Formal kick-off for business growth consultancy Kickr

A business growth consultancy which says it ‘fuses disruptive strategies with personal touch mentorship’ has formally launched.

Bournemouth-based Kickr was founded by Dean Sheppard and Karin Roberts.

Between them they have four decades of combined global business expertise, helping companies from start-ups and SMEs to multi-sector organisations and global brands build strategies for long-lasting success.

They include The Coca-Cola Company, Vendrite, Unilever, Mondi and Dunlop.

Dean has a background in executive management, strategic thinking and business development while Karin’s career has covered marketing, account management and communications.

Dean said: “We encourage leaders and businesses to look inwards and really ask themselves why they do what they do.

“It prompts them to disrupt their status quo; whether that’s in their business model, their processes, procedures, marketing, products and service, or internal culture and communication.

“We have matured our approach around this principle over the years, arriving at disruptive strategies for businesses all over the world.”

Karin added: “We live and breathe every single business we work with as though they are our own.

“We immerse ourselves entirely, feeling the pain and celebrating the milestones along the way.

“What excites us is seeing the penny drop; that ‘eureka’ moment when we get through the messy stuff and the process begins to emerge and it all comes to life.

“When our clients engage with their business vision with a renewed sense of purpose and clarity, results start to feel tangible and the evidence of growth is clear to see.

“That is why we do what we do.”

Kickr is offering a free, no-obligation consultation for leaders, entrepreneurs, trailblazers and business owners looking to start their growth journey.

You can book by clicking here.

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New members of the team join Digital Storm

Digital Storm, the Bournemouth-based web and marketing agency, has welcomed two new faces to its team.

Bethany Jenkinson, pictured left, is its new Marketing Executive while Harry Cunliffe has joined as Marketing Internee.

Bethany recently graduated from the University of Winchester with a First Class Honours in Marketing.

Her new role will focus on delivering effective social media management and email marketing for businesses.

Harry, pictured right, will work at Digital Storm while completing his final year studies at Bournemouth University.

He’s studying Marketing Communications with Advertising and is using this year to gain practical career experience and apply his marketing knowledge to projects in the Dorset area.

Founded in 2003, Digital Storm works closely with its clients as their marketing partner to offer web development, eCommerce, design, branding and marketing services.

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Business development service praised for being “a fantastic resource”

A brand consultant who relocated his business to Dorset has praised a business development service for helping him to get established.

Tom Kennedy, pictured left, and his family didn’t know anyone when they moved to Bournemouth last year.

But thanks to GetSet for Growth East Dorset, he was able to meet other business owners and entrepreneurs.

Tom, 36, owns and runs The Crop, a collective of freelancers and creatives who come together to take on a variety of projects including work for Adidas, Nintendo and Bombay Sapphire.

He originally set up the company in London about four years ago but moved with his wife and daughter to Pokesdown in Bournemouth last November.

One of his first actions was to connect with GetSet for Growth East Dorset to find out more about the business community.

Tom said: “Sarah [Veakins, Senior Business Advisor] and the team have given me a great grounding in the area and helped me meet people in the business community through their workshops and events.

“They have given me solid advice and it’s great to be able to talk through ideas face-to-face.

“They are a great sounding board and a fantastic resource.”

The GetSet for Growth East Dorset programme offers businesses looking to grow, 12 hours of free 1:1 mentoring and advice, as well as workshops and events.

The programme is part of the Dorset Growth Partnership and is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Tom added that Bournemouth was a great location for creatives.

He said: “I see Bournemouth as a really exciting place to be over the next 20 years – it’s going to be really interesting to see how the town develops.

“There are so many opportunities for people to be out of London but still doing really interesting projects.”

• For more information, free mentoring, workshops and events, visit getsetforgrowth.com/east-dorset