Screach: A Part of Tech Britain
by John Hill on April 25, 2013 | Leave your comment
A few months ago, we got a visit from Doug and Shaun from TechBritain.
For those of you that haven’t come across the project before, it’s the brainchild of two startup founders that decided to get a flavour of the bubbling tech communities springing up around the country.
Doug Ward and Shaun Gibson travelled up to Newcastle by Megabus to meet founders making a splash in Newcastle, a journey which took them to Screach’s offices in Hoults Yard.
In this video chat, Paul Rawlings and Sam Morton chat to Doug about Screach’s ambitions, working in America, the role of the government and the tech scene in the North East.
Screach on Tour: Report from the road
by John Hill on April 22, 2013 | Leave your comment
For the next couple of weeks, ScreachTV is going to be on the road.
We’re taking part in EmpowerLive, a series of seven roadshows organised by Enterprise Inns. The idea is to allow publicans across the country to talk to interesting suppliers, and find out the new and exciting products that could make their pub stand out from the crowd.
This week, we’ll be hitting Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol on Tuesday and Birmingham’s National Motorcycle Museum on Thursday. The roadshow arrives at Wembley Stadium on April 30 and in Bolton on May 2, before finishing up Exeter Rugby Club on May 9.
So far, Screach’s trusty van has wound its way to Donington Park and Elland Road, the home of Leeds United. We asked Screach’s Georgia Rakusen for a quick report…
Introducing Version 3.3
by John Hill on April 19, 2013 | Leave your comment
If you’ve updated your phone apps in the last few days, you might have noticed that Screach has undergone a bit of a makeover…
Screach version 3.3 is now available for iPhone and Android, and we’ve been focusing on making it as simple as possible for Screach users to get stuck into some fun experiences, whether they’re on the bus, at home or in a pub.
Screach’s chief technology officer David Challener says:
“We’ve made some changes to the interface, and the main purpose has been to simplify it down to some core features. We’ve made the app very simple so that people can get an idea of what it is straight away. The profile page is much clearer, we’ve redesigned the offers and we’ve focused on just having the four screens for now.” Read the rest of this entry »
Screach at Licensed Trade International
by John Hill on April 10, 2013 | Leave your comment
In the space of a couple of days, we’ve met a lot of people, hung out at a supercar bar, and made cocktails live on stage.
And there’s still a couple of hours to go.
Yesterday and today, the folk from Screach made the short hop to The Sage in Gateshead for Licensed Trade International, a trade show featuring some big names in leisure and hospitality. Read the rest of this entry »
ScreachTV on tour
by John Hill on April 8, 2013 | One comment
Have you seen ScreachTV in action yet?
Well, there’s a pretty good chance that we’re passing your way in the next few weeks.
After a busy week on Tyneside, we’re packing our overnight bags and our equipment and heading around the UK to meet some of the people who make the pub industry tick. Read the rest of this entry »
Big news for ScreachTV
by John Hill on April 4, 2013 | Leave your comment
It’s been a busy last few months, but we were pleased to be able to announce this week that we’ve raised $2.5m to really push ScreachTV in the UK and beyond.
As reported in The Next Web, Sixteen:Nine and others, we’ve got funding from Northstar Ventures, Hotspur Capital Partners and other strategic investors to accelerate the rollout of ScreachTV across pubs and bars around the country. We’ll also be keeping an eye on other markets too. Read the rest of this entry »
Technology should make a landlord’s life simpler, not harder
by John Hill on March 26, 2013 | Leave your comment
Running a pub isn’t a part-time job.
If you’re a landlord, there are a hundred and one things to do, from making sure customers are being served to getting the finances sorted and ordering fresh stock.
So surely the most important thing that technology can do for a pub is to reduce the load, rather than add to it? Read the rest of this entry »
Dispatches app shortlisted by One World Media
by John Hill on February 19, 2013 | Leave your comment
A few months ago, the Dispatches second screen app made it to the final of the British Journalism Awards.
The Guardian’s Reading the Riots project won the Innovation of the Year award that time around, but news reaches us that the second screen app has been shortlisted for a digital media award at the One World Media awards 2013. Read the rest of this entry »
Screach in LA: A Hell of a Trip
by John Hill on February 14, 2013 | One comment
Guess we can tick this off the startup “bucket list”.
It’s Monday morning in LA, and Screach CEO Paul Rawlings is sitting about 20 feet away from music man and tech investor Will.I.Am, who’s being interviewed on future technology by Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales.
In a little while, he’ll be pitching his own digital innovation to a crowd which includes international entertainment bosses, investors, and hotly-tipped startup talent. Read the rest of this entry »
Paul Rawlings is a lucky ********
by John Hill on February 5, 2013 | Leave your comment
Picture by Todd Jones Photography, used under Creative Commons
We’ve all grown to love the creative weather here in the North East of England.
It’s exciting to wake up asking yourself questions, such as: “Does this dress look good drenched in rainwater?”, “Will I need to wear a crash helmet in case a random sky-splodge of snow slops down on my head while I’m out getting lunch?” and “How the hell do those people manage to go out on the Bigg Market wearing that little?”.
But we’ve got to admit a slight twinge of jealousy when we glance over to our CEO Paul Rawlings’ desk this week.
Paul jetted off to California at the weekend to spend quality time at Innovation Forum Los Angeles. It’s a two-day event co-hosted by the Founders Forum, in association with UK Trade & Investment and companies such as Universal Music Group.