Business advice for the price of a McDonald’s meal

A former leading small business advisor to the Thatcher and Blair governments says disruption to the business consultancy sector means SMEs can now enjoy expert advice for the price of a small meal.

Duncan Collins, who was the principal advisor to the UK government for over 20 years said, “Artificial intelligence and algorithms are the way forward. Small businesses would previously rely on Business Link but since the closure in 2012 there has been nothing but cuts and firefighting (from government) when it comes to advising small companies – they have to fend for themselves.”

“A small business might be able to afford a consultant for a couple of days but in reality that route is very expensive. But machine learning and AI technology has flipped the game on its head and democratised business advice. We are now in a position to offer affordable expert advice to any size of business for as little as £5 a day – it really is a game changer.”

During Mr Collins’ tenure as small business advisor to the Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair governments, UK small business competitiveness climbed from 21st to 7th place in the international league tables. He is now the Founder and CEO of Runagood®, the world’s first AI-driven business advisor software.

“Essentially I have taken my entire lifetimes worth of business experience, advising governments on small businesses, working across all sectors, and distilled it in this software. It leverages the power of big data and AI to create bespoke business advice - the more detail the business owner puts in, the more detailed the advice given on how to improve the business.”

Business owners begin by answering 20 key questions about their company. This information is then matched against industry data. This lets them know how proficient they are at acquiring new customers compared with other competitors in the same sector. Productivity, customer retention, efficiency and profitability are also assessed and compared.

Collins, who has dealt with thousands of companies throughout the UK says sometimes it’s good to take a leaf out of the ‘big business book’ rather than getting confused by self-employed ‘consultants’ or just ‘Googling it’.

“Businesses need a sustained relationship with business advisors who keep them informed about best practice. But the only way to make that affordable is by using AI, to accelerate the processes to such an extent that it becomes affordable to access smart advice all the time. It’s what big businesses do to stay big because they can afford the high costs (incurred by new tech). But AI levels the playing field for the first time ever enabling small businesses to compete.”

The Runagood® AI-driven software acts as a one-stop shop for business owners – identifying issues around company performance and then offers solutions/actions to improve the business. The powerful automated system also provides a business valuation within minutes as a key benchmark of business health.

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• Founded in 2010, Runagood.Com Ltd is the world’s first AI Business Advisor® and reducing consultant time and cost by 90%

• Launching nationally in 2019, Runagood® aims to reach all 5.5m very small businesses through 18,000 professional partnerships

• This will fully replace the funding government withdrew from small business support in 2010

T: +44(0)20 8960 7194 | E: ibrar@runagood.com | W: runagood.com | @runagood_ltd


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About Runagood.com Ltd

Between 1988 and 2010, Runagood®’s Founder Duncan Collin's led the government efforts that resulted in UK small business competitiveness rising from 21st to 7th place internationally, it took lengthy, subsidised spending of at least £25bn on consultancy services that could neither be afforded, nor sustained, following the 2008 Financial Crash. Runagood® AI Business Advisor® is built from the techniques developed and used on one million small UK businesses to raise international competitiveness from 21st to 7th place. The technology behind the AI Business Advisor® produces in minutes what otherwise takes a business consultant up to a month to achieve. It thus reduces consultancy time by 90% and with it, 90% of the cost with Runagood® subscriptions starting from £50 per month. Business owners can now gain sustainable access to Business Coaching, Mentoring and Consultancy services with the first ever AI Business Advisor®.