The three months since the last blog update have flown by. I'm glad to report that Accordion Innovation Ltd has continued to grow. When we looked at the numbers at the end of our trading year both revenue and profits were up by record levels. Now, I'm not going to reveal the exact numbers and don't be fooled into thinking we're talking millions here. We're a tiny company. We are profitable and growing, but no-one is getting rich quick and remember there is no VC or Angel investment involved, we are entirely bootstrapped. Yes, we have benefited from some initial R&D funding at the very beginning of inventing some our products, but to develop them further, we need to bring revenue in and that means finding new paying customers and delivering for them, just as we do for our valued existing customers. It's tough being a small business in tech - there are giants out there! So, I'm pretty proud that we are continuing to grow organically, slowly but surely.

Two new customers in particular are interesting to highlight because they demonstrate the flexibility of our most established product - Accordion - and they also show how companies are increasingly understanding the changing needs of their audiences and asking us to help them respond as we are uniquely able to do.

CCW (The Consumer Council for Water) wanted to use Accordion as a backend service provider. They had 60 podcasts from their back catalogue that they wanted to offer as mini editions (correctly they had noted that audiences want more control, flexibility and have less time). Accordion was able to make these mini versions with ease, to a high standard and in considerably less time (and at less cost) than a human editor. Plus, as a human podcast editor myself, I think they may have struggled to find someone willing to take on this industrial level of re-versioning! So, a perfect use for Accordion, and a new one for us. We thoroughly enjoyed the challenge, and you can find the final Accordion-made mini versions on their podcast feed. All the key bits you need to know from a 45min ish episode in 9-14 mins. That's efficient. And they have been a big hit with their audience. Below is a look at how they look stacked up in their feed...

The second new customer I want to highlight is not one I can go into detail about because the work is ongoing and final outputs not released. But, it's interesting because it is a project involving video Accordions. Again, it's an organisation wanting to get their content out to their audiences in a more flexible way that takes less of their valuable (and competed for) time. There's a theme emerging here and it's brilliant to see the insights behind the original idea of Accordion slowly start to play out in the market. This organisation is doing vital innovative work and they want people to know about it... but they understand that people won't watch a 1hr webinar. So, they want Accordion versions of their webinars and expert explainer content embedded on their website with the slider bar below it so people can choose to watch at the level of detail they want. So you could get all the info you need in about a third of the original duration. And if you want more detail, you can decide how much. A perfect use of Accordion and one we are very much looking forward to delivering.

Of course, the last 3 months haven't all been success after success. There have been frustrations, moments of pivot and challenges. There always are. That's tech innovation. And that's business. But, bigger picture, progress is good and we're very grateful to our clients, passionate advocates and technical team for making it possible. Have a great summer and see you in the Autumn...

​Andy - CEO

What, no blog posts throughout 2024? It shocked me too. Sorry for the radio silence. But the reasons are good. Lots has been happening in the world of Accordion Innovation Ltd. The India trip I talked about in my last post back in October 2023 led to loads of exciting connections, including one with a company called Tiny Jungle who work with Twitch streamers and make highlight reels for companies that sponsor streams. 2 hour+ streams needing to come down to a few minutes highlight reels? Sounds like a job for Accordion. In the end, the development work we did for Tiny Jungle actually led us to inventing an entirely new product prototype which is an offshoot of Accordion - RoughCut, which we will look to do more with in the future.

2024 saw us consolidate our every growing partnership with the Planet Possible podcast. As they grow, so do we. As well as providing audio Accordion versions of every one of their monthly full episodes (available at www.accordion.live/planetpossible) we now provide Accordion capabilities (both video and audio) for their new branded content channel - Planet Possible Spotlight. It's a great idea of Planet Possible's to partner with planet-positive companies and projects looking to showcase their work. The brilliant thing for us is that once these companies (across a whole range of sectors) are introduced to Accordion, they totally get the concept and see it as the perfect way to get across the message of their new podcast or video to time-poor senior execs. Them watching or listening to the shortest possible version (usually a third of duration with Accordion - so perhaps 10 or 15 mins) is better than never getting to listen to a 45 min episode because they simply don't have the time.

So what about these new capabilities for Accordion? Well, 2024 was also the year that we were lucky to partner with Media Cymru once more via their Development funding. Brilliant to get the backing of Media Cymru - they really see the growth of Accordion and want to support it and boost it. The project completed at the end of 2024 and has dramatically improved Accordion's level of automation and ability to work at scale and integrate with media platforms. This in turn has opened up the beginnings of a very exciting collaboration with a huge platform which I cannot say more about now but very much look forward to announcing in due course.

Talking of collaborations, another exciting development is our new partnership with podcast expert Arielle Nisenblatt - you can watch her latest free podcast growth webinar using Accordion (and watch at whatever length that suits the time you have available) at www.accordion.live/arielle_video

Update on flipformat. We're picking up B2B customers and white label opportunities - both of which are real positives - and also considering the best way to make flipformat available as a B2C product which anyone can use. Watch this space.

In retrospect, I'm almost glad to have not posted a blog for so long. It shows how busy we have been, how much progress we have made, and how much of my attention has been taken up with all the work and opportunities that have arisen. But as someone very wise pointed out to me today... if your website has a blog, it has to be up to date. Completely right. So  I'm committing to at least 4 blog posts a year, one per quarter. Pinky promise.

