WORKSPACE
Fintech start-up – Josh Verdon has based Fyre at Innovation Central in Darlington .
First tenant successes story
Q & A sessions – Harvey & Hugo founder Charlotte Nichols spoke at one of the regular growth lab events being held at Innovation Central .
Candid conversations tackle business challenges
Real-life experiences of successful local entrepreneurs who ’ ve faced and overcome common challenges – that ’ s what the Growth Lab : Darlington events are all about .
The programme of monthly fireside conversations held at Innovation Central brings peers together in a relaxed format to learn from each other and accelerate the growth and innovativeness of their businesses .
The Q & A sessions take place on the third Thursday of each month , starting with a light breakfast and ending with the chance to network .
So far , the sessions have seen Charlotte Nichols , founder of PR company Harvey & Hugo , share her experience of balancing the needs of a young family with those of a teenage business .
And Daryl Lynch , MD at subsea cabling specialist Primo Marine , opened up about the challenges of winning customers with a small team and limited marketing budget .
To catch the next event and to find out more visit darlingtonworkspace . co . uk
Josh Verdon ’ s fintech start-up Fyre is preparing to launch his first innovation – a new till and card payment system to simplify online ordering for restaurants and takeaway businesses .
Josh came up with the idea after working for local Indian restaurant chain Babul ’ s and seeing first-hand the challenges and expenses small hospitality businesses face .
He said : “ Most restaurants and takeaways now need to take orders through all kinds of different platforms such as JustEat and UberEats , as well as from customers on the telephone , on their website and in-person .
“ This can cause havoc in the kitchen because orders all come in differently and can be really costly because of large commission rates .
“ There are solutions out there but they are years behind new technology , they ’ re hideously difficult to use and are too expensive for small businesses .
“ I want to change this by empowering hospitality owners with efficient and affordable commerce tools .”
Josh has worked alongside Babul ’ s to develop and test Fyre ’ s online ordering software and the platform has already been adopted by six restaurants across County Durham .
He took an office at Innovation Central to focus on the business and now the software has been integrated into Point of Sale equipment – providing online ordering , table side ordering and card terminals in one simple and affordable solution .
Josh plans to launch the product with local businesses first , before rolling it out nationally and exploring the global opportunity .
“ My move to Innovation Central means I ’ m surrounded by likeminded people who I can learn from and be inspired by , and I know I ’ m in the best possible place to take my business forward ,” he added .
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