Two men from Brighton-Le-Sands have taken an idea and turned it into a product used across the world.
Sam Carigliano, 27, and Paul Comino, 26, are behind SkyCiv which provides civil and structural engineering software online.
It is not the first of its kind but it is one of the only that is based online through the cloud.
The pair have been lifelong friends and have lived on the same street since they were in primary school.
They both studied engineering at the University of New South Wales with Sam focusing on civil engineering and Paul in mechanical engineering.
Mr Carigliano said it was while they were studying that they noticed a lack of online support for engineers.
‘’Everything is going online but we noticed that engineering was really lagging behind,’’ he said.
‘’It has been slow to move but the change is really needed.’’
They spent six months perfecting the finished product which was launched in July 2014 and formed their company the following year.
Mr Carigliano said it was a steep learning curve with neither men having a background in IT.
‘’There was a lot of scratching our heads,’’ he said.
‘’In the beginning it was just two guys. Every now and again we look back and laugh that someone in the Republic of Congo is using something two guys from Brighton developed.’’
In the last two years the company has grown to employ four other people and helps 23,000 registered users across more than one hundred countries.
Mr Carigliano said in the next few years they want to continue to grow the business.
‘’It’s a really exciting time to be in the industry,’’ he said.
‘’We’re focusing in building the company and attracting even more users.’’