BUSINESS FIRST INNER 39-82:Layout 1 9/6/08 16:54 Page 67
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SINC’s success stories are many and varied. Just
recently one of its clients, Destiny Pharma, made
front page news with a gel it has developed that
may prove to be the weapon of choice in the battle
against MRSA.
Another very high profile client has been Kwiqq,
which builds social networking sites for
organisations, companies or anyone who wants
one. The founder, Raj Anand, was voted Young
European Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 by the
prestigious American magazine Businessweek.
We got started on 5th Jan 2007, with the help of angel funding. Mike
Herd and SINC were very supportive right from the beginning. They
❛
Raj Anand
helped us with various strategies like marketing, sales and business.
Especially Mike Herd who has always been welcoming and is happy to
discuss plans. SINC also connected us with SEEDA and used Kwiqq's
software for one of their projects. Their expertise and support has been
an important part of developing Kwiqq to its true potential.
Without SINC, I, my business partner Jack Fairhall and the rest of our
team, would have wasted about a year or two developing strategies
which we gained access to instantly. Kwiqq has two strands Kwiqq
Agency and Kwiqq Product. Kwiqq Product is a scalable social website/
networking software, while Kwiqq Agency helps companies develop a
social networking strategy. The process we go through to deliver the
product is unique and we are still pioneers in this field in UK and Europe.
Soon everyone will be able to download Kwiqq's modules for social
networking for free. Although initially it would require your ‘programmer
friend’ to help you out, at a later stage anyone will be able to
download and build their own social network. For us it means opening
up to a bigger market and essentially helping others to stop reinventing
the wheel and focus on innovation in the Social Media sector.
The BBC recently reported that businesses in North America and Europe
are looking to spend $5 billion by 2013 on products like ours. From the
start, Kwiqq has targeted companies and organisations looking to bring
innovation into the way they interact with staff, clients, members…
wherever you have a number of people engaged in activities where
there is a common thread, such as an employer, club, society, place,
you have a social network. Using our software in the past we have
helped companies like First Choice Holidays, Hansard Society and
Oxford University Press with sales, marketing, recruitment, research and
Jack Fairhall
new business opportunities.
Last week I was at NESTA's The Innovation Edge where I heard Gordon
Brown speak about innovation. I feel innovation getting this sort of
mainstream attention is great, although there still aren't enough
incentives to lower the risk barrier for inventors/entrepreneurs.
In the US, especially Silicon Valley, the Mecca for web innovation, there
is a much healthier culture of experimentation and innovation,
although it doesn't necessarily mean that it’s any easier for them. I have
heard several web technology bloggers complaining about things
related to innovation, especially immigration laws, that really annoy
innovators in the US. ❛
But the closer we can get to Silicon Valley’s spirit of innovation
and enterprise, the better for new companies – and the country.
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