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Expanding company develops life-saving app

An expanding company set up with the aid of a Fellowship for digital entrepreneurs has developed a mobile app which is helping to save the lives of hospital patients in Chicago.

Tyneside-based Gospelware is defying economic trends and has grown rapidly since being founded in 2010 after receiving a Fellowship from DigitalCity Innovation at º£½ÇÖ±²¥. Founders Ryan Davies, 31, and Michael Dunn, 28, both worked in the computer games industry and set up Gospelware after Michael was made redundant from his job.

He successfully applied for a DigitalCity Fellowship which gives £4,000 to cover living costs while a business idea is developed, as well as providing mentoring and advice from industry experts at º£½ÇÖ±²¥.

Now, the company, which is based at the Gateshead International Business Centre, has grown to employ seven people with an annual turnover of more than £200,000, of which 40% is exports.

The pair are predicting sales to reach £4million in three years’ time and aim to employ 34 staff by the end of 2014.

Gospelware specialises in creating and developing in novative mobile apps and advising on mobile marketing and strategy.

One such app they have developed for a Chicago medical company lets paramedics use mobile devices to record injuries at the scene of an accident and then send videos, images and notes to the doctors at the hospital allowing them to make vital preparations for the arrival of the patient.

Michael said: 'The fellowship helped us enormously when we were starting out.

'It helped develop our work from just an idea to having a business which is pretty much unique in just a couple of months.

'It was really good to be around like-minded people who were in a similar position to us and I still keep in contact with a lot of the other fellows from my time there.

'We’ve tried to keep our work quite varied and done all sorts of different things.'

Among the apps that Gospelware have developed is one for London Zoo which allows users to combine photographs of themselves with features of various animals.

Other apps include, Beerdog, a social networking app for beer lovers, and a series of revision guides for GCSE students.

Gospelware also developed the official app for last year’s Thinking Digital conference, held in Gateshead, which saw some of the leading figures from the worlds of technology, science and business amongst its delegates.

Ryan added: 'We initially intended to just be a games company but we quickly realised that wasn’t going to be viable as it’s such a competitive market.

'However, we saw a need for some good mobile development. “The work that we’ve been doing with the hospitals in Chicago is something I’m particularly proud of.

'It’s also an area of the market where there’s room for a lot of growth.

'What we’re doing now is what we do best and that’s designing, developing and creating some really special apps.'

Cheryl Evans, the project manager at DigitalCity Innovation, said: 'Gospelware is a real success story and we’re delighted that the company is doing so well.

'We’re very proud to have been able to help Gospelware in its initial stages.

'Its success proves that, despite the prevailing sense of gloom about the economy, this region is more than capable of producing talented people who are able to thrive when given the right help and support.'

This project is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), managed by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The ERDF Competitiveness Programme 2007-2013 is bringing over £300m into the North East to support innovation, enterprise and business support across the region.

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