Business Articles
Featured Business:Element Software
Name: Dorothy Creaven, CEO, Element Software
Employees: Seven
Since: 2011
Lifestage: Start-up
Company Background:
While mobile app development is a service that a lot of companies are still getting to grips with, one mobile app development company in Galway is already a step ahead of the curve and has moved into the product side of the industry.
Element Software, which started business as a mobile app development company in 2011, has already made the pivot to offer a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) real-time mobile analytics product called Element Wave, the first of a suite of products it will roll out.
The product, which is designed for big brand B2C companies that have mobile apps to monitor consumer behaviour in-app, is different in that it monitors mobile customer behaviours in real time, helping brands to target their mobile audience, explains CEO Dorothy Creaven.
Citing Steve Jobs as an inspiration, Dorothy is a fan of inventing things people don’t realise they need yet. She founded the company together with former NUI Galway classmate James Harkin, CTO at Element Software.
They got into business after identifying a gap in the market – especially in Europe – in the mobile space. The move from a service-based to product-based company was in part related to scalability. Element Wave clients currently include the Irish Greyhound Board, and Sage for its Sage CRM app. It offers plenty of opportunity to its users. Dorothy gives the example of how a large coffee chain could use it: The digital marketing manager can target people working in the general locality, see if they use their mobile app often and, if they do, reward them with something free with their coffee to try and bring them into the shop on a quiet day.
It currently helps brands to double customer loyalty and in-app revenues.
Interview with Dorothy Creaven
What was the inspiration for setting up your business?
James and I are both really into the whole mobile
space. James’s background was also in telecommunications and
software development. We’re both complete gadget freaks,
especially when it comes to mobile technology. We could see
there was huge potential in it for growing a business. So we
started off creating mobile apps; we made native mobile apps,
which run on iPhone, Android and Windows phones before moving
full-time into the development of Element Wave.
How did you initially fund your business?
We funded it ourselves in the very beginning. All we
needed to start with was a couple of laptops and a couple of
phones. We really started it from nothing. We funded it by
getting app development contracts. Once we had a bit of
momentum, we were able to move into offices and start
expanding that way. Initially it was a low-cost way to start a
business. We’ve always been of the impression that you need to
keep costs down and not get yourself into debt when you’re a
start-up, because you don’t know what’s going to happen. Later
on, we got some funding from the Galway Enterprise Board,
which has been very supportive of our company.
Have you diversified your offering from your original
focus or set up other businesses?
We started off as mobile app developers. That’s a
service-based business and we always wanted to get into
something that was more product-based. We wanted to create
something that would sell online, that would make money
overnight, something that was easier to scale than the
services side of a business. We came up with our newest
product, which is called Element Wave. Element Wave is
Software-as-a-Service [Saas] so it’s sold online. It helps B2C
companies monitor how their customers are using their apps in
real-time. It’s an extra feature that app developers would
integrate into their own apps for brands who want to have a
mobile app on the market. It collects information about mobile
customers’ preferences, interests and especially their usage
patterns. It allows brands to analyse the data and send in-app
messages, which increases the mobile user retention by 400%
and return on investment by 250%. Basically, we’re helping
brands generate more revenue from their mobile
apps.
What have been the highlights to date?
We’ve won a few awards. The most recent one was this
year’s national SFA awards in the Emerging Business category
. We’ve been finalists in two categories for the Startup
Awards in 2013 – Women in Business and Best Export Product.
Another highlight is we’ve grown the team from two people to
seven, so it’s been a huge achievement to have people in-house
here that are really dedicated to bringing Element Wave to
market and making it a really world-class product.
What’s your favourite part of being a business owner/entrepreneur?
Working for myself was always something I just knew I
had to do; it wasn’t even a choice. I enjoy having my own
facility on time and what I spend my days doing. I guess it’s
having the flexibility to get involved in different areas and
elements of industry too. You end up working a lot more hours
and you put in much more of your emotions and mental strength
being an entrepreneur and working for yourself. It definitely
has its rewards and I like the flexibility of finding the best
way to move your company forward. Be in control of your own
destiny, that’s it in a nutshell.
How do you achieve a work-life balance?
The short answer is I don’t! But it’s something I’m
working on at the moment. Getting a product to market and
especially working in a start-up is totally all-encompassing.
You’re talking about working from 7am to 2-3am in the morning.
We’re hopefully coming out of that phase soon; I’m working on
achieving more of a work-life balance. I find exercise is key
for me; I like to go running in the morning as it is brilliant
for helping you make smart decisions. You think more clearly,
make decisions more quickly; you’re just sharper all
around.
Are you inspired by any business figures or success stories?
I think Steve Jobs is an inspiration – especially in
the industry I’m working in. I think one of the things he
helped to do is create products that people didn’t realise
they wanted yet. He’s a complete inspiration.
What tools do you utilise that benefit your customers or
that make running your business easier or more profitable?
A cashflow management tool is really important.
