Young entrepreneurial duo’s design startup on track for £500k turnover

Two young entrepreneurs who launched a strategic branding agency in Manchester last year are already on track to pull in a record six-figure turnover.

Best mates Anthony Logan (30) and Alex Mellor (25), the minds behind Noir, said the business is forecast to generate sales of £500k for 2018.

This is despite launching the venture just 12 months ago. Since then, the pair have grown the team from two to 10 employees, relocated from co-working space to an office they designed and opened a new base in London.

Today, Anthony and Alex work with a client roster that includes national and international organisations.

They attribute much of the growth to the hard work of the Noir team and their focus on fostering collaborative partnerships.

Among their local partners are tech firm Dreamr, PR agency Toast PR and, more recently, interior and product designers UTH.

Anthony, former head of design for fashion e-tailer Pretty Little Thing, said: “Anyone who has started a business knows how difficult it is to carve a path and create a place for yourself at the table, but the last thing we wanted was to do that at the expense of anyone else.

“So many agencies close themselves off from the wider agency scene, but we purposefully set out to be open and inclusive, selecting friends and partner agencies with shared values and work ethics. It’s been a winning strategy for us.”

He continued: “Rather than adopt an aggressive approach to new business and sales, we’ve found the nature of these relationships has naturally brought new clients into our path.

“Not only are we invested in our partnerships on a commercial level, we have developed an emotional investment in the people behind these firms. It’s a human connection and its means so much more as a result.”

Alex commented: “Now surrounded by a strong and energetic team, our number one rule remains since day one - in a quest for continuous improvement, we’ve always made time to stop and critique our work, our processes and ourselves.

“For us, there’s always a better way, a better outcome, a better version of ourselves and a better version of Noir - and that’s what we’re always striving for.”