A FORMER finalist in an annual challenge to find Teesside’s most promising new entrepreneur is urging businesses to enter this year for the “great opportunities” it offers.

Mark Easby, a co-founder of Better Brand Agency, says the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s If We Can You Can Challenge brings money-can’t-buy benefits for start-ups and people with a new business idea.

The Stokesley-based entrepreneur said plenty of exciting new businesses and bright ideas existed on Teesside and owners should have the confidence to enter.

Mark said:

“It’s been four years since we were finalists in If We Can You Can and we are still seeing the value of the feedback we received and the network of contacts we made today.”

The challenge is sponsored by Yorkshire Bank and run in partnership with the Evening Gazette. It is open to any early stage business in any sector.

A shortlist of eight entrants will be invited to present their business to a panel of experts before three finalists go head to head in a public vote for the chance to win a prize worth up to £17,000 in investment and professional advice.

Since reaching the final in 2009, Better has grown to 12 people and counts brands including PD Ports, Teesside and Northumbria Universities and Yarm School among its clients.

As well as providing strategic branding, marketing, creative and digital services, Better is about to re-launch its private online community product.

Mark added:

“We entered the challenge soon after starting and since then have become great supporters of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s work promoting entrepreneurship, connecting people, building knowledge and sharing experience.”

Last year he was a judge for the challenge which was won by Paul Burgum, pictured, of BCT Aspire.

Enter at www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk

In 2012 we heard that the government was strongly considering the removal of design-related subjects from the school curriculum with the introduction of the new EBacc. The concern was that at its very worst this could result in the death of UK creative industries, which currently employ around 2 million people.

A talk entitled ‘The Next Creative Generation’ at Cheltenham Design Festival addressed this topic and encouraged debate amongst attendees, all of whom are engaged in some kind of way in the UK creative world. Speaking at this talk were Sir Christopher Frayling – Professor at RCA, Tim Lindsay – CEO of D&AD and Adrian Shaughnessy – writer for Eye, Creative Review and Design Observer (Chair) – three extremely passionate and inspirational personalities.

Sir Christopher Frayling kicked off the discussion by sharing a piece of personal memorabilia from his school days – a woven square, which he has kept since he made it at school. He used this to demonstrate how design work can provide a sense of achievement, recounting the tale of the creation of the square, and sharing his belief that other subjects within school struggled to replicate that sense of achievement without a real physical outcome.

For me design always encouraged freedom of thought and the ability to create.

At school I struggled to concentrate in “academic” lessons, but found my passion in creating art from collections of shells or splurges of colour. The freedom to create was magical but most importantly encouraged! My art teachers were full of passion for what they did and genuinely enjoyed sharing the art and design love. This is the key to why design as a subject is special – it’s infectious and fun! I believe schools have a responsibility to grow the personalities of children and encourage their individualism.

This is what art and design does. The report on Higher Education written by Lord Browne focusses heavily on the importance of Science and Engineering as the core of the education curriculum. Design is not treated with this importance. The talk highlighted the ongoing battle that people working in the creative sector have to prove that their industry is worthy.

A large part of this battle is due to how design is taught in schools. In 1988 design became a mandatory subject, later became a core subject and now is only an option. Quite often the choice to study design is frowned up as it is wrongly perceived as an easy option as opposed to science or mathematics for example.

The battle is ongoing. ‘Have you had a hard day drawing pictures?’ If design is removed from the education system it will have such a negative impact on children’s imaginations, creative thinking and the curiosity to not just accept the given but question it, will be taken away. I believe that if I had not has design taught in early years I would not have become the person I am today.

The freedom of thought is a such huge positive and creative thinking should be encouraged.

Are born with a creative mindset or are you taught it? I think everyone is born with the ability to think and learn creatively but it is whether you nurture and encourage this mindset. I don’t necessarily think that the quality is taught and I believe its not a choice that you can make either.

If you respond well to creative thinking it is then your choice to realise this and teach yourself more about design. If schools didn’t teach design then maybe it is this realisation that wouldn’t be discovered and everybody would have the same academic learning brain.

A blog post from Fiona Plews, a member of our design team. 

