RunnerBeam

RunnerBeam is a platform for organisers of running races, helping them broadcast clearly live tracking and real-time results of the race. We caught up with founder and Allia Impact programme alumni Elliot Clements about RunnerBeam’s journey, and how Allia Impact has supported them in their journey.

What sparked your idea OR What is your company’s mission?

RunnerBeam started after seeing first-hand how poorly existing live tracking solutions worked for the newer types of running events our friends were organising. We wanted to build something more accurate, visual and engaging for spectators, while making tracking completely no-fuss for organisers through app-based tracking with no specialist hardware.

Our ambition is to make running events more exciting to participate in and watch, bringing a more broadcast-quality experience to grassroots events. Ultimately, we want to help organisers create more engaging events and inspire more people to get involved in running.

What were the challenges that were facing your business OR Why did you sign up for an Allia Impact programme?

As RunnerBeam grew, we found ourselves continuously building bespoke features and race formats for individual organisers. While this helped us understand the market, it wasn’t a sustainable or profitable way to scale. I joined the Allia Impact Programme to help me become more focused, learn how to market and sell what we’d built, and connect with other entrepreneurs.

What was your experience of an Allia Impact programme like?

The most valuable part of the Allia Impact Programme was being around other founders on the same journey. Starting a business can feel quite isolating, and it was hugely encouraging to meet people in Nottingham who were facing many of the same challenges, share ideas and build lasting connections. One of the real highlights was also hearing from people within the Allia network who had gone on to build hugely successful businesses. Hearing their stories and understanding how they had navigated their own journeys was incredibly inspiring and gave me a lot of confidence. Sheridan, who led the course, was absolutely fantastic and has continued to introduce me to people in his network since the programme, which has been great. I still meet up with members of the cohort today.

How did your company grow after receiving support from Allia?

Since the programme, we’ve doubled the number of events using RunnerBeam and focused on one particular race format where we’re seeing strong demand. We’ve also launched a new website, app and self-service event portal, making it much easier for organisers to get started without relying on us to manually onboard every event. We’re now focused on refining what we’ve built, growing within our niche and building the foundations to introduce some of the bigger innovations we have planned.

What support do you need now to take your business to the next stage of growth?

At this stage, our biggest need is sales and marketing support, alongside refining our self-service journey. We want organisers to be able to discover RunnerBeam, sign up for a free trial, experience the platform and eventually upgrade without needing us to manually manage every step, but we need to balance that with the time required to continue developing the product. Introductions to event organisers and brand sponsors, as well as funding to attend industry events and expos, would be really valuable. We’d also benefit from someone with experience of scaling a SaaS business who can help us stay focused on our core offering and know when to say “not yet” to customer requests.

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