As the entries for this year's Smarta 100 continue
to come in, we are catching up with previous winners.
Here Scott Allison, the founder Teamly, the productivity tool, explains how he
enjoyed the experience of becoming a Smarta 100
winner.
What stage was your business at when you won
the Smarta 100 last year?
Teamly was at a transition point - we started in the middle of
2010 and we got off to a great start, but the road to building a
great business is rarely linear and we had some ups and downs
during 2011. Towards the end of that year, things started
coming together again as we won the Smarta 100! It was a great
boost, and it reminded us that we'd achieved a lot and our
persistence had been worth it. It was a great honour to be named as
one of the UK's most resourceful, original, exciting and
disruptive small businesses.
Why did you enter the awards?
I'm a big fan of awards, they're a great way to raise
awareness for a business, help validate what you're doing with
customers, and they're great for staff morale, as well as helping
with recruiting. It takes time to prepare a good award application
and of course you're not guaranteed to win but if you do the return
is well worth it.
What was the experience like?
Fantastic! As well as the free drinks, we enjoyed the
opportunity to take part in the networking and be part of an
exclusive group of great companies.
How has your business benefited from being a part of
the Smarta 100?
It's been good validation for us, especially when talking to
customers. We can leverage the fact that Smarta's panel of judges
picked us out from all the other excellent applicants, and
identified us as a disruptive new business.
What has your business achieved since being named a
Smarta 100 winner?
2012 has been a good year so far for Teamly. We've raised angel
funding, and took part in the renowned Silicon Valley accelerator
programme, 500 Startups. As part of the summer batch, we're one of
28 tech start-ups from all around the world. Spending time in
Silicon Valley has been amazing, with access to fantastic
mentors and surrounded by leading software businesses.
What is your top tip for any company thinking of
entering the Smarta 100 this year?
Go for it! Think about what makes you unique and how you can
stand out from the crowd.
For more information about the Smarta 100, click
here
For more information about Teamly, click
here
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