Andrew Reece

Andrew Reece founded WhiteBox Systems in response to several frustrations he’d experienced with programming.

Firstly, new code needs to be compiled before it can be run and inspected, leading to delayed feedback and slow iteration cycles. Secondly, programmers are often required to keep track of snapshots of data in their head; conventional debuggers rarely make the time component explicit.

WhiteBox aims to solve these issues by compiling, running and debugging the code you’re working on, giving instant feedback side-by-side with your favourite editor. The tool also provides an immediate bird’s-eye visual impression of data being processed by the code, allowing developers to visualise how abstract concepts translate into actual behaviour.

Winning the Young Innovators Award allowed Andrew to develop WhiteBox’s product and make it faster and more flexible – something he hopes to build on with the Next Steps Award. He also highlights the mentoring support as being particularly useful in clarifying his strategy.

“As a solo founder, weekly meetings with my Innovation Growth Specialist provided an invaluable opportunity to discuss business strategy with someone with complementary experience. The time spent bouncing ideas back and forth really helped to solidify my model of how the business is and should be operating,” says Andrew.