TEES TECH AWARDS 2020
Best newcomer
SPONSORED BY
Winner
SALESFIRE
It was double delight for
Middlesbrough-based Salesfire as the company , which began life in a small basement office in 2018 with just two staff , a laptop and a desk fan , picked up both the Best Newcomer and the Innovation awards at the Tees Tech Awards . “ We ’ re delighted to receive recognition for everything we have accomplished so far ,” says Salesfire CEO , Rich Himsworth .
Now occupying 5,000-sq ft of prime office space in Albert North , with a staff of 30 and plans to increase that to 65 next year , Rich puts Salesfire ’ s success firmly down to a loyal and valued staff .
“ Our team has gone from strength to strength and it ’ s the dedication of our staff which has got us to where we are ,” he says .
With Salesfire attracting attention from a certain Hugo Boss and international fashion retailers Nike and Missguided , it seems the sky ’ s the limit for this local firm made good . But Rich doesn ’ t underestimate the power of being award winners on his native Teesside .
“ The award wins have come at a pivotal time for the company ,” he says .
“ We have continued to grow during 2020 and these awards put us in a great position as we emerge from testing times .”
Salesfire CEO Rich Himsworth receives the Best Newcomer award from Graham Robb , of category sponsors Recognition PR .
Finalist Wander Films Formed in July 2018 by directors Lou Tonner and Chloe Clover , Wander Films is now in its second year . The Wander team live and breathe individuality and help their clients do the same . Young and creative , they know exactly what it takes to stand out in a crowd and have created a unique tone of voice .
A healthy turnover has allowed the company to move into a large office in Middlesbrough ’ s Boho 5 and the directors have ambitions of becoming the leading video marketing company in the UK .
Finalist Aero Commerce After spotting a gap in the market in 2017 , Aero Commerce founders Richard Bendelow and Matt Burton started building a powerful new e-commerce platform .
By 2019 the Middlesbrough-based company embarked on a venture capital raise to help them further commercialise the platform , and in July last year it successfully closed a round of £ 1.1m .
Since then the platform has grown its staff base , launched several high-profile e-commerce stores and agreed several agency relationships .
Although a newcomer to the market , Aero Commerce has attracted attention from some major UK companies and there are more than 20 new e-commerce stores in development from their carefully curated , highly skilled agency partners .
Sponsor ’ s message
“
We were delighted to sponsor the Tees Tech Awards ,” says Graham Robb , owner of Darlington-based Recognition PR . “ Tech is extremely important to the future of the Tees Valley , attracting investment into the Teesside area . The awards were an excellent opportunity to recognise the hard work of our local tech individuals and organisations thriving within the Tees Valley .”
Graham and the team at Recognition were impressed with the level of entrants for the Best Newcomer award , branding them all “ exceptional .” “ It was a difficult category because each entry was noteworthy in its own right ,” says Graham . “ However , Salesfire emerged as our eventual winner , impressing every judge with their current success and ambition for the future , including their planned expansion into the US , European and Asian markets .”
34 | Tees Business