Chris Roveta and George Gardiner are both experienced IT professionals. Having known each other for many years they decided to go into business and, combining their skills with four others, have started two companies.

The first, Inventive Consultants Ltd – an IT support company, was set up as a fast way to make money to support the incubation of more long-term projects. By using equipment and skills they already possessed, and by working from home, it was possible to start the business with only marketing costs to cover. With Chris’s experience working with high-end server equipment, George’s experience at university and in the field and Jamie’s sales and IT skills they were able to offer services to both big business and the home user. After nine months they have been able to build up a client base of over 100 users. Most of the new business gained is through personal referrals.

Over the years they have found that many computer users are often neglected once they have paid for their PC and that, even when after-sales support is offered, it is frequently not as good as people deserve. It is therefore I.C.’s aim to ensure that professional expertise is available to all

The second, icept, is business that provides a virtual service. The idea behind icept was to tap into the lucrative e-commerce market. Chris and Brian used their vast experience in the software engineering sector to start building the application. After two years in development it is now ready to be unleashed.
icept have developed a professional web-administrated e-commerce platform to empower businesses to trade effortlessly and effectively on the internet.
They aim to position the business and its products at the forefront of the market, using cutting edge technology and extensive industry knowledge. The concept behind icept is to deliver great value to clients by working on performance only, if the site is not delivering results there will be no invoice. Using Nick’s experience in Online Marketing, icept have been able to design the software using search engine optimisation and are able to offer comprehensive marketing campaigns to get businesses noticed. With two completed sites up and running and a long queue of businesses waiting to get on board, growth looks promising.

“We have both always wanted to run our own businesses, we have been brought up in families dominated by our respective fathers’ businesses. And have both seen the advantages of hard work paying off. The idea of slogging for other people, where your ideas are used and you do not directly benefit, has never appealed, more a means to an end. Having discovered Launchpad, we have found that the support and advice they offer is a real asset to our businesses. From personal advice to guidance on how to sort out the taxes, they have an answer.”

Find out more:
http://www.inventiveconsultants.co.uk
http://www.icept.co.uk