TGt Meets... Ben Searle

This edition of our TGt Meets... series of interviews focuses on Ben Searle, CEO at Perfect Dynamics. We discuss everything to do with Perfect Dynamics, Microsoft Dynamics and fatherhood.

Describe your business; what do you do and what makes you different?
Perfect Dynamics provide the Microsoft Dynamics suite of applications to businesses. We use a consultative and agile approach to implementation and we focus on after sales support and account management, we want to ensure businesses are kept up-to-date with the latest technologies and maximise the return on investment.

The Dynamics suite covers the full operation of a business, from Finance, Warehouse, Manufacturing, Project Management, Sales & Marketing and Field Service Management to name a few.

What inspired you to set up your business here in Swindon?
Perfect Dynamics was originally based in Bristol. As our team and client base grew, we looked for somewhere that was more centrally located for commuting, with easy access to the main motorways and train lines.

We wanted somewhere with some character, not a standard office block. We came across a set of converted barns in Upper Stratton, behind the Arkells Brewery. The location is great, we have a courtyard where we can have a bbq in the summer, we’ve even got some goats!

With Swindon being one of the most competitive locations in the South of England, it made sense for us to have our HQ here.

What advice would you give anyone looking to do the same?
When looking to set up a business, location is key, it is essential that you have access to good people and a location that is easily accessible and portrays a professional image.

Having a well thought through website and brand is essential, when you’re trying to start up, anyone coming to you will want to validate you, if your brand and website lets you down, you’ll never get that first impression back.

What do you think attracts business people to Swindon?
Swindon seems to the place to be. With the new fast train line, which is due to be completed in the next few years, it will make it an easily affordable place to live and work.

Swindon’s economy is growing each year, there are leading brands who have set up business here. In the digital sector, Swindon is in the top third, which makes sense for us to set up here.

How do you like to spend your time off?
My time off gets split into two areas normally. The majority being spent with my growing family. Keeping four sons occupied is a challenge at the best of times, but extremely rewarding.

The rest of my time is spent playing computer games and following eSports. Professional gaming is a hugely fun and exciting emerging market and is a great way to lose a few hours here and there.

What have been your key challenges and how have you overcome them?
The key challenges for me really sit around control of the business, how quickly we’re growing. When Perfect Dynamics started, there were two people, now the business has dramatically grown and we’re winning projects we could only dream of when we first started out.

This has meant I have had to move more into a management role rather than being on-site with customers at a day-to-day project level. This is a difficult mindset to shift. Identifying this early in a venture can ensure that you have a decent transitional period rather than trying to carry out two full time roles!

Your 2pm meeting has been cancelled, meaning you now have a two-hour lunch break. What do you do
Lunch break, what’s one of those?!

I enjoy networking and this has had an extremely positive impact on the growth of Perfect Dynamics. Wherever I find myself in the country with a free couple of hours, I will go to my list of contacts and try to arrange a lunch, coffee or dinner and take the opportunity to catch up with any ex-colleagues, partners, employees or clients that might be available.

It's a great way to grow our brand, make connections and stay in touch with what is happening with other NAV Partners and the Dynamics industry.

Describe Swindon in three words.

• Up and coming
• Accessible location
• Innovative

What has been your biggest achievement to date?
I am truly honoured to have fathered four extremely intelligent, healthy and fun children, without gaining too many grey hairs. They are by far my proudest achievement.

Perfect Dynamics has been a labour of love, but is another huge achievement in my life. We are smashing any expectations I had for the business, I'm proud of the team and what we have all achieved to get us to where we are.

What are your plans for the future?
To carrying on growing at the pace we have. We’ll pioneer the latest technologies, grow our brand and become thought-leaders within our industry. I want to grow a fun, vibrant, highly skilled business!