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For many people who are launching a new business there
comes a moment when they question if they are doing
the right thing and Ian Tomlinson had plenty of reasons
to do just that.
“I
had a management team in place but it imploded leaving
me on my own and having to raise venture capital to
get the idea off the ground. I had no guaranteed contracts
or income — just an idea of what I wanted to do
— and there were some difficult moments with pressure
from my family to give it up heading towards Christmas
and find a job”.
His
perseverance paid off and in December 2001, with backing
from the Merseyside Special Investment Fund, Ian was
able to launch Cybertill, specialising in Electronic
Point of Sale (EPoS) and e-commerce technology for the
retail sector. Using his previous experience as the
sales director of another EPoS company, and recognising
from the outset the potential of broadband internet
and the move towards chip and pin technology, Ian was
able to drive the company forward and it has now established
its position as a market leader offering a unique solution
that is in use at hundreds of locations across the UK.
“l
realised that unlimited access to the internet and emerging
developments in broadband technology would create a
unique link between retail outlets, and give a true
multi-channel solution”.
A
significant development for the company is the selection
of Cybertill by Fujitsu, one of the worlds leading IT
companies, to provide the point of sale and stock control
elements for their latest system — iRetail. The
partnership will see Cybertill being used by a number
of high street retailers over the UK.
A
large part of 2001 and 2002 was spent building the Cybertill
application and structure with the sales and marketing
campaign starting in October 2002. Sales have risen
consistently with projected turnover for this financial
year standing at £1.8 million. The company employs
31 members of staff, has won two e-commerce awards and
Ian Tomlinson was recently named as North West Entrepreneur
of the Year in the 2004 Chamber Awards.
“I
was delighted to win the Award,” he says “but
Cybertill’s success is not about me, it is about
all the people in the business who have helped to get
us to where we are today.
“We
have a very strong team and we have concentrated on
staff development by working closely with St Helens
Chamber on the SkillWorks programme to widen the scope
of our training to include project management, sales,
customer service and web design skills such as HTML
and Flash.
“Because
SkillWorks contributes to the cost of the training we
have been able to do far more than we could have ordinarily
done and that has been a real advantage to us.”
Cybertill
has won widespread recognition for both its products
and its expertise and was invited to attend this year’s
Broadband Summit at Westminster to discuss the latest
technological developments with MPs.
“I
believe in empowering people so that they can take responsibility
within the business. That will afford me, and my Executive
Management Team, the time to concentrate on the company’s
long-term strategy, such as expanding our markets beyond
the UK, working with Fujitsu and leveraging our current
position to win business from major retail chains.”
For more information on Cybertill, telephone on 01744
692900 or visit their website
Read success stories about
other successful St Helens companies
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