After 4 years of leading Dubai-based creative tech firm Brndstr, Founder Simon Hudson, has stepped down from his role as CEO. Having supported over 200 brands across 8 countries and generating close to $5million in revenue, Hudson is making way for a new executive team to help take the company from tech startup to international SME.
“Established in 2013, we started Brndstr with the goal of becoming the number 1 tech studio for brands and agencies across the Middle East”, says Hudson. “Having run over 200 campaigns in the past 4 years and building a world class brand, the time has come for me to hand over the keys to a team of talented people that can elevate Brndstr to the next level.”
Since Mark Zuckerberg announced that ChatBots were going to be a key focus for Facebook at the F8 Conference in 2016, there has been a rise in the number of brands introducing them to their business.
Brndstr’s unique skill set comes in when large industries such as banks, airlines and automotive companies are looking to integrate a family of ChatBots into their existing infrastructure. Brndstr has worked with various brands such as Emirates NBD British Airways, Dubai Governments RTA, Axiom Telecom, McDonalds, CNN, Pepsi, Coca Cola and Samsung to name a few.
Having built the company from the ground up, Hudson will remain involved in Brndstr as founding partner and help the new executive team with core decisions and branding.
“The success of Brndstr and being able to say we are still in business 4 years later comes down to everyone who occupied a desk at Brndstr. My job has been to drive the business forward and innovate where needed. Technology never sleeps and we have had to adapt over the years to make sure we are constantly at the forefront of what the world is doing. Without the amazing staff and people who have helped along the way, none of this would have been possible. Everyone who is either at the company or part of the Alumni should be proud to have played a part and I want to thank each and every one of them”, commented Hudson.
When asked what Simon will be focusing on in 2018, he says, “I’ve been in the entrepreneur kitchen cooking up a couple of projects in the last few months and look forward to an exciting Q1 – watch this space!”
Brndstr has seen a 300% increase in requests for BOTS in Q4 alone just from Dubai, so 2018 is set to be a very exciting one for the company. Plans are to expand the platform to more international clients, followed by a number of exciting announcements coming in Q1 of 2018. As one of the key partners for both Facebook and Twitter in the region, Brndstr will be busy helping more brands innovate and stream line their customer service channels.