Imagine living in a world where the quality of your education was not constrained by your postcode. What if you could use the knowledge and resources of the local community to observe and monitor trends in the environment — from mapping disease in cattle in South Africa to capturing sightings of endangered species?

This is the dream that drives co-founders Neil Bailey and Stewart Thompson of WildKnowledge, providers of mobile learning and data collection technology.

Having started as a joint research project in June 2004 between Adit Limited and Oxford Brookes, the project secured £100,000 in June 2006 to spin out from the University.

It continues to attract interest, having won in the Developers’ Den at the Mobile Web 2.0 Summit in June 2009.

What is the secret of bringing a bright business idea to fruition? Neil Bailey, managing director of WildKnowledge, suggests five factors need to be in place.

o Make your product appeal to emotions and satisfy a need o Ensure you have plenty of self-belief o Surround yourself with a good team o Develop a business plan o Be flexible enough to respond to changing circumstances WildKnowledge certainly has a compelling story. It is a story of two young boys in 2006 who were market testing their first educational tool when they stumbled across a species of ladybird, seen only three times in the UK, in the gardens of the Natural History Museum.

The ability to show how engaging the technology was, at a time when organisations wanted to encourage the younger generation to pursue scientific vocations, was a significant factor in WildKnowledge’s initial success.

In fact the idea of using technology and handheld devices to allow people of all ages to become amateur naturalists using a series of prompts and images still captures the hearts of minds of potential investors at science and technology fair Venturefest. In 2008 WildKnowledge secured the Public Choice Award for Innovation.

Not surprising, then, that it has grown from a company that provides an imaginative way to identify particular wildlife species (WildKey) to a company which can create interactive maps with video, audio and quiz-style questions to guide visitors around points of interest (WildMap) and help organisations manage information more effectively (WildForm).

But it is not just about the product — it is about the people too. Mr Bailey humbly admits that he knew what a recent contestant on TV show The Apprentice meant when he claimed he brought ignorance to the table.

He is, of course, referring to his ability to question, believe in his talent and trust his instinct. But there is also the recognition that he needs to surround himself with those who have the skills, experience and networks he lacks.

“You need to have faith in your own abilities if you want to be in a position to influence the potential success of ‘your baby’ — it has taken a while to grow into the role of managing director but I wouldn’t swap it for the world,”

he said.

Mr Bailey would be the first to admit he has learnt some valuable lessons in the formative years of WildKnowledge — not least the need to adapt and diversify from the original business plan prepared with Adit and Oxford Brookes.

When a preferred personal digital assistant hardware supplier suffered production delays, which also led to an increase in purchase cost, he had to re-think its strategy.

Luckily, advances in web browser and mobile phone technology created an even greater opportunity for potential users of WildKnowledge applications to share, download and upload information.

This is reflected in WildKnowledge’s advance into new markets with WildForm, which can be used to collect valuable data on a variety of platforms — mobile, web, PDA — and export it to existing management information systems. It is currently being trialled in two NHS Trusts, which shows the system’s adaptability.

The next three years will be a turning point. Repeat income from subscribers will allow the company to recruit, develop more products and increase speed to market.

But WildKnowledge is acutely aware that technology is difficult to protect, and its strength will lie in customer loyalty. This is a strategy which will bring new risks if it is to partner with larger players, such as the network operators, to build the volume it needs.

It hopes that by sharing the content collected by its community on web and mobile portals, users will be encouraged to convert to WildKnowledge products and services. A similar philosophy is behind its plans to give users limited access to try before they buy.

Time will tell whether the inevitable cuts in education and public services will impact on the WildKnowledge business model, but its agility will give it a sound platform to weather any storm which may be on the horizon, or indeed enable it to prosper from any green shoots of recovery.

o Contact: WildKnowledge, 01865 250251.

Web: www.wildknowledge.co.uk o This page is co-ordinated by Science Oxford Networks, www.scienceoxfordnetworks.com