data science is that I really started to get nervous about the whole thing. I started seeing data scientists that were buying and selling data in Cambridge Analytica that were selling data for hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars and I thought oh my god. If were this tiny start-up company and we’re spending millions of dollars on data then how big is this industry, this is a multi-trillion-dollar industry, and nobody know their data has created the largest market place in the world. Russ - It must have been extremely scary during this time, what did you think could happen to you and what was your thought process? Brittany - Becoming a whistle-blower was one of the scariest things I ever done it’s like jumping of a cliff without a parachute evening knowing
Brittany - Brock and I have tons of synergies in what we believe in the world which is why it was an absolute honour for a friend and a mentor of mine to tell that he wanted to run for president. Brock stands for so many issues that don’t get talked about in politics. Number one is ethical technology innovation which upgrading America’s infrastructure, he also believes in data protection and data ownership and privacy, access to mental health care and addressing that.
Brittany Kaiser pictured with Ben Leff Director of Communications at Own Your Data Foundation you have a parachute let alone if that parachute works. Now I’ve always been a risk taker all my life, I’ve gone and worked in war zones etc.. So putting myself in danger for the greater good is something I’m kind of use to and that felt like what I needed to do at the time. I felt like I’m one of the only people that has access to this information that can help people or at least one of the only people that is willing to come out and help people. I have an opportunity to explain to people what is going on and also help everyone solve the systemic problems. Russ - I hear you are now campaign manager for presidential candidate Brock Pierce, how’s that going for you? It’s been an absolute honour to be campaign manager for my friend Brock Pierce when he came to me and told me that he wanted to run, I was so excited because he is one of thee god fathers of an industry. I would say Blockchain in general, distributed leger technology and industry that is most likely to solve all of the problems we have in privacy and data protection that we have today.
Russ - You’ve gone from Business Development manager to Whistle-blower to 2 X CoFounder to Movie Star to Presidential Campaign Manager to being one of the coolest most courageous bad asses on the planet!! What next for Brittany Kaiser? Brittany - The three main things I’m working on are education, legislation and technology, as I mentioned earlier my own your data foundation teaches digital literacy I think an educated population, everyone learning how to protect themselves is one of the number one most important things. Making sure that laws and regulations allow for innovation but protect us from bad actors. And thirdly technology as I really believe that it’s technologist that are going to be the most effective in protecting privacy and solving a lot of the problems we have in the world today that I don’t think we need to live with if we’re able to upgrade all of our infrastructure and use 21st century technology to the utmost of what it’s capable of.
Interview by Russ Turner Director at Business Digest Magazine
Russ - What’s Brock like as a person and what is he fighting for?
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OCTOBER 2020
The U.K. Brand Element for Cyber Security and Intelligence is Number One in the World! The U.K. brand element for Cyber Security and Intelligence is Number One in the world. When viewed with our history in mind I believe this is true. Of course, some would dispute this but let them do so. Let them disprove it. Whilst we have work to do and many improvements to make we can consolidate and confirm this lead. If we view the U.K. from the perspective of a High Tech. or Cyber Security company from, say, the U.S.A. or Israel wanting a base in Europe they typically only think of basing themselves in Southern Ireland, London, and Holland. There are many reasons for this – geographical knowledge and incentives amongst them. To redirect eyes, thinking, investment, and jobs to locations other than this we have to work hard and we have to work together. In the Midlands, where I live, they formed the “ Midlands Engine “ brand realising that Birmingham and “ the Midlands “ names were better known internationally than any other. I was always a fan of this single, better known, and stronger brand. This is no disrespect to other lesserknown areas, towns and cities. It is to their advantage that the Midlands and Midlands Engine brand becomes known. Once attracted people and companies will look at the detail of their desired locations. They must find a fully prepared, complete and functioning ecosystem that supports – in this case – Cyber Security. Midlands Engine and others have Business Digest 17
