The voice of business in the Tees region | 31
Drive – Laura Woods, director of
academic enterprise at Teesside
University, oversees all the university’s
business engagement activities.
Coaching – entrepreneurs on
DigitalCity’s Fellowship scheme
have benefited from funding,
advice and mentoring.
“The Mayor of Middlesbrough has
just announced plans for a £250m
development to help create 2,000
new jobs in the town.”
and talent. It has won national recognition
for its record of supporting high-growth
start-ups and helping businesses in key
sectors to innovate and embrace new
technologies.
“The critical mass of tech companies
created is helping to unlock new
opportunities for the Tees Valley.
“The Mayor of Middlesbrough has just
announced plans for a £250m development
to help create 2,000 new jobs in the town.
Through DigitalCity, we’ll be working to help
grow the pipeline of new companies and
support the inward investment strategy that
will deliver this exciting ambition.”
Among the successful companies to have
developed with the support of DigitalCity is
SockMonkey Studios. In 2013, Bob Makin
and Darren Cuthbert left their jobs with a
large games studio to pursue their dream of
setting up their own business.
To help them achieve this ambition,
they took part in the DigitalCity Fellowship
scheme, which supports entrepreneurs who
are launching or planning to launch new-to-
market products and services by providing
funding, advice and mentoring.
SockMonkey was initially based in
Launchpad, Teesside University’s business
incubator, before expanding into larger
offices in the university’s Phoenix Building.
As the company expanded it was supported
in its growth plans with the DigitalCity
SCALE programme.
As well as boasting an impressive client
list including the likes of Sega, Motorola,
Lucasfilm and Unilever, it now occupies
an entire floor of the state-of-the-art Boho
5 building in Middlesbrough and plans to
increase its staff numbers to 50
by 2021.
Bob said: “SockMonkey
Studios started with the help of
DigitalCity and wouldn’t still be
here today if it wasn’t for the
university.
“They have helped with mentoring,
business growth and offices and have
helped to grow us from a small start-up of
two.
“We have ambitious plans that we’ve put
together thanks to the DigitalCity SCALE
programme.”
New programmes offered by DigitalCity
include:
• The Accelerator Programme – supporting
young businesses to develop and grow
with workshops, bootcamps, mentoring
and grants of up to £5,000.
• Tees Tech Scale Up – a ten-week
programme for leaders of digital SMEs
with the ambition and potential to grow
and scale their business.
• Digital Audits – enabling SMEs to identify
the technologies that can increase
productivity and drive growth.
• Growth through Digitisation – a
programme to help businesses in key
sectors collaborate to adopt new digital
systems, processes and products. Further
support to encourage collaboration across
sectors could ultimately provide up to
£30,000 per collaboration.
Director of DigitalCity Lynsey Robinson
added: “DigitalCity brings businesses
together to look at their future skills needs.
We’ve created a digital business ecosystem
which we’re supporting to look strategically
Leader – DigitalCity is headed
by director Lynsey Robinson.
at the digital skills pipeline.
“Recognising the importance of digital
skills, and taking a long-term approach
to developing them, is key to ensuring
the future resilience of the Tees Valley
workforce. This is an area where businesses
and providers need to work together to
deliver the right skills solutions in the right
way.”
As a key part of its role, DigitalCity
is working with Tees Valley Combined
Authority to develop and lead the region’s
digital strategy.
Mayor Ben Houchen said: “DigitalCity’s
outstanding contribution to keeping this key
sector thriving is making waves across the
UK.
“We’ve got a fantastic reputation in this
field, with world-class developers and firms
calling our region home. With DigitalCity
continuing to play a vital role in our offering,
Tees Valley’s digital future is bright.”