Tech firm BigChange sees 300pc sales growth

BigChange secured 100 new customers in its first full calendar year of trading. It also received 90 repeat orders from existing customers.

The firm now has future contracted revenue of £1.5m, with a sales pipeline of more than £5m.

Its strong performance has continued into 2015, winning an order for almost £500,000 in February.

The business was launched by technology entrepreneur Martin Port in March 2013 and provides technology that allows firms to manage their back office and integrate with tracking and mobile technology.

Mr Port told The Yorkshire Post: “The customers really appreciate being able to buy three different technologies in one system.”

The business also grew to 30 staff in 2014, from 16 employees at the end of 2013. It hopes to create another 40 to 50 jobs in the next two to three years.

BigChange was founded without bank funding, with private investors contributing £900,000, in addition to £500,000 investment from Mr Port.

He said: “It just shows you if you’ve got a great product and a good service and it’s something different, you can even grow a business without a bank.

“You have to have the hunger and the know-how to manage that growth.

“It’s a great year but like all businesses, we’re only as good as our last order. We got some great business in February and we’ve got a really strong pipeline.”

While the business’ growth plan is currently based on UK only, its software is multilingual. The company is hoping to expand into other markets, including the US, in future.

The next 12 months will include a focus on online sales for small and medium-sized business customers, as well as further development.

“We’re developing the product, developing the sales team, always improving our customer service and business intelligence,” he said.

Mr Port was the founder of Leeds-based vehicle tracking firm Masternaut, which he grew to £22m turnover before exiting in 2011 following a £100m merger with an industry rival.

“I had a lot of success with that business and I hope to make this a much bigger success,” Mr Port added.