Slow and steady can win the race...

Gavin Henry founded his own company and took a trip down memory lane when he returned to his old secondary school to give a talk to pupils.

He believes the northeast provides an excellent location for going into business, but warned youngsters to prepare for a bumpy ride.

His own company, SureVoIP, specialises in using the internet to deliver telecoms – and Gavin believes a slow and steady approach was the way forward. He said:

“On a recent visit to my former secondary school, where I was invited to speak to third-year pupils at their annual entrepreneurship day, I was reminded about the strong entrepreneurial spirit that this region has long been renowned for.

“It’s estimated that two out of every three children born today will work in jobs that don’t even exist yet – which begs the question of how we prepare our young people for their future careers.

“With the threat of technology making many of today’s jobs redundant over the next 10 to 20 years, it’s vital that we ensure the next generation is properly equipped to tackle tomorrow’s challenges.

“In my own experience, one of the most important lessons has been the ability to pivot and change course if things don’t work out the way you had necessarily planned.

“I studied electronic and communications engineering at Robert Gordon University and began my working life as a graduate engineer.

“But it was my passion for Linux and Open Source software that led me on the journey that would eventually create SureVoIP.

“To any aspiring entrepreneurs, I would say that it’s OK to dream big – but don’t allow yourself to become frustrated if progress is slower than you would like.

“Projects can take longer to come to fruition than you might anticipate, so you shouldn’t be afraid of doing things in small chunks.

“You will suffer setbacks, everyone does, but it’s vital that start-ups continue to stay motivated and not become disheartened.

“I would probably class myself as a slow-burner because all our progress and decisions to date have been expensive and involved big changes; now, we have an established platform and infrastructure that allows us to be agile and capitalise on opportunities as they present themselves.

“Living and working in the north-east of Scotland, we are fortunate that the region has some of the best metrics for business survival success for new companies in the UK.

“A recent report named Aberdeen as the best location in the UK to start a business based on factors including survival rate, costs and access to skilled staff.

“Other factors, such as the diversity of the local economy, quality of digital infrastructure and level of self-employment also have a role to play in making the Granite City an attractive place to do business.

“This should give us all a degree of confidence that the north-east will continue to act as a hub for entrepreneurship for years to come.”

PERSEVERANCE: Gavin Henry believes entrepreneurs need to have a realistic approach to their rate of progress