We’re excited to share that we have launched a new academy, starting with positions for Junior Developers and Digital Marketing Executives.
Get hands-on experience that will drive your career forward while getting paid!
The first step is to find out more about the roles available and then apply to join an Academy Day.
Our Academy days make the interview process more inclusive, interesting, and (hopefully) fun!
Spend the day with our mentors, participate in activities with other guests, and show us why you’re a good fit for being at Torchbox.
There will be a baseline of knowledge and skills required depending on the role you’re applying for. The full criteria is included in the specification.
The Academy Days are running on the following dates:
Find out all you need to know and how to apply.
We have been officially recognised as a ‘Great Place to Work’ by being awarded the sought-after certification.
Great Place to Work’s mission is to “help organisations create exceptional, high performing workplaces where employees feel trusted and valued”. Through the Certification process, they capture valuable employee feedback and details about the practices that make workplaces unique.
As part of this employee feedback, we were absolutely thrilled to report a 90% overall trust index from our team.
Some of our favourite bits from our team’s ratings include:
Come on – we’re a team of research consultants! Of course we love quantitative data, but we’re obviously going to go and gather a little qual too…
Megan Simmons, UX Consultant:
“cxp is a great place to work since we practice what we preach – it’s an empathy driven workplace”
Ollie Miller, Creative Director:
“There are no egos at cxpartners. From my experience that’s very unique. It means you can be you. You can feel comfortable sharing your ideas with people who really value your thoughts and really listen.”
Lauren Howells, Marketing Manager:
“We have such a supportive culture with space for everyone to have an opinion and speak up”
Chris Edge, Account Director
“It’s such a friendly and passionate team at cx, a diverse mix of skillsets working well together to really make a massive difference to our clients”
Nicola Pritchard, Senior User Researcher:
“Flexibility, support, adult to adult relationships, everyone’s proper passion for their subject, feeling connected, feeling heard, having permission to bring my whole self to work without judgement, total kindness of all the people here.
When I stop and think, that’s an amazing list!”
Henry Bacon, UX Consultant:
“I’ve only been here for about 6 weeks, but so far I’d say the people! Everyone’s super friendly and welcoming.”
Sharon Webster, UX Consultant:
“What I love about working at cx is being empowered, having opportunities to develop my career, learn from awesome colleagues and that being people-centred is lived and breathed here. Oh and there’s some fun projects too!”
Mark Skinner, Principal UX Consultant:
“I think the best thing is that we’re not expected to be robots – we can be ourselves, and when we need support, it’s there!”
Claire Barrett, Senior UX Consultant:
“Today’s pod catch up demonstrated one (of the many!) reasons cx is a great place to work… a bunch of lovely human beings asking brilliant questions on subjects that matter and just generally having insightful chats!”
Not only are we a Great Place to Work, but we also have some pretty great benefits too, including:
We offer ‘remote-first’ working, with offices available in London and Bristol, and are currently recruiting for:
However, if you’re keen to join the team but your skillset doesn’t quite match the roles above – get in touch, we’d still love to hear from you.
First event: 10th February 1.30pm – 2.15pm
Bristol-based web design and development agency, Unfold has just launched a brand-new events series, Below the Fold. The series centres successful business people, giving them a platform to share learnings from their journeys. Hosted by Unfold’s founder, Harry Cobbold, these events aim to educate and inform attendees with insider knowledge and tips for success.
What it takes to get your business acquired
The first episode in the series will see Gapsquare’s Zara Nanu taking the guest seat, with Harry interviewing her on Gapsquare’s recent acquisition and what it takes to build and acquirable business.
You can catch the event on 10th February 2022 from 1.30pm – 2.15pm. All events in the series will be held virtually via Zoom for the foreseeable future. If you can’t make the date, you can register in any case and you will be sent the session recording following the event.
Register for the event here.
After almost a year of a basic holding page, Noughts & Ones have launched a new low-impact website as they look to further establish themselves as the go-to Shopify agency for planet-friendly ecommerce brands in 2022.
“2021 was all about laying the foundations for growth and it’s great to see it all come together on our new website. We’ve got some really exciting plans in place as we look to continue working for real change by helping planet-conscious brands to sell their products in the right way.” – Tom, Creative Director
The new website was born of their own Conscious Development™ framework, which guides (and will constantly evolve) all aspects of the Shopify stores and JAMstack websites they deliver.
Further to case studies on projects for incredible conscious brands such as fussy, OceanSaver and Hunter & Gather, the new Noughts & Ones website also serves as a platform to educate and spark conversation around the very real concern of digital sustainability.
Putting their website into “Super-Eco Mode” not only switches the site into even-more-efficient design mode, but also showcases tips on reducing the environmental impact and carbon footprint of websites.
There’s little wonder low-code/no-code is such a hot topic.
