Why Gavin Winter won't compromise on the values that he inherited from his late father

Gav Winter is grateful to his late father for planting the seeds of his career in tech as well as imbuing him with the values of a high work ethic and honesty, writes Ismail Mulla.

It’s been a tough start to the year for Gav Winter on a personal level. The CEO of Leeds-based tech firm RapidSpike lost his father earlier this year.

Mr Winter is still coming to terms with the loss and it’s understandable given the influence that his father, Michael Winter, had on both his career and the values that he lives his life by.

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In fact he was introduced to tech at a very young age with his father buying him and his brothers the latest computers.

Gav Winter: ‘People look at an entrepreneur and think they’re doing amazing things but you don’t know what else is going on.’Gav Winter: ‘People look at an entrepreneur and think they’re doing amazing things but you don’t know what else is going on.’
Gav Winter: ‘People look at an entrepreneur and think they’re doing amazing things but you don’t know what else is going on.’

“It doesn’t sound like much now but in the early 90s, late 80s it was massive for a kid to have the latest computer,” Mr Winter says. “I was able to do the things that I can do today because I had such exposure to information technology from a young age.”

His dad was a Master Joiner and had a loft conversion business. Mr Winter said: “He worked very hard – often six days a week, sometimes seven. My dad used to teach me a lot about work ethic and doing the right thing.”

Mr Winter started his own career at Yorkshire Water, running IT support. While at the business he showed his ability by rewriting key software for the digitisation of the sewerage system.

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“We digitised everything and finished the project six months faster than expected so I was very popular at Yorkshire Water at the time,” he said.

A couple of years later he was introduced to the idea of a job in test automation, coding and testing, and joined Lynx Financial Systems, based out of Oaklands Manor in Leeds.

“It was the loveliest introduction to working in an IT company, in a manor house with these beautiful gardens and you got to play football every lunchtime,” Mr Winter said. “It was a bit like being back at school.”

He spent five years there learning his trade and understanding how to build automated test packs.

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Despite having graduated with a degree in computer science, Mr Winter concedes that he didn’t do that well at university.

“I hadn’t done as well as I had hoped,” he said. “I’m more of a practical work person than an academic. One of the things that I would have loved to do was get involved with a consultancy but no consultancy would want me.”

However, after spending some time in the industry, Accenture came calling as it began work on the ill-fated NHS National Programme for IT (NPfiT).

Mr Winter said: “I stayed with Accenture for three years and I got promoted a couple of times. I enjoyed my time on the NHS programme.

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“There were lots and lots of talented people, unfortunately it was hamstrung by a terrible contract. That NPfiT programme could have been a success had everyone wanted the same thing.”

Throughout his career working for others, Mr Winter had an itch to work for himself. It comes back to seeing his father, who had also spent time working for others and himself during his own career.

“When he did have his own business he was the happiest that he had ever been,” Mr Winter said. “I wanted a bit of that.”

He added: “One of the managers said I’d be better off going to start my own business because I was more concerned with doing the right thing than building big contracts.”

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Having become an expert in test automation, Mr Winter set up The Test People. A successful software testing company that saw Mr Winter win plenty of awards with the ones voted for by staff being the most rewarding.

“There was a lot of effort from everybody at that whole company to get us to a point where we ended up merging with the Centre for Testing to create Ten10,” he said.

However, like a lot of mergers it didn’t quite meet Mr Winter’s expectations or fit in with his entrepreneurial instincts.

He added: “This is where I learnt a lot about what I want and what I can achieve, based on having other people involved, are two very different things. It didn’t quite work out for me at Ten10.

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“There was nothing wrong with it. It just wasn’t for me. I’m very much more entrepreneurial. I very much like to roll my sleeves up and get involved. I find it very difficult to be put in a box.”

That brought him to RapidSpike in 2018. The Leeds-based business, which has 14 employees, helps clients identify issues with their website and improve online performance. It works with the likes of Tesco and William Hill as well as other big well-known brands. The firm also recently secured a £1m investment from venture capital firm Praetura Ventures.

But Mr Winter isn’t just keen to extoll the success of the business. Instead he’s more than open to talking about the doubts and insecurities that have led to him facing mental health challenges. It’s why he encourages not just his staff but others in business to speak up.

He said: “Especially at the levels of c-suite senior management, you feel that everyone is looking at you to be the success or have all the answers.

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“Perhaps at that time you don’t have all the answers or you’re having your own challenges. That can be a really lonely place.

“People look at an entrepreneur and think they’re doing amazing things but you don’t know what else is going on. The more people that talk about it, the less of a stigma it becomes.”

Mr Winter also believes that by changing the language around tech recruitment, it will diversify the talent pool, provide more opportunities and therefore ease some of the pressures on the industry when it comes to skills.

At The Test People, he launched a graduate academy that hired people from a variety of different degrees.

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“Some of the very best people I have ever worked for have come from other sectors,” Mr Winter said. “A lot of employers do just look for technical skills, there needs to be a much wider emphasis on attitude being the key.”

He added: “Even then people are still fearful of the word technology. We shouldn’t be thinking of it being a technology job anymore. It is just a job because technology is everywhere so no matter what, you will be using technology.”

Mr Winter believes his father didn’t want him to be a tradesman and wanted him and his brothers to have choices.

His father would have undoubtedly been proud of the choices that his son has made even if there have been challenges along the way.

Curriculum vitae

Title: CEO of Leeds-based RapidSpike

Date of birth: June 30, 1976

Lives: Methley, Leeds

Favourite holiday destination: USA or the Lake District

Last book read: The 10x Rule

Favourite film: Star Wars (any)

Favourite song: Cantaloop – US3

Car driven: Audi S7 Vorsprung

Most proud of: Sticking to my values when the going gets tough, you should not compromise the fundamentals of who you are just because other people want you to.

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