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While the media has a tendency to fawn over San Francisco’s “disruptive” startup darlings, Silicon Valley is far from the end-all, be-all of global tech startup hot spots.

In recent years, the United Kingdom has stepped up to become a major player in the tech startup scene. From London to Leeds to Wales, there are some pretty incredible companies emerging from this part of the world — and they’re shaping the future of how we learn, work, play, and pay.

Below are a few UK-based “techtrepreneurs” building game-changing companies and social enterprises in industries like finance, education, and retail. 

Changing how we learn 

When Synap founders James Gupta and Omair Vaiyani were students in medical school, they found themselves drowning in a veritable ocean of information. It dawned on them that traditional methods of studying — flash cards, etc. — were seriously antiquated.

“We were expected to remember a huge amount of information in a short space of time — and we weren’t really told how to do it,” says Gupta. The conundrum led to a lightbulb moment for the duo, who decided to engineer a new method of studying in order to get through exams. “When [the platform] gathered tens of thousands of downloads from students and professionals all over the world, we started to realise we’d tapped into something with a lot more potential,” Gupta explains.

Flash forward a couple of years, and Synap, an online study aid that employs a powerful memory technique known as Spaced Repetition to help students learn more in less time, secured £200,000 from 141 investors on Crowdcube. The successes keep accumulating for the Leeds-based company: Last year, one in four medical students in the UK used Synap.

Image: synap

In London, serial techtrepreneur Guy Riese has also turned his attention to the education and learning space. Riese, who founded his first company at the age of 13, decided to start Up Learn to tackle a “broken” education system.

Up Learn uses algorithms, neuroscience, AI, interactive videos, and thousands of digital resources to build an optimised learning experience for each user. Today, more than 24,000 students use Up Learn, and the company is valued in the millions.

It’s testament of the power of techtrepeneurship to not only innovate, but also to have a tangible, meaningful impact on people’s lives.

But, says Riese, the company’s financial success “pales in comparison” to its biggest win, which is the impact that the platform has upon countless students’ lives. 

“When exam results come in each year and we find out how many of our students’ lives have been changed, or when [users] achieve grades they never dreamed of and offers to universities their teachers had told them were ‘out of their reach’… it’s a testament to the power of ‘techtrepeneurship’ to not only innovate, but also to have a tangible, meaningful impact on people’s lives.”

Changing how we work 

Serial entrepreneur Chris Griffiths has dedicated his career to improving workers’ creativity and productivity levels. His company, OpenGenius, pioneered the brainstorming and project-planning software iMindMap as well as the visual task-management app DropTask. Today, more than a million people use these tools to hone workplace and leadership skills.

“There was a worldwide need for intuitive digital apps to enhance cognitive brain functions, and I was determined to find the solution,” says Griffiths. “I have always been fascinated by technology’s ability to enhance our brain’s creative thinking patterns… I had a vision to create a digital brainstorming software that included all the characteristics proven to stimulate creative thinking behaviours.”

Earlier this year, OpenGenius became the first-ever Welsh company accepted into the London Stock Exchange’s ELITE programme. 

“Wales is finally getting the recognition it deserves for its home-grown talent, which is creating innovative technology that’s changing lives all across the world. I am over the moon that we are one of the companies paving the way to Wales’ bright future,” says Griffiths.

Changing the way we play 

Louise Leolin, cofounder and games producer of London-based indie-game startup DinoByte Labs, has been a gamer for more than two decades. Her educational background is in interactive media with a focus on UX design. As such, she has witnessed firsthand both the gaming and tech industries’ frequently lackluster record of inclusiveness.

“We believe the games industry, like any creative industry, would be better with more diversity and representation, and we hope our games will show this. We aspire to keep the studio inclusive, and we especially want to encourage more girls to enter the games and tech industries,” reads DinoByte Labs’ website. 

Image: dynobyte labs

“The games industry is a pretty tough one to break into. It’s certainly been a difficult journey, but games are our life, so even though we often work 12-hour days and weekends, we still love the work we do,” Leolin told Mashable.

One of the most challenging elements of building DinoByte Labs was sticking to the plan to be self-funded. This, Leolin explains, meant she and co-founder Christian Lovdal had to take on a huge amount of client work in the company’s nascent years in order to fund passion projects, such as the company’s self-published game Midli, which is currently live on KickStarter.

