Enabling growth
Apr 29 2010
Andrew Butt, founder of Enable Software
Andrew Butt co-founded computer company Enable Software ten years ago when he was 16. Since then the company has shown consistent growth and has won The Sunday Times Tech Track award.
Where did you get the idea?
When I was growing up, my two passions were IT and flying. When I was 12, I stumbled across a flying school and managed to get free lessons in exchange for helping with its IT. I mixed with a lot of business people there, which led to the idea to start my own company.
How did you get the funding?
I set up the business with a serial entrepreneur I met at the school. He provided the start-up funds, which came to about £50,000. In exchange, I agreed to run things. I have a stake of 49 per cent and he has the remainder. Since then, we haven’t used any investment, although we have benefited from his good relationship with the bank.
How has the business grown?
In the beginning it was just me and a couple of staff running it from a barn. Now we employ around 30 people. I suppose there were things I missed out on, but I don’t regret starting it at that age. I still think I’m young enough go to university, for example.
Should entrepreneurship be encouraged?
Things have moved on a lot since I was at school. I get the impression that the idea of entrepreneurship is entertained more, but we still have a long way to go.
Where next?
In the very long-term we’ll be looking at a sale or an IPO, but before we think about that I want to double our size in the next five years. There’s still a lot more we can do with the company.
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