My Digital Journey

Matthew Elliott, co-founder of Nivo, on spinning out his instant messaging network from Barclays, raising money from friends, family and angels, and why he doesn’t regret leaving a well paid job in banking to help people, through technology, to better access professional services.

Naomi Timperley, co-founder of Tech North Advocates, describes her experience of being a woman in the tech industry, why we could all develop our listening skills and how telling stories will help engage children in the fourth industrial revolution.

Stuart Carter, the former chief executive of Pioneer Productions, explains the complexities of selling his business, how digital technology has transformed TV, and why, when the barriers to entry are lower than ever, he’s urging production companies to ‘think American’.

Dr Steve McConchie, chief executive of Aptus Clinical, left pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca after 25 years to set up a clinical trials business focussed on harnessing big data to improve patients’ lives.

Dawn Anderson, founder and chief executive of Move It Marketing, on her journey to becoming a specialist in search engine optimisation. She explains how search has changed, the mistakes people make, how bias impacts our experience on the web, and what we can do about it.

John Whittle, chief executive and co-founder of mobile phone platform Unshackled.com, explains why giving people equity is vital for growth in a market where speed and agility counts; his challenges in recruiting the right tech talent, and why you should always trust your gut instincts.

On his journey with two businesses, Jeremy Gidlow, co-founder of Intechnica and Netacea, explains how companies can transform themselves through technology – to a place where they can truly differentiate themselves against competitors – and how we can really manage and understand website traffic.

Gavin Wheeldon, chief executive of Purple, shares his journey from hacking computer games at the age of seven, to commercialising analytics for public places all over the world. Along the way, he compares businesses to children, and explains how meeting Sir Terry Leahy in a London hotel is helping amplify his global ambitions.

Howard Jackson, chief executive at Hub4Leaders, on his mission to bring schools into the 21st Century and help raise the ‘tech savvy’ children of tomorrow. He explains what happened when a corporate tried to buy him out (why the relationship between buyer and seller is key), and why he’d rather recruit ‘a diamond with flaws, rather than a smooth pebble’.

Michelle Vint, director at Regital, shares her story of starting a company in programmatic advertising, explains why fast growth isn’t always the answer and why we’ve all got to be willing to fail.

Jason Spencer, business development director at ITV, explains how the world’s fifth biggest TV producer is taking on Netflix and Amazon, and why he’s talking to the corporate finance community about helping companies scale.

David Levine, chief executive at DigitalBridge left a high profile corporate job to start his own business in 2013. Six years later, backed by angel investment, he’s working at the forefront of AI and software development in kitchen and bathroom design – and raising money again.

Jason Dixon, managing director at Docutech on taking a print management business from his conservatory to four UK offices; why none of us should believe our own hype (too much) and opening his doors to ex-offenders.

Gemma McCall, co-founder and managing director at Culture Shift, on combating bullying and harassment using data as part of the growing ‘tech for good’ movement.

Andrew Gething, managing director at MorganAsh, is helping to bridge the gap between technology and health. But he believes we need to be careful that human contact with patients and customers isn't lost in the digital revolution.

The chief executive of Loved By shares the highs and lows of trying to create value for 25 years, before completing the sale of his third business – Great Fridays – in 2014, and how nearly losing his son last year has taken his digital skills in a new direction.

The founder of Volcanic talks about his move from the public sector to entrepreneurship, why he put all his eggs in the recruitment industry basket, and why companies should perform high levels of due diligence on themselves to get ready for sale.

After the birth of her first child, Beckie Taylor felt sure she wasn’t the only person struggling get back into the sector she loved, so she decided to use her experience to do something about it and Tech Returners was born.

The founder and chief product architect at software developer Syrenis talks about the birth of the internet, pioneering in a fast-moving industry and why we should ‘say no’ to cookies.

The adventurer and author speaks about building honest connections through storytelling, focusing on content creation over analytics, and why you don’t need thousands of followers.

Digital marketing entrepreneur, academic and the founder of Missile Digital Studios explains why it pays to create your own ‘content universe’, why he’s happy to take life more slowly with his latest startup, and if you want to sell online, ‘don’t try too hard’.

The chief executive of Currentbody.com talks about developing resilience through the tough years, getting the right minds around the boardroom table, funding for growth and convincing an entire industry to go online.