When we think about artificial intelligence transforming businesses, it's often in the context of large corporations with dedicated innovation teams and technology budgets to match. But this isn’t the reality for many SMEs, particularly in construction and the built environment, where AI application - beyond a superficial level - can feel entirely inaccessible. 

That's the gap that Sheffield founders Rylan Fox and Sam Monaghan are working to close through Altura Systems.

Having progressed from Project26 into the Cooper Project, the pair have spent the past year refining a business that helps growing SMEs replace outdated systems with bespoke AI tools and custom software designed around the way they actually operate.

"UK SMEs in construction, trades, and adjacent service industries are being held back by outdated software and manual processes,” they explain. “They're running growing businesses on spreadsheets, legacy systems, and disconnected tools that weren't built for how they actually operate, losing revenue every day to slow response times, poor customer experience and hours of repetitive admin.”

Identifying this challenge, Rylan and Sam saw an opportunity to level the playing field for SMEs competing against bigger companies with bigger budgets.

“Off-the-shelf software doesn't fix it because every business runs differently. Large enterprises solve this with in-house engineering teams building custom AI tools. SMEs have been priced out – agencies charge six figures, and generic SaaS doesn't go deep enough.

“We exist to close that gap: bespoke AI systems and custom software, built around each business, at a price point that works for their scale."

The founding team

The business brings together two founders - still at the very start of their professional lives - with different but highly complementary backgrounds.

Rylan, currently completing his final year studying International Relations, previously built a footwear resale business before moving into freelance digital marketing. At Altura Systems he leads sales, client strategy and business growth.

Sam is the company's technical co-founder. His route into entrepreneurship began as a CNC machinist before moving into e-commerce, where he built, scaled and successfully exited his own online brand. Today, he leads engineering and product development.

Together, they combine commercial and technical experience gained from building businesses themselves, giving them a practical understanding of the challenges their customers face.

Finding market fit

Today, Altura Systems works primarily with UK SMEs in construction, the built environment and related service sectors. Their clients are typically established businesses turning over between £2 million and £50 million that have reached the point where operational complexity is beginning to slow them down.

Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all software platform, Altura Systems designs bespoke solutions around each client's workflows, data and objectives. Recent projects have included an AI customer service agent trained on thousands of products, a custom CRM and property management platform replacing 20-year-old desktop software, automated outreach and account management tools for construction firms, and AI-powered product tools for interior design and fit-out businesses.

The founders describe their customers as businesses "big enough to feel the operational strain of growth, but not yet large enough to justify an in-house engineering or AI team."

Landing on this proposition, however, wasn't an easy or straightforward part of the process.

Like many early-stage founders, Rylan and Sam began with a much narrower solution aimed at solving a specific customer problem. It was through customer conversations, testing and feedback during Project26 that they recognised a much larger opportunity and pivoted towards a broader, more scalable proposition.

That willingness to adapt has become one of the defining characteristics of their journey through Sheffield Technology Parks' startup programmes. Rather than becoming attached to a single idea, they've consistently focused on finding the solution that delivers the greatest value for customers while building the strongest commercial business.

That pragmatic mindset extends well beyond product development.

Like many founders, they've had to balance growing the business with generating enough income to continue building it. Instead of taking on unrelated freelance work, they've deliberately chosen projects that strengthen Altura Systems' long-term ambitions.

As Rylan explains:

"We've funded Altura ourselves from the start. We do web design and build custom automation systems, mostly for trades and companies in the construction industry, which is where Altura is focused anyway. That work pays for us to keep going, and because it's the same world we're building for, every job teaches us more about the customers we actually want to serve.” It's an approach that has enabled the founders to keep learning from the market while building financial runway on their own terms. Rylan adds,

“We turn down anything that doesn't tie back to that. Doing it this way keeps us close to the people we're building for, and means we can grow Altura properly without rushing it."

A lesson on growth

Alongside refining the business itself, the founders have also invested heavily in developing their own skills.

One particularly valuable aspect of the Cooper Project was the opportunity to work one-to-one with sales expert Tony Goodwin, who Sheffield Technology Parks brought in to support founders as they prepared to scale.

This experience fundamentally changed the way Altura approaches sales.

"The biggest shift was adopting the upfront contract at the start of our conversations, which has brought far more structure and clarity to how we run calls and qualify opportunities,” says Rylan.

“He's also helped us sharpen our wider sales strategy and get clearer on the clients we're best placed to help. The result is tighter conversations, a more focused pipeline, and a noticeably higher close rate on the deals we pursue."

As AI continues to trigger major changes across industries, Rylan and Sam are putting practical outcomes at the heart of what they offer, rather than technology for technology's sake.

With a refined proposition, an expanding client base and a willingness and ability to adapt as they learn, Altura Systems is building an ambitious, commercially focused business that we’re thrilled to have on the Cooper Project. Check out the website to find out more: alturasystems.co.uk.