BBC's The Apprentice winner, Tom Pellereau talks about his business using BCSocial in order to drive innovation and to facilitate their search for world class talent. Aventom case study of BCSocial

1. October 2013
Capturing Aventom’s inspiration and
perspiration in a single system
The Company
Aventom Ltd was formed by Lord Sugar and Tom Pellereau as a result of
Tom’s winning the UK TV show ‘The Apprentice’. The business aims to
‘Invent a Better Tomorrow’ by creating revolutionary yet simple products
which solve everyday problems.
Aventom’s business model relies on the generation of industry-changing
ideas, and then managing those ideas from concept, through development
and eventually into fulfillment of products. Innovation is not an add-on for
them - it is the core reason that they exist and what drives their business.
And what drives innovation is collaboration amongst the people who work
there. But they needed to organise this innovation in a way that allows
them to retain the output of their work and spend time on the value-giving
creativity. Enter BCSocial.
“BCSocial was able
to demonstrate a
clear migration path
and aid the smooth
transition from legacy
to new in a very short
space of time”
Tom Pellereau
The Switchover from Basecamp
Tom Pellereau explains “Prior to using BCSocial, we managed all of our products using
Basecamp which was fine as we started out but we recently realised that we need
something that was both more flexible and comprehensive.”
While Basecamp managed tasks well it did not knit together the different inputs that
were needed to successfully develop a project - the tasks, projects, customers and
product development cycles.
Tom continued “We needed a solution we could easily migrate onto with minimum fuss
and disruption to our business. BCSocial was able to demonstrate a clear migration path
and aid the smooth transition from legacy to new in a very short space of time”
BCSocial
Notion House, 8A Ledbury Mews, London, W11 2AF
T 0845 330 1400 E info@bcsocial.com
www.bcsocial.com

2. “We liked how BCSocial fitted into our working
lives not the other way around.”
The Business Solution
Key to success was to get all of Aventom’s staff onto the same platform so that they
could share ideas, status, logistical updates and other vital information, no matter
what their role was.
“Something we liked was that no matter your function in the process of creating
a new product you could use the same platform” said Tom. “It’s not all ideas
and inspiration - the accountants, manufacturers, production team - they are all
vital elements in building and selling a successful product. Collaboration across
disciplines was a key win for us.”
BCSocial then is a place where the designs meet can be shared internally,
commented on and approval can be formally given. It is also where these designs are
shared with manufacturers for further approval and comments. Knowledge is built up
across the organisation and then retained for future projects by simply revisiting the
documents and conversations that have already happened.
“We liked how BCSocial fitted into our working lives not the other way around.”said
Tom. “We continue to use many of the applications that we always did for creation
of documents, drawings and ideas. But where BCSocial really earns its spurs is in the
collaboration around those documents and the retention and management of those
documents in a sensible and easy to understand fashion”
“where BCSocial really
earns its spurs is in the
collaboration around
those documents and
the retention and
management of those
documents in a sensible
and easy to understand
fashion”
Extending BCSocial To Support Other
Business Processes
Increasingly the team has expanded the platform way
beyond the original requirements. They have used
BCSocial to support their rapid expansion by linking it
to their website and social media platforms to manage
all the inbound job applications. Tom said “What
was brilliant is that the platform is helping improve
our external brand & image – we now manage our
recruitment process by connecting BCSocial to Twitter
and our blog. Not only is it a much cheaper alternative
than using a recruiter or a even a jobsite but now
we’re also much quicker in reviewing, discussing &
responding to a candidate’s portfolio.”
BCSocial
Notion House, 8A Ledbury Mews, London, W11 2AF
T 0845 330 1400 E info@bcsocial.com
www.bcsocial.com