Member Article

Digital City reveals the 14 tech firms selected for Tees Valley scaleup programme

Fourteen tech from Tees Valley have been selected to take part in DigitalCity’s latest business boosting initiative, DigitalCity Scale.

The new three-month programme has been designed specifically for ambitious businesses in the digital and technology sectors which can demonstrate high growth and potential for scaling.

The first cohort will begin the programme at a launch event on Wednesday (27 September) at Wynyard Hall where they will hear from Andrew Grill, an international expert on digital strategy having scaled numerous businesses.

DigitalCity, based at Teesside University, with support from the Tees Valley Combined Authority and European Regional Development Fund, works with digital and non-digital companies to drive innovation and growth.

Selected firms

The fourteen companies taking part include web design agencies Espresso Web, Edward Robertson, Eighty 8 Design, Calm Digital and Big Bite Creative.

Also included are cloud specialists Circle Cloud, manufacturer Pulse Technologies, software firm Spearhead Interactive and training firm National Safety Passport.

Marketing agencies Better Brand Agency and Viral Effect make up the list alongside game and app development studio Sock Monkey Studios, consultant Kraken IM and computer support company Bondgate IT.

DigitalCity Investment Programme manager, David Dixon, said: “The DigitalCity Scale programme is for tech companies who have got to a certain level but have started to plateau, or maybe those companies who have got a lot of early traction since start-up and are unsure how to act on it.

“Maybe they still have a slim management team of owner-managers who are unable to meet the demands of the day-to-day running of the business while helping it to grow.

“Our programme will enable them to meet these challenges and equip them with all the tools necessary to scale their business.

“Making sure that our tech companies realise their full potential for growth is a major priority for DigitalCity and for the Tees Valley.”

Programme makeup

The programme will consist of themed workshops every fortnight ranging from themes like, The Customer Journey, Intellectual Property (IP) Development and Strategy Formation to People and Leadership, Execution and Finance.

Each session will also hear from an inspirational business leader who will share insights and experience from their own entrepreneurial journeys.

Confirmed speakers include Daumantas Dvilinskas, a co-founder and CEO of international money transfer business TransferGo which was set up with the help of DigitalCity.

Also speaking will be Kevin Mann, founder of Graphic.ly and Audacious. Each entrepreneur will also be paired up with a dedicated business mentor who will help to formulate a bespoke action plan to help realise business aspirations.

David Dixon added: “This is a unique programme with nothing like it in the region specifically for the digital and tech sector. What makes it distinctive is the focus of the programme is on peer-to-peer learning.

“This is not a ‘chalk and talk’ programme - business leaders will be working with like-minded entrepreneurs, sharing and learning from each other’s challenges and obstacles.”