alluded to the name “ Cyber Valley “ for some time. Referring to the M5 area from, say, Wolverhampton down to Cheltenham. Cheltenham being, of course, the home of the pretty well-undisputed epicentre of Intelligence and Cyber Security – GCHQ and NCSC. The area needs to be bigger in my view and that of others like Nick Sturge for example who is helping build the £400 million Golden Valley development alongside GCHQ/NCSC and who co-founded the Engine Shed in Bristol and advised Tramshed in Wales. How big? Well, we have tended to talk in triangles .. for example, Cheltenham, Cardiff and Bristol. My triangle started out as Birmingham,( a line through Cheltenham ) Bristol and Cardiff. I am half Welsh and Wales has a leading Cyber Security community and a strong Inward Investment strategy. My big “ triangle “ ( actually quadrilateral ) for Cyber Security Valley UK is now Derby, Swindon, Exeter, Swansea. Interestingly, to me anyway, the a38 ( formerly the Roman Road Rycknield/Icknield Street ) runs from Derby to Exeter and beyond. Of course this, therefore, includes some of the Midlands Engine original area and Nick’s area which is the Western Powerhouse triangle ( Salisbury, Swansea, Cheltenham ). Having defined the approximate area to brand and market we have to detail the strength of that area in Cyber Security terms. To do that we are building Directories on our website. These Directories are many and varied but include key locations like Cyber Hubs and Property Developments, and Universities and Colleges focused on Cyber Security ( some 18 or so ), Cyber companies, Cyber people ( Movers and Shakers as I term them ) and many other Cyber related entities. The Valley is very very strong and the connections with GCHQ/NCSC are also very apparent. The Covid19 pandemic has added another dimension to the appeal of Cyber Security Valley. Although vested interests will argue against it it is now pretty clear that companies will allow their staff to work from home for some time to come. This and
“IT TAKES 20 YEARS TO BUILD A REPUTATION AND FEW MINUTES OF CYBER-INCIDENT TO RUIN IT.” – STEPHANE NAPPO flexible working ( sometimes office and sometimes home ) are almost certainly the dominant models from now on. People are betting on this model and already moving from the major cities to the coast and country and other countries. Living in the Areas of Natural Beauty surrounding Cyber Security Valley e.g. the Cotswolds, Malverns, Exmoor and the Black Mountains and working from there and in Regional Hubs sometimes is a very attractive proposition and a great combination.
In terms of working from home having the right high-speed infrastructure and being cyber secure is vital but we also need to further address the human side of working from home. Some people need more support and communication when working from home.
We now see the introduction ( by Facebook ) of the “ Director of Remote Working “ which is a combination of a technical and human role. Some people and To me, this is the perfect proposition for people, companies are suffering and the business and the planet. Commuting is a waste of time move from city based working and money and damages the planet. to remote and home working is a massive change but I see We did an amazing job coping with the Pandemic. As if a unique opportunity for us to by magic we locked down and worked from home. But it continue to be a world leader in was not magic it was the perfect time. technology-wise, Cyber Security and become one to have one. Most people have great Broadband, most in the new structure of working. applications are cloud-based and 4G coverage is now Cyber Security Valley UK is my being enhanced with 5G. vehicle for achieving that. Technically it was relatively easy to work from home and maintain or even improve productivity. If it had happened even 10 years earlier it would have been much more challenging. The fact of the main issue that has yet to be addressed is the cyber security of people working from home. In my role at LuJam Cyber, while in the GCHQ/NCSC Cyber Accelerator and working with the Police in the Cyber Resilience Centres we talked pre Pandemic about Cyber Securing 6 million SMB’s but now we talk about Cyber Securing around 25 Million people working from home. I do think we should improve high-speed broadband/5G coverage even further. Improving infrastructure and cyber security will generate jobs and income and also allow additional opportunities on top of this. HS2 is controversial but it will add another fibre optic backbone between London and Birmingham and later extend to the North West and East. This will improve resilience and adjacent properties will benefit. In Cyber Security we say that it is not just about Technology. It is also about People ( Training ) and Processes ( and Leadership ).