“We have been blown away by the positive feedback we have gotten, especially as Midli deals with some deeper themes such as mental health. Hearing people excited because they understand those struggles and want to see more games explore them has been one of the most meaningful rewards for our studio so far,” says Leolin.

Changing the way we pay 

Even those who are barely familiar with the tech world today are likely aware of the rise of cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Bitcoin. Mel Gelderman and David Hoggard have turned the trend into a thriving business through TokenCard, a physical card that enables online payments, PoS transactions, and ATM withdrawals using ERC20 (Ethereum) tokens. The end goal is to explore applications of Ethereum within consumer finance.

“For me, the motivation behind TokenCard was twofold: On the one hand, there is this awesome technology out there (Ethereum) and these amazing assets (tokens), but no easy way to access them. On the flip side, people who do hold tokens struggle to use them in any meaningful way. The motivation was a natural response to fundamental barriers within the space,” explains Hoggard.

“We’re constantly looking for people who are passionate about our product and who resonate with what we’re trying to build. The resulting foundation at TokenCard is a group of individuals who are motivated to build something amazing,” he adds.

Azimo is another company tackling consumer payments in an increasingly digital, globalised world: The startup, based in the UK, focuses on international payments, making it easier than ever before to send money to more than 195 countries around the globe. The platform supports more than 60 different currencies, and completes transfers within hours. Users can send money to any bank account, more than 300,000 cash pick-up locations, and all major mobile wallets.

Cofounders Marta Krupinska and Michael Kent‘s primary aim is to make payments across borders cheaper, simpler, and easier to understand — and in the process, the duo hopes to “help people build a better world.”  

Changing the way we shop

Jessi Baker started transparent supply chain organization Provenance out of frustration with how little consumers tend to know about the things they buy. The platform helps businesses share in the origin, journey, and impact behind products ranging from food products to clothing.

Image: provenance.org

I can easily sort products in ecommerce stores by brand, even colour and consumer reviews — so why not by location of production or social impact?” says Baker. “I passionately believe that we all have the power to make the world in which we live more inclusive, just and sustainable — and one of the ways we can do that is by buying products with a positive social and environmental impact.”

Ultimately, she adds, the company hopes to make data about where a product is made as common as customer reviews.

Changing the world

While extravagant valuations and boosting the bottom line are certainly motivation for the majority of entrepreneurs, Sam Applebee has a different impetus: Social impact. His organization, Super Global, unites a nonprofit community of creative tech agencies who wish to use their expertise for social good.

“In 2016, the design agency I cofounded set out to do something socially impactful,” explains Applebee. “We failed because we didn’t understand the problem we were trying to solve well enough or have access to the right networks. Meanwhile we could see that charities, NGOs and social impact projects needed creative and technology expertise. Super Global was born to bridge that gap.”

The company helps social organisations formulate ideas, as well as enlist the right resources to build successful partnerships. 

“We’re on a mission to make collaboration between agencies and social ventures so easy that we make ourselves obsolete. Agencies learn social impact on the job. Charities, NGOs and social ventures learn tech. The whole world wins,” says Applebee.

The entrepreneurs above are just a few of the visionaries defining the UK as a region synonymous with trailblazing technology. Driving global impact from their respective corners of the world, these individuals are taking “techtrepreneurship” to new and exciting heights.

Read more: http://mashable.com/2017/09/15/uk-techtrepreneurs-empire/

ecommerce

Why marketing transformation is about as meta as it gets

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The creative geniuses on your marketing team have achieved what seemed impossible a mere six months ago: They’ve developed an exciting campaign using a trendy technology — an artificially intelligent chatbot, deployed on the website and on social media — in a way that’s simultaneously on-brand, cost-conscious, and effectively drives conversions. 

This would seem cause for celebration: Except for the fact that in the time it’s taken them to master this product, an entirely new technology has taken over the cultural zeitgeist — and your biggest competitor is rumoured to be ten steps ahead of the trend.

This is an all-too-common scenario in the world of the modern marketer. Keeping up with the latest tech tools — and finding a way to effectively add them to a marketing stack — can feel a bit like running on a steadily quickening treadmill. 

This is why digital transformation is perhaps the most excitingly frustrating part of a marketer’s job, and why theories on how to effectively master marketing transformation are prolific among industry experts and analysts today. 

