Robbie Lewis Pride Q&A

Jun 29, 2022

Can you briefly describe your career path to date and your current role within the ClearCourse Group?

I joined ClearCourse via the acquisition of Standout UK, a digital agency based in Leicester. Since my team has moved into Swan Retail and then ClearCourse Retail. We are now focused on building medium/large ecommerce solutions that are tightly integrated the group’s retail systems (SRS, FRS, TRIMS).

What does Pride Month mean to you, and why do you think it is essential that we acknowledge the contributions of LGBTQ+ people throughout history and in present times?

In 1969 a group of LGBTQ+ people protested shocking police brutality at the Stonewall Riots in New York. From this the wheel of change began to move and has since become a global movement. Pride Month is a time to celebrate progress but also to focus on the issues that are still faced by many in our community. Through the summer season we gather at festivals and events to share experiences, celebrate diversity and most importantly to educate ourselves and others. It’s great to see many Pride events growing across the country and engagement from businesses and government has been a big part of that.

In particular, trans rights are big focus. There are still many basic equalities that are not available to trans people. You may have seen in the news recently that legislation to ban conversion therapy did not include protections for trans people. There are documented cases of trans conversion therapy using electrocution and techniques that are severely damaging to the mind. These practises continue in our country. We mobilise through community action and legal challenges to bring it to an end.

How would you describe your experience of working within the ClearCourse Group as part of the LGBTQ+ community? (historically within the agency Standout and more latterly with Swan Retail, part of the ClearCourse Group).

I feel both lucky and proud to say that I have never faced challenges around my sexuality at this company. Rather, it is celebrated and my activism has been enabled by the company in many ways.

Throughout my time working for Standout UK, Swan Retail and now ClearCourse Retail, I have had the greatest support from my colleagues and the business. I have been on the team organising Leicester Pride since 2009, an event which has grown to over 10,000 attendance. The company helped me to meet critical deadlines during challenging years of Leicester Pride and made company resources available to me such as large format printing and use of our offices.

Are there any assumptions about the LGBTQ+ community in the workplace overall that you’d like to challenge?

I think there have been questions historically about how family friendly Pride events are. A lot of changes have been made at Leicester Pride to reduce the emphasis on alcohol and adult themes, so that everyone feels welcome. There is also a drive to reduce the cost of attending Pride events and to offer free areas or free days for those that do not have the means. If you haven’t visited a Pride event recently and you think that there might not be something for you to enjoy, I would urge you to visit. I have also taken great pleasure in seeing an increase of people from different cultures, religions and communities at our events. This is helping us to reach out further than ever before.

How are you celebrating Pride this year?

I also work as a DJ at LGBTQ+ nightclubs and Pride festivals. I spend the summer touring Pride festivals and performing. This year you can catch me at Leicester Pride, Birmingham Pride and Leeds Pride. As an organiser of Leicester Pride I will spend the next couple of months organising the event with my team. This involves everything from infrastructure and corporate sponsorship to marketing and running the stages on the day.

Could you recommend a pride playlist, booklist, and movie list?

Here’s a great playlist from Spotify with all the sounds you might expect to hear when attending Pride events. I’m not a huge bookworm, but this article from The Independent covers some important literature, factual and fiction. Similarly, Gay Times has an excellent list of films, my personal recommendations are: Pride (2014), Paris is Burning (1990) and Philadelphia (1993).

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a man and a woman are playing tennis on a tennis court at night.

Software and Payments Specialist ClearCourse Acquires Award Winning Club Scheduling SaaS Business, ThinkSmart Software

07 Feb, 2024

London, 7 February 2024 – ClearCourse, a leading provider of industry-specific software and embedded payments for SMEs and targeted enterprises, announces the acquisition of ThinkSmart Software (“ThinkSmart”), an independent software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) provider delivering an innovative technology for businesses that offer clubs and classes in the UK and Australia as well as other global markets. This strategic acquisition will be integrated as part of ClearCourse’s growing Business Services division. Founded in 2008, ThinkSmart is a scheduling and customer management platform for businesses that conduct classes and take bookings. Today, ThinkSmart serves approximately 2,500 customers predominately within the children’s activities sector, offering a user-friendly, intuitive product which helps “class-based” businesses with managing all day-to-day administration. Its award-winning software helps clients across the tennis, swimming, gymnastics, dance, music and sports sectors automate processes so that they can spend more time managing their business and working with their customers. ThinkSmart’s innovative technology streamlines several business admin tasks, including class scheduling, customer management and communications as well as invoicing and payments systems. Christina Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are extremely pleased to announce ThinkSmart as the latest software business to join our group. We look forward to welcoming the ThinkSmart team, led by founder Andy Leigh and UK Managing Director George Bentley, and working with them to enhance their offering across the growing, class-led activities sector. This investment is a further milestone in the growth of ClearCourse which continues to expand in the UK market as well as internationally.” Andrew (Andy) Leigh, Founder and Managing Director of ThinkSmart, commented: “In ClearCourse we have found a likeminded, customer-focused partner that will support a new phase of growth for ThinkSmart. As part of ClearCourse, we will be focused on continuously improving the industry-specific software solutions we offer our customers across the world, as well as looking for opportunities to expand our services.” George Bentley, UK Managing Director said: “ClearCourse has built a unique and compelling group of software companies and payments capabilities, and we are excited to continue growing our business supported by the rich experience and infrastructure now available to us. In particular, working with ClearCourse will enable us to offer our UK growing customer base market-leading, embedded Direct Debit and card payment solutions which will make accepting and managing payments quicker and easier.” Established in London in 2018, ClearCourse is a leading software and embedded payment specialist servicing SMEs and targeted enterprise customers. The group’s vertical software solutions provide essential, market-leading technology to help their customers manage and grow their businesses. Since inception, the company has undergone rapid growth by acquiring 40 leading software and payments solutions in the market verticals in which it operates: Retail & Hospitality, Golf & Leisure, Business Services and Membership Services. Christina Hamilton added: “ClearCourse is a growth company with a clear ambition to help our customers build great businesses with our industry-specific software and embedded payments solutions. We acquire small- and medium-sized businesses and integrate them into the ClearCourse group of companies to benefit their growth and development, while delivering the same for our customers with their own growth aspirations. Our acquisition of ThinkSmart is our first investment in 2024 and marks a successful start to what we expect to be a year of continued growth for ClearCourse.” The terms of the deal are undisclosed.

Nathan Best ClearCourse Chief Operating Officer

Software and Payments Specialist ClearCourse appoints Nathan Best as Chief Operating Officer

04 Jul, 2023

ClearCourse, a leading provider of industry-specific software and payments for UK SMEs, announces the appointment of FinTech veteran Nathan Best as Chief Operating Officer.