TEES TECH AWARDS 2023
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
SPONSORED BY VISTECH SERVICES
FINALIST
CORE SYSTEMS SOFTWARE
Sophia Gowland of Newcomer of the Year , The Petite Agency , with Paul Heeran of category sponsor Vistech Services .
WINNER
THE PETITE AGENCY
Founded during lockdown by Sophia Gowland , social media and branding specialist The Petite Agency has gone from strength to strength .
And as it settles into a new home at Fusion Hive in Stockton , it ’ ll have another impressive trophy for the cabinet .
From a base in Teesside University ’ s Victoria Building , Sophia ’ s agency has looked after the campaign creation , social media and personal branding needs of around 25 companies – with more coming on board every week .
And now , after picking up her Tees Tech Awards trophy , Sophia revealed that exciting new clients are coming on board – including her first from outside Teesside – just as the company settles into its new HQ .
She said : “ We ’ ve just taken on our biggest client and signed two contracts with clients both outside of Teesside – an accountancy firm in Newcastle and a care home company in Essex that wants to bring their services to Teesside and wanted a local marketing agency . “ It ’ s quite a big move to have non-Teesside clients .” Sophia admitted she was “ genuinely surprised ” for The Petite Agency to win the Newcomer title , saying : “ We are a tech company , but maybe not as ‘ techy ’ as some others .
“ I feel like the people of Teesside have supported me and after three years , they ’ re still supporting me – I ’ m so grateful .
“ And my two members of staff , Maddie and Hannah , are absolutely amazing – I wouldn ’ t be able to do it without them .”
But when does a newcomer become established ? She smiled : “ I ’ ve got two Best New Business awards and now this one here – I ’ ll maybe go for the big one next time !”
SPONSOR ’ S MESSAGE
Vistech managing director Chris Taylor said : “ Vistech chose to sponsor the Best Newcomer Award for a second year as the category showcases the freshest tech talent across the region . We were privileged to attend the event celebrating the achievements and success within the Teesside tech industry - huge congratulations to all the finalists and award-winners , in particular our category winners , The Petite Agency .”
Formed through a research and development project undertaken by Rockliffe Construction Services ( NE ), CORE Systems Software was founded in October 2022 to help construction and renewables companies work as efficiently as they can – and potentially save millions of pounds along the way .
CORE ’ s innovative software streamlines project and contract management by giving decision-makers access to real-time data .
It records all activity in one place , delivering greener , cleaner , fast , accurate and intuitive data – but it stands out because it has been created by industry professionals . And even though CORE – the Tees Tech Awards 2022 Innovation winner – is at the start of its journey , the potential for growth is huge .
FINALIST
V-LAB
Founded in 2020 and trading since 2022 , V-LAB is a smart engineering technology and energy consultancy that ’ s passionately committed to driving sustainable innovation .
Spearheaded by Teesside University academic Dr Vladimir Vukovic , V-LAB aims to revolutionise the indoor climate control industry .
Developed with input from talented colleagues and students , V-LAB is currently validating a prototype Intuitive thermal comfort controller app , THERCOM , which allows occupants to control their heating by specifying how hot or cold they are , rather than setting the temperature .
Preliminary results show potential for energy savings up to 35 per cent , while increasing thermal comfort by up to 15 per cent .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 57