Stories of our clients: Youtopia

"Traditionally, business owners would have to spend days going through all the invoices, expenses, tax returns and so on, without realising that there is a much more efficient way to do it. With our expertise in financial management, we can cut this time and costs by integrating the best IT solutions, allowing them to focus on the growth of their business." Read the whole story of Youtopia from the perspective of its Co-Founder, David Adderson, and learn how Trama protects this inspiring brand on its mission to simplify financial matters and let business owners focus on crucial aspects of their commerce.

By

Jan Buza

Managing the financial part of the business can be quite daunting for both established and new businesses entering the market. One in five (22%) sole traders, micro and small businesses in the UK say they ‘dread’ the prospect of doing their taxes, new research from the Mastercard Strive Business Barometer finds. Processing invoices, bank statements, collecting bills and receipts, doing monthly accounting, all of this paperwork can be very off-putting and humper business growth potential, especially for small businesses that are unfamiliar with different IT solutions available to smooth out the process.

This was an issue David and Katherine, the founders of Youtopia: professional accountant solutions, wanted to address. “We built Youtopia to free our clients from worries related to finance management and let them focus on what’s really important to them.” Katherine and David were frustrated with impersonal number-crunching within the accountancy industry. They felt they could add more value to their clients by offering a new experience. They wanted to create an environment in which innovation is valued over tradition, collaboration over anonymity, and which tailors its approach to the needs and character of each business.

“As we have experience with multiple financial platforms, we’re able to efficiently connect available IT solutions for easier finance management and data scraping. It’s fully automated and requires no human interaction, allowing our clients to focus on more enjoyable parts of the business. At the same time, they know there are real people behind this work that are always ready to answer any questions or provide guidance.” 

With a perfect balance between technological and human aspect, they are to let their clients' business grow uninterruptedly, which is clearly reflected in monthly profit increases. "When we first started working with this company, they had half a million-pound turnover and a minimum profit of maybe about 50 grand a year. They're now at £3 million turnover with half a million-pound profit and really driving forward, as they have now tripled their staff. The conversations we have with them also have undergone significant change. Thanks to the work we've done, now they have live dashboards where they can see how their company is performing, what sales goals they've hit this month and where there is room for improvement. And whenever we have a call, it starts with, "So, David, what new solutions have you got for us?" 

Youtopia: what’s behind the name?

“The traditional word utopia means a place or state where everything is perfect. We combined the word You with Utopia to signify our goal of putting the business owners into a state of utopia. Where they are meeting their business goals easier and quicker while still finding enjoyment in their job. When managing a business, many people tend to get stuck in a mindset where they feel like they have to work to get more profit without actually hitting any of their personal goals. Youtopia exists to remind them of these goals and work towards them.”

When did you start thinking about brand protection? 

“I started thinking about it a while ago. And, of course, I knew there were other companies with a similar name out there. We've been watching and monitoring them to make sure that they don't intervene too much with our brand. Because I always thought brand is the most crucial aspect of every company. And everything we do in Youtopia is focused heavily on the brand. But what made me act was one controversial case I read about online. It was about two rival companies that had an almost identical name, which caused one of these companies a lot of lost revenues. And it was at that point I thought, "OK, we need to go do something now. "Because if something like that happened to my company, I wouldn't know where we stood. And I think we would lose. So I told my team, we should think ahead and protect ourselves, make sure we're covered. Because we already put so much into the brand and wouldn't want to lose it.”

What made you stick with Trama throughout the process of trademark registration? 

“For me, the convenience and efficiency of the process are key. And that's exactly what Trama offered. Essentially, it felt like I was using an app. I provided the data, and everything else was done for me fast, reasonably cheap, and without much involvement. So I didn't have to think much about it. At the same time, there was a personal touch to it because the people I was in touch with were friendly and kept me informed throughout the process. So working with Trama was a no-brainer for me, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone else.”

Jan Buza
Jan Buza

Product Mind

Helped scale portfolio firms for a VC fund

CEMS Prague

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