The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 41: Feb/March 2019 | Page 32

IN PROFILE
JAMES EADES
When did you start at Systemagic?
I joined the firm in 2002 when it was just three years old.
It was my first job as an IT Technician after leaving the
University of the West of England (UWE), where I studied
Business Information Technology.
I was ambitious from the start and wanted to be a
manager. In three years I worked my way up to IT Operations
Manager.
When did you become Managing Director?
I took over as MD of Systemagic in 2010. At that time it was
struggling and I made a deal with the then owner that if I
could turn the business around and pay back the £250K debt
it had accrued he would give me half of the business.
One of the key changes I made that transformed the
business was selling the web design part of Systemagic. It
was the first time I’d ever sold a business, but we managed
a successful sale and took our number of employees from
seven to five, generating cash and creating a new focus at a
critical stage for us.
In just two years I owned 50% of the business and in
2015 there was a buyout when I attracted the attention of a
private equity investor. It was a great feeling to finally have
full control over a business that I knew could finally start
realising its potential.
Meet Techies judge James Eades, Wiltshire’s
37-year-old award-winning entrepreneur and
owner of IT support services firm, Systemagic.
2019 is a landmark year for Systemagic as it
celebrates 20 years in business.
We met James to discover his journey from
joining Systemagic as an IT Technician at just
21, to becoming MD and owner - transforming
a struggling company into a profitable scaleup.
@Systemagic
What has changed since you took over?
The firm has grown from a team of 7 to 15 and we’ve
continued to grow 30% year on year. We invested in new
offices in 2017 moving in to the Old Gas Warehouse in
Bradford on Avon and we’re continuing to grow our service
offering and client base rapidly.
What has remained the same?
Three employees from the original team are still with us.
Chris Sweet our Technical Director has been at Systemagic
for 15 years, joining only two years after me in 2004 and the
first person I ever hired.
Looking back at old marketing materials, although we’ve
evolved, our core values have still remained the same. We
used to say “Pay for what you need only when you need it”
and we now say “Everything on a simple 30 day term”. This
is our commitment to doing IT differently. Our USP is our
30-day rolling terms, I don’t believe lengthy contracts are
necessary, we believe in what we do and our customers do
too. Many of them have been with us since the beginning
which I’m really proud of.
Tell us about your core services.
For more info:
www.systemagic.co.uk
REFRESHING BRAND AND
MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
WITH ADDED JUICE
www.juicy-designs.com
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THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019
We offer helpdesk support and system maintenance,
Microsoft cloud solutions like Office 365 and Azure, cloud
storage solutions, online backup, IT security, and website
hosting. We also offer business internet connections and
telephone systems dealing with all the installation and data
cabling. We pride ourselves on our service with an average
response time of just 11 minutes. We understand that
when you have an IT issue you want it dealt with as swiftly,
competently and efficiently as possible.
In late 2018 we launched an SEO service which has been
extremely popular. Search Engine Optimisation used to
be part of our core service offering and after two years of
successfully increasing the footfall to our website creating
an exceptional number of inbound enquiries, we’ve decided
to share our skills to help others improve their online
performance.
What are your biggest achievements?
As a team we’ve won multiple awards for our commitment to
being an apprentice employer. Recently we won SME of the
Year at the South West Business & Community Awards 2018
and towards the end of last year we won Best Newcomer at
the Microsoft Partner Awards. Being recognised by our own
industry was a huge accolade.
I’m a passionate supporter of apprenticeships as they give
young people a great opportunity to earn while they learn.
As a company we have trained 11 apprentices working with
our apprenticeship partners Yeovil College and City of Bath
College.
Giving back to future generations is important to me. I also
donate my time as a business mentor to students at Bath
Spa University as well as for the Institute of Directors as part
of their Start-up Success Clinics and their Young Business
Forum. It’s really rewarding enabling the next generation to
succeed.
What do you do outside of work?
Aside from being a busy dad to my four-year-old, Sophie,
I love riding motorbikes, running, fishing and watching
Formula 1.
I actually lead Wiltshire Bikers, a social hub for bikers
across Wiltshire and further afield with regular meets,
monthly rides and annual holidays – we have over 2700
members and have been going since 2006.
Tell us something we wouldn’t know about you
Several years ago, I grew and successfully sold a social
media company. I’ve always been entrepreneurial and started
by first business whilst still at school which made enough to
pay off my student loans before I graduated.
What are you looking forward to in 2019?
We’ve recently taken over running the Bradford on Avon
Business Breakfasts for BoA Business. I’m looking forward to
building even stronger links with our community and meeting
new local business owners.
I’m also looking forward to being a judge for the second
year in the 2019 IT & Technology Awards for Swindon &
Wiltshire – The Techies.
Chase Owen
Racing
21/01/2019 10:26