57 percent of marketing leaders say AI is absolutely or very essential in helping them provide personalized experiences for their customers

In Salesforce’s State of Marketing Report released in June 2017, 57 percent of marketing leaders said AI is absolutely or very essential in helping them provide personalised experiences for their customers, and 64 percent say their company has become more focused on providing a consistent experience across every channel as a result of changing customer expectations. 

Below, we’ve outlined a few key things to note about marketing transformation in 2017, as well as a few companies mastering modern digital trends.

Businesses must adapt or die

Heritage companies struggle the most with transformation, according to Nigel Morris, chief strategy and innovation officer at Dentsu Aegis. Speaking at the dmexco conference in Cologne, Morris waxed lyrical about the need for businesses to adapt or die, which can be more of a struggle for those businesses that have been in operation for decades. How do established businesses get the energy, the leadership and the drive to compete and transform in a globalised world? The key is to keep on learning. “When we’re skiing, if we lean back, we fall down.” Morris elaborated, “We must lean into transformation, much like skiing.”

“When we’re skiing, if we lean back, we fall down.” Morris elaborated, “We must lean into transformation, much like skiing.”

Speaking with Allen Blue, VP of product marketing and co-founder of LinkedIn, Morris discussed the importance of an “always-on” attitude to learning, even in the most well-established, successful organisations. “It’s not all about spending more in digital marketing, it’s the redevelopment of skills and relearning what’s new”, Blue lamented, and that means embracing the latest tools and ensuring they’re used effectively as a part of your arsenal.

Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence may sound like marketing goldmines — but successfully implementing them is a complex (read: expensive) process. More than just monetary costs, it also involves dedicating intangible resources like time, talent, and brainspace to the product’s development. And since there are many stakeholders involved in technical marketing overhauls — the CMO, clearly, but also other members of the c-suite like the CTO and the CEO, as well as third-party investors — it’s important to critically consider which technologies are worth dedicating the necessary time and effort.

Image: pixabay

It’s no longer a (hu)man’s world. It’s a computer’s world

While the above statement is by no means a new concept, it’s one that some companies have been slow to accept. While fledgling businesses have a lot to learn from their seniors, established companies must heed the example of emerging startups. Most of today’s mega-entities, such as Google and Facebook, were born and raised in the digital age. They are, so to speak, the millennials of the business world. They know the importance of data.

Today’s businesses must learn to embrace and fully understand the huge data sets they’re engaging with daily. For those struggling in this area, IBM is one company taking a proactive approach to education. The company recently launched THINK Marketing, a one-stop content destination for marketers scrambling to stay abreast of what’s new and what’s next. 

The hub is built upon IBM’s Watson technology, which uses cognitive learning capabilities to serve users with relevant content based on their online behaviour. A marketing ploy in and of itself for IBM (it is, at its core, an attempt to promote IBM’s own cloud-based content management system), the hub showcases many of the technologies that its content focuses upon — most notably, artificial intelligence.

Kicking off proceedings at September’s dmexco exhibition, Bob Lord, chief digital officer at IBM, spoke of the role of AI in transforming today’s businesses and their ability to connect with customers. IBM’s Watson is an artificial intelligence that’s proven its prowess not only through a Jeopardy victory, but by storming the Billboard chart with Alex Da Kid, and these achievements are testament to just how powerful computing has become.

When it comes to harnessing the powers of AI for marketing, it’s all about the power of conversation. AI can now decipher tone, process information at an unprecedented rate, and interact so cohesively with humans that at times we don’t even recognise it as a machine. Master AI and your value exchange with consumers strengthens exponentially. As Lord elaborated at dmexco: “shame on us if we don’t start embracing these technologies at scale.”

The most exciting tech tools in today’s marketing stack are AI, AR, and VR

AIM is more than just a nostalgia-inducing instant messaging platform from the ’90s. Today, Artificial Intelligence Marketing is an increasingly attractive addition to a company’s technology stack.

It’s important to remember that while the term may conjure images of robot overlords, AI is actually a much more all-encompassing moniker. Chances are high that basic AI will soon infiltrate everything from smartphones to virtual home assistants like Alexa and Google Home to, yes, AdTech platforms and tools. 

