Startup Spotlight: Signol
Signol use their behavioural science approach to help airlines cut fuel use and carbon emissions, all while improving employee wellbeing. It’s been a pleasure to work with the Signol team at the ATI Boeing Accelerator.
In this interview, Divya Sukumar, Behavioural Scientist, and Jay Ramsay, Product Manager, tell us more about their study with Virgin Atlantic Airways, advice for building great team culture as a small startup, and experience on the programme so far.
Explain your product in one sentence
Signol is an app and communication service that uses the latest behavioural science to nudge key decision-makers to be measurably more efficient.
What problem is Signol solving in the aviation industry?
Aviation is a resource-heavy industry, fuel is one of the biggest costs and airlines are seeking to cut costs now more than ever. At the same time, there are incoming environmental regulations that airlines have to comply with. Signol addresses this two-fold issue by empowering airline captains to consistently implement fuel-saving best practices, e.g. reduced engine taxiing or continuous descent, when possible and safe. So, we reduce both fuel costs and emissions for airlines.
“The study found that personalised, SMART targets and feedback were the most effective at motivating captains to implement fuel-saving practices.”
Tell us about your work with Virgin Atlantic Airways. What was the outcome of the study?
Our co-founder, Rob Metcalfe, along with Greer Gosnell and John List, tested different types of feedback for 335 captains at Virgin Atlantic — sent just once a month in the post, for 8 months. The study found that personalised, SMART targets and feedback were the most effective at motivating captains to implement fuel-saving practices. Overall, the captains saved $6.1m of fuel costs and 24,000 mt of CO2 during the study.
How does your behavioural science approach impact employees and their wellbeing?
A really neat, unexpected outcome of the study with Virgin Atlantic is that captains reported being happier with their jobs — particularly the group that had charitable donations made on their behalf when they hit their targets. Signol builds on these findings. We connect individuals to the financial and environmental impact of their actions, recognize their efforts and milestone achievements, and base our language and designs on the latest behavioural research — it’s all about positive reinforcement!
What are you doing well as a company and where are there opportunities to grow?
We have a really talented and adaptable team where just about everyone is capable of picking up the phone to a customer or giving a product demonstration. We spend a crazy amount of time talking to potential customers, users, advisors, and people in adjacent industries to make sure that we are as ready as we can be when the customers land. Looking forward, we are keen to grow our commercial savvy as we start working with large corporates.
“In such a small team it is incredibly important to talk and understand, not just what everyone else is doing, but how they’re feeling and what they’re thinking.”
What has been the biggest turning point in Signol’s journey so far?
Clearly, Covid hit us hard, like every other small business, and put our aviation sales pipeline back at least a year. We decided to use this time to explore other verticals. So, early 2021 could be our biggest turning point as we start working with at least four airlines and helping the industry build back more efficiently and greener.
Aside from aviation, what other industry verticals are you going after?
At the moment, we are conducting feasibility studies in maritime and road transport. Ultimately, Signol can be applied to any industry where individuals are engaging in measurable, routine decisions or processes.
What would you say are the three most important things needed to build a great team culture?
Communication, communication, communication! In such a small team it is incredibly important to talk and understand, not just what everyone else is doing, but how they’re feeling and what they’re thinking. Especially this year where everyone is remote, it’s crucial to have a proxy for those “water cooler” chats where some of the best ideas or greatest risks are uncovered. Our core team speaks to each other individually or as a group at least once a day as well as having continuous information sharing and updates that happen on Slack and across other channels. This really helps build a culture of trust and collaboration which then feeds into the work we do and the results we see.
Signol has participated in accelerator programmes before. What are some of the highlights from your experience on the ATI Boeing Accelerator?
The ATI Boeing Accelerator has been fantastic, we were connected immediately with the right team at Boeing and our collaborative work has moved along at an impressive pace. The programme has also given us valuable content and mentoring on every possible area for a startup, from raising investment and B2B sales to team culture — we’ve learned a lot! Finally, despite being all remote, the socials have been incredibly fun.
Hear Divya and Jay share more about Signol and their next steps at the ATI Boeing Accelerator — 2021 Demo Day
Follow Signol on Twitter and LinkedIn as the team develops their behavioral science approach across industries.
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For more information about the programme, please contact the ATI Boeing Accelerator team:
Gabi Matic — gm@atiboeingaccelerator.com | linkedin.com/in/gabrielamatic
Wil Benton — wb@atiboeingaccelerator.com | linkedin.com/in/fatkidonfire
Ksenia Kurileva — kk@atiboeingaccelerator.com | linkedin.com/in/kseniakurileva
