Name and role: James Clarkson, founder and CEO
Organisation: Adventoris
Sector: Software
James Clarkson is founder and CEO of Adventoris, a Huddersfield-based Software as a Service (SaaS) provider. With a career that spans over 20 years, he saw a gap in the market for a B2B sales ordering platform that would improve efficiency and save both time and money for businesses. And so SwiftCloud was born. Following its 2020 growth, Adventoris recently welcomed eight new recruits. As the business looks to double its turnover in 2021, James tells us more about his business journey.
Describe what your organisation does?
Adventoris is a SaaS business that has developed a mobile app sales platform called SwiftCloud. SwiftCloud allows businesses to offer a fully branded mobile app to their customers, so they can place orders, receive promotions, use shopping lists, add favourite items, create repeat orders, scan barcodes and receive in-app messages. The sales orders are then imported automatically into the client’s back-office Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
The app is customisable to clients’ own branding and makes the overall sales and ordering process much more efficient. We also offer a tablet version of the app for sales representatives and a desktop web ordering platform. A number of clients have experienced customer sales increasing by 100% when utilising this technology with customers. We now have over 160 clients across numerous sectors in the UK and overseas, with a combined total of £5bn in turnover, with hundreds of thousands of orders being processed each year through the app.
How many staff do you employ?
Adventoris has a team of over 30.
What does your role entail?
As CEO I am ultimately responsible for the whole business, however my focus is very much on developing the commercial side of the business whilst ensuring SwiftCloud continues to meet the needs of clients and the broader marketplace. Luckily, we have a great CTO, Aman Shergill, who manages the tech side and supports the team alongside me.
Name some of your biggest business achievements:
My biggest achievement to date is building a profitable business that has been growing at 100% on average for the last four years. I am really proud of the team and the progress we have made.
On a more personal note, I arranged funding for a new £13m church building, Cathedral House based in Huddersfield, which has a capacity for over 2,000 people. At the time it was one of the biggest town centre church buildings to have been built since the middle ages – or so I was told by the architects!
What advice would you give to someone looking to set up or relocate their business in Huddersfield?
Huddersfield is at the heart of the country, and is therefore brilliantly positioned, via the M1 or M62, to ship goods anywhere. It is also close enough to other major cities, allowing businesses to access the huge bank talent that resides in the North.
What are your hopes for Huddersfield 10 years from now (2030)?
The redevelopment of Huddersfield over the last 40 years has been remarkable. I would be thrilled to see this continue and also see Huddersfield develop to become a thriving technology hub, with many more businesses being based here.
On a personal level, what do you love most about the town?
In ten minutes, you can be out in the countryside from anywhere, yet it’s so close to major cities such as Leeds and Manchester. The perfect mix!
Where is your favourite place to eat/drink in Huddersfield?
My favourite place to go out is Lala’s Restaurant, based in the old Yorkshire Building Society building. Hopefully we return soon!
What, in your opinion, has been the standout moment in Huddersfield’s history? (optional)
At the time of the industrial revolution, this region and Huddersfield in particular, economically led the world. At one point Huddersfield had more Rolls Royce cars per capita than anywhere on the face of the planet!
Are there any recommendations or local knowledge you’d like to share with a visitor?
If you walk on Deer Hill near Marsden, you can still see the remains of a B-17 Flying Fortress that crashed during the war.
Social media links
Twitter: @Adventorisltd
LinkedIn: @Adventoris