In a new regular series, our Community Manager Daisy interviews new arrivals at Sussex Innovation about their business, why they joined, and their plans for growth. Today she chats with Sulakshana Das of Simplex Services.

First of all, could you explain as simply as possible what Simplex Services do?

Well, we are a team of strategists, architects and engineers…we collaborate with our businesses and solve their business challenges through innovative ideas and solutions. We are mainly involved in IT infrastructure and mobile application development.

What was the motivation for starting the business?

We wanted to do something for ourselves. We wanted to give corporate level benefits to small and medium sized businesses.

And were there any challenges that you faced?

A lot, a lot. The first was, how do you open a business? We had lots of ideas, but putting them down on paper and moving forward, it was quite difficult. The first thing I remember was cracking the first deal…that was really something! It was a big achievement and we learnt a lot from it.

That was actually my next question, what did you learn?

We learnt that networking is very important. It’s not just picking up the phone or texting, although we live in a modern society where everything is digitised, business organisations still look for that personal touch. Face to face, everyone requires that, and that’s the main thing we have learnt.

Are you looking to network and collaborate with other members at the Centre, is that why you joined or was there another reason?

Yes, because of the platform that Sussex Innovation is Centre is providing and the wider access to the University resources.

Have you thought about how you might like to interact with the University? Or is that something that you’re doing already?

We have already started doing that! We are trying to establish a connection with the University, we have a couple of good contacts, we are trying to work on that, hopefully it will materialise but we are still in that process.

Do you think that this is the most valuable thing we can offer you?

Yes, access to hiring the resources, the new talents, then having events, meeting the kids that want to get into IT infrastructure, having a bridge between us, [the University] and you.

And the future?

The future is bright, it’s very bright and ambitious because we are very passionate creators.