ETZ end of year review from Executive Chairman – Nick Woodward

A year of positive and significant change with lots of exciting initiatives planned for 2018

As we approach the end of the year it’s time to reflect on the achievements that our new invigorated management team have accomplished in the last six months.
I returned to the role of Executive Chairman in August this year. I founded and bootstrapped ETZ on my kitchen table in a humble apartment in Fitzrovia, London at the end of 2000, just as the dot com bubble burst! My timing was superb, I had just finished a contract as a Software Engineer with Merril Lynch and my savings were rapidly being depleted in hosting costs as I knocked on the doors of every recruiter within a square mile of where I lived. I was not prepared for the ferocity of competition in the burgeoning London tech industry or the negotiating skills of recruiters in London.
I was determined not to go back to full time contracting so I persisted, survived and eventually flourished. The most valuable lesson I have learnt in business is the need for trust and loyalty. These two qualities need to permeate with your team and your customers. Most of our loyal customers know the personal challenges I have faced over the past two years and have stuck by me. The longest serving employee with ETZ has only been with the company twelve months and the majority of the new ETZ team joined in the last six months. Together we have achieved more in six months than the entire history of the company. We now have a new team of 20 people with plans to quickly continue this expansion in 2018, aiming for 50 people by the middle of the year.
The product has had a renewed focus starting with a complete upgrade of our infrastructure, moving to fast, secure and ultra reliable hosting with Access Alto. We are working on changes to ETZ to make it ready for the GDPR regulations coming in May next year plus releasing new functionality on reporting, data insights and payment integration.
This should lead to an IPO in 2018 which will support further investment into the product.
I would like to make a personal thank you to all my customers that have stayed the course with ETZ and our loyal staff. Merry Christmas to you and your families and I wish you all a very prosperous 2018.
Nick Woodward