While website development used to be the domain of software engineers and technical whizz-kids, the latest low-code/no-code solutions allow a much broader range of people to produce eye-catching, modern web applications. Heck, they’re even responsive too.
You no longer need to hire a developer to create a website, tools such as Bubble.io, Adalo, and Webflow (we’re a partner by the way) give you all the tools to create first-class websites and applications without the need to write any code. So it’s a great hit for marketers with tight budgets. Simply upload this image. Move that one. Drag this copy over there. Click publish and – BOOM. Website.
But what if you need more?
How do I know if low-code/no-code is the way forward?
More often than not, today’s websites are more than just copy, image and text.
So what happens if you need to integrate your site with something else – say a payment platform, or a web API? What if you need to bring in a data source from a back-office system?
Some of these low-code/no-code solutions include e-commerce options (Webflow is one example), and you can do a fair bit with Zapier. But truly, these features won’t always meet all your requirements.
If in the future you think you’ll need more complex data APIs, tracking or marketing integrations on your site, you may want to look for something more structured…
Drupal 9: Now with increased flexibility
This is where Drupal comes in.
Traditionally, Drupal CMS has been rigid. It had fixed templates and allowed little-to-no flexibility for content editors. But this has all changed with Drupal 9.
Drupal 9 has been built with flexibility in mind, and when combined with specific modules (for example Layout Builder and Paragraphs) it allows a much greater degree of freedom for you to create the pages you need.
Although, you may well still need some help from a development team or a site builder, depending exactly on your requirements. Once you have it set up, the flexible-layout-world is your oyster!
Layout builder to the rescue
Layout Builder is included out-of-the-box with Drupal and can be used to create dynamic templates for any given content type.
By using Layout Builder, a content editor can build up a page using any number of defined components, e.g. images, text, and banners, and arrange them in any number of section configurations – for example, in either single or multiple columns.
Almost anything within Drupal can be positioned into a layout. You can drag things around and change a page’s blueprint completely from one page to another.
And if you have a list of documents you need to include on-site, site builders can define a document list block which you can then embed on any page. And, this can all be closely linked to the design using pattern libraries, where individual components, made up of atoms and molecules, can be tied to the components that are added through the layout builder.
More and more of our clients need flexible layouts. And that’s why, at P+S, we’ve combined several different modules into a Drupal ‘profile’.
This profile includes all the modules required to create a low-code/no-code site using Drupal, which can be rolled out for a comparable cost to Webflow.
The benefits of using a system like Drupal is that once you have it in place, you then have many more options for integrations with other web services due to its framework and server-side code flexibility, and your website can grow and evolve to meet your future requirements.
Acquia, who provide enterprise products, services, and support for Drupal, are also addressing the demand for low-code/no-code by developing the Site Studio project.
This enterprise level tool, included with their Cloud Solutions offering, allows you to build a Drupal site and theme it with no developer involvement at all. So developers can concentrate on more complex technical tasks, such as integrations and APIs.
Site Studio allows you to define and build a theme and components all entirely from Drupal’s interface. Once complete, your content editors have the freedom to create their pages using the drag-and-drop interface of the layout canvas.
Horses for courses
When choosing your next platform for your marketing requirements, it’s important to think long-term and consider how they might change.
So, while low-code/no-code solutions are excellent for crafting websites in short timescales, if you need your website to grow beyond hosting more simple content, Drupal may be a better fit long term. And it may not necessarily cost you much more.
As Webflow and Acquia partners, and an experienced Drupal agency, P+S are in a unique position, and can help you decide which solution is the best option for your business.
Talk to us about your next project today, email [email protected] to arrange a no-obligation chat.
Having worked closely with the Epilepsy Society for the past few months, we’re delighted to announce the launch of unFlash, an AI-powered tool that detects and helps prevent the spread of flashing images on social media that in turn could trigger seizures.
The first-of-its-kind plug-in allows specific users to report examples of flashing images that appear on their Twitter feed, which are then captured as part of a dataset used to train a Machine Learning model.
unFlash’s aim is to eventually teach the AI how to effectively detect and block media that falls within the photosensitive range. This would prevent harmful imagery with the potential of triggering a seizure in people with photosensitive epilepsy from being shared online.
“Social media is a global platform, and the only true way to protect people from seizure-triggering content is to turn off the tap at its source. That’s why we are so grateful to the team at Gravitywell for their commitment to developing unFlash. We are hopeful for what the AI can contribute to the protection of people with epilepsy online.
However, small companies such as Gravitywell who have donated their time to protect people should not burden the responsibility of protecting Twitter’s users; the social media giants must be held accountable for protecting vulnerable people with disabilities on their platforms.” — Epilepsy Society
The new ‘Intro to Game Art’ short course will give you an insight into the world of game art, exploring the range of roles and essential skills needed to get you started when exploring a potential future career in game art. There is a host of exciting modules that your tutor will guide you through, including:
Planning and producing work to a design brief.
