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Newcastle’s Venture Stream enters two joint ventures in one week

Venture Stream Ltd, a Newcastle-based digital marketing and e-commerce agency, has entered two joint ventures with North East businesses in the past week.

The company became part of a new ownership team following the management buyout of The Pen Shop, having worked with the luxury pen retailer for three years leading up to the MBO.

Venture Stream’s Managing Director Vic Morgan has served as a non-Executive Director of The Pen Shop for the past 22 months.

As part of the leadership team of the newly formed The Fountain Group Ltd operating The Pen Shop, Mr. Morgan will be directing e-commerce strategy and technology and marketing operations supported by head office management and the wider Venture Stream team.

This online retailing partnership also includes Gateshead-based Spark Response, which provides The Pen Shop’s warehousing and fulfilment services.

In a linked new venture initiative, this week Venture Stream entered into a joint venture with Northeast-based CommVia Ltd. Run by Andy Redfern, the local technology entrepreneur was previously co- founder of Ethicalsuperstore.com with Mr. Morgan, before the business was acquired by Spark Response in 2011.

For the past two years, CommVia has provided e-commerce technology and integration services for major Venture Stream clients including The Pen Shop.

Working in partnership, Venture Stream and CommVia have created a bespoke omni-channel e-commerce platform for The Pen Shop featuring full mobile functionality, iPad clienteling in The Pen Shop’s retail shops and a cross- channel loyalty programme integrated into The Pen Shop’s Microsoft till system.

Under the new joint venture, Venture Stream will become a shareholder of CommVia and Mr. Morgan will assume a non-Executive Director role to help further develop the business as Venture Stream’s e-commerce technology arm and to become a wider force as an e-commerce technology supplier.

CommVia has invested heavily in its own intellectual property including a post code data services engine prototyped as www.askthepigeon.com and a proprietary e-commerce integration system linking major online shop platforms (e.g. Magento, Shopify) with marketing systems and 3rd party fulfilment services.

Operating from Venture Stream’s head office, CommVia is looking to immediately expand its development team to accelerate growth and invest further in technology innovation towards the launch of a new e-commerce software as service (SaaS) offering later this year.

Over the summer Venture Stream will be expanding into office space adjacent to its current head office premises on Pink Lane in Newcastle, with support from PNE Group, to accommodate further investments in people and as incubator space for e-commerce entrepreneurs and developers.

Venture Stream’s business strategy is to pursue a more holistic and entrepreneurial approach compared to conventional digital marketing and ecommerce agencies.

Venture Stream starts by engaging with clients at the most strategic level, helping to shape and define overall commercial, marketing and technology strategies for achieving significant e-commerce growth and profitability.

Venture Stream is then uniquely qualified to deliver all aspects of marketing and technology services working in deep partnership with clients as an extension of internal teams, whereas agencies are typically pigeonholed to narrow work briefs.

This means Venture Stream can provide a more strategic, agile and results oriented service, with the new ventures launched in the past week evidence of the continuing evolution of the Venture Stream business model and its unique place in the market.

Vic Morgan, Managing Director, said: “Team Stream are thrilled to complete joint ventures in one week with two of our close business partners – some great opportunities lie ahead for us collectively as co-owners and operators of The Fountain Group and CommVia!

“Building on our innovative business model and sector expertise and passion, I see Venture Stream helping play a leadership role in creating an e-commerce talent and innovation hub in the Northeast, which could be replicated nationally. This is just the beginning for us!”

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