Tracey Shirtcliff is founder and CEO of SCOPEBetter. She is a passionate advocate of smarter business practices and connected process. She’s an industry champion for easy-to-use products that solve everyday business challenges and believes that great products and award-winning service are an invaluable combination for any business; it is at the heart of what she strives for.
Can you tell us a little about your background and your company?
I’m originally from New Zealand and grew up on a farm, in the remote south Island. Which is quite a juxtaposition to my new world tech, but that’s certainly where my work ethic comes from. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial streak and I’m a natural problem solver. So, that combination of traits is what led me to form my first software company in the early 2000s. It was a project management and resource tool, called Traffic Live which was later acquired by Deltek. I spotted a gap in the market and filled it.
It was a similar story for SCOPE Better. I saw a problem and wanted to fix it. The result is a pricing platform that solves what we call The Pricing Problem for Professional Services businesses. We replace what a business would do manually, with a smart tool that adds value. Simple.
What inspired you to start your business?
Whilst still working on my previous business, I noticed that all of the clients that I had contact with were suffering from the same problems with pricing, things like overt complexity, inconsistencies, blind spots and scattered data. Most of them had invested heavily in their tech stack in so many other areas and yet when it came to pricing, they were reverting to really basic tools like spreadsheets.
SCOPE Better is the solution to those problems, taking companies out of spreadsheets and onto a cloud-based platform where they can take control and gain visibility over their pricing.
How did you create awareness for your brand?
When we first started to promote SCOPE Better, I built upon my influence, reputation, and contacts from my previous company. We’d solved one of their problems already, so why not let us help them with another. So, that’s how we gained our first few clients, and we were able to grow from there.
What strategies helped you secure funding and scale your business?
SCOPE Better was bootstrapped in the early days, which I know is a privileged position to be in. We were able to grow the business until it was in the right place to attract the right investors, at which point Fuel Ventures joined us on the journey to help us scale to the next level.
What have been your biggest successes so far?
There are a lot of achievements I’m proud of related to SCOPE Better. Onboarding our first client was a major landmark for us, and hitting our first targets. However, one of the first things that really felt like a significant achievement for the business was receiving a Creative Technology Award shortly after launch. It was a significant validation when things were at their most difficult.
What challenges have you faced, and how did you overcome them?
I think, like a lot of businesses that started up when we did, our biggest challenge was working through Covid. Like everyone else, we had to find an entirely new way of doing things. And ultimately, it worked for us and actually led to quite a lot of innovation. But it also slowed us down.
Other than that, the other big challenge has been in positioning the brand and working out exactly what we wanted to do and who we wanted to serve. SCOPE Better has pivoted since its inception. We began by building benchmarking into the platform before realising that it produced too much standardisation in pricing and that didn’t really help our customers, after all pricing should determine profit – not standarisation. So we pivoted away from that. Later, we realised that we’d limited our remit by focusing solely on the creative services vertical, so we broadened our reach, to other professional services businesses.
What are your plans for the future?
SCOPE Better began with a focus on marketing agencies. Since then, we’ve pivoted to support other types of professional services businesses. We’re really proud of the Management Consultancy, MSP and Research companies who are all now clients. Going forward, as we continue to grow into these new verticals, we’re putting resources into new product and feature development specific to them. That feels really good.
What advice would you give to aspiring female entrepreneurs?
I’d say you need grit and determination. Female entrepreneurs face even more barriers to entry than their male counterparts. There’s an implicit bias across sectors, which prevents women from being listened to and considered. In 2021, female-led businesses secured just 0.1% of UK private equity investments, so even when you have an amazing idea or product, and a business with masses of potential, it can be incredibly hard to be heard and to gain the support you need. But you can get there, if you just keep pushing. Someone will eventually hear you. So, in the spirit of my favourite quote from Churchill, ‘Never, ever, ever give up.’
What are your top three tips for entrepreneurial success?
Employ the right people – The people who work with you can make or break your business. So, build a team that believes in the product, and has the skills and determination to see it through.
Make sure your team sees the vision – If your people don’t understand what you’re trying to achieve, it becomes impossible for them to help you get there. So, share the vision, gain their insights, and work together.
Have fun – You spend more than half your life working, and it can be really tough. If you can’t enjoy what you’re doing, it’ll drive you mad. So, try and have some fun along the way. Of course, there are times when you have to be serious, but you also have to play a little, the journey can be long.
Who are five people who inspire you the most, and why?
Richard Branson: He’s been incredibly successful but had great fun doing it, which I think is something we can all aspire to.
Queen Elizabeth II: She had so much grit determination and resolve, it was awe-inspiring. She never wavered from her responsibility.
Meryl Streep: She’s the absolute master of reinvention. She’s stayed at the top of her game for more than five decades in an unforgiving industry.
Stephen Bartlett: Few other entrepreneurs have made such a strong name for themselves and their brand, He’s so young to have such acclaim.
My Dad: He taught me my work ethic, for which I’ll always be grateful.
What are your favourite inspirational or motivational quotes?
I’ve covered that one in a previous question, but Churchill’s ‘Never, ever, ever give up,’ is the rule that I live by. It covers everything in both business and life. I don’t think there’s a better quote or better advice anywhere.
Where can our readers connect with you?
You can connect with me on Linkedin or visit www.scopebetter.com