Before I go - delighted to have signed another new customer this week using Accordion in yet another new way. They are using it as a backend tool to automatically produce 10 min versions of 60 past podcast episodes. As companies catch on to the fact that people have less time for content and want more control over it, they are realising the results Accordion can give them and it's brilliant for us.

See you in Summer 2025 - until then, if you want to be part of the growth of Accordion as a new customer (video, audio or anything else) just get in touch. Email me directly - [email protected]

​Andy - CEO

18th October 2023, Cardiff, Wales, UK

Andy Taylor (CEO of Accordion Innovation Ltd) writes...

In the next few weeks, I'll be part of an Innovate UK in-market visit to India. Visiting the cities of Mumbai and Hyderabad, I'm aiming to lay the foundations for partnerships, collaborations and commercial growth for both Accordion and flipformat in one of the most exciting and dynamic media markets in the world.

Innovate UK have chosen a group of small innovative companies from all around the UK to be part of this trip. I'm proud to be flying the flag for Wales and for solopreneurs too.

It's hit me recently to be more open and celebratory about the fact that I run two companies - Accordion Innovation Ltd and Bwlb Ltd - on my own. There is no big VC funding here and no long staff list. It's just me, working away trying to build successful companies that are creative, make good stuff and try to be a positive voice.

I can't do everything (my coding has improved, but not enough and my video editing is OK but not top level) so I employ freelance developers and video editors, but all the other tasks in both businesses are done by me.

Back in the summer, I remember taking an hour or two out of a family holiday to write my application for this India trip.

In the past, when working for big companies, I would really have resented having to interrupt my personal time with a work task... but it feels totally different running my own companies.

My time is totally flexible, my work-life balance is vastly improved, and it is incredibly rewarding to be able to build companies yourself in the ways you think it should be done. It also means that if you meet me and want a decision on an opportunity, you can get it. Doing business with me is quick, straight-forward, honest and positive. That's my aim.

I can't wait to get to India, meet a load of good people and see what opportunities are there.

​Monday 21st November 2022, Cardiff, Wales, UK

Welsh tech startup Accordion Innovation Ltd has made a leap forward in audience convenience technology with the creation of Accordion Video.

Accordion Video is an evolution of the original audio Accordion technology developed to solve the problem of "too many podcasts, not enough time". It lets users control the duration of visual media to make it fit their available viewing time without losing the structure, tone or feel of the original.

This means content like online lectures (Education), keynote speeches (Conferences), all-staff updates (Corporate Internal Comms) and video podcasts (exploding as both Spotify and YouTube compete to own the space) can now be presented to the users with never-before-seen levels of control and convenience.

At the moment, viewers with less time than the original content length need to either speed the video up (unnatural and un-engaging), pick snippets or highlights (loss of context) stop before the end (unsatisfying and less likely to return) or not watch the content at all (loss of revenue).

With Accordion, content can fit the users time perfectly. The tech works by dynamically re-versioning the original so that the structure remains but the level of detail becomes controllable, using a slider bar beneath the video.

Shortest versions (usually around a third or a quarter of original duration) still have a beginning, middle and end... plus all the best / essential parts (as chosen either by the content producer, Accordion itself via automation or an adjustable mix of both). Further up the slider bar, the versions get longer (moving toward the original duration) and the detail gets added back in.

The result is a barely-believable seamless experience that leaves viewers feeling as if they have watched the original content in full... just in the perfect amount of time to suit them. As one user tester put it:

"I don't know how this is possible, but I want it on all of my podcasts from now on, please."

Accordion Video is currently being trialled in higher education in the UK and in the multinational corporate context as a way to increase staff engagement with internal comms messaging.

CEO of Accordion Innovation Ltd, Andy Taylor said:

"The possibilities that Accordion Video opens up are virtually endless. Anywhere there is video content and users or audiences under time pressure, Accordion comes into its own. People have decreasing amounts of time. Meanwhile their desire for convenience increases, as do the demands on their time. Accordion can get your company's message / product / content to your ideal consumer in a more efficient way that makes your customer feel valued. With the technology so new, there is an opportunity to create a distinct competitive advantage and increase revenues."

For more information, or to discuss a trial, collaboration or customer relationship, contact Andy Taylor - [email protected]

​Accordion and Accordion Video are protected via the International Patent Process

ENDS

I spent nearly 18 years working in mainstream media. A long time at BBC Radio 1, then a shorter time at Capital / Global / Communicorp. Then family called. Next entrepreneurship knocked at the door.

I founded Bwlb with 3 clear values in mind - to be creative, to make good stuff and to try to be a positive voice. Out of Bwlb came Accordion, and now both Bwlb and Accordion have grown to the point at which it makes sense for them to each be their own individual company.

But creativity is what I keep coming back to - that is what is behind all of this. On Bwlb's website I've got a quote from Thomas Edison: "There's a way to do it better... find it."

That really drives me. 

I truly believe that Accordion is a better way to deliver content, be it a podcast, a webinar, university lecture, internal comms piece, conference keynote... or one of the many potential applications we are only just beginning to discover.

Ask yourself these questions. In the future, will people have more time, or less? Will they want more control and convenience, or less?

Accordion, and the tech innovation behind it, has a massive part to play in the future of content delivery.

Every time a new customer comes on board with Accordion, their use case fires off a whole new batch of ideas of ways we can develop or improve it. I love that. There is so much potential, and so much fun to be had attempting to realise it.

So, yes, creativity, it all comes back to that. Come and get involved.

Andy, August 2022.