08.07.10
John Bradford, who was part of the team which invested £150,000 in Tipstar, required a very simple website to promote his mentor-driven business development scheme; John admitted that his inspiration came from similar schemes in the USA such as Techstars and Y-Combinator and he wanted to replicate this in the UK and in particular the North East.
The site would be the first experience a potential mentor or an enthusiastic developer seeking investment would encounter and so it had to be engaging with “clear calls to action”.
The mentor pool includes serial entrepreneurs like Alastair Waite, the Strategic Development Director of Onyx Group, Andrew Roson, Chief Executive of Perfect Image, Bernie Callaghan, CEO of Software City and Brian Jobling, Managing Director of Eutechnyx. In order for John to recruit mentors of this nature and to get their sign-up to the programme the site had to provide them with the correct impression of the business.
The Difference Engine opened applications in June 2010 with a view to shortlist 20 teams by August and commencing the programme in September 2010. AYO Media continues to support the Difference Engine as their business evolves and requires more rich internet applications to satisfy not only their requirements but also the requirements of their target audience.