Game on How to Have Fun, Develop New Skills and Drive Business Growth
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Intelligent Investing from Bridgepoint May 2021 | Issue 39 Game on How to have fun, develop new skills and drive business growth The art of reduction Lessons from the locker room On the rebound Getting the food Patrik Nilsson on ice hockey, The sharing economy in a industry into shape leadership and Vitamin Well post-pandemic world 02 22 • Ins & outs • Analysis Bridgepoint news In sharing we trust The sharing economy has been hit by a series of blows over the past year. 04 Does this sector have a future, or has • Business it been permanently tarnished? Rules of the game Games were once associated exclusively with play. Today, they are 28 used to learn new skills, recruit staff • Management and drive business growth. But Think fast gamification still needs to be handled Making the right decisions is integral with care to business success, so firms that consider how best to tackle their decision-making processes can secure 10 real advantage • In focus War on waste More than a billion tons of food is lost 32 or wasted worldwide every year. • Viewpoint Reducing this could benefit Silent epidemic businesses across the value chain – Mental health used to be a taboo and cut down harmful emissions too topic in the workplace. Now, there are real signs of change, as businesses recognise the critical 16 importance of mental resilience for • The interview employees and other stakeholders A good sport Patrik Nilsson played ice hockey for Sweden, ran Adidas in North America 36 and led the leisurewear brand, Gant. • Last word Now, he chairs Bridgepoint-backed Animal magic Vitamin Well Parks are filled with dog-walkers, vets are turning away new customers, pet shops are booming, even egg-laying chickens are in short supply. The world has gone pet mad – but not everyone is happy about it •Foreword Game changers When entire countries and even the security services deploy it, you have to ask yourself what gamification really is. Memorably described as ‘when video games and business have a baby’, it is the process of applying the psychological and entertaining aspects of game-playing to other activities to make them more fun, increase engagement and improve results. In this edition of The Point (‘Rules of the game’, page 4), we analyse how savvy businesses are using gamification to drive customer loyalty and even influence behaviour – and ask whether its powerful appeal might also have a darker side. The rise of the sharing economy and the US, before becoming CEO of continues apace, even though a deadly Gant and then chairman of Vitamin pandemic seems to have undercut the Well. It’s a fascinating story with some sector’s core proposition. We examine interesting insights about team how businesses in this industry can motivation ( ‘A good sport’, page 16). overcome some of the obstacles they Since our last edition, Bridgepoint face and seek out fresh opportunities in has been busy, making investments in a post-Covid world (‘In sharing we Swiss cybersecurity specialist trust’, page 22). Infinigate, US fruit genetics pioneer Sun Until recently, mental resilience was World, UK digital marketing agency seldom discussed or even recognised as IDHL, Swedish medical dermatology an issue in the workplace. Wind forward services provider Diagnostiskt Centrum to today, and there is an increasing Hud and UK pharma and biotech awareness that firms need to advisory firm Prescient. We also acknowledge and understand it for the successfully exited our investment in good of their employees and their Calypso Technology in the US, one of business. That’s why in ‘Silent the foremost providers of software to the May 2021 epidemic’ (page 32), The Point tries to global capital markets industry (‘Ins & Issue 39 assess the scale of the issue and learn outs’, page 2). Published by Bladonmore how forward-looking companies are We hope you enjoy this edition of Editor Joanne Hart working through it. The Point . As always, we welcome your Design In this edition, we are also profiling feedback via [email protected] u Bagshawe Associates • Reproduction, copying the chairman of one of our fastest- or extracting by any means of the whole or growing consumer companies – Patrik part of this publication must not be undertaken Nilsson of functional drinks and food without the written permission of the publishers. group Vitamin Well. A champion The views expressed in ice-hockey player in his youth, he opted The Point are not William Jackson necessarily those of for a career in business, eventually Bridgepoint. is managing partner www.bridgepoint.eu heading Adidas in the Nordic region of Bridgepoint 01 •Ins &outs | Bridgepoint news Here comes the sun Sun World is a global pioneer in fruit genetics with a track record stretching back to the 