How we've helped Hedgehog
Business overview
Hedgehog is a digital marketing agency based in Hayle with outposts in Bedford and Brazil!
They say “Attitude is Everything”. Owner Alan embraces his tag line in his attitude to driving his business forward with an open mind. Even with many years of success under his belt he still has things to learn and support from the Growth and Skills Hub has taken him from strength to strength.
Alan started the business in 2006 from his hometown in Bedford, opening an office in Hayle 18 months ago. A common story, he says, having a Cornish wife – her plan was to raise the kids back home so they can enjoy growing up near the beach.
Moving to Cornwall and spending a lot of time online, as you might expect from a digital agency, he came across the Growth and Skills Hub and got in touch to find connections for his new office.
So why the name and the brand Hedgehog?
The legend is from a Native American story of the hedgehog and the coldest winter. Hedgehogs led all the other animals in surviving a very cold winter. Hedgehogs are independent but also work in a team, they are very intelligent with high morals and are known for planning ahead. These virtues all fit in with what Alan wanted to create in a company.
In the office hedgehogs are everywhere! From mugs and books to garden ornaments. Alan explains that customers buy them for him as a thank you, but all these happy clients have got a bit carried away and he is looking to phase out the cuddly toys!
There is a lot more support down here in Cornwall, I am so grateful to be able to tap into it.
How we helped
From Cornwall to Brazil
Cornwall is just one arm of the business. While they still have a base in Bedford, this year it is expanding to Brazil, linking up with a former employee now based in Sao Paulo.
To support this exciting development, The Growth Hub put him in touch with the Department of Trade. Alan describes how he didn’t have any understanding of how you would export a service, thinking of trade as a product you would ship overseas. The Department of Trade helped him understand how to do business with the other side of the world. Looking at the best ways to establish a presence in Brazil and putting him in touch with their equivalent in Sao Paulo.
Developing the team
Running a team of eight people in Cornwall alone; Alan also booked in for a free skill review with the Skills Hub, to see what training was available for his team.
“We have 8 people working out of the Cornwall office. Julia came along and did a skills review of the types of training opportunities that might be useful. I encourage my team to get involved in training, you are always going to learn something. In the digital industry it is very fast moving so we do a lot of internal and online training which keeps the team at the edge of what we are doing. But there are lots more general opportunities for staff development like project management, customer service and sales training which can bolster your skills.”
The Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Growth Hub from May 2016 - June 2023 was part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and match funded by Cornwall Council, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership. The project received £2,848,591.49 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.
The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Skills Hub from October 2017 - June 2023 was part funded by the European Social Fund and match funded by Cornwall Council and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership. The project received £2,885,993 of funding from the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England.
| Business name | Hedgehog |
|---|---|
| Website | https://www.hedgehogdigital.co.uk/ |
| Contact number | 01736 754747 |
| Contact email | [email protected] |
