Member Article

Digital company wins New Business of the Year

A Horbury web development company has been recognised for exceptional progress in its first year of trading with New Business of the Year at the Wakefield District Business Awards 2015.

Founded in February 2014 by freelancer Paul Brown and his partner Kate Livesey, 6B Digital was one of ten winners across various categories at the event celebrating the best, brightest and most innovative businesses in the district. Based at Benton Office Park off Bennett Avenue, the company started with a client base of 20 companies but now services over 250 clients nationwide across a wide variety of sectors, from publishing and fashion to engineering. Staff has doubled from four to eight and the company recently moved to a larger office to accommodate its rapid early expansion.

Commenting on the award, Kate Livesey said: “When we started out, we certainly didn’t envisage winning an award within little over a year. The business was founded in a bit of a whirlwind when Paul became too busy to handle his workload on his own and urgently needed to start a new company. I was working for Harvard Engineering and luckily I had sympathetic employers who allowed me to leave at a few days’ notice and help Paul to start 6B Digital.”

“We recruited a developer freshly graduated from Wakefield College and another developer recommended by one of Paul’s contacts. We then found an ideal start-up package from Orion Office Express at Benton Office Park which set up a suite with excellent high-speed broadband within a few days. The company was fully operational from scratch within one week, and we hit the ground running!”

“My sister Sarah recently joined the company to help me with customer service and we have taken on more designers and developers to serve clients ranging in size from one to 100+ staff. Orion Office Express recently set us up in a larger suite at Benton Office Park and we can offer everything from creative design to bespoke business platforms providing sales, invoicing and databases. All of our new business has been secured by word-of-mouth – we have been so busy in the past year that we have been unable to complete our own website!”

Now in its fifth year, Wakefield District Business Awards celebrate vibrant and flourishing businesses across the city that have not only provided great customer service and products, but also jobs for the community and helped boost the local economy. Held at Wakefield’s prestigious Unity Works venue, the event recognised nominees for their commitment to staff, the local community and the environment.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sam Jones .