Entrepreneur raises £250k for GIS platform inspired by Olympics

A Lincoln entrepreneur who has developed a GIS platform for event organisers after working on the London Olympics and other international events has secured a £250,000 investment to further develop his system.

Joe Cusdin secured the funding from the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund.

Cusdin developed his software, Iventis, three years ago and it is now being used by a number of global clients. The investment will allow the company, which currently employs four people, to further develop the system and create three new jobs for technical and marketing staff.

After starting his career in transport planning for the London Olympics, Cusdin went on to work with a series of festivals, athletics events and the European Games in Azerbaijan. As a geography graduate, he recognised that event organisers lacked effective mapping technology and planning systems to co-ordinate the different aspects of their operations.

Iventis is a powerful but easy to use GIS platform which allows event organisers to plan and share information on one platform – from architectural drawings to the location of food concessions and details of transport and security. The system also has potential for use in other industries such as construction, city management and transport.

Cusdin was the winner of the Taming the Dragon VI in November 2018, a Lincoln-based Dragons’ Den-style competition, supported by Lincolnshire Investment Network, Streets Chartered Accountants, Fraser Brown and NatWest.