As the award winning agency continues to build its client base across the UK, the new appointment is a direct result of the company securing a number of high profile brand communication and digital projects including the development of a series of crowd funding platforms for Carlton & Co.

Laura, who joined the team in January, brings to the agency nearly twenty years of experience in strategic marketing, successfully managing the full marketing mix for companies such as Heinz, Cadbury, and Procter & Gamble, in addition to agency side experience with dunnhumby. She is an expert in both local marketing implementation as well as global strategy development, and has a real passion for creating that all-important emotional link between a brand or business and it’s customer.

Mark Easby, Managing Director, said:

“Laura will be a valuable addition to the team bringing extensive knowledge and experience of brand development, marketing strategy and implementation.”

In addition to Laura’s appointment Better have also expanded the creative department. Fiona Plews, a Design Graduate from Teesside University, has joined the agency as Graphic Designer focusing on brand, web and print design projects.

Peter Jones, Creative Director at Better, said

“Fiona was one of the most exciting and creative graduates we’ve seen and provides further proof of our commitment to investing in the best young talent in the region.”

Alongside Carlton & Co, Better has won a number of major new accounts in the last six months across the North East, Yorkshire and London including: Philippa Gregory, UTS Group, Nortech, Marske Site Services, Barbarella London and Joplings Estate Agents as well as continuing to build powerful brand partnerships with existing clients including Anabas, Odyssey Systems, Lakelovers, GSC Grays, and Five Lamps.

There’s more to come on this soon but for now here’s some photos from the stand design and production project.

About the Show:

Multimodal is the UK and Ireland’s leading freight transport and logistics exhibition.  Now entering its sixth year, the event has evolved into an annual one-stop-shop for shippers who need to find ways of optimising their supply chain and transportation flow. Find out more about the Exhibition on the website at http://www.multimodal.org.uk/

The awards have been designed to celebrate business leaders and companies that deliver a substantial contribution to the region’s well being. As a business, and individuals, we are very committed to supporting innovation, investing in new product development and committing resources to education and enterprise projects around the region. To be in the company of the other shortlisted companies was recognition enough, but to be highly commended as a runner up to Tharsus Group Ltd, was particularly rewarding.

We’ve invested heavily in our region and our sector over the last 12 months through our work with the Evening Gazette’s 2020 Vision campaign, involvement with Teesside University graduate recruitment and retention, and our sponsorship for a number of creative events including the upcoming Looka Teesside festival. This commitment to our region and our sector was not done for recognition, but of course it makes us very proud that this has been recognised and rewarded.

More about the Awards:

The Institute of Directors North East has teamed up with The Journal and business angel investment company Middleton Enterprises to launch the North East Investor Director listing. Each year it provides an overview of dynamic and determined business leaders, who are delivering a substantial contribution to the region’s wellbeing. The IoD wants to turn a spotlight on those who are investing money in their organisation or the area’s infrastructure, who are expanding their company, coming up with innovative ways of doing business, instigating research and development, creating new products and services or generating employment in the North East.

Alastair Thomson, the IoD’s regional chairman, sets the scene:

People with the passion, acumen and ability to set up and successfully run their own companies are vital to the future prosperity of the region.

It is also crucial that these individuals act as an inspiration to others who are deciding which direction their career should take. This is because we need to further build on the number of entrepreneurs that exist in the North East. It is for these reasons that the Institute of Directors North East has organised a project to pinpoint directors whose commercial endeavours are making a real and positive difference to the region’s economy.

Today’s North East Investor Director listing demonstrates how business leaders, from a wide range of sectors, are helping create solid business foundations by investing in their organisations, or attracting funds and finance to the area, or improving the area’s infrastructure or creating much-needed jobs.

The aim of the listing is to celebrate the range of motivated and talented directors that there are in the region who are making a significant contribution to the North East economy.

The shortlist demonstrates that, in spite of the current tough economic climate, go-ahead business leaders are making their mark and helping boost the fortunes of the North East.

It is imperative that independently-led companies continue to thrive as they are needed to step in and fill the employment gaps that are being left as public organisations contract and reduce their workforces. The skills and knowhow of all the talented individuals, who have made it to the shortlist, are contributing to the region’s worth thanks to the value of the goods their businesses produce or services they provide in the region.

