How business mentoring helped accelerate liGo's growth
Sam Amdjadi, managing director and co-owner of Glasgow-based smart telephone provider liGo, speaks about the different ways business mentoring helped his company.
First steps
In 2010, liGo developed and brought to market its first major product - a mobile phone gateway hub. The product has been adopted by major firms like Siemens, bringing significant growth to the company. Business leader Sam Amdjadi was aware that with growth comes new challenges. For liGo, these centred on people, funding for expansion, access to suppliers and premises.
Sam was matched with his mentor John Morrish in April 2012. John has vast experience in the telecommunications industry, where he worked for over 20 years. The mentoring relationship addressed a range of business issues around the future of the business, internal systems for financial reporting and operational efficiency.
“Growth brings challenges”
liGo recently moved to larger premises and has taken on additional staff, with an annual turnover in excess of £13 million - an increase of over £5 million in the last three years.
“Growth brings challenges,” says Sam. “Business mentoring was seen as a way to access an experienced mind like John’s, to test and augment the thinking processes and decision making in the business. John has been an excellent sounding board during key business decisions.”
Sam explains that “business is all about people”, which is why he believes business mentoring was an effective method of support for liGo.
Business mentoring works at this personal level; it assists to reduce the feeling of stress and time pressures facing a business leader. This all acts to improve the quality of what we do.
Sam Amdjadi, managing director of liGo
Change for the better
The company has continued to grow significantly, and Sam credits John for playing a key role in this expansion.
“There is no doubt that he influenced my thinking and decision making; this has changed the business for the better and accelerated our turnover growth.”
Sam explains that business mentoring differed to other forms of business assistance due to its “less clinical” nature. Meeting with John was, Sam says, “like meeting a friend as opposed to a consultant or an adviser. I consider him a good friend.”
Would Sam recommend business mentoring to other businesses?
“Absolutely, it was great to have such an experienced person as a sounding board.”
Find out more about business mentoring