STAMPEDE was set up by Patrick Clover after he spotted a gap in the market for hospitality businesses to tailor adverts and content to their customers before visiting a physical location. In the next 10 years Clover wants to grow the business in the UK and then set up offices overseas.

Name: Patrick Clover

Position: Founder

WHAT IS THE BUSINESS CALLED?

Stampede

WHERE IS IT BASED?

Edinburgh

WHY DID YOU SET UP THE BUSINESS?

I USED to work for a company that installed large-scale Wi-Fi networks to stadiums and town councils. There wasn’t much else the Wi-Fi could do but I thought there was potential there.

If businesses on the high street want to showcase deals, get better analytics and collect reviews. I saw an opportunity for a software platform to integrate into those Wi-Fi networks and deliver more value for the businesses and customers using it so six years ago I set up Stampede.

HOW HAVE YOU COPED WITH CORONAVIRUS?

IT has been really difficult as all our customers are in the hospitality industry. In the space of two weeks the business closed overnight and thousands said they wanted to close their account. It was initially really terrifying but we thought of gift cards which gave small businesses a cashflow ahead of time. We launched a free gift card platform that allowed businesses to collect money from customers without tech knowledge. We generated about £1 million for our customers using that. We came up with a free Track and Trace system for free and signed up 2.5 million businesses to help them collect contact details and help the NHS. We were the first people doing digital Track and Trace.

WHAT IS YOUR TARGET MARKET?

ANY business that is customer customer-facing like hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes.

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM COMPETING BUSINESSES?

THERE are lots of businesses that do individualised parts like gift cards, email marketing and Wi-Fi data trackers – but it’s hard for business owners to put all of those things together. We don’t have a specific company we compete with but we compete for user experience. One offering means it’s all joined up so the user experience is really good compared to competition. It’s about having a unified experience.

IS SCOTLAND A GOOD PLACE FOR THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS?

I COULDN’T imagine us doing what we’re doing anywhere else. Scotland is the perfect breeding ground for it as we’ve got big companies like Skyscanner and lots of really clever people here looking for their next opportunity. There’s an ecosystem of knowledge and talent. Those environments exist in London but they are harder to come by.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT RUNNING THE BUSINESS?

THE way things evolve. It’s exciting choosing what to work on that will take you to the next level of growth. As an employee my role didn’t change every six months the way it does here. It’s hugely satisfying. There’s always new stuff to learn and ways to be better.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN RUNNING THE BUSINESS?

PEOPLE. Hiring people, motivating them, keeping them and doing the right thing for everyone.

We have 16 employees at the moment and a board of directors. It’s hard to juggle all of that while staying a level-headed person.

WHERE DO YOU HOPE THE BUSINESS WILL BE IN 10 YEARS?

I WANT to see it in every hospitality unit in the UK. We have 100 customers in the US at the moment. We want to grow in the UK and become a powerhouse then set up offices overseas. That’s the dream – to be everywhere and make the experience better than it currently is. Covid has forced lots of businesses to adopt new technology but it has had the adverse effect where people forget the service part of it. We want to have a whole ecosystem wrapped up – payment, marketing, bookings and reviews. We are also on an acquisition hunt at the moment and want to acquire other businesses who are doing similar things.