10 MINUTES WITH…Steve Dimmick, co-founder at doopoll

Steve is a co-founder of doopoll - the platform for engaging audiences and gathering opinion, via powerful yet simple polls that people will actually enjoy completing. The company won the 2016 Sir Michael Moritz Tech Start-up Award.

Steve also comperes Digital Tuesday events (a monthly gathering of Wales’ tech and digital community) and runs CardiffRead (quite simply Cardiff’s best book club).

Lone wolf or team player?

Team, team team!

What gets you out of bed on a Monday morning?

My children and the need to make a cuppa for my wife and I.

Morning or night?

Morning.

Apple or Samsung?

Neither.

What’s one quality you think an entrepreneur needs to possess?

Courage. The courage of your convictions and the courage to take calculated risks when others may not believe in you.

Winter or summer?

Summer.

What would you say to your 16 year old self?

To embrace being the odd one out. There’s a great Kurt Cobain quote that goes:

“They laugh at me because I’m different, I laugh at them because they’re all the same.”

I think teenagers rarely embrace their individuality and that’s a real shame. I think I could’ve got to where I am quicker if I’d been more willing to follow my heart as well as my head.

What is your greatest achievement?

Learning to speak Welsh, using it every day at home and at work and encouraging others to use it too.

Big night out or quiet night in?

Erm, can I get away with quiet night out?

What do you do in your spare time?

It used to be training, running and playing rugby. Unfortunately, injuries curtailed all that and so when I’m not taxiing my children to and from after school clubs, I’m a saddo that’s on social media. I do enjoy learning languages though and I run CardiffRead.co.uk too.

Tea or coffee?

Coffee.

What inspires you?

My Dad, who was an entrepreneur, a poet and avid fisherman and also my cofounders Marc and Sam. I’ve learnt so much from them in doopoll’s first few years.

Indoors or outdoors?

Outdoors.

What's your favourite part about your job?

Seeing us rebound from setbacks and become stronger. We’ve had lots of ups and downs but by being professional, patient and persevering we’re making great progress.

Home-cooked meal or takeaway?

Home-cooked meal.

What is your favourite film, TV show or Podcast?

Favourite’s too difficult to answer. As penance I’ll offer my guilty pleasures: Erin Brockovich, Pointless and Say Something In Spanish (although S-Town was pretty awesome).