Herts IT Consultancy firm opens new markets with mentorship support from the Volunteer Business Support Scheme 

Antony Kancidrowski, Director of Cidrosoft, an IT Consultancy has been developing software for almost 30 years. Born out of a passion for making IT systems simple and easy to use, Antony’s business provides tailored IT solutions to meet the individual business needs of small to medium-sized businesses.

However, like most businesses navigating their way through the COVID-19 pandemic, Antony was finding it difficult to secure new contracts. He applied to join the Volunteer Business Support Scheme with the hope of learning new ways of marketing his services and becoming more visible to his target client base.

The team at University Hertfordshire introduced Antony to Mukul Mistry, a volunteer business mentor working in the same industry. Executive Director of Aris Technologies, amassing 20 years of significant global corporate development experience and local market knowledge within technology, business and software development, Mukul was an ideal mentor match.

Identifying and working through multiple business challenges with Antony, Mukul helped Antony focus and prioritise specific areas around Cidrosoft’s marketing approach and positioning, providing guidance that would attain the most impact. Mukul understood, from personal experience, how easy it is to feel overwhelmed when working on your own, and he supported Antony to think differently about his business by focusing on business-critical areas as Antony testifies:

In addition, Mukul’s feedback and guidance resulted in Antony having more time to concentrate on other aspects of his business that have had a direct positive impact on his business’ bottom line. Mukul also supported Antony with rethinking his consultancy’s process priorities and then on maximising the impact of the process changes, which lead to Antony considering new potential markets for his services.

Thanks to the guidance of Mukul through the scheme, Cidrosoft has expanded its services and client base, which now includes public sector contracts. By investing a couple of hours of his time each week, Antony is reaping the rewards of a fruitful collaboration. “Through direct action born from conversations with my mentor, I successfully applied for and gained a position on the Government Preferred Suppliers list on their Digital Marketplace.” Antony Kancidrowski

Reflecting on his volunteering experience to mentor Antony, Mukul commented “Amongst the myriad of challenges for any organisation, especially a professional services business, is the ability to identify where you can take action that will effectively move the needle for progress vs the time spent on a problem. Antony is a great person to work with, clearly hugely knowledgeable in his chosen field and it was a privilege to get to know his business and see where I could assist.”

“Mukul is a very easy person to get along with and his help and insights have been invaluable. It is obvious that he knows what he is talking about as a direct result of his experiences and expertise.”

Having completed the scheme, Antony feels confident that due to the improved marketing strategies put in place as a result of the mentoring sessions, further opportunities loom on the horizon for his business and he credits the critical industry guidance and support received from his mentor and the scheme with helping his business grow and remain relevant through this challenging period.

If you are looking to receive bespoke business mentoring advice from highly experienced mentors, you only have until November 2021 to apply.

Hundreds of local micro, small and medium-sized businesses, have already reaped the rewards of participating in the fully funded Volunteer Business Support Scheme.

The scheme is devised by Hertfordshire Growth Hub, powered by the Hertfordshire LEP, in partnership with the University of Hertfordshire.

Find out more

Hundreds of businesses have already benefitted from the scheme, will you be next? Visit Hertfordshire Growth Hub to find out more about our free and confidential 1-2-1 mentoring programme.