Tyneside tech firm celebrates first year of business with £180k contracts

A Tyneside tech firm is celebrating its first year in business having beaten its sales targets by 22 per cent, revealing over £180k worth of contracts, planning to boost staff numbers by 50 per cent.

Established in August 2016, Gosforth-based ION was launched by technology specialist Rob Mathieson, and is a registered consulting partner for the world’s number one customer relationship management (CRM) system, Salesforce.

The CRM, which can be tailor-made for each business type, aims to help companies connect to customers and prospects by using the latest cloud and data science technologies, and typically increases sales revenue by 37 per cent.

Rob Mathieson, director, said: “We are very excited and encouraged by the figures from our first financial year. It has shown a very strong start for the business performing above our expectations.

“CRM is at the forefront for businesses looking to aggressively grow and we’ve found progressively more companies are switching to more effective CRMs with a higher level of adoption and we’re happy to be able to provide it.”

In the firm’s first financial year, 44 projects were won including Lynch Healthcare, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Arts, Generator, Gateshead College and Sterling Pharmaceuticals among others.

The team has experienced expansion increasing to nine full-time staff and two part-time staff, with a view to recruit a further five in the next few months.

With customers throughout the North East, Aberdeen, London and Wales, ION is said to be expanding nationally, creating further job opportunities by the end of 2018.

Mathieson continued: “It is a very exciting time for us and we are looking forward to seeing the business help more customers increase their sales and grow in the way that they want to.

“The success of our first financial year certainly demonstrates our capacity to deliver and lays a strong foundation for our continued national expansion.”