IN this week’s SME Focus we hear from a technology specialist whose experience shows how smaller firms have supported the development of a renewable energy industry that has entered a period of uncertainty.

Name:

Crispin Hoult.

Age:

45.

What is your business called?

Linknode.

Where is it based?

Glasgow.

What does it produce, what services does it offer?

We provide enabling technology and services that provide in-field visualisation of planned projects. For example, our flagship VentusAR system lets people hold up a tablet and they can see (on the real-time camera view) how a wind farm will look, with animated turbines and showing different layout options. It’s so much more flexible and engaging than traditional paper “photomontages”.

Whom does it sell to?

Renewable energy developers, local planners, community interest groups and professional landscape architects.

What is its turnover?

c £500,000.

How many employees?

Nine.

When was it formed?

2011.

Why did you take the plunge?

The parent company of the firm I worked for had decided to close the Scottish office and staff were offered roles in the South of England. I didn’t want to relocate so I had to come up with an alternative, fast.

The Scottish components of the business still required servicing and I had the skills to do this more locally, at a lower cost, ultimately with a buy-out of some of the intellectual property that was not core to the Cambridge organisation.

l put together a proposition for the managing director, and he went for it (with a bit of negotiation).

What were you doing before you took the plunge?

Managing and developing internal mapping and data management projects for organisations ranging from utilities to local and central government. We were the Scottish arm of a specialist consultancy based in Cambridge, UK.

How did you raise the start-up funding?

We were fortunate enough to fulfil a gap in support contracts when my previous employer decided to exit Scotland. That created enough foundation work to start the business. It also means I have been in contact with one client since 1995, even though I have worked for three different companies and relocated office five times!

What was your biggest break?

In 2012, we were a year old and evolving from being a support service to building our own expertise and USP. We had tried a couple of consumer business models (via apps, which were newly flavour of the month) but had started to define ourselves with bringing real-world data to devices. Just another map on a screen didn’t float our boat and we realised that with an integrated camera and sensors such as GPS location we could create a new augmented reality way of visualising complex information.

Right at that time the Scottish Government launched the EnviroApp competition and that focussed our vision with a deadline. We built a demonstration that excited us all to the possibilities of what we could achieve.

It turned out that we didn’t win, but the feedback and support we received led us to alternative funding with SMART: Scotland.

Ian Marchant was chair of the EnviroApp judging committee and chief executive of Scottish Hydroelectric owner SSE at the time. After leaving SSE a year later, Ian became a non-executive director within Linknode – advising on climate and renewables impact in relation to our digital development. Being able to call on an experienced business leader has been invaluable for a small company.

Almost a year after EnviroApp, we launched VentusAR and the business structure defined as products rather than consultancy services.

What was your worst moment?

June, when the UK government sent the onshore wind industry into a tailspin with the announcements that support for renewable energy projects would be curtailed with no clarity on grace periods. Lots of supply-chain businesses like ours are seeing spending freezes.

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

One of the big benefits of running your own company is the ability to define the future direction and take a risk on something you are passionate about and is interesting to do day-to-day, alongside being financially viable with a business plan of course!

Linknode sell products and services that meet our clients needs, but underneath that we are an IT company. Keeping an eye on trends, and spotting where new technology can bring innovation to our markets, creates a fantastic R&D component of what we do.

This year we will be creating research projects that use new virtual reality headsets for example - and that’s pretty cool!

What do you least enjoy?

The winter commute. I stay in Doune, between Stirling and Callander. We moved from Stirling to Glasgow in 2013 to grow and attract new staff. In the summer I can cycle over the hills or enjoy the train, but the M74 in the dark and rain is no fun.

What are your ambitions for the firm?

To provide the go-to systems for communities, architects and planners – to totally democratise the planning system with our software.

We think the best way to get more engagement and involvement is to make information more accessible (on consumer, mobile devices that is bringing information to the devices that people are using), more contextual (relevant by location – “what’s happening near me”) and more understandable (making assessment visual rather than requiring the public to understand how to read plans and maps).

What are your top priorities?

Quality, quality, quality output; staff welfare; understanding our clients’ needs; innovation; research and development.

What single thing would most help?

Support of SME investment in R&D in Scotland. We are not an academic institution, but still contribute a large percentage of our business to new development. This has proved to have commercial value and led directly to job creation, but finding private or public sector support is hard. The Scottish Angel network seems extremely restricted compared to London and the red-tape and process around public investment is difficult and time consuming to navigate.

What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would help?

Currently, giving a clear future for financial investment in renewables would ease uncertainly. Every energy source receives massive subsidies but Westminster has singled out renewables as an area that needs revision, but seems to have only created unknowns and not made actual decisions on long-term energy mix strategy and support across the industry.

What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?

Use your risk register, plan for eventualities and try to mitigate them.

How do you relax?

I am an old-school mountain biker. I head out to the hills to follow a path or a track and see where it goes, trail centres are not for me!

I also organise and compete in Scottish Mountain Bike Orienteering series (it’s all about the maps!)