About us

We are a team of 18 combining a mix of highly-experienced software engineers, creatives, account managers and business analysts. We pride ourselves on our ability to turn your bright ideas into brilliant digital experiences.

 

Meet our team

Experience to solve the biggest challenges

We’re a team of highly-experienced software engineers and we work with reliable local partners that complement our skill sets. Our founders have worked together since 2006 and have a combined 50 years of software engineering experience, as well as 15 years of product management.

We have a long history of working with AI tools, both commercially and experimentally. Three of the co-founders have a Masters degree in Artificial Intelligence and have applied different machine learning techniques as well as genetic algortihms to solve clients’ challenges.

How we operate

We’re professional, open-minded and agile, and we’ll ensure you get the best possible solution for the budget available. We’ve worked with great clients ranging from small Brighton boutiques to international charities like WWF and global banks like JP Morgan. Read more about how we deliver on time and on budget.

As well as client-driven projects we also build our own applications. Have a look at some examples of our work.

Such a forward thinking company that have employees at their heart. They are a professional and fun bunch to work with. They are fixated on encouraging employee growth and have a nice calming nature about them.

Glassdoor reviewer Glassdoor

It’s all about the BrightMinded family

As a company, we believe that every member of our team should have the opportunity to shape our future.  We absorb feedback from the team as often as possible and deliver change where necessary.  Our team is a friendly and approachable bunch who have a mature outlook on their work.  We like to think of ourselves as a family and encourage growth, development and freedom of each individual.

We value diversity and promote being equal

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity.

We know that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create an environment that delivers better results.  Diversity and inclusion fuel innovation!

We are all valued and we are all welcome.  We aim to create a BrightMinded family that is a true representation of our ever changing society.

It’s good to talk

At BrightMinded we aim to create and promote an environment that supports and promotes the mental wellbeing of all in our BrightMinded family.  We are proud to have a mental health first aider in our team to promote the mental wellbeing of our team.  The team is able to talk openly about their job and mental health problems without fear!

We have developed a culture based on trust, support and mutual respect within the workplace.

Sustainability first

We strive to be a leader in environmental  sustainability and believe that a successful future for our organisation and customers depends on the sustainability of the environment, communities and economies in which we operate.

  • We off-set the carbon emissions generated by our business by participating in a local tree planting scheme.

Community

We care about the world we live in and strive for the best future for all of us. We try to collaborate with the community as much as we can to help others.

We know how important it is to support our youngest generations. That’s why we offer summer internships to local university students, we support local GCSE students with workday placements, and we participate in presentations and workshops at Universities to talk about student employability.

We support local charities and community groups through charitable fundraising and also encourage staff involvement in voluntary community initiatives. We also support the Open Source code initiative and have contributed to projects like WordPress, Auto-GPT , LangChain and CiviCRM.

We care about what our workplace does to the community. Our offices are based at Platform 9, a place with strong sustainable business practices and ethical values. Their multiple charity partnerships help the community by raising awareness on multiple topics like mental health, food waste and hunger, fast-fashion consumption, wildlife care, etc. Also, their offices are dog friendly.

Limits

We are a business and to generate a profit we work with a multitude of people and organisations. We have no ambition to tell anyone how to live their life or how to run their business. However, we do draw a line when it comes to the people we buy goods and services from, the people we partner with and even the people we work for. We will not work for or with companies that we feel fall below our ethical standards. This is often a judgement call, but as a guideline here are some types of companies that fall into that category:

  • Those involved in the arms trade
  • Those involved in animal abuse
  • Those causing excessive environmental destruction
  • Those promoting violent behaviour
  • Those promoting extremist religious behaviour

Our staff

We know that our staff is our single most important asset. Without the dedication of our team we would quickly fail as a company, therefore we try to treat our staff as best as we can. We offer several benefits that we hope will allow anyone at BrightMinded to live a comfortable and enjoyable life, in and out of the office. Our current package includes private healthcare insurance, a cycle to work scheme, a yearly self-development budget, and flexible working.

We believe that justice and fairness is the route to go, our partnership with the Living Wage Foundation ensures that our employees earn a wage which is fair and enough to live on.

Looking for a new opportunity?

Are you the next member of the BrightMinded team? Find out what vacancies we have currently.

Our History

We’ve come a long way since the first day our bright minds came together…

Mar 2011

BrightMinded Ltd was founded. It was like the big bang all over again…

Jul 2011

We release our first product: the Facebook shop! Several clients used them but, alas, the hype faded quickly.

May 2012

We moved into our first office space on Wilbury Villas.

Jan 2013

Dan C began cycling to the office from Lewes. He’s since travelled around the planet once, while making eight trips up Mt Everest a year on his bike!

Jun 2014

We made it to the finals of IBM Watson’s developer challenge with our fitness idea TRAIN ME.

Feb 2016

At our go-karting session Cris reminded everyone why he must never be given a driving licence.

May 2016

We participated in the TechnoGym sponsored accelerator in Venice, where TRAIN ME turned into Flair.

Apr 2017

We created the Trumpalyser, an AI tool to perform sentiment analysis on the Tweets from POTUS. Trumpalyser has since unplugged itself in disbelief.

Apr 2020

We launched the Brighton & Hove Coronavirus support site, in partnership with Community Works and Trust for Developing Communities.

Oct 2020

We started the development of a machine learning solution to recommend images for marketing campaigns based on the campaign content. Project name: KAPOW.

May 2021

We were very proud when our client ERA won two Education Resources Awards for their National Curriculum site that we built for them.

August 2022

BrightMinded became a recognised supplier of the MemberWise Network!

Oct 2022

After 11 years, Dan Cowan left the company to focus on his Zen buddhist journey. We still tap him for spirtual guidance when needed.

November 2023

In collaboration with the National Retrofit Hub, we developed an AI Knowledge Agent based on the Large Language Models Popularised by ChatGPT.

Then

Mar 2011

BrightMinded founded

Jul 2011

Facebook shops

May 2012

Moved to The Dock Hub

Jan 2013

Dan sets off cycling

Jun 2014

IBM Watson finalist

Feb 2016

Go-karting crash Cris

May 2016

TechnoGym sponsored accelerator

Apr 2017

Creation of Trumpalyser

Apr 2020

Brighton & Hove COVID site

Oct 2020

Creation of KAPOW

May 2021

Client wins awards

August 2022

Recognised supplier

Oct 2022

Co-founder looks for spiritual healing

November 2023

AI Knowledge Agent

Now