Bath-based startup Claritize is developing powerful software that automatically spots patterns in data, finding anomalies in big data sets.
Ahead of their first release, we spoke to Andrew Carr, CEO (pictured right), Abby Frear, Operations Director, and Danny Nicholas, Senior Developer, about their progress so far and why they believe Bath has an edge on the London tech community.
With a background analysing big data in the banking and telecoms sector, Andrew was quick to spot a gap in the market. He wanted to set up his own company to create a tool to highlight anomalies.
“It didn’t exist,” Andrew explains, “so I wanted to kick one off. There’s a massive difference between the startup scene where you’re doing something you absolutely love and where the problems are really fun, or being paid lots of money to do something that’s mind-bogglingly boring.”
“What we find exciting is the fact that we’re doing something no-one else has done before. People said what we wanted to achieve couldn’t be done”
Abby was Andrew’s first employee, coming from a background in accountancy and recruitment, including time spent living and working in Australia. “For me it’s all about the variety of the work here,” she says, “No two days are the same when working for a startup. We get involved in everything, from marketing to social media, finance, legal, the lot.”
Abby (pictured left) is key to growing Claritize’s network in the local area and is involved in organising events for meetup groups BathSPARK and TechSPARKbristol, which help to bring together those working in the tech sector in the region: “Running the events means we’ve met some really interesting people along the way.”
Developer Danny worked in the telecoms sector for twenty years before joining Andrew. “I’d known Andrew for a long time and he explained what Claritize was doing and I wanted to get involved,” he says.
“The best part of my job comes from my love of development,” he adds. “Where most developers get stuck maintaining old code, at Claritize we’re fully engaged in new products and new development. You can get involved in the architecture and the design; we set the direction of the product, which gives you a real sense of ownership and passion. That’s more than developers get at most software companies.”
Andrew chose Bath specifically for its local tech community: “On a working level, the tech industry is amazingly concentrated here. You can come to the area, make a few connections and suddenly be connected to the whole industry. London is far larger, but the standard of work in this region remains exceptional. From a business point of view, Bath clearly made sense.”
“We set the direction of the product, which gives you a real sense of ownership and passion. That’s more than developers get at most software companies”
With many startups needing a mix of skill sets, he believes Bristol and Bath jointly offer a huge range of skills and expertise: “Bristol is hot on robotics and software, at Claritize, we’re focussed on maths and data, so we can benefit from that separate skillbase.”
After a stressful London lifestyle, Danny (pictured left) has grown to love the West Country: “My wife and I wanted somewhere a bit quieter to settle down. Now we live in Bradford on Avon, just outside Bath. We’ve got a young family so for us it’s been a great move; now we can enjoy the countryside.”
Abby lives in Bristol: “I moved here from Australia, where I had a lovely outdoor lifestyle. I found London too big and hard to get around. Bristol is perfect – I’ve got no kids; there’s loads of variety and it’s only twelve minutes from Bath, which is just beautiful.”
While based in Bath, Claritize also has connections to Prague. Andrew’s brother was the initial investor in the business and has an office and developers working there. “We used the city for our development when we initially kicked off,” explains Andrew, “We’re definitely going to keep our connection there. I think we need to be an international company to succeed. That said; we know that our headquarters will always be in Bath.”
Claritize is currently at trial stage, with businesses giving feedback on beta software. Andrew says: “Each client has been amazing at helping us develop the product and show us where we should go. We’ve been lucky in that Abby and I have a lot of connections to the London tech scene, so we go to the big meetups there. Utilising these connections, and my connections in the finance industry, means we have a list of clients who would be up for a trial with our product.”
“Another interesting thing about Bristol is there are companies you can build a relationship with, and they’ll let you test your product in a friendly scenario”
Having installed software at two businesses already, Claritize plans to increase that rapidly within the next few months. “Another interesting thing about Bristol is there are companies you can build a relationship with, and they’ll let you test your product in a friendly scenario. After that, you go to London and hit the scene with complete confidence in your product. Being able to test our product in this region first is a huge bonus,” says Andrew. With connections to the eight largest investment banks, Claritize already has some key companies lined up for trials.
The startup is also currently looking to expand its team with a new senior developer. Abby says: “We want someone with experience of Java to get involved with the greenfield development; someone who can get their teeth into all elements of the product and who can create the second and third releases of Claritize from scratch. We want someone who is really able to influence our direction.”
Andrew adds: “From a developer’s point of view it’s a great time to join. We’re getting our releases planned and looking at designing new parts of our systems. Our developers are getting lots of experience with new technologies and the chance to try new things. It’s great because you get a real sense of driving the direction of the product. If a developer wants an exciting opportunity and to push themselves, this is the place to be.”
“People who say they’ve had the same tech business for twelve months are either lying or they’re doing the wrong thing”
“Also exciting is the fact that we’re doing something no-one else has done before. People said what we wanted to achieve couldn’t be done. We’ve developed the prototype and proved that it can. Claritize is right at the cutting edge of what’s possible at the moment,” says Danny.
With an initial focus on telecoms and finance, Andrew believes Claritize is more widely applicable: “Every few months we’ve changed where we’re aiming and altered our strategy moving forward. The great thing about being a small company is that you can continually review your direction and ask whether you’re doing the right thing. We continually question ourselves and will do so moving forward.
“People who say they’ve had the same tech business for twelve months are either lying or they’re doing the wrong thing. The markets are changing so quickly now that you have to keep adapting – this has certainly been true of us.”
Thanks go to Andrew, Abby and Danny for taking the time to talk to us.
