THESE are exciting times for Steve Haworth, the chief executive officer of North Yorkshire technology firm TeleWare.

From small acorns and a company set up in 1991 with his father Geoff, TeleWare has grown to have a £10.5m annual turnover.

It has survived the bubble that burst in the telecoms industry in 2002 and is now aiming to double its revenues in the next three years.

Meanwhile, Geoff, now 73 and the chairman of Thirsk-based TeleWare, is still around to offer advice to his 42-year-old son, even if the younger man jokingly admits he doesn’t always listen.

“He is not actively involved in the day to day running of the business, but comes in the office a couple of days a week and gives me feedback and his input,” says the married father-of-two.

“He does offer useful advice, like most fathers, but I guess like most sons I don’t always take it.”

Geoff Haworth’s original aim was to use new technology to enable phone systems and computers to talk to each other – standard now but back in the early 1990s relatively new.

The firm’s communications software now helps businesses “discover, connect and grow” and talk to their customers in a more efficient manner.

Currently one in three banking and financial services companies in the FTSE100 use TeleWare’s technology and it is the market leader in mobile call compliance.

TeleWare sim cards allow any conversation or text message sent to be recorded, encrypted and stored in a data centre in an attempt to deter fraud and to meet the relevant regulations.

“Our software is applicable to any business and in particularly nowadays brands that care about the customer,” says Mr Haworth, who lives near Harrogate.

“We are particularly strong in financial markets, but also professional services, including the legal sector, healthcare, retail and emergency services.

“We are having to run very fast to stay ahead of the pack and come up with innovative and creative solutions.

“That said we are really excited about the future and have a desire to be the most creative company in our field, while growing locally, nationally and internationally.”

Three quarters of TeleWare’s business is in the UK, but the US is a growing market and the company opened up an office in New York last year.

“We are competing with software companies that are predominantly US-based. It is an ongoing challenge to out innovate them,” says Mr Haworth.

“ It is unusual to be based somewhere like Thirsk, but there are benefits.

“We are bang in the middle of a catchment area which includes the bigger conurbations of Leeds, York and Middlesbrough, which all have centres of excellence for computing and maths.”

The Teesside University graduate aims to increase TeleWare’s staffing levels from 72 to 100 over the next few years and it is actively recruiting new employees such as software developers and those working in sales and marketing.

And he doesn’t intend to take his eye off the ball anytime soon.

“My advice to people is to make time to work on the business and not just in it. You often get so busy in the day to day and you need to take a step back to see whether what you are doing is taking you in the right direction.”

Five minutes with…Steve Haworth

Favourite North-East building and why?

The Sage, Gateshead. I love modern architecture that dares to stand out.

What was your first job and how much did you get paid?

My first job was washing the pots in a restaurant. I got about £1 per hour but I suppose that was a few years ago now.

What is the worst job you've had?

Washing pots was worse than cleaning toilets in America (yes – I did both).

What would you cook if I came around for dinner?

Roast pork dinner – you will need to be hungry to finish it all and bring a hammer for the crackling.

What would your superpower be?

Definitely invisibility. I think that there are loads of things that would be great to sneak into or conversations to listen in on.

Name four people, dead or alive, who would be at your perfect dinner party.

Michael Lewis, Steve Jobs, Paul Allen, Alex Ferguson.

Most expensive thing you've bought - other than car or house - and how much?

I am a bit of a gadget fan and forked out quite a bit for a 42 inch plasma TV when they first came out. Of course I was not married back then so could get away with that sort of thing.

Who is the best person to follow on Twitter and why?

@Galactickeegan is comedy genius. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy meets Football Focus.

Favourite book?

Only The Paranoid Survive by Andrew Grove.

When did you last cry?

Whilst watching ‘Class of ‘92’. Unfortunately it was on a business flight to the US so was a bit embarrassing.

What is your greatest achievement?

Moving our business from a software purchase model to a service subscription based cloud service. We effectively started a whole new business and grew it to dominate our market

What's the best piece of advice in business you've ever been given?

Make time to work on the business and not just in the business.

Favourite animal and why.

Our dog Riley is my favourite by far – a proper Andrex puppy when I bought it for my wife’s birthday.

Most famous person on your mobile phone.

The rugby player Zinzan Brooke. He was my landlord when we rented in Windsor for a while.

What was the last band you saw live?

A local band at my son’s school ball. I did take my wife to see David Gray, but that was before we had kids.

Describe your perfect night in.

A nice meal, a good bottle of wine and a box set – with the wife of course.

In another life I would be...

A computer games designer. My Master’s degree in computer graphics technology was all part of the plan but somehow was never to be. However, with the way our industry is going there is a stronger connection that most would think.

Who would play you in a film of your life?

Jonah Hill. I don’t think that I am as funny as he is but it would be nice to think that I was.

What irritates you?

Anything that is overly complex and wastes time unnecessarily.

What's your secret talent?

My son thinks that mowing stripes on the lawn is an amazing talent and I would appreciate nobody letting him know that is not really a talent, especially when they are not straight.