1DayLater: An Update

When brothers Paul and David King (aka the Kings) first joined the IWCYC community back in May this year, they spoke about how they are trying to ‘break’ into entrepreneurship, with aspirations of one day giving back to the community after all the help they had received in setting up their joint venture thus far.

Cut to six months later, and plans are full steam ahead for the launch of their company 1DayLater, an innovative activity tracking tool which helps start up and small businesses to keep track of their time, receipts, payments and business miles using a simple web interface.

Rather than scribbling activities onto the nearest post-it or the back of your hand, 1DayLater lets you log these snippets of activity in under 10 seconds. The result is that you have a valuable resource which can help you become more productive and profitable through improved working habits.

The brothers have currently launched their beta version whilst they gather feedback and iron out their offering, under a freemium model. You can log onto http://www.1daylater.com/ and benefit from their services for no charge until further notice, and have a sneaky peek at new features as they are developed.

Paul and David have also set up an online blog, http://blog.1daylater.com/, charting their start up journey through the challenges, including pitching to investors, the successes, such as the release of their animated introduction feature and being asked to speak at the launch of Durham Entrepreneurs’ Society.

It’s a fascinating ‘diary’ which provides a unique insight into the impact of their decision to start their own business and the difference it has made on their lives, their views on the North East’s technology industry, how they are now tackling the world of entrepreneurship and building research for their company. Here’s a very smaller taster of some of their highlights so far.…

In May, 1DayLater was identified by The Journal in the Top Ten North East Brands. The newspaper asked their readers which big names they thought were most synonymous with the North East and to nominate the brand names that they were proud to have associated with the region.

1Day Later was named as an “Up and coming contender which could soon be helping to organise us all,” and joined the ranks of well established companies such as Berghaus, Abbey Well, Nissan and Brown Ale on the impressive list.

In June, Paul and David were part of a number of entrepreneurs in the North East who came to the rapid defence of the region when it came under attack from an article by Telegraph reporter Milo Yiannopoulos. Milo’s piece, entitled, “Its [still] grim up North” was roundly criticised and labelled ‘ignorant’ and ‘outrageous’ for its views on the North East’s tech scene and it’s support structure.

Paul and David said in response, “I think the North East is a fantastic place to set up a business. The talent is here, the minds are here, and the infrastructure’s here. And the region is full of passionate people.

“So far we've been helped by many local regeneration schemes in the North East including Sunderland Software Ventures, Teesside IDI, and expert advice from Codeworks. I think that rather than being "grim up north" it's actually an exciting and thriving environment to be starting a business in.”

In September, 1DayLater was shortlisted for the Kingpin Intelligence competition. Kingpin are a London based marketing agency focussed on technology, and the prize involved £7,500 worth of marketing and PR expertise.

Paul and David were told to prepare a two minute ‘sans PowerPoint’ presentation, which sold the business idea and formed a convincing argument as to why they wanted to win, and how the money would be used. Beating off stiff competition from five shortlisted finalists, 1DayLater emerged as the overall winner.

Speaking about their journey from the beginning of the year, Paul said, “To date, everything has gone even better than we could have hoped for. It’s been a complete rollercoaster ride and we’ve met lots of inspirational people. I guess we’ve learned to expect the unexpected now!

"The fact that I’m working alongside my brother means it’s less like work and more like an adventure. Also the knowledge that we are helping small businesses become more productive and potentially creating a better future for ourselves and our family is great."