But while many marketing-focused softwares, apps, and platforms are currently touted as “artificially intelligent,” quite a few of these actually employ “machine learning,” which is a slightly different animal. In a recent recap of the two technologies, Sarah Fay of Glasswing Ventures explains this difference concisely: 

“Machine learning generally relates to a software algorithm that leverages specific data sets and rules programmed by humans that become faster and smarter as they iterate in performing the tasks for which they were created.  

Artificial intelligence exists when software can make decisions outside of the data strategy and rules set by humans, to form new solutions.”

Knowing this key difference can help marketers better decide which tools provide the promised bank for their buck.  

There’s valid reason for marketers to be excited about both AI and machine learning, however. First and foremost, the possibilities for customized consumer experiences are practically endless. For example: AI-enabled ecommerce applications may be able to effectively serve customers with product recommendations that make Amazon’s “customers also bought…” algorithms look like child’s play. Social media is another arena in which AI infusion is highly anticipated, particularly with just 7% of marketers stating that they’re able to consistently manage real-time, personalised engagement with consumers across both digital and physical platforms.

In the IBM example above, it’s also clear that there’s potential for AI to act not only as a valuable tool within marketing campaigns, but also as a resource for marketers themselves to learn about exciting, up-and-coming industry trends.

VR and AR — virtual reality and augmented reality — are two more terms that are practically guaranteed to get any marketer’s heart racing. A few companies have effectively added these tools into their marketing arsenal: For example, in 2014 Jaguar Land Rover launched an immersive experience that lets customers virtually design and customise their “dream” vehicle via a VR headset. 

Image: jaguar

The technology also allows users to virtually explore cars in 360-degree views, and to make changes to designs in real-time. The success of the campaign is ongoing: Three years later, and Jaguar is rolling out virtual reality technology to more than 1,500 retailers in 85 markets and in 20 different languages.

In the realm of AR, Tesco is one brand successfully adding the tool into its marketing strategy. The brand’s Discover Tesco app, for example, allows customers to scan Tesco product labels and engage in immersive in-store experiences. The brand’s physical Home Book catalogue, too, includes a “cushion visualizer” that lets shoppers transpose products into their home environments via mobile device. (Check out the video below to see this impressive tech in action.)

For every success like the ones detailed above, however, there are just as many marketing misfires, as well as thousands of products promising AR or AI that simply don’t deliver the goods.

There’s a crucial warning here that’s applicable to any future technologies upending the marketing stack: Marketers must be wary of becoming hypnotised by exciting buzzwords. Just because a product or software is “AI-enabled” doesn’t necessarily make it the best fit for your marketing stack. In other words: Before blithely investing in every hot technology trend that hits the blogosphere, it’s key to pinpoint the specific initiatives that will best contribute to an overarching strategy.

AI is becoming Augmented Intelligence 

In a conversation about machine learning at dmexco, Paul Papas, global leader, digital strategy at IBM iX discussed that at IBM iX they don’t necessarily think about AI as artificial intelligence, but rather augmented intelligence. 

“We think of AI as augmenting human intelligence. Supporting people in their professions, so Watson for healthcare, legal, tech, — using Watson to transform all industries. We ask ourselves: How much more effective can they be with the power of these capabilities? They can now create hyper personalised strategies, advanced audience segmentation, and make sense of data. It’s extending a person’s capabilities.”

And it’s not all innovation for the sake of innovation. 76% of the audience at the dmexco panel on machine learning answered ‘yes’ to a poll that asked if they would want their personalised customer experience to go from offline to online to suggest the next trendy product they could buy. 

As we continue to hurtle through this digital age, one thing is certain: If a company hopes to compete in the coming race, they need to adapt, embrace, and keep on learning.

Read more: http://mashable.com/2017/09/13/digital-marketing-transformation/

ecommerce

The UK’s MarTech and AdTech industries are on the rise

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Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, machine learning, interactive video, and mobile multimedia are just a few of the decidedly buzzword-y innovations tantalizing marketers with a promise to capitalise on a growing abundance of consumer data.

Underlying these advancements are two less sexy-sounding but crucial catalysts: The marketing and advertising technology industries (sometimes collectively referred to as “MadTech”). From CRM to programmatic to novel ways of tracking customer behaviour both on and offline, savvy marketers are developing increasingly creative ways to put data-driven insights to work.