Working in the games industry
Concept art for computer games
Modelling for computer games
Atomic Smash is a WordPress and WooCommerce specialist agency run by Piers Tincknell and David Darke. Based in Bristol, we’re a growing team of 17 who help businesses to improve and evolve their digital platforms through long-term partnerships.
We’ve been working with WordPress for over a decade and we’re experts at what we do. Not only do we help our clients achieve their commercial goals through constant evolution and improvement of their WordPress and WooCommerce platforms, but we’re also deeply integrated within the local WordPress and creative communities.
Adding to our WordPress credentials, Atomic Smash is now a WordPress VIP partner agency.
Offering peace of mind that your site can scale for billions of site visitors instantly, WordPress VIP is a powerful platform for enterprise. Working with WordPress VIP means our team of developers can build flexible websites with security and reliability that meets enterprise needs at scale.
At Atomic Smash, we help our clients improve their WordPress and WooCommerce sites over time so their websites are always performing at their best. This comes to life through our Always Evolving model and the WordPress VIP platform aligns perfectly with this philosophy by offering an infrastructure that can grow with your business.
With the WordPress VIP platform, we can continue to enhance our clients’ sites while:
Piers Tincknell, Co-founder and Managing Director of Atomic Smash said:
“I am really excited about working closer with WordPress VIP and bringing those benefits through to our clients. The work they are doing with the wider WordPress community is amazing and we are really proud to be part of that.”
David Darke, Co-founder and Operations Director of Atomic Smash said:
“Gaining access to the WordPress VIP ecosystem is going to be an amazing resource for our current and future Enterprise level WordPress clients.”
Jeff Mills, Partner Director, EMEA at WordPress VIP said:
“I am pleased to welcome the Atomic Smash team to the expanding WordPress VIP Partner Program. Their extensive knowledge with Enterprise WordPress combined with their ‘Always Evolving’ mantra ensures a great, strategic approach to building websites. They are an amazing asset to the whole WordPress community.”
Through our partnership with WordPress VIP, our clients will be able to create even more impactful digital experiences for their customers while driving better results for their businesses.
Are you interested in knowing how we could support your business by making your website work harder? Let’s talk.
You are invited to join the Department For International Trade’s CreaTech Mission to Mumbai 21 to 25 February 2022.
This UK Government supported mission to India is delivered in partnership between the Department for International Trade in the UK and in India and the UK Creative Industries Council. The mission aims to open export opportunities in India for 12 selected UK companies which are demonstrating cutting edge innovation and proven commercial success where creativity meets technology.
CreaTech businesses are those applying technology solutions to music, advertising, film & TV, experiential, gaming, e-sports – and sports (fan engagement) or any combination of the above.
In Mumbai, the focus will be on technology in those sectors of the creative industries where there is the greatest synergy between UK and Indian businesses and markets.
It’s anticipated that the event will be made up of:
Additionally, visits will be scheduled to leading Indian businesses, locations and hubs which represent both CreaTech and commissioners of CreaTech, and meet with potential partners, influencers and experts in helping to build an export business with India.
Opportunities to enhance UK and Indian collaboration in the CreaTech space will be underpinned by the publication of a ‘UK & India CreaTech Ones to Watch’ listing – a version of the proven ‘CreaTech Ones to Watch’ developed by the UK Creative Industries Council – which will highlight and promote the most innovative SMES at the intersection of creativity and technology in the UK and in India.
We want CreaTech businesses that have a genuine interest in doing business in India, will be competitive in the Indian market and have the resources to develop and sustain an export strategy for India. These businesses may be from anywhere around the UK.
There are no fees for selected businesses to take part in this CreaTech mission. Delegates are responsible for their travel, hotel and subsistence costs. Delegates will be supported to apply for grant funds to contribute towards their costs of participating and developing their business in India. Availability is not guaranteed and will depend on multiple factors which could include business location, timing, previous grant history and company financials.
Delegates will be invited to participate in follow-up Commonwealth Games Business Programme events in the UK. In particular Indian corporate buyers of CreaTech services and technology will be invited to come to our UK-India business event in Birmingham around the time of the Commonwealth Games.
Register your interest in the CreaTech Mission to Mumbai 2022 here
If your understanding of the startup world is based on the series produced by (and starring) mid-noughties nerdy heartthrob, Adam Brody, it might surprise you to learn that most tech ventures aren’t funded by dubious dosh from the criminal underworld. That isn’t to say that StartUp isn’t an entertaining show, by the way, but it’s not exactly an accurate representation of how startup founders might seek investment.