By highlighting their endeavours, we hope to encourage and inspire a future generation of North East entrepreneurs.

For more information check out the website at www.deepvintageclothing.co.uk and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Deep Vintage Clothing - Manchester, Liverpool, York, Newcastle & Middlesbrough

We are incredibly excited to be on the shortlist for an award which focuses on recognising innovation, creativity and commitment to the creative sector within the North East. Find out more about the award and judging criteria below.

Overview of Award.

The creative sector plays an ever-increasing role in the economy. In the North East, the number of new and developing creative businesses is expanding rapidly. Whether it be fashion or jewellery design, photography, designer-makers, pottery or fine art, a growing number of the region’s entrepreneurs are building business opportunities through their creativity.

Judging Criteria.

To succeed in the flourishing creative sector, businesses need confidence, optimism, persistence, passion and risk-taking. In this category the judges will be looking to recognise and celebrate the achievement of a creative business which has demonstrated:

• Innovation and business creativity
• Good business practice
• Determination to succeed
• Commercial success

The award will be decided at the regional final on 25th April at Hardwick Hall. So we’ve got everything crossed and we’ll be there with the team to support the awards and enjoy the evening.

With a mix of studio events, auditorium events, and exhibitions we’re really looking forward to hearing from those who keep Britain at the heart of the creative world and discover who is setting the agenda for design today in areas ranging from digital technology, engineering, graphic design and architecture.

More about the Festival:

Who cares…about the future of design? We do. And from 11-14 April 2013 the second Cheltenham Design Festival will celebrate how original thought changes the world. Missed the 2012 event? Find out what Creative Review‘s editor Patrick Burgoyne thought of it…

The Cheltenham Design Festival celebrates how original thought can change the world; back for it’s second year from 11-14 April 2013, the event brings creative thinkers together from many fields to debate and explore the future of design at a time when creativity matters more than ever.

This annual festival covers all design disciplines and gives you the opportunity to engage with key thinkers in UK’s creative community, innovators who influence our lives through original thought in areas such as education, engineering, business, technology, wellbeing and architecture. The Cheltenham Design Festival shows the importance of creative thinking is not only in our daily lives but also in assuring all our futures.

Browse the Festival Programme and Book Tickets.

Cheltenham Design Festival - Who cares?...about the future of design

PES is based at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Sheffield alongside some of the world’s most advanced organizations in the research and development of advanced manufacturing technology.

After discussing requirements with a number of agencies PES choose to work with us to design and development a new CMS based website. The website is supported by a powerful blog and social channels to help improve visibility, develop the digital footprint for the business.

Performance Engineering Solutions - Website Design and Development - www.pes-performance.com

Laura Mack joins our team as Head of Marketing, bringing to the agency nearly twenty years of experience in strategic marketing, successfully managing the full marketing mix for companies such as Heinz, Cadbury, and Procter & Gamble, in addition to agency side experience with dunnhumby. She is an expert in both local marketing implementation as well as global strategy development and has a real passion for creating that all-important emotional link between a brand or business and its customer.

Mark Easby, Managing Director, said:

“Laura will be a valuable addition to the team bringing extensive knowledge and experience of marketing strategy and implementation.”

In addition to Laura’s appointment Fiona Plews joins the studio team as Graphic Designer. Fiona, a recent Design Graduate from Teesside University, will work within the our creative department focusing on brand, web and print design projects. Peter Jones, Creative Director at Better, said

“Fiona was one of the most exciting and creative graduates to come out of Teesside University this year, and provides further proof of our commitment to investing in the best young talent in the region.”

Alongside Carlton & Co and GrowthFunders, we’ve secured a number of major new accounts in the last six months across the North East, Yorkshire and London including: UTS Group, Marske Site Services, Philippa Gregory, Monster Group, Barbarella London and Joplings Estate Agents as well as continuing to build powerful brand partnerships with existing clients including Anabas, Odyssey Systems, Lakelovers, Crafter’s Companion, GSC Grays, and Five Lamps.

Better starts 2013 on a high - Mark Easby, Laura Mack, Fiona Plews