FEATURE
BLAZING A TRAIL
Danielle Croce , commercial director and co-founder of Stockton-based Intasite , talks to Peter Barron about her pride at being named Tees Businesswoman of the Year
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PICTURES : CHRIS BOOTH
s she remembers the fork in the road that might have led her on a very different career path , Danielle Croce smiles and admits : “ It was a tough call .”
The choice was to either pursue a burning ambition to be a firefighter or follow a route into the world of business by investing in the digital agency she ’ d started working for .
“ I ’ d got through the first stage of the fire service recruitment process , and it was something that really appealed ,” she recalls . “ But I was only 22 and I also had this great opportunity to invest in the business , so I was torn .”
Danielle opted for the business ladder and , having recently been crowned Tees Businesswoman of the Year in a ceremony at Hardwick Hall Hotel , she ’ s happy she made the right decision .
Indeed , she ’ s still pinching herself when she reflects on the achievements that led to her following in the illustrious footsteps of the previous winners of the prestigious award : Claire Preston , Sharon Lane , Jane Armitage , Chloë Clover , Kimberley Turner and Cathi Harrison .
“ Winning was one of the biggest shocks of my life ,” admits the commercial director and co-founder of Stockton-based health and safety tech firm , Intasite .
“ I went there not expecting to win because the list of finalists was so strong – I didn ’ t even prepare a speech !”
Raised in Coulby Newham , Danielle had a happy , creative childhood . Her father , Iain , was a car salesman , her mother , Carol , a clerk in the fire service as well as a devoted foster carer , and she had a sister , Stephanie .
“ I always loved art and drawing at school , so the plan was to do something with that to start with ,” she recalls .
After studying at Cleveland College of Art and Design she went to Leeds Metropolitan University but was “ too much of a home-bird ”, so she continued her studies at Teesside University after a year .
After graduating in graphic design in 2009 , she began her career with a local digital agency and quickly found herself at the “ deep end of web design ”, while also still progressing her long-held firefighting ambitions in the background .
Then , after just three months at the agency , a restructuring led to the opportunity to buy into the business .
When Danielle reflects on that pivotal decision , she can ’ t help remembering the influence her late grandmother , Nancy Bloom , had on her life .
Nancy and her husband , Jackie , ran a popular fishmonger business in Hartlepool , and Danielle became particularly close to her grandma .
“ I spent a lot of time with her as a child and she was such a tenacious , independent woman . When my grandad fell ill , she cared for him and always stayed strong .”
It was Nancy who loaned Danielle the money to invest in the digital agency .
“ She saw something in me and believed in me ,” she says , quickly adding that she paid her back as soon as she could .
Danielle led the design team for a decade , forging productive business partnerships , including brothers Paul and Andy Martin . Paul specialised in producing health and safety videos for major hazardous industrial sites and had the idea of using digital technology to revolutionise the induction process for controlled businesses .
Bringing together the agency ’ s software expertise with Paul ’ s video skills , a streamlined system was developed that was successfully trialled at PD Ports .
As more clients followed , it became clear that an independent business was emerging , requiring its own resource for long-term growth , and that led to Intasite being founded in 2015 .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 21