About Chris Windley: Chris is Founder and CEO of Cyber Security Valley UK and is a recognized cyber security expert and advisor, as Member of the board of Advisors for both the East and West midlands cyber resilience centres. Chris also has a background in investing and buying and selling companies and as well is a motivational speaker for Founders For Schools Business Digest 18
OCTOBER 2020
HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN SAVE BUSINESS BILLIONS
SAVES ON COST OF PAPERWORK
Technology has become a global trend that is difficult to ignore. Across the world, technology has touched every aspect of human lives from education, health, security and the transport industry. The business sector has not been left behind. Technology has proven to be more of a commodity that makes work easier but also saves on money. Cutting costs as to increase the profit margin is every business desire. Below are some of the ways in which technology saves on money. SAVING ON RENTAL COST Unlike in the past where renting of an office space was essential before starting a company, nowadays it’s a thing of the past. Technology has made it possible for employees to work in the comfort of their homes. Through gadgets such as smartphones and laptops employees can work from their homes and still deliver quality work. Employers are also able to evaluate their employees without physical presence involved. Technology has also made it possible for employees to communicate with clients and fellow co-workers. CUTS ON ADVERTISING COSTS Traditional methods such as mails, use of fliers and newspapers does not only reach limited people but also expensive to the business owner. Technology has brought about digital advertising. These form has proven to be a better way of advertising compared to the past ways since it reaches a larger audience of people. Digital advertising is made possible through platforms such as social media. Business Digest 19
Business a while ago before the emergence of technology was used in the filing system to store documents. This becomes a major expense since the proper filing of documents is required for efficiency in the business. However, technology has made the paperless office a reality since documents can now be stored in the cloud and mails. This has made the use of papers no longer necessary and that’s a big save to the business. CUTS ON LABOUR COST Companies have been known to employ employees to run the business operations. The emergence of technology has brought a light at the end of the tunnel to employers since they can save on labour cost. For example, you can find out that the work done by five employees can now be conducted by a single machine. SAVE ON MISCELLANEOUS COSTS Before technology, one ventured into a business blindly without knowing the risks and losses likely to incur. This made companies and business lose a lot of money as they carry out their operations. However nowadays technology provides a vast range of information concerning different fields. Through technology as a business person, you will find ways to cut on operational costs due to the information therein. This becomes an advantage since one will find out more about a venture before going in it. Technology as seen is a major blessing to the business world as it helps cuts on cost increasing profit margin and therefore help save businesses billions.
Business Digest 20
OCTOBER 2020
INTERVIEW WITH MARK PEARSON In 2010, he founded and run as acting CEO of the popular discount code myvouchercodes, coda UK. This is a startup, you started with 300 pounds from your bedroom and run for the first three years.
Russ - Welcome Mark. It’s truly inspiring to hear someone that started a business from their bedroom and made it a success. It just goes to show that you don’t have to have a flashy office to really make things happen.
That is where I got the opportunity to launch my business because it was actually a customer, the number one customer of that restaurant called Trisha.
now four to five years down the line and we’ve invested in 35 companies, We’ve been pretty active, and some of them have become really successful. One company Moteefe was listed by Deloitte as the fastest growing eCommerce company in 2019. Russ - What advice can you give to start operating on a minimal funds on how can they take their business to the next level?
Mark - If you’ve got a commercial business, and She used to come in all the it can make revenue, and time and one day like after you’ve got customers, there’s coming in four months, she no reason you can’t recycle Russ - At 16, you went to gave me a business card. And catering School, where you that was how I got to start my and scale, you don’t always need external capital, you went on to manage your own business because she said genuinely don’t, you can chain of restaurants. How mark your food’s fantastic. did it change the game for You know, I’m a big believer in offer a service, you can start you? fate and opportunity. I think if from humble beginnings. The only reason we invest you put yourself out there if in companies and why Mark - That was my first you work hard, if you’re polite entrepreneurial venture. I and nice to people, things will companies raise money is if went to college to try and come back to you. And you just they want to create a really big business. become the best that you got to sometimes jump at the can in catering, and I ended opportunity. So I jumped, a few Start the journey, build a good product, build a good service up winning student chef of years later, we have multiple , most investors want to the year. venues. invest in a company that has I entered a regional Russ - Buying fuel ventures competition. a student is an early seed Investment chef competition, then a Company, which you also raise national competition. And funds for using the investment that got me spotted, the platform cedars, and correct scouts out there are looking and how did the process go for for the top talent coming you? out of colleges. And I ended up winning one of these Mark - We started out with our regional finals. And then I very first fund, We used cedars, got several job offers. we raised a lot of money offline out of cedars, but we also I was on 16,000 pounds a raised the seed. that would year in Claridges. And then have been 2015, maybe that Gordon Ramsay took over. So was probably 12 months or six then I had Gordon Ramsay months after we launched fuel on the CV. Then he launched ventures. a Michelin restaurant there Michelin star restaurants. So fast forward, where we are Business Digest 21
lots of upside, if it’s got good traction and you’ve already got customers, it’s a good business, can we make it a great business. Russ - What does a typical day look like for you? Mark - Oh, God. Yeah, quite busy. I think, given me a 35 companies, it’s nonstop. So it demands wake up in the morning normally don’t have breakfast. My life is so digital now. Emails, nonstop phone calls messages. Even though that’s not the job choice I choose, and it’s crazy. I must like it like that. I like I like it when it’s manic and crazy but the freedom of flexibility is really what makes the journey for me. Russ - Do you think your upbringing has played a part in your success? Mark - I had a pretty humble upbringing. And it was pretty tough. I think I seen my mom struggle, and she was a single parent. And she had it rough. And she was working hard. I was a bit helpless. I was the I was the only boy in the family. Like, but I couldn’t do anything. I was too young. So I think that drove me to want to break out of the norm! Russ - What would you say gave you your breakthrough moment?
