PROFILE
Growth – Outrank CEO Stephen Robinson is proud that his Middlesbrough-based firm now employs 60 people, servicing 1,300 customers a year.
Celebration – Outrank boss Stephen Robinson with wife Gemma at one of the Tees Business awards nights. understanding and super supportive network around me.
“ We’ re a very neurodiverse family, and we love it. I’ m proud of every trait that we have. When I look back, it all starts to make sense – I think it’ s been a driver. And when you tune into it, life looks great.”
The next five years for Outrank, he says,“ are going to be so much more exciting than the last 10 – I cannot wait for what they hold.”
He said:“ There are many iterations of AI to come, but with the next one – be that digital marketing or any industry that could be affected by it – I wholeheartedly believe humans will always be required to input, control and support.
“ So, walk into it sceptically but embrace what this next iteration is, because it will define a lot of things. But what won’ t change is great people, great systems and great processes, because they make great businesses.”
And as he reflects on his own business journey so far, he’ s clearly excited about what’ s to come.
Stephen said:“ The business is only going to go from strength to strength, and I put a big part of that down to understanding how my brain works. It’ s helped me better understand myself as a leader, given me greater confidence in my decision-making and brought a clarity that simply wasn’ t there before.
“ And I have an amazing network of the missus and kids that support and drive, and a fantastic team here – they are unbelievable. Without them, I’ m just a regular bloke limited by 24 hours in a day but with this amazing team the possibilities are endless.
“ We all have stories. What mine did, though, is build resilience in abundance. I think one of my biggest points is‘ win more than you lose’. You can’ t win anything if you give up, and the point is, this isn’ t adversity, this is just life, so keep going. Teesside grit, isn’ t it?”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 17