ENCOMPASS, which aims to stop money laundering and terrorism, was launched by Wayne Johnson in 2012 in Australia and the service was expanded to the UK In 2015. The company’s Know Your Customer product uses data analytics to ensure its clients do not unknowingly trade with organised crime or the proceeds of crime, in keeping with new legislation introduced after the global financial crisis. Johnson hopes the business will expand into Europe and the US in the next few years.
Name: Wayne Johnson
Position: CEO and co-founder
WHAT IS THE BUSINESS CALLED?
Encompass
WHERE IS IT BASED?
Glasgow
WHY DID YOU SET UP THE BUSINESS?
MY co-founder Roger [Carson] and I were in a business transaction and lost lots of money in the process. We asked lawyers how to know who to do business with. It was a convoluted and difficult search process so we set up our own technology.
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We moved from Australia to the UK as it has similar laws and approaches to the problem we solved. We had experience in Manchester, London and Ireland and one shareholder is a global Scot who suggested Glasgow which we realised was the right place for us. There are five great universities in Glasgow and a community of tech companies.
We have a great team of 150 people and Glasgow proved to be a great location. Setting up my own business was a natural thing for me. You work out you have some talent and hire people with talent in other areas.
We are fortunate in that we have always had a global way of doing things. Our technology and product has always been cloud-based. It’s not hard to work from home but it’s harder for customers to set up. It hasn’t been easy for individuals but from a business point of view it’s not bad.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
WE bring together information from hundreds of sources around the world. We check who is behind the company and who owns the company. It’s a very time-consuming process. It takes us minutes instead of days or weeks and it reduces costs for businesses so it’s a great solution. Banks and legal firms deal with corporates so it helps them.
WHAT IS YOUR TARGET MARKET?
LIKE a lot of businesses you work out problems that are worthwhile solving. When we had our first customers we continued to evolve the product and realised larger customers would use it.
We found large financial organisations have this problem so we work with some of the biggest banks in the world and legal firms who all have a compliance role. We play a big part in stopping terrorism and money laundering. It stops banks and governments from financing criminals to use the financial system for crime.
HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM COMPETING BUSINESSES?
THE area of money laundering has different parts to it. We analyse corporate structures. The customer can subscribe to a platform and that’s unique. It helps make decisions quickly and in this area we are ahead of competitors.
IS SCOTLAND A GOOD PLACE FOR THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS?
THERE are lots of great innovative companies in Scotland that we have connected with through Scottish Enterprise.
There are lots of parallels between how Australians and Scots look at the world. It has been a good natural fit between those who move from Scotland to Australia. There’s something about the Scots that really appeals to Australians. The more companies like us that start in Glasgow and grow creates an ecosystem where we can all thrive.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT RUNNING THE BUSINESS?
THE people. It’s great to get new customers and compete with competitors to break ground. We are working with people who are doing great work and get satisfaction at what we do. You get sidetracked with deadlines and the pressure but, at the end of the day, it always comes back to the people.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN RUNNING THE BUSINESS?
IT is always a balance in raising capital, growing the business and maintaining customers.
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We are always looking for talented people and competing for the best talent. Some brands have more money than us to hire the best staff. We are building a great team that we are continuing to add to. There’s a great pool of talent made up of people educated in Scotland.
WHERE DO YOU HOPE THE BUSINESS WILL BE IN 10 YEARS?
THAT’S a long time for a tech business. The problem that we solve isn’t going away. Money laundering will get worse. We must all get better at what we do to prevent it.
Hundreds of billions of pounds are laundered through finance systems in the UK. We want it to grow in markets in Europe and the US and get better at serving the community. Everyone in the company is a shareholder
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