Where Are They Now: Phil Lawson, Group CEO of InVentry

Since its launch in 2018, the LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders programme has celebrated hundreds of exceptional individuals. In this series, we reconnect with some of our alumni to discover where their growth journeys have taken them, the impact of being part of the programme, and what their ambitions look like today.

If you’ve signed in to visit a school or college, you’ve probably used InVentry. The Leeds-based maker of sign-in systems is the market leader in the UK, used by one in three education providers. Since featuring in The LDC Top 50 in 2023, co-founder Phil Lawson has been on a journey: he’s pivoted InVentry to a subscription model, and the lower upfront cost for customers has helped him build predictable revenue streams that are growing 30% year-on-year. With 180 people spread across offices in the UK, Dubai, India and Singapore, he has also expanded InVentry’s international footprint. “We’ll grow revenues by 30% again next year,” says Lawson. “Our goal is to be number one in every region and vertical we serve.”

How have you innovated over the last three years?

We have moved into new industries – any vertical where there’s a regulatory reason to track people. We’re in care homes, food manufacturing facilities and even football academies. Kids with muddy fingers can’t sign in with their fingerprints so that’s required innovation, but most of our R&D is focused on integrations – we have to link with customers’ existing systems. That’s a massive part of our appeal.

How has your role changed?

Today I’m group CEO, and my role is to focus on international expansion and strategy. My co-founder Phil Brooke is group CTO, while Alain Squitieri is UK CEO. It’s been a challenge to let go of certain responsibilities, but I trust my team and with ambition likes ours, you have to evolve as leaders.

What challenges do you face now?

We were early into a niche sector, so we’re a market leader but we’re also a target. Lots of competition has come in with cheap solutions. But no one has our hardware element – the scanners and cameras and technology that physically tracks who is going in and out. Anyone can sell an app on an iPad, but no one else can do what we do.