Founding entrepreneur Leah Hutcheon has built on her appearance on BBC 2 by closing a fundraising deal for her technology business.

Having featured on The Entrepreneurs where she and a number of other Scots explained the ‘joys and pains’ of starting a business, Hutcheon now plans to double the size of her team at Appointedd and move into new markets and territories.

Appointedd provides a range of tools allowing small company owners to manage business activities online through services such as online booking, customer relationship management and marketing.

The business was initially aimed at the health and beauty industry, but has now expanded to service the likes of PR consultants and dog walkers.

Joining the investment round is private investor network Equity Gap, Apollo Informal Investment and the Scottish Investment Bank, the investment division of Scottish Enterprise.

Hutcheon comments, ‘Most small businesses still use pen and paper to record appointments and staff rotas. By taking this process online we boost efficiencies and deliver savings.

‘There are lots of separate tools that help small businesses succeed, but until now there was no one package that could give a small service business all the functionality they need to run their business, all in one place.’

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The idea for Appointedd came from noticing that, while she was able to manage a lot of her life online, Hutcheon could not do so when it came to engaging with smaller businesses.

Fraser Lusty, director at Equity Gap, says that the investment into Appointedd is an example of how Scottish start-ups are benefiting from the country’s ‘vibrant angel community’.

‘Leah [Hutcheon] really understands her market and has a clear vision of where she wants to take her business.

‘The software is easy to use and provides a service users want. We have been extremely impressed with Leah and believe that we can bring commercial perspective that will help her take here business forward to the next level.’