Belfast-based scientific software company SciLeads has unveiled plans to create up to 50 new jobs over the next two years after announcing its workforce has grown to a team of 50 as of this month.
Launched in 2016 by friends Daniel McRitchie, Laura Haldane and James Campbell, SciLeads is a lead generation and market intelligence platform that helps scientific companies identify, engage and close their ideal buyers.
SciLeads has created a comprehensive and accurate database of scientific researchers, helping sales and marketing teams quickly identify who needs their products for their research.
The company placed 14th in the 2022 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 list, which ranks the fastest growing technology companies based on revenue growth over a four-year period. The previous year, the business was the top ranked Northern Ireland company on the list placing 11th, making this its second year in the top 20.
SciLeads began 2021 with 20 staff but having recruited across a number of roles it reached the milestone of 50 employees by the end of 2022. Now, with a strong pipeline of work, plans to launch new products, as well as further expansion into Asian markets, the company has projected that it will need to double its workforce to 100 by 2024 to manage the demand for its services.
“We are at an exciting point in our journey where we are the industry leaders in our space but still have massive potential to grow further,” said CEO McRitchie. “We believe our exciting plans for 2023 will enable us to double our headcount again over the next two years.
“We are open to all options in assisting us with our plans, including taking on investment from the right partner.”
In the past year, SciLeads has expanded its senior team with the appointment of a senior product manager, head of people & culture and head of new business, and is currently recruiting for a range of sales and software development roles.
SciLeads is trusted by hundreds of scientific companies globally to accelerate sales and drive growth. 93% of its customer base is outside of the UK with its software currently used globally by Fortune 500 companies right down to the smallest of startups.
Haldane, co-founder and VP of sales and marketing, added: “Finding talent in today’s market is definitely a challenge, particularly on the technical side.
“However, our remote first working has helped us to overcome this by hiring anywhere in the world, as well as being flexible with our current staff. We recently had a member of the team ask if they could move to Australia and work for SciLeads there and of course we said yes.
“When we started out, we knew we wanted to create a company with a truly flexible culture and work life balance. We have been working remotely since 2016, encouraging staff to get outside, walk the dog, go to the gym and see the sunshine. As we scale, we are adamant about maintaining this.”
The majority of the SciLeads team is based in Northern Ireland and Canada.