In every issue of our Aycliffe Business magazine, we take a break and sit down with a different employee or business owner/leader to ask them 20 questions about a variety of subjects.
In our latest edition, Jonathan Anderson from razorblue answers our 20 questions over a cuppa…
1: What do you do?
A: Managing director of business software at razorblue.
2: Who have you worked for in the past?
A: Following a short stint in civil engineering I changed careers back to IT.
3: Best part of your job?
A: Seeing the success and growth of our clients due to the solutions we provide and playing a key role in the continued growth of the razorblue group.
4: Is there anything about your job that you really don’t like?
A: Always balancing the desire to play with the newest technology against the risk of doing so – many concepts do not scale to last long term.
5: Favourite thing about Aycliffe Business Park and the local community?
A: Every time I meet someone that works for a company on Aycliffe Business Park it’s clear how proud they are to be a part of such a large and diverse community. It always feels like the companies support each other which is great to see and something we love being a part of.
6: Which company/individual on the park do you do the most work with?
A: I am currently working closely with ALM Products to complete a business transformation project. We are working with managing director Tony Thompson and other members of the team to ensure a successful journey.
7: Who’s your tip for future success?
A: Any company that is investing in people and processes to improve their business’ efficiency. The pandemic has been an eye-opener for many businesses, evidencing that they need to be more proactive and those who are choosing to look forward are most likely to succeed.
8: Four famous people you’d love to have round for dinner and why?
A: Would be good to have the Grand Tour trio round for dinner, would certainly be a good evening! I’d also like to meet up with the YouTuber Tom Scott, his entertaining, factual story-telling style makes learning anything interesting.
9: If you could do something else in business, what would it be?
A: As cliché as it sounds, I really do enjoy what I do right now. If I was to do anything else would probably be a combination of adventure and creativity.
10: Who’s your favourite Tweeter?
A: I don’t use Twitter but I enjoy scrolling through Instagram. I mainly follow travel photographers. There is a Norwegian photographer, Kasper Hoglund, who was travelling the Northern Fjords last winter.
11: Have you ever done anything really daring?
A: I recently bought a puppy, the idea of having to consider his needs was certainly daunting but I love him to bits.
12: What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve been given?
A: Spend as much time thinking about what you will do if it all goes to plan as you do worrying about it what you will do if it doesn’t.
13: If money was no object, what would be your ideal car?
A: I would have a few! A Range Rover for practicality through the week and a Porsche 911 for the weekends.
14: Money no object, your dream holiday would be?
A: There are so many amazing places in the world, but I would really like to go on a long road trip around Europe staying in luxury hotels.
15: Do you have a favourite band or type of music?
A: There isn’t much music I don’t like – it all depends on what sort of mindset I am in. At the moment I am listening to a lot of ambient background music to break the silence in quiet offices.
16: What is your greatest achievement?
A: Starting and growing a business from the ground up, most definitely. I joined razorblue to work on internal systems, but we soon realised that there was a real opportunity there not only to build a business, but to benefit businesses around us. It’s been an exciting journey!
17: How would you best describe yourself in four words?
A: Inquisitive, dedicated, considerate and a problem-solver.
18: Where do you see yourself in five years?
A: Continuing to lead razorblue’s software services division with a bigger team and more presence across the UK.
19: Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met?
A: The photographer Joe Cornish – not an A-list celebrity but certainly a North-East icon. I spent a day on one of his workshops taking landscape photographs. It was great to spend time with such a master of their craft and many of the techniques I learnt that day I still go back to time and time again.
20: Do you have any guilty pleasures?
A: Domino’s (the pizza, not the game!).