Mapping a start-up’s future with true pinpoint accuracy | Business

About 27 million people have received their first Covid-19 jab in the UK, but how many of them got lost on the way to the vaccine centre? The answer, apparently, is roughly half of them.

Like many, Chris Sheldrick knows all about the problem — “My mum went to get her vaccine in January and was sent to a big building in her local town without knowing where to go. Many people like her are getting lost or are going to the wrong entrances” — but, as a co-founder of what3words, he is uniquely placed to try to solve it.

What3words has divided the world’s surface into 57 trillion squares, each measuring 3m by 3m and each with its own unique three-word code. It can