Life after Dragons’ Den for Yorkshire-based technology company

Despite failing to gain investment on Dragons’ Den in 2017, the CEO and founder of a cloud-based smartphone pub quiz platform said he has no regrets.

Since Mark Walsh left the Den, his Leeds-based technology company, KwizzBit, has undergone a complete transformation.

This includes a redesign of the platform, the addition of new features and hiring new staff to due to the company’s accelerating growth.

Walsh said: “When we entered the Den, we had a base product in the early stages of a development roadmap. Over the last two years, we’ve been adding value by investing in developing the product into a more robust entertainment platform.”

Over the last two years, KwizzBit has introduced redesign, additional question types and national leaderboards.

Walsh added: “We’ve gone from having a handful of pubs to being central suppliers for many of the major pub companies and working with high-profile corporate clients like Liverpool FC, BAE Systems and NHS Digital.”

The continuous development saw KwizzBit launch a monthly national quiz at the start of the year, where 3,000 quiz teams from 300 pubs all across the UK compete against each other from the comfort of their own local pub.

Walsh said: “National leaderboards have been a game-changer. There’s a real appetite for national linked quizzes, which no other pub quiz company can satisfy the way we do.”

He added that 2020 is going to be huge for the business as it plans to execute several high-profile collaborations, develop league tables, player accounts and introduce an automated version of the platform.

He said: “Looking back on Dragons’ Den and comparing it to where we are now, fills me with pride. We’re building this business on our own terms and it’s paying off.”

Overall, 25,327 KwizzBit quizzes have been played across the UK since 2017, with a total of 88,826 quiz teams.