“Trust your workforce” - On setting up TDS during a pandemic
Test Driven Solutions was incorporated in April 2020, at the height of the UK’s first lockdown. We sit down with our founder, Sam Clark, for a brief chat on his perspective of these turbulent times and setting up a successful business.
In what ways did the pandemic change the early days in the company’s story?
The reason I set up TDS in the pandemic was I’d seen so many consultancies not listening or understanding customer’s pain points, and not being transparent with organisations. I knew I could help with this and more importantly build a great team around me to deliver.
It was tough to begin with. Putting everything you have into a business was hard at times. The most enlightening aspect was organisations believing in us and giving us an opportunity to showcase our capabilities. I’m also massively appreciative of our staff, who have left stable jobs to join a startup. It was great that people had that belief in TDS in those early days.
What benefits and surprises has the pandemic brought?
We can work remotely and deliver. Our business was set up in these times, we’ve hired, delivered and most importantly created a fantastic culture. ‘Coffee crack’ has been great and extremely important for the inclusivity in the business. We meet 3 times per week remotely to discuss anything, work or non work related.
For surprises, I’d say the whole pandemic itself! It’s been a whirlwind 16 months where working 7 days per week, 16 hours per day seemed the norm. Thankfully, I’m down to 6 days per week.
Remote working was forced on a lot of businesses. As a company established in an entirely-remote environment, how did TDS make a success of this?
Remote work was something we adapted to and we have managed it well as an organisation. I fully believe in remote and flexible working. Organisations that go back to 5 days per week in an office will be left behind by their competitors. Globally, it has been proven that it is extremely achievable. Although we provide an office, we have noticed most people use the office 1 day a week max. The old days have gone and for the good. Trust your workforce and they’ll deliver.
What’s the future of work at TDS?
The future for us is to continue doing good work helping clients deliver and upskill. We are branching out into North America. On July 1st we’re opening an office in Canada, which is something extremely close to my heart. We are also continuing to grow our centre of excellence in Poland, another country that means a lot to me. We want to keep up our good reputation and have more like-minded folk join our great team at TDS.
What are your key takeaways from growing a business in this period?
Never give up and always work hard. Always strive to improve the business and make sure staff are looked after. Far too many companies do not look after their employees. We had a game plan to bring in healthcare plans and bonuses further down the line; but we decided to introduce these in our first year.
I think the staff make the company, not me. It’s vitally important you look after people, especially in such testing times.
Customer-wise, it’s key we continue to deliver and help our customers. I’m massively grateful for the opportunities and hopefully we can become the chosen software development partners with some of them over the next 12 months.