Forget the political cataclysm caused by Brexit, when San Francisco-based Intercom (OTCMKTS:$IRCM) was thinking of where to set up its next office, London was an easy decision. “There’s a phenomenal amount of talent there,” said Des Traynor, chief strategy officer and co-founder of Intercom.
Founded back in 2011 by Irishmen Eoghan McCabe, Des Traynor, Ciaran Lee, and David Barrett, Intercoms key investors now include Biz Stone, the co-founder of Twitter Inc. (NYSE:$TWTR), Iconiq Capital and Index Ventures. The customer service software company will be shifting their focus to software research and development in their soon-to-be London office. If all goes as planned, the new base in London will open in autumn. “We’re going to be hiring immediately,” said Traynor.
The decision to open up shop in the U.K. is a clear sign of support for post-Brexit London’s technology sector. Ever since Britain voted to leave the European Union, there has been a tremendous amount of uncertainty circulating about whether or not the city will be able to retain businesses.
However, this has not stopped a number of young U.S. technology companies opening up London offices. This includes Snap Inc. (NYSE:$SNAP), who named London as its international hub in early 2017, and Slack Technologies Inc., which opened up a London office in May. “There’s a rich pool of talented people in London or people who are excited to relocate there,” explained Traynor. “In contrast to Dublin, big companies like Amazon, Facebook and Google have firmly established their London offices as places where first-class product development takes place.”
Despite the Brexit vote, Traynor recognizes that London is the company’s second-largest market outside of the United States and the largest market in Europe. Additionally, the close proximity of London to Dublin played a defining role in the decision since Intercom also has an office in Ireland. “It’s English-speaking, a short flight from Dublin and in the same time zone as Dublin,” Traynor said. “So collaboration should be easy.”
As mentioned, Intercom is looking to hire right away. Traynor added that the United Kingdom has always had a “phenomenal relationship with the discipline of computer science.” Though Traynor did not specify just how many employees will be hired for the London office, he did state that “a good indication of trajectory might be our own Dublin office.” Intercoms office in Dublin started out with two employees but it “wasn’t long before it was at 180.”
Talent Scarcity in the U.K.
In early June, Indeed released a data report which indicated that 1 in 10 new jobs created in the United Kingdom was in the technology sector, such as software engineering. However, filling those positions has been difficult for businesses, partially because of demand surpassing the supply of highly skilled workers.
“I would argue there’s a global lack of software engineers and it’s exacerbated in the places that are most successful,” said Traynor. “Without a doubt, it’s complaint number one in San Francisco and I’ve heard similar about London.”
As of right now, Intercom has nearly 350 people working throughout offices in Chicago, San Francisco, and Dublin. The company has raised a total of $116 million in funding, which includes a $50 million round led by Index Ventures in April of 2016. Elaborating further, Traynor explained that the company had finished 2016 with roughly $50 million of annual recurring revenue, and currently, it has no urgent need for additional fundraising or an initial public offering (IPO).
“The company’s doing great,” Traynor said. “Things like IPOs are not something we actively discuss at all.”
Featured Image: depositphotos/Photocreo
