Jamie Taylor, Founder and CTO of RJJ Software, has been awarded the Managing Director of the Year award for Most Visionary Software Development & Consultancy MD, as part of SME News’s annual Managing Director Awards.
SME News first launched its award schemes in 2017, as a way to reward and celebrate Britain’s smaller businesses. Despite representing 99.9% of Britain’s businesses and 61% of employment, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are often overlooked by both the press and award schemes. The SME News award scheme, including the Managing Director of the Year Awards, are an important step in addressing this imbalance. With the economy in flux and the influence of big business called into question, more and more customers are turning to SMEs to fulfil their needs while providing a flexible and sustainable solution for local economies.
The Leeds-based software development firm is this sort of company. Founded in 2018, the company uses agile methods and bleeding edge software to provide bespoke software development and podcast production services to a wide range of clients. Rooted in the local community, RJJ supports other Yorkshire SMEs through its purchasing policies and has recently introduced an apprenticeship to train local teenagers looking at a career in technology.
As the founder of RJJ, Jamie brings an empathetic approach to communication and management, developed through past experience in teaching. He also focuses on continuous improvement, recognising that, however well the company does, there’s always space to do better. For Jamie and RJJ, better doesn’t necessarily mean bigger: the company is proud of its position as an SME, and of this award.
With its flexible working practices and its community outreach program, RJJ shows that you don’t have to choose between success and doing the right thing, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for growth.
“I’m going to continue to strive forwards with a growth mindset,” Jamie says. “We are planning to expand our operations and to work directly with business leaders in both the Leeds area and outside the UK, in order to bring more attention to both Leeds and the UK as a whole.”
SMEs are a vital part of the economy. The Managing Director the Year Award shows how successful Jamie and RJJ have been in fulfilling that promise.
