Seeing the Metropolitan Surveillance Team store their complex security passwords in simple notebooks, Pixelpin founder Brian Taylor started to think about a better way. His solution: remembering pictures as passwords instead of having letters, numbers or symbols.

In early 2010 he left his job as a military communications consultant and teamed up with co-founder Geoff Anderson to develop the idea. The following year, they patented their technology and went on to win Technology Strategy Board (TSB) funding in 2012.

Since then, they have been accepted into two accelerator programmes, including Wayra, hired their first three employees and acquired their first corporate customer.

Looking forward, PixelPin’s key goal is to develop more proof of concepts with major customers.

Q&A with Brian Taylor, co-founder of PixelPin

We asked him about his experience and reflections on starting up.

You secured external finance in various ways, including crowdfunding. What was your experience?

One benefit of crowdfunding for a startup when going to the crowd - especially using a platform like Seedrs - is that if you don’t get the money, you haven’t lost any legal fees.

Looking back, what has been particularly challenging in building your business?

We’ve got live websites up and running and have got proof of concept trials going on with various companies and banks. But actually turning it into cash has been the hardest thing to do.

If you could go back in time, what would you have done differently?

I wholeheartedly would have moved to London a lot sooner. I’d spent two years in the West Country, and even though we were in conversation with large government departments, and I have that kind of background, it didn’t do anything. Getting into London and actually getting into the tech scene, for want of a better phrase, has been really, really beneficial.

What should governments think about to help startups like you?

The one area that’s really hurt us has been national insurance and tax contribution. So, if there was something that I would recommend or ask for or beg for as a startup, it would be to let us get on our feet before you start taxing us.