Company year of founding: 1994 Location: Cumbria Turnover: £22 million Number of staff : 200 (20 in Australia) Generation of business: 1st
A relay, not a marathon Approximately 270 metres around the track, Andrew is holding onto the family business baton firmly. This is not a 400 metre race. He is running a relay race, and this is just the first lap. That’s the metaphor Andrew Moses, Managing Director of The Config Team, chooses to use to describe his family business journey. As co-founder, along with his wife Carolyn, he is clear that this is not just another IT firm that will sell out to big tech or private equity. He plans to hand the baton over to a new generation. For an IT firm, that’s unusual… and a competitive advantage. “Customers like dealing with a family business”, Andrew explains. “Usually, once an IT firm gets to 50 or 100 people, they look to sell. But when that happens, the culture changes. Customer relationships suffer.” For customers, implementing IT systems is stressful enough. “We want to minimise the stress as much as possible, so we focus on the relationships.” The family business mentality, with its focus on the long term and a very employee-centric culture, suits The Config Team well. “Our culture is one of teamwork. We have high expectations of each other, but we lean in and help each other out.” While Andrew admits that some colleagues have left The Config Team because they felt the business was growing too big, he maintains that the size actually helps to preserve the culture. The size helps to manage risks, and “as we grow, we can hire people not just for their technical skills, but for how they will fit in.” The benefits of family ownership came to light during the pandemic. Unlike most in the industry, as customer projects were put on hold, The Config Team didn’t put staff
on furlough, but instead put them to work on internal development projects to help future-proof the organisation. The business took a hit financially, but it preserved client and, arguably more importantly, employee loyalty. Andrew has some advice for other founders considering their legacy: l Build relationships for the long-term. The family business model may not be right for everyone, and even if it is not, you still benefit from setting up a stable business. “Having a strong leadership team means the business is less dependent on me as a founder, so that will protect our DNA.” l Don’t give up equity in your business too quickly. While Andrew has seen the temptations of selling, he is glad he and his wife have been able to hold on to 100% ownership. His eldest son Tom, 24 years old, has recently come into the business, perhaps a bit sooner than Andrew and Carolyn had expected. After completing a degree apprenticeship and working for PWC for two years, Tom caught wind of “all the excitement going on” and asked to come into the business. Andrew and Carolyn have two other sons who may or may not join the business…. There’s no pressure on them to join but Andrew hopes that by the end of the first lap he’ll have created something special that his sons will want to be a part of.
Andrew Moses The Config Team
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