Founder of Genius
Carl Downs
Where did Genius come from?
"It's June 16th 2015, a Tuesday evening, around 6PM. I sat at my computer and started to code. I was on a mission to create the very best Training Management System in the world. I have been an Entrepreneur and coder my entire adult life and I had this idea while on vacation in Mexico. So for the next 2 years I coded day and night to build a MVP (Minimum Viable Product) that a few select customers would use for free in exchange for their valuable feedback, so I could iterate and improve Genius.
The rest, as they say is history..
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Carl Downs is a multi-award-winning British serial entrepreneur with a diverse portfolio, having successfully launched ventures across sectors including jewelry, automotive, nightclubs and hospitality, sales, IT, education and software, among others.
With over 35 years of entrepreneurial experience, Carl has built a reputation as a visionary and innovator. From pioneering software solutions in the insurance claim validation sector in the early 2000's to establishing the UK's largest training brokerage service, Carl’s career is marked by ambition, perseverance and pure tenacity. Currently, he is at the forefront of leading Training Management System Genius.
Carl openly acknowledges that his entrepreneurial journey has included significant challenges.
Reflecting on his experiences, he emphasizes that setbacks have provided the most valuable lessons: "I have learned more from mistakes and loss than from success." The global financial crash of 2008 was particularly tough, leading to substantial personal and professional losses, including his home and marriage. Despite these hardships, Carl demonstrated remarkable resilience and tenacity by founding the UK's largest training brokerage service just two years later.
Today as founder and lead developer, Carl leads Genius, a thriving software business, which under his leadership is spearheading the integration of Artificial Intelligence into it's platforms, positioning Genius as an innovator in technological advancement.
Looking ahead, Carl is enthusiastic about the immense innovation anticipated over the next five years, describing it as potentially the most significant period of technological growth in recent history.
Here's to embracing the future with optimism and innovation!
Back in the day.
Way back in 2015 Carl Downs founded Genius and personally designed and developed an innovative software solution for training providers in the UK to manage their training businesses. There was really only one very basic system on the market at that time and it's customers were frustrated with it. This new and innovative solution took two full years to develop into MVP (Minimum Viable Product). In mid 2017, after thousands of coding hours, finally it was ready, and it was ugly, had very few customers but already included the innovative customer platform and trainer platform right from day 1. This would later prove invaluable to the success of Genius.
Those early customers used Genius for free in exchange for their valuable feedback, and Genius began to grow, both in features and in paying customers.
Genius is now over a decade old and is no longer the ugly version that it once was. It's now a world class training management system that is used by companies of all sizes, in many industries.
Thanks to those early customers who offered feedback we were able to design and build Genius into probably the most user friendly Training Management System available today. Our community of customers still give valuable feedback today, and for those we are truly grateful.
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Innovative industry first features such as Customer Platform and Trainer Platform set Genius apart from other software vendors. Now these features are imitated by other vendors.
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Genius (and Carl) are both multi-award winning in the USA and the UK (see below).
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Genius UK customers data is located within the UK (Manchester) and Genius USA customers data is stored in the USA with AWS meeting compliance regulations in both regions.
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Genius LLC is now an American LLC company with a permanent presence in both the USA and the UK.
Genius in the Future.
Genius is leading the charge in the training management sector by embedding artificial intelligence at the very core of its platform.
Rather than treating AI as a bolt-on feature, Genius is using it to fundamentally rethink how training businesses operate day to day.
By combining smart automations with machine learning, Genius is transforming traditionally manual, time-consuming processes into streamlined, intelligent workflows that simply run in the background.
Automations within Genius dramatically reduce administrative overhead by handling repetitive tasks such as course scheduling, trainer allocation, learner communications, compliance tracking, and reporting. Machine learning enhances this further by learning from customer behaviour and historical data, enabling the system to make smarter recommendations, predict issues before they occur, and optimise operational decisions.
The result is fewer errors, faster turnaround times, and significantly less time spent on admin, allowing customers to focus on delivering high-quality training and growing their business.
This translates directly into measurable cost savings and improved profitability.
USA Rollout
Genius is experiencing an exciting phase of expansion, with a major rollout underway across the United States.
Demand from the US market has been strong, and the platform’s AI-driven capabilities position Genius perfectly to meet the scale, complexity, and compliance needs of American training providers.
This expansion is not just about growth, it’s about setting a new standard for how training management software should perform.
Looking ahead, 2026 is set to be a huge year for Genius. With advanced AI features coming to market, deeper automation across the platform, and rapid adoption in the US and beyond, Genius is firmly establishing itself as a global leader in intelligent training management.
The future of training is smarter, faster, and more efficient and Genius is at the forefront of that transformation.
2025 Global Recognition Awards Winner - News (January 2025)
Genius LLC - Winner
2025 Global Recognition Awards
Genius LLC, innovative Training Management Software provider, has been honoured with the 2025 Global Recognition Award for developing
'Advanced artificial intelligence-driven educational technology'
that revolutionizes personalized learning across multiple industries.
Genius' innovative software solutions demonstrate exceptional achievement through technological advancement and measurable market impact, while their commitment to excellence has earned perfect scores in various innovation metrics.
Read about our latest Awards..
2025 Business Awards UK Winner - News (July 2025)
Genius LLC - Winner
2025 Business Awards UK
Genius LLC, has been honoured with the Business Awards UK 2025 Award for
'Technology Business of the Year 2025'
.
"This is such an honour to be crowned winner of this award. I am extremely proud of the team who are always pushing for creative excellence". - Carl Downs (Founder & Lead Developer)
Read about our latest Awards..
2024 Global Recognition Awards Winner - News (October 2024)
Carl Downs - Winner
2024 Global Recognition Awards
Carl Downs, innovative software developer and founder of Genius, has been recognized with a 2024 Global Recognition Award for his exceptional contributions to the Software as a Service (SaaS) industry, particularly in the field of 'Training Management Software'.
Downs has demonstrated extraordinary ability and world-class leadership, service, research, and innovation performance.
Read about our multi award winning Founder..
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