IoT Horizon, The IoT and Digital Transformation Specialist based in East Lancashire sat down with us to tell us about their experience with Investment Readiness and how it has helped their business succeed.
Thank you for sitting down with us today. We’re looking forward to hearing all about the fantastic progress IoT Horizon have made since joining the Investment Readiness program. Could you start by telling us a bit about the business?
We began back in 2017. Deyrick (our Co-Founder) set up the business to educate, collaborate and take the complexity out of IoT. Using his vast experience in Technology and Security sectors, Deyrick assembled a team of first-class Engineers and Software Developers with one goal in mind, to help businesses conquer Digital Transformation and thrive in the Digital World.
We provide digital solutions for social distancing, asset tracking, preventative maintenance, and develop bespoke solutions. With expertise in Digital Technologies, Software Development, Electronics Engineering, and Professional Services, we support clients from an idea or challenge right through to a rapid prototype.
Where did your journey to Investment start?
So, the journey started two years ago when Deyrick began to talk about going for Investment, but we didn’t know where to start or where to go. We had heard many positive reviews from the Investment Readiness Program, so we gave it ago, and we loved it.
At the time, we were a relatively new business, so it was amazing to meet like-minded entrepreneurs who were on the same journey as us. All in all, it was a great collaborative environment.
How are some of the ways Investment Readiness supported you?
One of the main things that will always stick out to me was that they massively helped us define our business model. They introduced us to something called The Business Model Canvas, which has stuck with us ever since, and we still use it to this day. It taught us things like; helping us find our route to market, how can we make revenue, how our ecosystem looks. It was crucial for us, we were complete beginners, and they helped us define our business and gave us a strong structure.
They also helped us with our Pitch Practice and creating our pitch, and they helped us define our business model, so we knew what we wanted from Investment and how we were going to make money.
We also struggled to define our offering because what we do is very broad. One of our products has come as a result of the Investment Readiness Program, and we now have a consultancy process for taking a company through IoT Digital Transformation. It works by us taking a step back, looking at the business’ enquiring about our service and seeing if IoT is suitable for that business.
How has your business evolved since getting involved in the program?
We were a micro-SME, saying that we wanted to go for Investment, and they helped us see the gaps. For example, we needed to make sure we had the right people on the team. We were a family board, whereas now we have Non-Executives and other crucial members of the team.
Where are you with your investment journey now?
We now want to set up a pitch practice day, and I guess the next point will be going for the actual Investment. We are now on that journey. It has taken us a couple of years to make sure we have a defined business model, but we were very early in our journey when we started with Investment Readiness, but they helped us define it.
There’s this massive misconception that going for Investment is scary, but the team couldn’t make it any less scary. They don’t just put you in front of investors. They teach, train and mentor you through the whole process.
It’s safe to say that we wouldn’t be where we are without the fantastic, knowledgeable, and super friendly team at Investment Readiness. We can’t thank them enough.
