James Farell is CEO of Houghton-le-Spring based Saas (software as a service) firm Clixifix, which has seen impressive growth on the back of its platfirm which allows customers in the housing industry to track the progress of repairs and speed up the reporting process. Last week Clixifix was acquired by Norwegian group SmartCraft.
What was your first job (and how much did it pay)? This was at a cat and dog food factory (C&D – still trading!) in Edgeworthstown in County Longford. I was stacking the boxes as a 16 year-old during the summer for about 150 Irish pounds per week. I loved every minute of it. I bought a CD Walkman and some new trainers and gave my mum some money to ‘save’ for me.
What is the best advice or support you’ve been given in business? Notably Barry Smith, a very good friend and major shareholder has been a true source of support over the past 20 years. When we launched our software company in 2012 he always hammered home the phrase let’s not chase the whales here, he would rather have 100 smaller clients than two enterprise ones! The other one was that cashflow was key. I was fortunate that Barry, Leigh and Richard, our founding team were all extremely strong finance executives, it helped enormously to weather some choppy waters (Covid included).
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What are the main changes you’ve seen in your business/sector, and what are the challenges you’re facing? We are working in a challenging market from two perspectives. As a software platform purposely built for construction and housebuilders, it’s well-publicised that it’s been a difficult year of trading with headwinds of rising interest rates/material costs, labour shortages, little support from Government with a complex planning landscape. It has undoubtedly slowed and I predict more consolidation among some of the housebuilders and housing associations.
SaaS has changed since Covid, there is an acute focus on profitability or capital efficiency. The investors are looking for hyper growth but not at all costs. There have been a huge number of layoffs in tech who were too optimistic on scale and had to cut back. We were very fortunate that we have been quite prudent and controlled with our overhead, no foosball tables, or hammocks in our office.
What would your dream job be? I think I am very fortunate to love what I do – it helps a lot as being a founder/CEO in a tech company can literally feel like a roller-coaster from week to week. It’s a very steep learning curve too and I have had to reinvent myself and learn new skills depending on the phase/scale of the business.
For a number of years as we found market fit - it was just myself and one software developer and now there are 35 in the team. So, leadership and management comes at you fast. My dream job outside of this one would be to mentor others on similar journeys.
What advice would you give to someone starting out a career in your sector? If it’s in construction I would say listen and watch your peers. I was lucky to have had some amazing mentors/managers/colleagues at Bowey Homes and McInerney who took me under their wing and pushed me out of my comfort zone. Being naturally curious helps too, I wanted to understand who was responsible for what in the team where the next site was, how it was researched, the planning process, commercial decisions, approach to marketing, the sales centre set-up, how they interacted with other departments and how that culminated into a fantastic product on-site. Getting a holistic view of that process is a huge benefit when starting out.
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In tech is another story – getting uncomfortably narrow is an interesting point when starting out with a software product. Identify who the ideal customer or user is and how you can get money from them to use your product. Set small attainable goals and push to the next milestone, I remember saying I would love ten clients. And then £x revenue per month etc etc. Don’t worry about making mistakes, I made hundreds of them, but learn from them and refine and refine...
What makes the North East a good place to do business? I am very proud to call the North East my home having moved from Ireland in my early 20s. I think it’s about the people, they are incredibly genuine and kind, very like the Irish actually, who can go out of their way to support where they can. Sunderland City Council has been a fantastic support since we moved to the office in Sunderland Software Centre.
There is a misconception that everything revolves around the city of London, we have a huge number of the biggest housebuilders, housing associations and contractors in the city using our software and tell us that it has revolutionised their approach to managing defects and their customer service. So we are very proud of the fact we are based in the North East and I am aware of some other fantastic tech companies flying the flag for the North East too. There are some brilliant tech minds and talent here, we don’t do enough to promote that actually in my opinion.
How important is it for business to play a role in society? In the broader sense, we see businesses as vital contributors to societal well-being, playing a pivotal role in driving positive change and setting standards that uplift entire industries. At clixifix we embrace this responsibility through our commitment to enhancing customer care and defect management within the construction sector. By pioneering best practices and fostering a culture of excellence, we aim to not only elevate our platform but to also inspire industry-wide improvements. It’s our way of ensuring that the construction industry advances in a manner that prioritises quality, efficiency, and, ultimately, homeowner satisfaction.
Outside of work, what are you really good at? I hope I am a very good and supportive family man. Lisa and I have two boys: Thomas, aged eight, and George, aged two, and we are fortunate to live by the seafront. Our leisure time is taken up with the lads who love to be out and about and exploring and playing. Lisa and I like to go for short city breaks and take in some good food or a show when we have a babysitter!
Who would play you in a film about your life? Jason Statham or Bruce Willis or Stanley Tucci, essentially any of them with a tight haircut.
Which three people would you invite to a dinner party, and why? Joe Rogan, Roy Keane and Graham Norton. I like a good story teller and I think these three lads would have some amazing tales to tell behind closed doors.