Michael Gould’s new venture, Kaleidoscope, aims to revolutionise business planning for small enterprises.
- With over 40 years of experience, Gould’s latest project follows the success of Anaplan.
- Kaleidoscope offers tools to enhance decision-making in business, philanthropy, and government.
- The platform provides accessible solutions with out-of-the-box templates for small businesses.
- Gould intends to replace spreadsheets with more efficient business planning tools.
Yorkshire entrepreneur Michael Gould has embarked on a new venture, Kaleidoscope, with the goal of transforming business planning for small enterprises. After a notable career exceeding four decades, including founding the tech unicorn Anaplan, Gould is setting his sights on this latest innovation.
Having earned a Mathematics degree and an MSc in Computation from Oxford University, Gould has ample experience as a software engineer and technology entrepreneur. He resides in North Yorkshire, where he, alongside his wife, fosters young refugees and hosts families from Ukraine. His commitment to making a difference is evident both in his personal and professional life.
Two weeks after Anaplan’s successful IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, Gould began developing Kaleidoscope, a business planning software company. His mission is to create an affordable, robust tool that enables businesses to make informed decisions on product offerings, stock management, and cash flow. The platform is designed to streamline business analysis, forecasting, and planning, allowing decision-makers from various sectors to focus on essential matters.
The Kaleidoscope team collaborates with several small businesses in a unique early adopter program, offering use of the platform’s tools in return for feedback on user experience. Gould stated, “I finished with Anaplan intending to start again because I recognised that there was an unsolved problem. It was always my intention to build a system where users can create a logical data model that naturally reflects what is happening in the real world.”
Kaleidoscope seeks to provide smaller companies with accessible modelling software, avoiding the complexity often associated with existing systems. The team is keen on delivering a platform that moves away from the simplicity or complexity seen in other solutions and offers flexibility through customised templates. “This has been tried many times over the years in our industry, but it has never been done successfully,” Gould remarked, highlighting the new approach they are taking.
One of Gould’s key objectives is to replace traditional spreadsheet methods with more advanced business planning tools. He explained, “Spreadsheets are incredibly easy to get started with, but then they quickly become very complicated if you’re trying to plan your business with them.” Kaleidoscope aims to address these issues, facilitating easier and more effective planning.
Unlike the typical fast-growth model seen in VC-funded companies, Kaleidoscope is focused on refining their product until it naturally gains traction in the market. Gould is committed to perfecting the product first, believing that a better product will eventually sell itself. Operating as a fully remote business in the UK with a team of 18, Kaleidoscope is currently expanding its workforce.
Gould’s Kaleidoscope promises to redefine business planning by offering innovative and accessible solutions.
