Launching Europe’s Fastest Growing Tech Firm with Co-Founder of Spyrosoft, Andrew Radcliffe #23
Andrew Radcliffe’s passion for technology, like many, began with pushing the limits of early Amstrad computers at a young age. Fast forward to the modern day and in an impressive 5 year journey of expansion, his business Spyrosoft has gone from very humble beginnings to Europe’s fastest growing tech company.
On that path to realising a long-time dream of his, Andrew has evolved from a developer to learning how best to manage a team of them, capturing the importance of data in technological advancements and the vital emphasis on building your business with the right people.
Lee & andrew discuss:
How an undiminishable passion for technology directed Andrew’s career path
Adjusting from being a developer to managing a team of devs
Embracing digitisation and data at Ordnance Survey
Growing Europe’s #1 fastest growing technology company
The paramount importance of the right people in your business
Links & references:
Lee Cooper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecooperrecruiter/
Andrew Radcliffe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewradcliffe/
Spyrosoft: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spyrosoft/
Spyrosoft UK: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spyrosoft-uk/
Get in touch: lee@extrology.com
Episode highlights:
“I came back from the States at about 13 years of age, at the time when the BBC-B and the Amstrad CPC-464 really started to come into existence. My father came home one day from Dixons, and he had this Amstrad computer. We just started playing with it, and it just captivated me.” - 5:35 - Andrew Radcliffe
“I've always enjoyed learning, and that probably comes back to my experiences in America. Being open minded, looking at what's in front of you and trying to understand it, and make the best use of it.” - 7:50 - Andrew Radcliffe
“What prompted me to pursue a career in technology was just that passion, playing around with the machine, trying to make it do things and seeing where I could take it.” - 10:25 - Andrew Radcliffe
“You come out of an apprenticeship with around 5 years of experience under your belt at the same time a university graduate with just the degree and no experience. It's a different way of doing it, but you come out as a very valuable employee.” - 14:30 - Andrew Radcliffe
“I have a vivid memory, walking down the corridor one day. My team was in a meeting room, and I was 2-3 minutes late. The meeting room door was open and I could hear them talking. I walked around the corner into the meeting room and there was silence, and I knew at that point I'm no longer a developer - I'm now different and I would be treated differently.” - 19:00 - Andrew Radcliffe
“Paper maps will always have a place but digital services, apps, and the whole shift to digital was happening around when I joined Ordnance Survey. At that time they were asking themselves about how to build engaging digital experiences to get people to really use our data in the best way possible.” - 27:30 - Andrew Radcliffe
“Everything is about data, it all distills down to the data. You collect that data from a number of different sources, and you run intelligence and analytics across it to really understand the power of that data and answer problems.” - 33:45 - Andrew Radcliffe
“The Eureka moment for me was a moment of self-reassurance that I have the skills to do this. There was always that thought in my mind, or dream if you like, that it would be great to have a technology company of my own.” - 36:35 - Andrew Radcliffe
“I've learned that it's all about people. Our skills and knowledge builds technology solutions, but you can't do any of that without the people. Technology comes high on the list, but without the people you don't have anything.” - 42:15 - Andrew Radcliffe
“There are some basic safety nets and things you should have in place - you probably need a bit of savings to make sure you can pay your mortgage next month - but aside from that, if you've got a dream and a vision, and you are focused on what that is, just do it because it will happen.” - 52:50 - Andrew Radcliffe
Extrology is sponsored by Progresso Talent Partners who for more than 25 years have successfully delivered interim and permanent leadership talent to transform businesses and to hire the talent you need to enable your business to thrive: https://www.progressotalent.com/