In the latest feature in the series on the Nexus Innovation Centre in UL, Liam Togher speaks to Martina Skelly, co-founder and CEO of online appointment management providers Yellowschedule.
HAVE you ever had that unenviable feeling that you’ve forgotten something vitally important, with undesirable consequences as a result?
That was how Martina Skelly derived the idea for Yellowschedule, a cloud-based live appointment management company which provides client relationship management for small appointment-based businesses.
She explains: “A couple of years ago I missed a very important appointment for one of my children. It took us six months to get the appointment, I remembered the date incorrectly and we missed the appointment.
“I started thinking about the issue and how it could be improved because for the hospital it meant their waiting list was longer. Somebody didn’t get the appointment slot I had missed and obviously it wasn’t convenient for us so I started thinking about how we could make it easier for both sides.”
Martina then collaborated with her brother Michael in setting up Yellowschedule in 2011.
The company enables small businesses to manage their appointments to ensure that less time slots are left empty and reduce their admin, while also allowing customers to check online for free slots and book a time and date from the comfort of their own home.
Martina says that the process makes it far easier for businesses to organise appointments more effectively.
“It streamlines the entire process which reduces their admin and it increases their billable hours because we enable them, for example, to put their availability on their website, which means customers can make bookings even when they’re gone home.
“The research shows that 60% of online bookings are made after 5pm, so a lot of people want to do this from the comfort of their own home.”
The company’s primary target markets are the United Kingdom and United States and they have forged links with clients such as Helix Health, Yale, Chrysler and Goodlife Fitness.
During an overseas visit last year, Martina identified another aspect that makes her business stand out.
“We went out to San Francisco to the American Counselling Association’s annual conference. We met a lot of counsellors over there and we’re particularly useful to them because quite often counselling is a session.
“It’s something people don’t want to turn up to and quite often it’s recurring as well, so the idea is that you get a text message and you’re asked to reply yes or no to confirm your attendance.”
Yellowschedule received a major boost to the tune of €50,000 in the most recent round of the Enterprise Ireland Competitive Start Fund and Martina is more than satisfied with the company’s progress to date.
She also spoke of how the entrepreneurial community at Nexus can be of massive benefit.
“There are things we can talk about that we can share and learn. Maybe I can avoid some of the pitfalls and mistakes that other people have made and I can share things I’ve done that have worked and also things that haven’t worked which is just as important.”