While there are some great examples of companies that have ‘bootstrapped’ their way to billions, most successful tech businesses will raise equity finance at some stage in their scale-up journey — usually over several funding rounds. The right investment not only unlocks the cash you need to accelerate growth but also provides you with a new business partner who is aligned with your goals, brings business acumen and an invaluable network of industry contacts.
Knowing how to turn your venture into an investment magnet is key to getting the attention of the right type of investor while never feeling pressured to settle for a bad fit. So, how do you as a startup founder attract that perfect investor? Here are 6 qualities investors will be looking for in your tech startup.
As a startup founder, being passionate about your project should be a prerequisite. If not, then it’s probably the wrong venture for you. You need to truly believe in the product/service you want to provide and be confident that it’s either an improvement on what’s available on the market or an entirely new take on addressing an old problem.
Beyond your bright idea, you should also be mindful that investors are investing in you as much as they are in your business. Are you able to distil and describe the journey you’ve been on thus far? Can you showcase your passion, skill-set and creativity?
However, while passion per se is great, would you put your money where your mouth is? Most investors are looking for founders who are willing to invest their own capital — hypothetically, at the very least. After all, why should someone part with their hard-earned cash for your project if you’re unwilling to do the same? The same applies to investing your time. If you’re unwilling to work hard on your own project, then it’s unrealistic to expect anyone else to.
To get your business off the ground, you’ll have to — or will have had to — raise the initial capital yourself. This can come from your own savings, borrowings, or even friends and family. Either way, this is a concrete example of demonstrating that you believe in your product/service, so much so that you’re willing to invest money into it.
To be worthy of investment, any new product/service needs to have a proven market and be appealing to that market. Ideally, your venture will have begun operations and demonstrated an ability to sell that product or service — essentially, you need to have a robust ‘proof of concept’ to show investors. Investors will look for the following:
For a tech startup, the proof of concept is often an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) — a product with just enough features to satisfy early customers and provide adequate feedback for future product development. Through our experiences building brilliant launchpad apps for businesses, we’ve come up with a checklist to help you get started with your MVP ASAP.
Most investors are looking for business opportunities that have potential — primarily, for growth. This is all relative, of course, based on the size of your market, but ideally, you need to have a market with significant reach — regionally at least — depending on the nature of your product or service.
Not every product/service is going to have a worldwide market, of course, but a large enough market to increase scale and margins within your operations is typically a requirement for investors.
If your startup is a would-be disruptor in an existing, saturated market then the same rules apply. However, your growth potential is likely to be deeply scrutinised because any market share gained is being taken directly from a competitor, therefore your competitive advantage needs to be demonstrable.
Which leads us on nicely…
No matter what the product — whether it’s clothing, music or a new software platform — the same question always applies: what makes your product unique? To be worthy of investment, there has to be something that sets you apart.
If your product or service is genuinely the first of its kind (something that many founders wrongly convince themselves is the case), then that’s your competitive advantage. What’s more likely, however, is that your startup will be entering an existing market. This is where having a real differentiator is crucial for success.
Take German neobank, N26, for example. Voted ‘Best Bank in the World 2021’, N26 is by no means the only player in the online-only banking market — competitors include the likes of Monzo and Revolut. However, by taking a service that people have to consume and generally dislike (banking), and turning it into an enjoyable process by focusing 100% of its efforts on user experience, N26 has confidently positioned itself as ‘the bank you’ll love’.
To save on cost, most startups will have very limited staffing (at the start of their journey, at least), usually consisting of one or two founders. Whether it’s a team of two or ten, the number of staff isn’t an issue so long as the key areas of the business are covered. For example, if your business is centred around AI technology, do you have someone in the team who is a specialist in this area? It’s extremely important that you have an expert in the tech or market you’re entering.
Operating control is another area investors will be looking at before taking a punt on your startup. They’ll expect you as the founder to have developed (or be in the process of developing) policies and procedures to control the business and ensure their investment doesn’t go to waste.
It’s also important that as a founder, you’re able to ‘let go’ and delegate authority across your team. We get it, your startup is your baby, but over time, you need to trust someone else to take care of the proverbial nappies. Or bedtime story. You get the gist. Investors will take comfort in seeing expertise and autonomy spread across a fully engaged team.
The coldness with which investors approach this topic can be a bit of a shock, but getting into their mindset — ie. looking for a return, can keep you focused on what’s important for your startup. It’s important to know that from a financial perspective, investors will have two primary questions when looking at a project:
These questions can be answered by a thorough financial projection which you can do yourself, but if you’re struggling, there are people you can hire to help out.
Essentially, investors want to know what their ROI (return on investment) will be and when they’ll begin to see it, so including a full ROI analysis in any pitch to an investor is highly advised.
At Gravitywell, we love working with enthusiastic startups and help with prototypes, pitch decks, MVPs and conceptual work. If you’d like to discuss how we can take your idea to the next level, get in touch.