Two companies at a thriving tech hub for start-ups and micro firms in the South have been given a new year business boost.
Psion Consulting and LR Animation Studios share one of the 55 serviced offices at Fareham Innovation Centre in south Hampshire.
As an occupancy benefit, they receive complimentary business support from the in-house Innovation Director, Monika Dabrowska.
Monika provided coaching and mentoring sessions which focused on new growth markets as well as unlocking local authority grants for IT equipment.
As a result, Psion Consulting and LR Animation Studios have been able to better develop revenue streams.
Owned and run by Paul Dawson, three-strong Psion Consulting has been contracted by a corporate manufacturer to develop advanced software for smart eyewear.
This enables operatives working in challenging or remote environments – wet, dusty, hot, cold, noisy and dangerous – to be able to work more efficiently and safer.
The fully ruggedised eyewear headsets incorporate voice-activated commands, enabling the operator to be able to carry out their work hands free.
Real-time video enables back office support operatives and experts to be able to view or guide field operatives conducting essential maintenance, inspection or repair tasks.
Psion Consulting cut its teeth in structural integrity management, such as identifying hairline cracks in high-value metal structures like tanks and ships.
Paul said: “The centre’s business support has been invaluable, from opening doors and unlocking grants to setting up meetings with corporate customers and guidance on to how to conduct negotiations.”
As part of Fareham Innovation Centre’s ecosystem, where occupiers place work with one another, Psion Consulting collaborates with LR Animation Studios and pioneering web design agency Chemical Design.
LR Animation, owned and run by Lewis Rogers, makes animated explainer videos for a range of companies and organisations.
The firm also produced visuals for music star Ed Sheeran and rock band Biffy Clyro.
Following a business planning strategy from Monika, the firm has increased pipeline orders in the UK offshore oil and gas industry, which supports more than 280,000 jobs.
Lewis, who shares an office with Psion Consulting, said: “As anyone who runs a business will vouch, you get pulled in all directions every day and strategy can take a back seat.
“Monika has been the signal through the noise, identifying our value proposition and how to package video explainers as a series for clients and their staff, rather than just one-offs.
“This better-business approach has paid dividends, with increased orders from the oil and gas industry as well as other sectors.”
Monika said: “We are here to provide a supportive business environment to help start-ups and early-stage firms thrive.
“Psion Consulting and LR Animation Studios are, like many of the UK’s 5.9 million private businesses, run by people passionate about what they do.
“My role, as Innovation Director, is to harness that wonderful energy into crystallised business strategies that deliver results for our customers and their own client base.”
Business support at Fareham Innovation Centre ranges from one-to-one mentoring, workshops, signposted funding opportunities, seminars, programmes and, with the universities of Southampton, Solent and Portsmouth, internships; there are also apprenticeships through Fareham College.
With conference facilities, meeting rooms, 55 serviced offices and workshops, Fareham Innovation Centre is owned by Fareham Borough Council and run by Oxford Innovation.
Designed for start-ups and early-stage businesses, the centre, next to Solent Airport, provides a supportive ecosystem for occupiers in marine, aviation, aerospace engineering and advanced manufacturing.