The UK is quickly becoming a leader in the MadTech space. Below is a brief overview of the current state of marketing and advertising technology in this region of the world, as well as a few examples of companies doing remarkable things in the space.

The state of MadTech within the UK

MadTech is gaining considerable ground both in terms of innovative product offerings and overall influence.

Recent studies, such as Salesforce’s 2017 State of Marketing report, make the motivation for this trend clear: According to the report, 52% of customers and 65% of businesses are likely to abandon brands if a company or vendor fails to provide “customised communications.” In other words, both B2B and B2C organisations must fine-tune their focus on optimising client experiences in order to stay competitive and boost ROI.

The lines of distinction between AdTech and MarTech, which have long been considered related but independent fields, are becoming blurrier by the day. Whereas AdTech has traditionally referred to media-driven initiatives such as programmatic and omnichannel advertising, MarTech has served as more of an umbrella term for SaaS-driven marketing platforms. (MarTech is a particularly convoluted industry as of late; a recent infographic detailing the 2017 landscape reported there are currently a whopping 5,381 solutions available from 4,891 distinct companies, a 40% increase from 2016.) 

But more than one source in recent memory has noted that these industries are on a clear-cut “convergence course.” In an oversaturated marketing landscape, companies want to further streamline strategy: Brands are seeking tools not only to make the most of powerful “walled gardens” (i.e. Google and Facebook)’s access to eyeballs, but also to consolidate their marketing stack and inch ever closer to the coveted single customer view.

With venture capitalists increasingly turning their attention to UK-based startups in the industry, the UK is particularly well positioned to leap to the forefront of MadTech innovation. It is, undoubtedly, a ripe market: Earlier this year, the Internet Advertising Bureau UK reported that almost 75% of UK digital display advertising is now purchased programmatically. The same report detailed that digital advertising grew at its fastest rate in nine years in the first quarter of 2017, surpassing the £10 billion threshold; spend on mobile video ads doubled, marking the medium as the fastest growing ad format.

Advertising has come a long way.

Image: pixabay

Content marketing, a close relative to both MarTech and AdTech, is another arena that UK companies plan to prioritise in the coming months. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 61% of UK marketers say their organisations are “extremely” or “very” committed to content marketing, and 60% cite higher success levels in 2017 than with CM tactics a year ago. Of the tools they currently use to measure success and carry out campaigns, 80% use analytics platforms and 55% employ some sort of content management system. The average content marketer uses a combination of eight different tactics as part of their overarching strategy.

Additionally, video-centric media platforms like Snapchat are also gaining ground in the UK: Among the coveted teenage demographic, usage and engagement rates have topped that of the US for the same demographic in 2015.

Top-notch universities have recently homed in on the potential for MadTech to provide employment opportunities for UK-based graduates. With digital technology employment predicted to increase by 6% by 2020, world-renowned universities like the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Oxford and University College London are particularly suitable for students seeking a career in marketing and computer science.

MadTech innovation on the rise

There are also a growing number of startups and established companies alike in the UK’s tech scene finding success in novel MadTech campaign tactics.

Marks & Spencer, for example, has employed HTML5 video overlays via Smartzer, a startup that lets brands turn their videos into interactive and clickable (i.e. “shoppable”) experiences. 

Unruly, a social video advertising startup that was acquired by News Corp in 2015, employs a predictive algorithm to “create better ad experiences for consumers, improve brand outcomes for advertisers, and increase revenues for top-flight publishers.” The company has had a hand in some of the most iconic viral marketing videos to date, including the iconic “Dove beauty sketches” videos. Unruly, which originated out of London’s Shoreditch neighbourhood, has become a global contender, with 20 offices worldwide and 91% of Ad Age’s Top 100 Brands in its list of estimable clients. Adludio is yet another organisation using cutting-edge technology to take MadTech to unprecedented heights: The company provides “programmatic sensory advertising” and interactive ad units that help brands master mobile strategy.

On the ecommerce side of things, Qubit, a London data analytics startup that was founded in 2010 by ex-Google employees, helps retail organisations like Topshop provide personalised experiences for online customers. The company’s suite of products collects and processes large data sets via machine learning, statistical analysis, and high-performance computing.

With a spirit of audacious innovation, the UK is well on its way to becoming a force to be reckoned with in the MadTech industry — and the world is, quite literally, watching.

Read more: http://mashable.com/2017/09/11/uk-madtech/