Mark - I think I think we said it earlier. So I think I was on a normal career route. As a chef, as a mediocre, highly paid chef, you’re working, enjoying it. I love that industry. But really looking at how I could break into entrepreneurship, and I didn’t have much money in my pocket. I wasn’t thinking digital internet at that point. I was just working hard keeping my standards good. But always pushing the boundary wanting to improve myself, I think led to that customer in that venue, given me a business card saying mark your photo, fantastic. I love it here. We should work together. And that one spark moment, led to all of what happens today. Russ - Where do you see yourself going from here and what is next for Mark Pearson? Mark - We’ve created this monster, I think I’ve found quite a nice sweet spot. I love tech. I love business. I love helping other people. I feel privileged to surround myself with all these super smart people, But really, you’re helping other founders and businesses go on to that next level of the journey. So I think I’m going to continue that route. We’ll start to invest in more and more companies look, hopefully we’ll invest more and more capital, which will help these companies become supersize. As I said earlier, 10 years time, if we have created some mega super-sized businesses where you go, Wow, I remember that one that was from fuel ventures, then that will make them proud, because that shows we’ve had some impact!
Interview by Russ Turner Director at Business Digest Magazine
Business Digest 22
OCTOBER 2020
‘DATA SCIENCE IS THE NEW OIL’ Many industries are combining programming skills, statistics, domain expertise and mathematics to extract meaningful insights from data to date? The oil and gas industry has not been left behind in getting acquainted with this trend. There seems to be more similarities between data and oil that makes one conclude that data is indeed the new oil. Data which is a composition of raw facts and figures is compared to oil. Just like we extract general information from data that’s how energy gets extracted from oil. Iin the past, vehicles, trains, and planes were solely powered by oil but now we have data powering our transportation sector. There has been the emergence of driverless cars and planes that are powered by artificial intelligence systems and algorithms. Oil becomes useful once it is refined, this is where it is transformed into various fuel like diesel, petrol and kerosene. Countries with oil reserves are not Business Digest 23
as rich compared to those with the refineries. In the same manner, data has to be refined for one to see its use. The emergence of artificial intelligence has brought by the development of robots. Robots whose primary core functions is to entertain, care for the elderly, work in hazardous areas like factories and offer assistance to human lives have been so important to human. An example of a robot is Sophia who was the first robot to be granted citizenship in Saudi Arabia. All these would not have been possible were it not for data. Robotic science is all but a product of data. As compared to oil data revolutionized digital economy as oil revolutionized the industrial economy. There are however risks associated with data just
like oil. Oil spillage from carrier ships does not only damage the environment but also threaten the aquatic life in the sea and ocean. Data spills are mostly in form of wrong data in the right place and right data in the wrong place. These spills occur mainly through hacks. The spillage of military data to an enemy jeopardises the country’s defences and may lead to defeat by the enemy. So as we take measures in curbing oil spillage necessary measures should also be taken to curb data spillage since both spillage as seen can become a catastrophe.
