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A former RAF fast-jet pilot-turned-tech entrepreneur who taught himself to code after being medically discharged from the military following a motorbike crash is hoping to transform ������Ƶ care with a “Deliveroo-style" app for the sector.

Nicholas Kelly, 38, and mum Jacquie, who has worked in care since the 1980s, launched their first social care enterprise in 2006.

In the last 15 years, the duo have grown Watford-based business Axela - named after Mr Kelly's daughter Alexa but written backwards - into a group of four care companies with 275 staff and a turnover of £5.1m.

Mr Kelly joined the business full time in 2016 after stints working for tech giants Apple and Linkedin, including as a developer in California, and deciding he wanted to do something that would "make a difference".

The group of businesses under the Axela brand include Respect Care, a social care agency operating in London and the South East; Axela Care, a private agency offering care; Axela Innovations, a smart platform joining up care services; and Axela Training, a training consultancy and learning provider.

The app is the latest strand to the business. According to Mr Kelly, it will allow users to book carers for a one-off or regular visit, and will be launched in the next six weeks. The idea, he said, is to grow the app to eventually include district nurses and physios too.

“It’s like Deliveroo but for care,” Mr Kelly explained. “You can put in a postcode and you will be presented with individuals you can book for a one off or regular visit.”

Mr Kelly developed the app himself. “I love technology and innovation,” he said. “My tech knowledge was all self taught. Coding is quite easy - there is a logic to it - and I enjoy it.”

Despite creating a multimillion-pound turnover business, with more than 1,200 clients on its books and hundreds of staff, Mr Kelly says he has struggled to secure venture capital (VC) funding.

The business, he says, is completely self-funded and has grown organically using word of mouth recommendations. The firm only launched its website two years ago.

“We have gone out for VC funding [in the past],” he explained. “One of the people I was pitching to ignored me for a whole hour and another was on his phone. The last one said go off and get some traction. We did what he advised, came back, and then he said he didn’t invest in companies like ours.

“I know competitors in the market who have received funding and they have white chief executives. I think it is one of the biggest challenges I have faced.

“I am in health tech and in care, and you don’t see people like me speaking. It is difficult. If you are black, you are not seen as smart; you’re not seen as the most level-headed so it’s hard to compete and prove yourself. So we have self-funded everything.”

Mr Kelly, who has also been turned down for Innovate ������Ƶ funding, says he felt like “banging [his] head against the wall” after being rejected.

“At that time we had 150 staff and we still had physical files, so we built our own system that included the ability to cap how many hours a person can work a week. Then we built Cair ID, which is a platform storing health records in one place that also has track and trace in the system. We were told by Innovate ������Ƶ it was impossible, but we did it.”

The tech entrepreneur says he has found it easier doing business internationally than in the ������Ƶ.

“I went to Japan and was able to meet the chair of a multibillion-dollar company - the largest provider of care in the country - and he offered me dinner in a private teahouse. [In the ������Ƶ] I try to speak to people in the NHS and they say they aren’t thinking about health records right now.”

Despite the challenges he has faced, Mr Kelly says it is important for entrepreneurs to believe in what they are doing.

“If you want it you have to go and get it yourself,” he said. “We have grown organically, through being honest and authentic. I think networking is really important. That’s not from a funding perspective - it’s about having conversations and building genuine connections with people.”

He added: “You are going to get knocked back. If you believe in your idea then find a way of doing it. Look at how other people are doing it, and then what they are not doing, and do that.

“Treat every person as the most important to you. Believe in yourself and believe in what you are doing and your journey. But be adaptive.”

Do you run a black-owned business or know someone who does? Email hannah.baker@reachplc.com and share your story.