About

John Powell

Founder & SaaS Entrepreneur, DriveSchoolPro

John builds software for service businesses. He has a First Class Honours degree in Software Engineering and has built, grown, and sold his own business. He now applies that experience to help driving schools cut no-shows, automate admin, and grow.

20+ Years

Company Trading

First Class

Honours Degree

5 Countries

Software Deployed

Proven Exit

RevelationPets.com

Professional Background

Founder, DriveSchoolPro

2024 - Present

Founded DriveSchoolPro to solve the daily admin that slows driving instructors down. The platform handles:

AI-generated lesson briefings (powered by Anthropic's Claude)
Lesson scheduling and conflict detection
Student progress tracking across all 27 DVSA skills
Automated Google review requests on every test pass
WhatsApp and email reminders to cut no-shows
Invoicing and payment recording

Senior Project Manager, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

2019 - Present

Leads technology delivery on the TFS project at UKRI — a major UK government research body. Day-to-day work includes Python reporting tools, cross-team software delivery, and large-scale project management. This background in building production systems for demanding environments shapes how DriveSchoolPro is built and maintained.

Founder, RevelationPets.com

Successful Exit

2015 - 2022

Built and sold RevelationPets.com — a pet care management platform used by facilities across multiple countries. Running that business from day one gave John direct experience of the problems his software now solves:

Built a custom booking and scheduling system
Automated client reminders and communications
Scaled operations to a successful exit in 2022

Founder, PetCare.Software

2024 - Present

Launched and grew a niche SaaS platform now used in five countries: UK, US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Building and supporting industry-specific software at scale directly shapes how DriveSchoolPro is developed and supported today.

Proven Track Record: RevelationPets.com Success

RevelationPets.com served hundreds of facilities across multiple countries before its successful exit. These verified Capterra reviews show what customers said while using the platform:

"We have a small but rapidly expanding facility... to have a supported software package that is constantly updated and kept in the cloud is a true asset to our business. Anyone can use the product with ease... Recently I asked for an enhancement and it was acknowledged quickly, developed and presented back to me within a very short time frame."
Tim S. - Business Owner (New Zealand) | 2+ years use
Capterra Verified Review

"After some frustrating conversations with other companies I chose RevelationPets, and I look forward to using it every day! My clients like it as they find it easy to use."
Sara V. - Business Owner
Capterra Verified Review

"Saved time. Allows us to track bookings so we can make business decisions. Allows customers to book online instead of calling us. It is amazing all around and has automated many of our processes that took hours in the past."
Emmily B. - Facility Manager
Capterra Verified Review

"All the data is in one place and is accessible to all my staff wherever they are. The fact that my facility has been able to grow with the software makes it very much a partnership."
Anna S. - Manager and Trainer | 1-2 years use
Capterra Verified Review

Why this matters for driving schools: The same approach that made RevelationPets work is built into DriveSchoolPro:

Automated reminders that cut no-shows
Simple scheduling that instructors actually use
Software built for the people who run the business, not just the admin
Fast, responsive development when customers ask for changes

Education & Credentials

First Class Honours Degree

Software Engineering - University of Winchester

15+ Years Experience

Software development, system architecture, and project management

Expertise & Specializations

Service Business Operations

Hands-on experience running a service-based business from startup to exit, including customer acquisition, scheduling optimization, payment processing, and operational efficiency.

SaaS Development

Proven track record building and scaling vertical SaaS products with a focus on user experience, operational efficiency, and measurable ROI.

Technical Architecture

Expert in Python development, WordPress/PHP ecosystem, React/JavaScript, RESTful APIs, and database architecture with hands-on production SaaS experience.

Business Process Automation

Specialist in identifying operational bottlenecks in service businesses and implementing software solutions that reduce administrative overhead.

Why Trust John's Guidance?

Proven Business Success: Successfully built, grown, and sold a service-based business, giving him firsthand understanding of the operational challenges driving schools face.

Real-World Technical Experience: First Class Honours in Software Engineering with 15+ years developing production systems - deep technical credibility.

Vertical SaaS Experience: Successfully launched PetCare.Software serving facilities across five countries - proven track record in vertical market software.

Focus on Automation: Having automated his own business operations, John understands which processes can be effectively automated without sacrificing the instructor-student relationship.