Student has high hopes software idea will take off
AT 16 years old and with just £200 Joe Charman started a business that in four years has thousands of customers around the world.
The now 20-year-old business student from Swansea University is hoping his airport and flight simulation software will really take off.
Mr Charman built on his passion for aviation to develop his business, which now boasts more than 3,000 customers worldwide.
Mr Charman launched Pilot Plus at the age of 16 and now manages a team of three employees.
Along with his team Mr Charman replicates real-world airports in a digital 3D format, using imagery they capture of airport scenes.
The digital 3D replicas of the exterior of airport environments, including Gatwick, Bristol and Geneva, create a mock-up environment for users, as if navigating a plane through that particular airport in real life.
The software has been sold to flight schools for pilot training purposes, commercial pilots, and aviation enthusiasts, with sales that have covered nearly every corner of the world.
At present there are seven products in the Pilot Plus repertoire, and the team are currently working on their next product for London City Airport.
Speaking about the creation of the company, Mr Charman said: “When I was growing up I wanted to be an airline pilot and was desperate to explore the industry.
“Before long I realised that airport simulation didn’t really exist as a product for the mass market, so with about £200 to my name I started to develop my first product for Southampton Airport.
“I had my first few customers, which then turned into more, and the customer base has kept growing since.”
It’s an intricate process developing the software, which individual members of the team take responsibility for.
The first step for Joe’s team is defining what they want the end product to look like, determining what assets they will need to create it and how they will get there.
If possible, the team will visit each individual airport to take as many reference pictures as possible.
Those images are then collated with further research, such as building plans and environmental data.
Once all the necessary data is collected the Pilot Plus team begin the process of turning everything into a virtual world.
Joe uses a wide range of programmes, some of which are industry leading, while others are more niche.
The team make product assets which build a realistic environment, replicating buildings and designing their own environment assets.
All components are then brought together to create the most realistic environment possible, before being packaged up and the software product published.
Mr Charman said: “When I first started I had a basic understanding of the tools available, limiting how realistic the environments looked.
“In the past few years, as the team has grown, we’ve adopted new technology and skills.
“We focus on constantly innovating, bringing new technology to our products to further enhance the realism of the environments, and we’re extremely proud of the recent in-house advances we’ve made and are yet to publicise.
“Our current project, London City Airport, will look phenomenal when it’s complete.
“The plan after is to filter the recent tech advances we’ve made into older products, so we have the best and most up-to-date products possible on sale.”
Since its instigation, Pilot Plus has seen an average 26% growth in profit year on year.
By the end of 2019, Mr Charman hopes to expand his team to seven employees, which will give them the capacity to run multiple projects at one time.
Mr Charman manages his business alongside his studies at Swansea University, where he is going into his third year of Business Management.
With his entrepreneurial ambitions in mind, Joe was introduced to Big Ideas Wales, part of the Business Wales service to encourage youth entrepreneurship in Wales.
Big Ideas Wales is funded by Welsh Government and the European Regional Development Fund aimed at anyone between five and 25 who wants to develop a business idea.
Seeing an opportunity to expand his connections further, Joe set up Swansea University’s first Entrepreneurs Network with a fellow student, a group which encourages students to follow their business ambitions.
He continued: “I have always been business minded, but Big Ideas Wales has helped my personal development skills and linked me with many influential entrepreneurs, further fuelling my entrepreneurial drive.”
In his third year Mr Charman has plans to take up office space in Swansea.
He said: “I have always found it easy enough to manage my university work and business life, knowing when to give one more attention than the other when up against deadlines.
“In my final year I plan to take on more people to help expand our product range and continue to push to be the main market leader, competing with others that have launched in the last few years.
“I believe the future of Pilot Plus is bright, we are creating products that lead innovation in the market.
“As we focus on our current project, London City Airport, the roadmap is then to bring all past products to the same standard.
“We’re also planning to invest in different markets where our skills and tech can be applied, such as interior design with VR, as well as architecture visualisation.”
Julie Walters, development manager for Big Ideas Wales, said: “Joe is a shining example of a driven young person who Big Ideas Wales is proud to support.
“His entrepreneurial flair from such a young age is so impressive and we wish him success.”
Rhodri Evans, enterprise support officer and Enterprise Champion at Swansea University, said: “At Swansea we encourage all our students to act upon their entrepreneurial flair to enhance their own experience at university and increase their employability when they graduate.
“Thanks to his natural aptitude for business, we know Joe has a bright future ahead of him.”