56. Qudini

Founders: Imogen Wethered and Fraser Hardy
Founded: June 2012 (launched March 2012)
Website: www.qudini.com

Winner of the 2012 Isobar Create London Hackathon – which challenged entrepreneurs to solve real world problems using near field communication (NFC) technology – Qudini is a cloud-based queue and appointment management system that allows its clients to effectively manage their customers’ in store journies.

Founders Imogen Wethered and Fraser Hardy’s system uses SMS and smartphone updates to give consumers information about waiting times and queue positions, helping customer retention, satisfaction and increasing spending and loyalty. The company charges a monthly licensing fee, which is dependent on usage. Qudini’s advantage is its ability to be deployed in store instantly over the cloud, and the ease with which it can be reconfigured store to store – a proposition which has impressed investors and stores alike.

The Wayra and angel backed-company is already in use in 200 stores having been adopted by O2, House of Fraser and Honest Burger amongst others, and is aiming to be in 800 stores by June. In the coming year the business hopes to expand internationally and grow its team of developers and sales operators, in a bid to significantly increase its client base and sales.