Cashflow is everything when you’re a start-up, and keeping
yourself on track is key. We use PulseApp.com. They’re a
start-up too. Plus, I couldn’t live without my MacBook
Air.
Do you feel you know what your customers really want?
How do you stay updated with this information?
We are really keen on keeping on top of what’s
happening in the mobile market. We develop our products in
line with what our customers want, but we also develop aspects
that customers don’t know they want yet and will really need
in the future. I take inspiration from Steve Jobs – he created
products before people even knew they wanted them, so we try
and keep our finger on the pulse and see what’s happening in
trends. Going to conferences and trade-shows are great
too.
What has been the biggest challenge your business has faced?
I think cashflow is a major challenge for all
startups. There’s never enough of it. It’s always a difficult
thing to manage, especially in the first years because you’re
investing in people, in hires, in productivity, also in the
product you’re developing – so it’s always a
challenge.
What do you think the biggest challenge to businesses in
Ireland is at the moment?
I think people’s budgets are so tight today; budgets
are about a quarter of where they would have been a few years
ago. People are making decisions a lot slower too, with much
more caution, which can be a good thing, but can also stand in
the way of progressing quickly. I think it’s slowly changing
though. Ireland has so much potential as an innovation centre,
an innovation country. We’re absolutely miles ahead, in so
many respects, in regard to technology and
innovation.
What part of running a business comes to you naturally?
I come from a family of entrepreneurs, so it’s
difficult to pinpoint. Organisational skills maybe. And the
ability to make quick decisions. But it’s hard to say
really.
What has been the best reward in running your own business?
Building a company up from absolutely nothing and
creating a product that people want to buy. You work on a
product for a year or two and when people see the benefit it
will bring to their business and are willing to pay you for
it, it’s just great. It’s such a good feeling. Bringing people
together and having a team working with you and hiring people
to become part of your business is a really great reward as
well.
What was the main catalyst for growth?
We wanted to change from a service-based industry to a
product-based one because we really felt that service-based
would be difficult to scale. We felt with a product based
industry we could become a global provider of a product that
was easier to scale. That was really our main catalyst for
growth. I think having to pivot your business model in a
recession, or when you need to, you have to be willing to be
flexible and I think that was a big catalyst for growth as
well.
How did you scale/grow your business?
We started with a service-based model – creating
bespoke mobile apps, serving clients mainly in Ireland and in
the UK. It was difficult to scale this as only a small number
of clients can be taken on simultaneously. The more customers
you have, the more developers you need. We pivoted into a
product-based business model with Element Wave, which we sell
online to the global market. The product is self-service and
doesn’t require customised development on a per-client basis,
which makes the business easier to scale.
How do you get ideas to further your business?
We always want to keep ahead of market trends so we
are always looking at what technology is coming down the line.
We are also thinking ahead for products that haven’t happened
yet, but that’s the way the market is moving. It’s really
important to keep looking for the next best thing because,
ultimately, technology catches up on itself and moves ahead
very quickly.
What motivates you to stay running a business?
When you’ve been working on something for a long time
and when you hit a major achievement, it really helps you to
keep going. It’s also the little achievements along the way
that keep you on the right path. It’s also the excitement of
running your own business and creating something that will
give people jobs and contribute to making the world an easier
place to be in.
What’s your vision for the future?
We’ve really big plans for Element Software. We want
to expand the team here in Galway and hire an additional 25
people in the next couple of years. We want to keep our
headquarters here in Ireland but intend to set up a US office
next year [2014]. We want to grow from being a small software
company in the West of Ireland into a large-scale,
cutting-edge, global technology provider. We’ll probably
create a suite of products still staying in the mobile
sector.
Do you have a mentor; do you find this has positively
impacted on your success?
I was on the Enterprise Ireland New Frontiers
programme in 2012 and we were provided with a mentor as part
of that. That was invaluable. We also have an enviable board
of advisors that we meet with regularly, which has a very
positive effect and impact on the company.
What’s the best business advice you’ve received?
If you don’t try, you never know. You have to go for
it or else you’ll always wonder what might have
been.
What would be your advice to businesses starting out?
I think the most important thing is to stay positive
and to persevere. Staying positive is really important, if you
let the fear in, you won’t get anywhere. Perseverance
absolutely pays off.
What’s your favourite motivational business quote?
My favourite one at the moment is by Henry Ford. “If I
had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster
horses.” Sometimes customers don’t know what they want till
they get it.
What, if anything, would you do differently?
There are probably a few things that I would do
differently, but I’ve learned so much along the way that I
don’t have any regrets. The lessons I’ve learned along the way
have been invaluable and have really stayed with me.
Website: www.elementsoftware.ie
Phone: +353 91 450077
Email: info@elementsoftware.ie
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ElementTechWare
Facebook: www.facebook.com/elementsoftware
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=157342&locale=en_US&trk=tyah
Interviewed by: Web
Content Partners
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