1970s. Bridgepoint has now acquired the California-based company, which owns more than 300 plant patents and licenses around 1,800 growers in 15 countries, including Chile, Israel, South Africa and Spain. The transaction is designed to drive growth at Sun World by building a broad-based genetics and technology platform for speciality fruit growers. The company Bridgepoint snaps up traditionally works with grapes and stone fruit but has recently begun studying several Swiss cybersecurity firm underserved crops and technology to support Bridgepoint has acquired one of Europe’s leading them. There are also opportunities to acquire new genetics and emerging technologies. cybersecurity specialists, Infinigate “Sun World was part of the first wave of The enterprise cybersecurity The group was founded in 1996 genetic innovation for produce, establishing a market is one of the fastest and has grown consistently over growing in Western Europe. Worth the past 25 years. Employees now an estimated €10 billion, it is exceed 450 and the business is expanding by around 10 per cent expected to have generated gross annually as the revenues of more threat of cybercrime than €600 million in intensifies, the year to companies’ March 2021. information technology systems Led by CEO Klaus Schlichtherle, become more complex and Infinigate focuses on innovative recurring royalty business model that has regulations around data protection and specialised security solutions, enabled it to prioritise R&D innovation. Today grow increasingly stringent. complemented by dedicated it enjoys a market-leading reputation with the Infinigate is the foremost technical, marketing, sales and largest growers, distribution partners and distributor of value-added professional services for both retailers globally thanks to its cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions in partners and vendors. molecular techniques and breeding Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Bridgepoint partner Christopher processes. We expect to continue to invest in the Nordic region, and is ranked Brackmann says: “Infinigate is an new technologies that benefit growers and number two in Europe. exciting platform in a growth consumers alike,” says Bridgepoint partner Headquartered in Rotkreuz, market, with an experienced Andrew Sweet. Switzerland, it offers state-of-the- management team. With Sun World, led by CEO David Marguleas, art security solutions from more Bridgepoint’s support, it will be recently opened an innovation centre, than 70 vendors through a well placed to capitalise on its featuring a sophisticated fruit breeding network of more than high-quality vendor base and long- and variety development operation and a 10,000 partners. standing reseller relationships .” • 160-acre research farm • BDC teams up with marketing agency as growth soars IDHL is a fast-growing digital With more than 240 staff, growth in 2020, with unaudited Dennis Engel has amassed a marketing agency based in IDHL helps businesses across the EBITDA of £5.6 million and portfolio of seven brands Harrogate, Yorkshire. UK to maximise their digital revenues of £19.4 million, across five locations. Bridgepoint Development potential through search engine an increase of nearly Supported by BDC, Capital has now partnered with marketing, automated email 40 per cent from 2019. Engel now hopes to build the business providing a marketing, e-commerce and web Having completed on IDHL’s acquisition substantial investment to foster design and build. several acquisitions in record, both at home and drive future growth. The company delivered record recent years, CEO and founder and overseas • 02 An exit for Calypso after business transformation Leading financial software specialist Calypso Technology has been sold by Bridgepoint San Francisco-based Calypso Technology is one of the foremost providers of software to the capital markets industry, with a suite of products encompassing trading, risk management, regulatory reporting and accounting. The group’s award-winning software improves through a period of significant transition of the business to a reliability, adaptability and scalability across transformation. Internal processes cloud model, combined with several areas of the financial services industry, were enhanced, the management best-in-class client service, was such as capital markets, investment team was upgraded and the undoubtedly key in accelerating management, central banking, clearing, company moved from selling growth. The business is now well treasury, liquidity and collateral. perpetual one-off placed for the next Acquired by Bridgepoint in 2016, Calypso’s licences to offering stage of its evolution,” products are now used by some 35,000 market software as a service, says David Nicault, professionals in more than 60 countries via annual licences. partner and global