John Arrell founded Sixty-5 in May 2014 to solve a problem no one else was addressing.
Having spent more than twenty years working in the agricultural machinery industry, he grew frustrated at the complexity of existing technical products designed to help farmers achieve efficiencies. He says: "Everything that was available was geared towards large-scale arable farming systems. I saw a gap in the market for innovative products that all farmers could adopt with ease, particularly grass-based farming."
John was joined by his technical co-founder, Colin Mitchell, in December 2014 and together they developed a GPS and cloud based platform that helps farmers and agricultural businesses to optimise their resources and thereby enhance and increase productivity and profitability.
He says: "What we have developed is unique in the market. It’s simple – you don’t need to be tech-minded to use it. We’ve used app based technology so it won’t go out of date, and, being a cloud-based portal, the resulting data can be used to help farmers comply with regulatory requirements around financial records, environmental traceability and a lot more."
Bank of Ireland UK has long been a passionate advocate for and supporter of businesses in the growing tech sector in Northern Ireland. For nearly ten years, it has championed the ambition of innovators through its sponsorship of the Catalyst Inc. INVENT Programme, which seeks to turn inventions into global businesses.
It is a highly successful partnership. Bank of Ireland UK provides participants with expertise and insight into the commercial world, as well as making vital connections for those ideas with significant commercial potential – the businesses, in turn, are supported on their way into business.
With ambitions to grow and scale the business, John competed in the INVENT Programme in 2014 and was introduced to the Business Banking team at Bank of Ireland UK. He says: "We explored what the bank could offer us as a business, and they ticked all the boxes. The single most important thing for me was being given a dedicated point of contact in our Business Adviser, Debbie Cunningham, who is always just a phone call away."
Bank of Ireland UK has local, experienced Business Advisers in every branch that provide a crucial link in giving business customers the right support at the right time as they develop their companies.
That support includes the full range of business services and products, from working capital solutions to help with cash flow through to accessing expertise in the Global Markets team on trading successfully in the global marketplace.
It is support that is also award-winning, with both the bank’s Small Business Growth account and Agri Business current account having recently been awarded 5 Star Ratings by Moneyfacts, the UK's leading independent provider of financial information, noting in particular the ‘added quality’ features of the accounts – the only local bank to be included in the ratings.
Debbie Cunningham says: "Financing and supporting our business customers is important, but it’s only half the story. At Bank of Ireland UK we pride ourselves on adding real value. For example, we provide our business customers with appropriate networking opportunities and we provide profile and promotional opportunities through PR. In the case of Agri-based businesses we involve the bank’s Agri Specialist, William Thompson, to help the business create valuable connections in the market."
After launching in the UK and Ireland, Sixty-5 broke into the European market, initially in Scandinavia. With a system that can be applied to many crops, from vines to nuts, the company has completed a number of successful trade missions to New Zealand and Australia, where the app launches next.
John says: "From the outset, the bank supported us with working capital to help fund our expansion, and they advised us on foreign exchange. We also needed an account in the Republic of Ireland to manage sales there; with the bank operating in both Northern Ireland and the Republic, Debbie managed that for us with no need for me to leave the office.
"Debbie has also introduced us to the bank’s Global Markets team, who are helping us to manage the challenges of overseas trade. As we increase our global footprint their knowledge and proficiency in steering us successfully through exports will be an increasingly important element of the bank’s service to us, and we’re delighted to have that expertise readily available.
"Over the next three years we’re aiming to increase our turnover and export sales by developing new products and services, as well as growing our technological capability. We’re currently a team of six, we’re actively recruiting for two more developers at the moment and expect to grow the team".
John concludes: "Growing a strong and successful business is not without its challenges, but from the outset Bank of Ireland UK bought into our vision as a partner and we could not be happier with the way things are moving - they understand our business needs and are very supportive of our ambitions."
Debbie Cunningham, Business Adviser at Bank of Ireland UK, says: “We are committed to being Northern Ireland’s ‘Enterprise Bank’ - that means investing in and building strong partnerships with our customers and taking the same enterprising, innovative and competitive approach to business as they do to support their growth ambitions.”
