Having previously started her own businesses, Jo York leads the Ignite accelerator which helps founders grow their ideas.
What was your first job (and how much did it pay)? I've always been quite entrepreneurial, constantly coming up with ways to earn extra money for things that I wanted as a kid. Washing cars and mowing lawns was usually a good income stream, I'd do them until I had what I needed (say, one Mega Drive game a summer).
In terms of a "proper job", my parents were very keen I got a job as soon as possible, so the day after my 16th birthday I started working in the restaurant at Littlewood's in Harrogate for £2.10 an hour. It was probably the most physically demanding job I've had!
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What is the best advice or support you’ve been given in business? I was on the 2013 Ignite programme (then Ignite100) and it fundamentally changed the way I think about building all types of businesses, but of course tech products with high scaling potential in particular. It was life changing for me and I know it has been for many others. That's why I accepted the offer to run the programmes in the North East. What an amazing privilege to help new generations of founders.
Yes, we run highly targeted workshops for founders and aspiring founders, but our greatest unfair advantage is our alumni. I continue to be inspired and supported by them on a daily basis. One of the 2023 Pre-Accelerator cohort, Hamish from Floe recently introduced me to the African proverb "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together", I think that's very good advice to live by.
What are the main changes you’ve seen in your business/sector, and what are the challenges you’re facing? Ten years ago you had to be a developer or hire one to build a prototype of a tech product but now, with the rise of no-code and low code tools, anyone with an idea can build something and test it with customers to see if it's something that actually solves a problem for people. Couple that with the latest improvements in AI, again with very little technical expertise needed, and you can get some very exciting results.
This has meant that people with domain expertise, who understand nuanced problems and markets, can become founders. Something they probably hadn't considered before.
Something we still struggle with is inward investment into the region. I would like to see start-ups and scale ups raising larger amounts of investment at higher valuations so they can build really successful companies that attract world-class talent to the region.
How has the pandemic changed the way you work? I really like working from home, I'm able to find more space for deep thought, which is really important when problem solving for and context switching between 15 different fast moving companies at a time. So I prefer to do as much of that as possible. I balance that with making our programmes hybrid, typically meeting in-person once a month during a programme and being connected via various digital tools. We've found that that approach works really well for those founders with 10+ years domain experience - which is a really good foundation in creating a scaling solution - who often have other life commitments to work around.
Who is your role model in business? I don't really have one to be honest, there's been far too many people to mention here that have inspired me. I learned a long time ago that you can't live someone else's life, you have to forge your own path. So I prefer the Bruce Lee approach, the exact quote is "Absorb what is useful. Reject what is useless. Add what is essentially your own''. Which I take to mean, learn everything you can from as many people as you can and find out what works for you.
What would your dream job be? I really love learning, exploring new ideas and helping others smash their goals - I'm not sure there's a better description for being CEO of Ignite :)
What advice would you give to someone starting out a career in your sector? Most tech start-ups fail because they're not solving a problem that people REALLY want a solution for. The easiest way to address that is to read a book called the "Mom Test", which is the best guide to customer research I've ever seen. And then go and speak to people that have done similar things to what you want to do and speak (by which I mean listen) to them. As many as possible, then you can spot the trends from personal opinion.
Also start-ups are hard, really really hard. So surround yourself with people that understand that journey and can support you when you need it.
What makes the North East a good place to do business? I moved up to the North East in 1999 to do my computing degree at Northumbria University and I stayed because of the people. I've always found the NE business community to be extremely supportive and willing to share their experiences, and expertise. We're a small but well connected community. If you treat people right then people will go out of their way to help you. That's the kind of world I want to live in.
How important is it for business to play a role in society? I believe we're still at the beginning of a fundamental shift in how business is carried out through the use of technology - as profound and wide-reaching as the industrial revolution. Technology has the potential to improve lives and create new opportunities, but I don't think that message has reached everybody in the North East yet.
Technology has the potential to improve the lives of employees through flexible working for better work-life balance, financial freedom and empower communities that have been left behind. Inclusivity isn't just about gender and racial equality, and LGBTQ+ rights (although I do feel very strongly about those), it also includes age and economic background. I'm a trustee for the charity Family Gateway and I've heard countless stories of people transforming their lives because they have been given a purpose, by someone believing in them and showing them how to use the skills they already possessed in a different way. If we can reduce the barriers to entry for those communities, getting involved in tech, I think we'll see some very exciting changes in society.
Outside of work, what are you really good at? I've done Martial arts for many years, but about six years ago I started Historical European Martial Arts or HEMA for short. Think "knightly" weapons, one and two handed swords, poleaxes, rondel daggers etc.
I didn't realise it was something I could do. Seven year old me would never have forgiven me if I didn't try it. We take historical manuscripts, describing the techniques and try to recreate how the weapons were actually used. I've even entered some tournaments. My instructor is an incredible swordsman called Robert Brooks who's been studying historical fencing systems for almost 30 years. I've met a wonderful community of people, all over the world from all different backgrounds and it's a lot of fun.
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