This month we spoke with one of our client members, Angus Stewart, CEO at GOEX, the world’s leading security and travel safety app, offering you fully personalised advice for over 200 countries and territories worldwide.

He shares with us the reasons behind the creation of GOEX, discussing how the app has transformed how individuals access the latest international security information ahead of travel.

Angus shared with us some insights regarding the challenges encountered being a start-up in the Tech space, their goals for the future and the impact they have made so far.

What are some key pivotal moments in your professional career and how did they lead you to founding GOEX ?

I decided to develop the GOEX app when during a single week in the summer of 2017 about a dozen friends contacted me to ask if their planned holiday destination was safe. It was clear that there was huge demand for international security advice that was both credible and accessible, and no one providing it. We think the GOEX app fills that gap, and if the 100% 5 star reviews on the Appstore are anything to go by it looks like the public agree.  

How do you use freelancers across your company?

We love the Work Crowd because it gives us flexibility and control over our marketing plan ensuring we can be agile and responsive – which for a technology and artificial intelligence start-up is essential. Right now we have hired Lauren from Diligent Communications to manage stage one of our latest product launch, and we are really happy with how it’s going.

As a start-up what are the main challenges you have faced?

Like many start-ups, we want to change the world. But we are not yet sure that the world wants to be changed by us… yet. The key is to have clear goals, great people around you and the drive to keep going even when the going gets tough. We have faced all kinds of challenges from the boring – such as endless information requests from the Intellectual Property Office – to the terrifying such as when Apple rejected our first app after three years of development (thankfully this was easy to overcome). Resilience, taking the right advice and a sense of humour are the things that matter most.  

Can you tell us a little bit more about your business and how you are transforming international security?

We believe in international engagement and giving people the tools to make it happen. To bring this dream to life we have combined industry leading experts with the most advanced artificial intelligence in the sector to produce genuinely ground-breaking technologies which give individuals, businesses, charities and NGOs the confidence to explore, invest, work and travel overseas. And aside from the app, our people walk-the-walk and are currently deployed globally dealing with issues that affect all of us such as cyber-crime, climate change, arms trafficking, people smuggling, kidnap and terrorism.

Having already created a huge impact across the international security space, what are your goals for the next coming years?

We are currently developing some really exciting new artificial intelligence technologies in conjunction with our private sector clients, which we will roll out in early 2020. It’s our goal that by 2021, GOEX security ratings become the global standard for understanding international risk worldwide – much like the ´triple A’ credit scores that you hear countries gaining and losing in the news. We are also looking to other sectors where our AI might have an impact, such as health and social development. To make all this happen, we will be relying on the support and expertise from the professionals at the Work Crowd.

If you want to discuss how freelancers can support your PR and comms needs, feel free to give us a call on 0203 828 8440 or drop us a line at hello@theworkcrowd.com