Hello, I’m Owen. My journey with Orca Scan dates back to its founding in 2016. I first encountered a challenge during a summer job where I had to scan barcodes on thousands of solar panels. It wasn’t long before the repetitive task took its toll and my fingers became numb. That’s when I asked John, our CEO, who at the time was crafting rapid prototypes at Cambridge University, if he could create a simple app that would allow me to scan barcodes without constantly pressing the button. He agreed, and we spent most nights sitting on our living room floor brainstorming, designing, and developing the app we know today as Orca Scan. We then launched it on the app store in 2017; it rapidly gained traction, receiving thousands of downloads and hundreds of feature requests from people in organisations such as Airbus, NASA, Tesla, and more. Confused at the time as to why these huge companies did not have their own solutions, after countless hours of user interviews, we later discovered the barcode industry was riddled with complexity. That’s when our mission to Simplify Barcode Tracking was born. Since then, Orca Scan has grown to support over 360,000 users worldwide.

While I initially contributed from the sidelines, I formally joined Orca Scan in 2019 as a Customer Success Manager. Since then, I’ve progressed through several key roles, including Head of Customer Success and Product Manager, to my current position as COO. My extensive experience across multiple teams, including finance, development, design, and marketing, has provided me with a comprehensive understanding of our business operations.

Beyond the office, I enjoy exploring the world with my dog, Lenka, in my Land Rover Defender. I absolutely love to learn new things and mingle with incredible people. I am deeply committed to continual personal and professional development, having participated in various courses on Customer Success, Product Management with SCRUM methodology, and programs with Barclays Eagle Labs and Cambridge Judge Business School.

As COO, I am dedicated to advancing Orca Scan’s mission, leveraging user feedback to foster innovation and enhance our service offerings. My goal is to ensure that Orca Scan truly does simplify barcode tracking for all regardless of technical ability or budget. It probably sounds rather boring, but when you’ve stood in a trauma theater with a medical professional explaining they’ve had to cancel operations simply because they don’t know where things are - it becomes incredibly meaningful to do something about it.