Business Digest 24
OCTOBER 2020
AUTOMATION IN BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY OR THREAT? Over half a million new businesses were incorporated in the UK last year, and less than half of those will survive more than five years. But their failure won’t be down to recessions or global pandemics – this figure is based on statistics recorded way before COVID-19 came along.
invoicing, paying suppliers and chasing late payments. Then, of course, you need systems and processes in place for delivering your product or service and ensuring customer satisfaction.
And the best way to ensure that your business operates successfully is to make sure you The reason many of these have the right team in place, businesses fail is because they whether you hire employees are missing one fundamental or outsource to freelancers or thing – a plan. external companies.
can be, it can just as easily damage your business if it isn’t implemented in the right way. Automating your marketing and sales, for example, will only work if you understand who your target audience is, what they want and how to communicate with them. There is no point spending thousands on Google ads if you haven’t established what your target audience would be searching for, or if they’re even searching at all. And if they aren’t responding to your ads, you’re just throwing money away.
Another problem with automation is the lack of personalisation. Most people Regardless of industry or So your business plan must can spot an automated sales sector, a business is more include strategies for sales, likely to succeed with a plan. marketing, finance, systems and email or connection request a mile off. And while some people After all, if you understand the processes, and your team. understand this is an attempt destination, it’s easier to work out how to get there. And the good news is technology to make your business more provides many opportunities that efficient, others view it as lazy marketing and will be instantly The first part of your plan support and enhance all these put off. needs to include a strategy for areas. You can automate just sales. Sales is the core of any about anything from marketing And automation doesn’t take business – it doesn’t matter and sales to invoicing and how great your product or order processing. You can even service is if you can’t sell it. So automate a factory production you need to know who will buy line. your product or service and why they would buy it – what In effect, you could automate problem does it solve? your entire business. Paid advertising to attract new leads, Once you understand who automated sales funnels to turn your customers are and their them into paying customers, motivations for buying, it’s automatic invoicing and payment much easier to put an effective processing on sign up, and marketing strategy in place – automatic order dispatch on another part of your business payment. Plus, you can automate plan. surveys to get customer feedback and schedule Your marketing and sales marketing communications that strategies must also align with encourage repeat business. your financial strategy. You But if you want to automate your need to have a handle on your business successfully, you need pipeline so you can control effective systems and processes, your projected cashflow. You to begin with. Because as also need to be on top of advantageous as technology Business Digest 25
into consideration individual circumstances. It doesn’t use its judgement to make decisions. For example, you can set your invoicing system to automatically send emails chasing late payments, and even to charge late payment fees. But what if a long-standing client misses one payment? What if you don’t reconcile a payment so the system thinks you have a debtor? You know this is unusual for them, they’ve always paid on time in the past, and you are confident there is a valid reason. But your automated system won’t take this into account. It won’t give them a call to find out what the issue is and resolve it in a friendly manner. Your automated system will send a generic email, threatening late payment charges, and that could damage a good relationship. So even if you do have automated systems in place, you need that human input too. Because no matter how good or intuitive the tech you use is, it will only be as good as the people behind it. And that’s why you need a plan. Don’t just rush into investing in the latest AI product, fancy app or data science tool without
understanding how it can be applied to your business to support your objectives. If it doesn’t serve your purpose, then maybe you don’t need it. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean you should. Instead, make a plan – have strategies for your sales, marketing, finance, processes and team. Then you can decide how to use technology and automation to support your strategies. Embrace technology and all that is offers you but tread carefully so that the opportunity doesn’t become a threat. And if you do that, you’ll be less likely to be in the 50% plus of new businesses that are going to fail in the next few years
Gary King – Helping business owners to have the freedom to choose where, when and how they work. After 25 years in high-growth businesses delivering results at a senior level, Gary knew he could use his skills to help SMEs. A straighttalking, no-nonsense Yorkshireman, he now helps ambitious business owners create the freedom to make choices about their life through a range of online and in-person programmes. Having turned around his business and his lifestyle when struggling in the first few years, Gary now runs three successful businesses and it’s his experience he uses to help other entrepreneurs ditch the guilt, start earning what they are worth, and have the ability to make choices about how they spend their time. He creates what many hard-working business owners are missing – the freedom to choose. Gary is also Northern Regional Head for the Association of Business Mentors and sits on the Executive Team.
