FROM THE ARCHIVES PSS PERSONAL SOFTWARE SERVICES
Warwick University graduates Richard Cockayne and the late Gary Mays met while studying Management Science in Coventry in the early Eighties. Neither of them had much knowledge of computers at that point, but one of the key lessons they learned during their studies was that the key to success was to put yourself in a growth sector.
“We were close friends at university, aiming to be entrepreneurs,” remembers Richard. “It was the Thatcher era, and the enterprise culture was prevalent. Every day we spent time analysing market opportunities, and we saw an advert for the ZX80 and recognised the potential of microcomputers, but we had just graduated, and we needed some cash to get us going. The Enterprise Allowance Scheme had just been launched, and Gary could apply, but I couldn’t.”
The £40 per week allowance, aided by a £1,000 loan from Richard’s mum, meant they could start their company. According to Richard, the decision to name the business Personal Software Services (PSS) was made without much debate. “It was because we intended to publish software for personal use. When abbreviated it sounded too much like piss, but we honestly never noticed until it was too
