Now, Craig, who launched Birdcage Tech in York early this year, is helping businesses use its potential, saving much cost and time as processes are automated.
Craig was born in the Ribble Valley in 1985 and after studying Computer Science, flew to Australia and then travelled for ten years, with roles including teaching English in Chile, fixing skis in Austria and New Zealand and managing cars in a variety of countries.
Returning to UK in 2015, Craig settled in York, picking up where he left off with tech, specialising in software quality assurance, “basically trying to break software and find problems before the customer does.”
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He then moved into the world of start-ups, focussing on Virtual Reality Fitness and Online meeting software, with him becoming a head of quality assurance.
Craig launched Birdcage Tech early this year after joining the York startup support programme Start up & Grow.
He told the Press: “I’d originally planned to teach AI, but realised most businesses didn’t need lessons, they needed help actually doing it.
“So, I shifted focus to building custom automations that save time, reduce admin, and let people get back to the work that matters.
The Birdcage Tech Logo (Image: Pic supplied)
“I could see that the real value I could offer was actually implementing software solutions for businesses, using a combination or automation tools, bespoke software and AI.”
“Currently, I bring people in on a temporary basis as subcontractors as and when required but I will be looking to expand with permanent staff in the near future.”
“The name Birdcage Tech, and the logo of the open Birdcage represents the technology, or lack of technology, that traps us in our business processes and that’s what we aim to free people from.”
Craig says he has met many York businesses who are ‘drowning’ in admin, not realising simple tech fixes are available.
His business, he says, is different as it is not trying to sell products but rather understand a business and build a solution around them, such as automating processes or connecting different systems.
Craig explained: “Realistically these days, every business should be leveraging AI to the maximum.
“Unless business owners are taking an AI-first approach, I believe they will fall behind very quickly over the next couple of years.
“We’re already seeing businesses laying off staff or pausing hiring in jobs where AI can carry out massive chunks of their manual tasks and this is only going to get more prevalent.”
So far, Craig has created bespoke automation solutions, including an automated analysis of Employer Engagement surveys for York training company Pro Development.
Instead of a manual task taking 3-4 days, this was reduced to a two-minute programme.
Other customers also use automated posting to business social media accounts and automated financial reporting between Quickbooks and Google.
The next big thing, Craig says are AI employees. Digital assistants that don’t just chat but work, like mini helpers on your computer.
Craig said: “We are bringing these tools in at the moment to handle admin, cold outreach, competitor research and scheduling while we get on with the more people-focused and delivery aspects of the service.
“We’re exploring how our clients can also build their first “AI team” to support their human one.”
Craig urges businesses to make the time to explore AI properly and open ChatGPT or Gemeni and talk to it like you would a business coach, asking questions.
He concluded: “For the first time ever, every small business has access to the kind of brainpower that used to be reserved for global corporations. AI won’t replace you, but it will absolutely replace someone who refuses to use it!”
