The founder of MarketExtra, Richard, identified something early in his career that has shaped everything since. He has a particular ability to bridge the gap between the people who needed answers and the systems meant to provide them.

It started in geophysical data processing. Richard wrote software to help analysts do their job better, and was moved into the programming department as a result. What he noticed then was a pattern that has repeated across every industry since: systems almost always produce what they are capable of producing, not what the business actually needs. Closing that gap — calmly, honestly, without a stake in any particular outcome — turned out to be something he was genuinely good at.

At Dixons Stores Group, that meant tailored analysis rather than generic output. At United Distillers, it meant identifying where a system could reduce risk and cost rather than simply adding capability. In each case, the most useful thing on offer wasn't the technology itself — it was an honest reading of whether and how it applied to the business in front of it.

That same instinct produced the original MarketExtra concept: the recognition that a well-handled "no" — a referral to a competitor better suited to a customer's needs — is a trackable asset, not a lost opportunity. The idea that value lives in the honest answer, not just the sale, was the founding principle then. It still is.

AI is the newest and most significant version of the same problem Richard has been solving for over four decades. No doubt a lot of businesses are making expensive decisions based on vendor enthusiasm rather than honest diagnosis. That felt worth doing something about.