Member Article

Why Teesside has the right va va voom for this high-flying French entrepreneur

When it comes to French-born entrepreneurs serving global clients from a Stockton business base, it’s fair to say that Clément Gonnet is probably in a minority of one.

Yet Clément, who moved to Teesside from his home city of Lyon, believes Stockton is the perfect location to nurture a company, after winning a string of international contracts.

His web development company, Renoovo Design, specialises in WooCommerce, the ever-popular eCommerce software for WordPress.

Already working with clients across Europe and America, the 30 year-old business owner has landed somewhat of a coup for the region, currently working with UPS - the world’s largest delivery company.

Clément, who has a master’s degree in web design and applications from Teesside University, first launched his business from his bedroom five years ago and has since expanded into specialist premises in Stockton’s Digital House.

Now, Renoovo is working on a high profile software project for UPS to link its sophisticated click and collect service, UPS Access Point, with WooCommerce.

The service allows customers to have packages delivered to more than 70,000 locations worldwide, including shops, newsagents, cafes and florists.

Clément, who says he is now preparing to take on staff in the near future, commented on his affinity with the region.

He explained: “Stockton is the perfect location for me to grow my sales worldwide and Digital House has all the facilities that has allowed my business to flourish.

“It’s very cost effective to do business here, much more so than in my native France. And, I can cycle into work every day!”

Clément first came to Teesside as part of a placement scheme at Teesside University and liked it so much he went on to study at the university before working as a software engineer.

Armed with more than 10 years of web development experience, the ambitious entrepreneur is also working for Digital House neighbours RAW Digital to deliver training to young unemployed people and businesses.

He explained: “My speciality is WooCommerce, now the world’s leading ecommerce software for WordPress.

“In partnership with RAW Digital I’ve been using my expertise to train young people in digital skills – preparing them to go on to apprenticeships and jobs.

“I’ve also been working with business support organisation NBSL to help small businesses understand more about managing their websites and how the web can help them grow their businesses.

“We use the brilliant conference room facilities at Digital House – with its interactive whiteboard – to deliver the training. This would not have been possible if I had not interacted with RAW Digital in this great workspace.”

Renoovo Design offers web design and also support services such as hosting, maintenance and consultation.

Clément added: “We’re working across different sectors – including education, logistics and manufacturing – and I’m confident our sales will grow over the next 12 months.”