A rising Leeds tech entrepreneur is using his skills and experience to help start-up businesses grow their way out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Phil Storey, founder of innovative website maintenance app Glow, has become a mentor for the Northern Max Accelerator, a Bradford-based business support programme for rising digital and tech companies.
The Northern Max Accelerator, delivered online during the pandemic, helps businesses that are up to three years old from concept through to a potential pitch to a panel of investors.
Phil, 34, launched the pioneering Glow app in May 2020 so he knows all about the perils – and opportunities – of growing a business during a global pandemic.
On his appointment Phil said: “It’s great that I’ve been invited to join Northern Max as a mentor and I can’t wait to get started.
“I signed up to a similar programme when I started out in business a few years ago and I gained an enormous amount from the experience.
“Having a mentor – someone who has been there – who you can bounce ideas off, makes so much difference.
“Many of us will have encountered the same challenges in business and often just talking through the issues and opportunities can spark ideas and solutions.”
Last year 21 companies were supported through Northern Max 3 and 13 new jobs were created. Four businesses were successful in applying for AD:VENTURE grant funding worth almost £15,000.
Phil is still a young businessman himself, of course, but has already been named as one of Insider Media’s 42 Under 42 in the class of 2021.
He was also a finalist in the Yorkshire Post Excellence in Business Awards and the Leeds Digital Festival Awards.
Glow is a multi-functional website maintenance app which has streamlined and simplified the process of keeping a website up-to-date, running efficiently and – most importantly – secure.
The impact of the pandemic with lockdowns and tiered restrictions meant more smaller businesses moved online for the first time. The Glow app is like having your own in-house website manager.
It is estimated that 30,000 websites are successfully hacked every day in the UK and 300,000 pieces of malware are created. Security is more important than ever before.
Phil said: “It’s been incredibly tough for businesses of all shapes and sizes over the last 12 months or so but we need to work together, help each other and share our knowledge and experience.
“During the pandemic the way we do business has changed but we can plot our way through together.
“What the pandemic has created is exciting new opportunities, particularly for tech companies, and if I can help other entrepreneurs get where they want to be that little bit quicker, and with a little less stress, I’ll have done my job.”
