Where did the idea for Untangl come from and how long did it take before the virtual doors opened?

Prior to setting up Untangl, Steve and I worked together on a previous technology business called Redbourne.  This was acquired by a large accountancy firm in 2011 and we joined them as part of that acquisition.

Towards the end of our time there, we became increasingly aware that smaller employers were not able to access employee benefits easily, even though the UK start-up market was flourishing and employers with small teams were keen to support their people. 

This also coincided with a big shake up in the adviser market, with the banning of commission and the launch of a massive reform of the workplace pension market which would impact every employer in the UK. 

We left in early 2015, along with a small team of software engineers, and we have been developing Untangl since then.  So, it's taken us about 12 months to go from a blank sheet of paper and a few ideas to a fully working technology platform. 

Employee benefits can be costly to administrate and tend to be associated with larger companies, is this your market?

No, quite the opposite.  We are targeting small employers, from five employees upwards at the moment.

From an employer's perspective, the traditional way of administering a range of benefits is that employee data has to be duplicated repeatedly across several admin platforms. Entering data should only take minutes, but there ends up being too much red tape and time wasted for the customer.  It's been essential for us to develop an employer-centric system which can handle the variations of each provider - something that shouldn't be the job of the customer.

Benefit administration can be a nightmare and simplifying this is our key goal.   Everything we do is focused on simplicity - the entire quote and application process has been stripped down to make it as quick and effortless as possible.

What can you offer the smaller SME and isn't there a myriad of paperwork involved?

We've been working hard with leading benefit providers to reduce complexity whilst still giving employees access to a range of attractive benefits options. The problem isn't the lack of good benefit products, it's a lack of access for smaller employers to them.  It's been a challenge but we've noticed
a real desire from the providers to engage with us and try and make things better.

Working with them, we've managed to get the whole quote and apply process online.  Now an employer using the Untangl platform can answer a few simple questions and upload a minimal amount of employee data to get a quote and then, if they want to proceed, get the benefits live with no paperwork at all.

The small UK company also has coming soon pensions responsibilities, is that something you can deal with?

Yes and no.  We looked carefully at the issue of workplace pensions and came to the conclusion that this really needs to be administered through payroll.  Payroll software is developing rapidly and most can now handle the auto enrolment process.  So we've focused on supporting employers to provide understanding of their pension responsibilities, including guidance around selecting a pension provider and making sure their payroll is capable of handling the regular admin.

Very few of the smaller SMEs would have an HR and benefits expert on board, is there product support built in?

Yes, we've distilled our employee benefit expertise into our offering and tried to remove as much of the complexity as possible.  However, we appreciate that employers will still need help and Untangl provides unlimited help to employers through online and telephone support.

Our aim has been to ask employers only questions they are comfortable answering using a simple screening process.  We've simplified the benefit rules and processes so that any employer should find it easy and quick to keep the administration up-to-date.  It really doesn't have to be as hard as it has been.

How do you price your products and are the funds your company receives secure?

We've worked hard to find well established providers that offer really good value benefits and then pre-selected levels of cover and features to remove the need for custom advice and individually tailored solutions.  The providers we use are amongst the largest and most secure in the UK - that's been a key part of our selection process.

Importantly, Untangl doesn't receive the customer premiums - these are paid by the employer directly to the providers and the contracts are also between the employer and providers. 

Our aim is to try and provide a blend of attractive benefits for around £25 per employee per month.

With the first year's milestone passed in February, its early days still but how do you feel you have done so far?

There were two key things that we had to achieve - build a technology platform capable of hosting benefit provider products at a very low cost and also forming relationships with established providers that were willing to consider a new way of delivering their products and services.  Without both of these, it wouldn't work but the technology platform is now live and we've had amazing support from the providers, beyond what I would have imagined was possible.

So, we've made real progress over the last year but there's lots more to do.  Our technology platform is state-of-the-art and capable of handling an almost limitless number of customers, whatever their size, whilst being able to accommodate the rules of a wide range of suppliers.  This means that we can add more and more options as we progress, based on what the customers and their employees value.

Where do you see Untangl going in the next five years?

The benefits market offers some really good value through great, low cost products and tax savings for employers and employees.  The growth in start-ups and developments in technology (like mobile and cloud computing).  Also, there's a long needed desire to try and simplify benefits tax and legislation at government level so the combination of these things means that benefit provider product innovation will continue to accelerate and this has to be good news for the end users.  Our aim is to continue to serve customers in this new environment and enable companies, whatever their size, to look after their most important asset, their employees.

Untangl is a London based technology business founded by Richard Stewart and Steve Carter in February 2015. Working in partnership with some of the UK's leading providers, they are employee benefit and technology experts on a mission to open up the market for start-ups and smaller businesses.

For more information visit untangl.co.uk