Directorzone

Published by Directorzone Markets Ltd on August 4, 2017, 9:00 am in Knowledge, Market Info

Ends

Wednesday January 1st 2020

IMAGE: courtesy of Rex Chan / Light of the City

Directorzone GRID company interview series: Paul Grenyer, CEO of Naked Element.

The story
Innovation
What’s next?
GRID co-ordinates and relationships:

The story

Paul Grenyer took the classic route – and one of the best - into entrepreneurship: the company he was contracting for, Aviva, became the first client of his new business, NAKED ELEMENT, in 2012.

After nearly a decade of coding for financial services firms - Lehman Brothers, Barclays Capital and Aviva – he decided to build a business in Norwich, reputedly one of the best parts of the UK to live and work in*.

So what does Naked Element do? It’s a software, web and mobile applications developer that converts inefficient company systems into time- and money-saving software. Most of the applications are for internal commercial and administrative processes and some are public-facing.

Paul is an active figure in the Norwich tech and business scene. In addition to playing an active role in local networks, he is Director of Norfolk Developers which organises software development events and workshops. He is a passionate advocate for apprenticeships and Naked Element walks the talk in nurturing its own apprentices.

Innovation

Naked Element has discovered that what it is really good at is crunching complexity – analysing intricate and laborious processes and building secure, elegant software that keeps on working. In comparison to the traditional software development model, clients like these Naked Element innovations:

BITE-SIZED CHUNKS - the fact that the work is carried out in 2-week iterations (Agile) – allowing for continuous interaction and small, sometimes radical, changes in client requirements;
OWNERSHIP …. that the client gets to own the source code from day (or iteration) one;
IT WORKS – thanks to the reliability of Naked Element software, which comes from an obsession with robust software, automated testing and continuous measurement.

The plaudits:

FOUNTAIN PARTNERSHIP: “Naked Element has saved us 4 weeks’ worth of work per year! The script they built us is saving up to 95% of our processing time. What was taking 20 hours of work is now only taking an hour – a big saving.”
IDSYSTEMS: “Despite the vast complexities behind the system, we have received feedback from almost every user that it is the most straightforward, and often the best, system they have ever used. The product delivered by Paul and Naked Element has given us the opportunity to grow the business and keep ahead of the competition.”

What’s next?

Although Naked Element has worked with local companies to date, it has just won new business in London and further afield as it spreads its wings into new geographies and markets.

Given his background in Financial Services, Paul would be interested to get more involved with fintech companies. Having said this, however, Naked Element is sector-agnostic –- it’s just hungry for complexity….

GRID co-ordinates and relationships

Founded: 2012

Business: software developer
Location: Norwich, NR1
Size: micro enterprise
Staff: 4 + contractors

Customers (selection):

4itsec - Cyber Security Advisors
Bluemoon Investigations - Private investigators
Broadland Radiators - heating and cooling systems
C A Design Services - design and building data
Clarke St James - Adwords, social media marketing and SEO
Create Design - Architects
Digital Media London/Your media London - lifestyle magazines
Electrical Testing - Electrical inspection and testing
Feedmark - Supplements for horses
Fountain Partnership - Digital Marketing Agency
ID Systems - Windows and Doors Manufacturers and Installers
Integro Languages - Translation services
Luminous PR - Tech PR agency
Multi Signs - Signage and banners
Residentially - Chartered surveyors
Soak Digital - Specialist digital and data design agency
SQN - Clinical biometrics
Wantdontwant.com - Second hand office furniture, office desks, chairs and storage
Water Management Alliance - Group of Internal Drainage Boards