Glasgow online meeting business eyes growth with new funding

A Glasgow-based online meeting business is set for significant expansion after securing new funding from Scottish Enterprise.

Odro Vision, which is located at the Templeton on the Green building in the city’s east end, has received £240,000 of Regional Selective Assistance to help it grow its staff base from 11 up to 29 over the next 18 months – a move which is expected to see the business increase its turnover from £1.2 million in 2016 to £2.1 million in 2017.

Set up in 2011 by former GSPC chief executive, Bill Scouller, Odro Vision’s directors opted to apply for Scottish Enterprise grant assistance after seeking advice from mid-tier Scottish accountancy firm, French Duncan.

Odro’s new staff will work predominantly in sales-based roles, helping the online business to expand into new markets in Scotland, the UK and overseas.

Ryan McCabe, managing director at Odro, said: “Since the business got off the ground in 2011 we have seen it go from strength to strength. Back then we were hosting around 1,500 minutes of online meetings each month and that has increased to over 65,000 minutes, with lots of new deals in the pipeline.

“Our growth wouldn’t have been possible without the guidance we received from our accountants, French Duncan, who pointed us in the direction of the Regional Selective Assistance grant to help us increase our staff numbers. We are looking forward to the year ahead and to continuing to grow the business with French Duncan’s help and support.”

Colin Abercrombie, partner at French Duncan, said: “Odro is a great example of a dynamic Scottish business that is paving the way in its sector. Having worked with the team for some time, we advised the directors to apply for Regional Selective Assistance – a grant which is available to all businesses in Scotland that are working on projects which will support permanent jobs.

“Over the past 10 years French Duncan has helped businesses secure almost £100m of awards through schemes including Regional Selective Assistance, SMART: SCOTLAND and the Food Processing Marketing Co-operation. We will continue to work with Odro to ensure its continued success over the years ahead.”