Business Digest 26
OCTOBER 2020
FROM ENTREPRENEUR TO FRANCHISOR
R
une sovndahl started fantastic services in 2009 with his co-founder anton skarlatov. In the beginning, the company had just a couple of cleaning teams, but he shares that “the work environment was chaotic, to put it mildly”. A couple of years later, the company invested heavily in making technology for automation which brought structure to the turbulent workdays.
encounter. Rune’s case was no different: “the lesson i learnt the hard way was that we had to invest a lot of time to teach people to be leaders. We can see that it is changing now, but back in 2009, it was really hard to find someone who could set their own goals and chase them. Investing in people is one of the main goals of fantastic services.” He also added that building strong relationships is The way they do business critical to success: “fantastic today is much smarter and services taught me to not leaner. They use а customjust make relationships but built crm system, apps and take care of them. Leading all their customers can book a business is about leading more than 100 services, people. We fail, succeed and such as cleaning, gardening, grow together.” pest control and handyman in less than 30 seconds. Another particularly important thing he learnt is that “We had to fail a lot. We automation is vital. He invested had to fail to succeed” says millions in a custom-built Rune automation booking system and two award-winning apps, With a global network of making the whole process of more than 530 franchisees, booking services, managing the company’s co-founder schedules, and communicating explains: “our franchise with customers smooth and partners don’t have to fail seamless. as much as we did to create a powerful and profitable business. They don’t have to Rune’s company revolutionised go through the bumpy road the way people book services, because we built them a and we made a significant perfectly automated super impact on the whole propertypath to success.” maintenance industry. Automation is something Going down the franchise everyone is seeking these days route and fantastic services have started investing in technology When you build a brand and automation years ago. from scratch, there are “Our values and our technology countless challenges that is what attracts most of our entrepreneurs are apt to franchisees,” claims rune.
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“We chose to go down the franchise route because we had everything needed to turn fantastic services into the global multi-service franchising company that is today. Firstly, we had a scalable business model, able to be represented in almost any locations. Secondly, we had the demand for our services and thirdly, our
business model was proven as profitable,” he adds. The final part, which made franchising so attractive, we the ownership the franchisees take in providing a good service. Challenge after challenge In the property-maintenance industry, just like in any other, there are peaks and valleys. The economic turmoil, caused by the coronavirus outbreak, hit almost every business, more or less. “ The first month of covid-19, we lost nearly 50% of our domestic cleaning bookings. We launched fantastic services during the 2009’s recession and we knew that we had to act quickly and adapt to the “new normal. Instead of stepping back, we developed new services and we launched fantasticacademy.Com - a platform where we share all the knowledge and expertise we’ve gained over the past decade and those turn out to be a great success. While our competitors were closing down, we were providing antiviral sanitisation services to thousands of clients and growing our
franchise network by signing more than 10 area development contracts,” shared rune sovndahl. “Look, running a business is not a simple task,” says rune. “I believe that our ability to pivot quickly as roadblocks come around has played a significant role through the journey to where i’m today.” The advice that he wants to give to all young entrepreneurs is to “always think big”: “when i say big, i don’t mean to start a business just for the novelty of running a big, successful company. I mean that you have to put yourself out there, to think about the end goal when making decisions in the very first minute, and every minute afterwards.” As a franchisor, he often self-examines himself: “i regularly do introspection on the company’s culture, asking myself questions like: ‘does our culture promote enough innovation?’, ‘Do we inspire and motivate our franchise partners?’, ‘How can we make their workday even more organised?’ I think every person has to sometimes sit down and think not about the usual daily tasks but the things, ensuring that the brand remains reputable and stable during fast-expanding cycles.”
About Rune Sovndahl: Rune Sovndahl is a Danish-born entrepreneur, who founded Fantastic Services with Anton Skarlatov in 2009. His background in marketing and telecommunications has enabled him to build a property maintenance business spanning three continents in just 11 years. His technologydriven, people-first approach has built the first domestic services company that has an online booking form and real-time availability.
Business Digest 28
OCTOBER 2020
Business Digest 29
Business Digest 30
