A Woking based company that has been producing listening devices for the hard of hearing for more than a decade has received a further Enterprise M3 Expansion Loan to support new product roll-out.
Conversor's Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs) have been helping individuals with hearing impairments since 2003 but over the last three years the company has increased its focus on products to assist individuals with dyslexia after seeing increased demand in this area.
An initial loan was secured from the Enterprise M3 Expansion Loan Scheme in 2014 to enable development of a notetaking app and software program that would complement Conversor's existing offering. Following the successful development of Notetalker – an easy to use, feature rich app and PC program for recording lectures and meetings – a further loan was taken the following year to complete the development and undertake marketing activities. The current loan will be used to fund full rollout of the Notetalker solution and a new remote notetaking service, including new staff to facilitate the expansion.
The growth of Notetalker has been rapid, with the software and services representing 35% of total company sales in 2016 following its 2015 launch. This year the figure is expected to reach 70%. To facilitate this heightened sales activity Conversor will use the £100,000 Enterprise M3 Expansion Loan to increase staff across sales support and management. The loan will also allow further product development to ensure it fully meets the needs of its client base.
The Enterprise M3 Expansion Loan Scheme is part of the Enterprise M3 Funding Escalator, a £5.5million initiative funded by Enterprise M3 LEP. The escalator, which also includes an equity growth fund, provides eligible companies with loans and equity funding between £50,000 and £200,000 for activities that will deliver high-growth and employment opportunities.