When Lisa Stafford first applied to the Innovate UK Young Innovators Award, her company had yet to finalise its USP. TAZAAR was originally a mobile application that could help retailers sell pre-owned electronics by performing hardware and software diagnostics.
By December 2022, six months after submitting the application, TAZZAR’s mission had changed significantly, evolving into a digital product passport platform designed to track high-value electronics from manufacturer to consumer.
The Innovate UK Young Innovators Award provided the space for TAZAAR to evolve. “My Innovate UK innovation champion was very understanding during our first meeting,” explained Lisa. “It was all about how much we had pivoted since the initial application.”
Since finalising its product and company goals, TAZAAR has expanded its team and commercially launched its first digital platform. The business now has plans to develop more services over the next year.
Moving forward from the ideas stage
The Young Innovators Award provided coaching, resources, and guidance, propelling Lisa’s ideas from conception to realisation. She was able to transition working part-time at UCL to dedicate more time to making TAZAAR a success.
“I was assigned a Monitoring Officer and Growth Advisor by Innovate UK, who were very hands on, helping me to grow TAZAAR from a little seedling. It has since grown enormously.”
Lisa used funding from the Young Innovators Award to develop an interactive prototype of TAZAAR’s digital product passport. This was taken to 16 manufacturing conferences, including the Bristol HiFi Show and HiEnd in Munich, to gain valuable industry insight and feedback.
“I spent the first six months focusing on customer discovery,” explained Lisa. “By the end, we knew where to dedicate our time, money and resources to create a viable product.”
“By the end of the Young Innovators programme, we were going full steam ahead and monitoring early adopter trials. We eventually launched commercially in April 2024,” Lisa explained.
Looking to the future
TAZAAR is expanding its customer base across the UK and Europe, emphasising on Hi-Fi systems and live event spaces.
It is also planning to launch its next product called the GeoTag at Integrated Systems Europe, an annual tech show where TAZAAR has been selected to feature as part of this year’s Innovation Zone. GeoTag offers real-time GPS tracking for production equipment, providing an additional layer of security for concerts and other events.
The team will continue to develop its original digital product passport platform too, improving the overall longevity of TAZAAR’s services. “We’re planning to incorporate more after sales services and additional value for distributors and dealers within the tech space,” Lisa said.
Strengthening entrepreneurial skills with funding
Lisa’s innovation journey has been shaped by invaluable experiences that have helped her gain confidence in her skills, including support from initiatives like the Young Innovators Award.
“Starting a company puts you on an accelerated personal and professional growth journey,” Lisa explained. “I wish I had the person I am today to guide me when I started out.”
The financial support offered by the Young Innovators Award proved invaluable for TAZAAR. “The funding was used to develop our prototypes, cover travel expenses and support our customer discovery work.”
“Since winning the Young Innovators Award, Innovate UK Business Growth helped us secure additional investment. We’ve been awarded the National Security Review Programme and recently been accredited our cyber essentials certification,” explained Lisa.
“We were also selected for Innovate UK’s Global Business Innovation Programme in Finland – Createch ‘SLUSH 2024’.”