Ian Anderson

CTO and co-founder of Fluency.io

Website: http://polsonby.com
London, United Kingdom
Member since October 25, 2013

I've started several businesses and worked for some great companies - it's my goal to build a thriving business focused on helping both the customers and staff be the best they can be Quote_down

About

Education

1988 University of Edinburgh , MA , General Arts (Honours)

1989 University of Strathclyde Business School , MA , Postgraduate Diploma in Business Information Technology Systems

I am a(n):

Entrepreneur

Companies I've founded or co-founded:

The Software Academy, Verso Systems

Companies I work or worked for:

The First Post

If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I want to be my own boss, and be in control.

My favorite startups:

37 Signals, Dropbox, Balsamiq

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

Frustrating: only having one pair of hands and only seven days in the week. Rewarding: all your successes and failures lie at your own door and you get to work with amazing people - you're not at the mercy of a large organisation which all too often adds up to less than the sum of its parts.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

Failing to test their assumptions with real customers

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

Test your assumptions with real customers! Businesses die because they run out of money; keeping track on cash-flow and spending money wisely is vital. And conversely spend money when it's warranted, to take a bit of a risk if there is a real chance of a big opportunity for the business. The tricky bit is knowing when to do which one, of course!

Full bio

Ian is an experienced web developer and technical manager with over 16 years experience. In previous roles he has been responsible for significant web projects for Baxters, RBS and Cahoot. He was Technical Director for the online division of Dennis Publishing, responsible for hosting and infrastructure for its 20+ online properties and £7M per annum turnover. He has been lead developer on projects to build major web properties from scratch, including the platforms for The First Post, an award winning online news startup; The Architects Journal Buildings Library; and a premium subscriptions based product for Emap; & IGGY, a subscription-based mentoring/learning/collaboration venture for gifted youngsters by the University of Warwick.