To get your business flying, you need the right people on the bus, sitting in the right seats. A team that pushes you to learn more and be more so you can give more to your customers.
As a new business, recruiting the right people at an early stage can drown you in overhead. It is romantic to proudly state ‘build it and they will come’. In our view it is better to be realistic and learn to swim first. So how do you do it?
Imagine access to your dream boardroom – at a fraction of the cost
It is fairly easy to go out and get partners to work with. Like finding the right team though, getting the right partners is bloody difficult.
We asked ourselves a key question: Can we find people who we get on with, who know more than us in their fields and also understand the journey from ground zero. These are the partners that will help our clients.
We are proud of where we are in our search. Our partners cover all the main food groups that a business which is Starting….Growing….Scaling will need.
The result for our clients is access to the best without the worry of working out how to choose, how to manage the relationships or how to discuss scope and cost. We’ve searched the haystacks and found the needles so you don’t have to.
Whatever the issue, we have a partner we trust who can help you. It is like having your own key to a virtual boardroom at a fraction of the fixed cost.
Will they be the right fit for me?
Let us worry about that. It’s our promise to you. If you are happy with your relationship with Oc2pus, that’s all you need to worry about. We’ll be as hands on as you want so you can get on with your core business.
OUR PARTNERS
Cre8ion
Our principal creative partner. Cre8ion help us and our clients with tailored web solutions, brand messaging and storytelling. Their team are loads of fun, work really hard but take balance seriously enough to have just celebrated two years of operating a four day week.
As for the mutual appreciation society between Rich (Oc2pus) and Darrell (Cre8ion) around 90s music, the less said the better.
Tappenden & Tappenden
Whether it is sexy vacuum cleaners (Ben was a design guy at Dyson) or innovative face masks during the pandemic, Ben sees the world through a different lens to the rest of us. Ben is all things graphic design; he obsesses over shapes, colours, curves and angles and we know better than to say that’s ‘good enough’.
And if that wasn’t enough, once you have created your beautiful design assets Ben has a little black book full of the people you need to promote your business from business cards, to packaging, to vehicles to USB sticks. The list goes on.
Chickp
Can an accountant be this much fun to work with? We say yes. Tessa refers to her practice as the ‘Ethical Accountancy’ and we would have to agree. Tessa plays it straight down the line but is also imaginative in finding creative solutions as well as others in her team dealing with the day to day matters that clients need.
Like our other partners, Tessa is super easy to engage with as sharp as a tack and has a sense of humour as dry as the Gobi desert (or something else very dry…).
Business on Purpose
One of our newest and most innovative partners, Business on Purpose is focused on the rapidly increasing placement of purpose at the core of business strategy. Andy is our B Corp guru Andy is taking clients through the certification process balancing People. Planet. Purpose.
One word of warning though, if you deal with Andy he tends to describe concepts using a wide range of chocolate bars another chocolate related products (see for yourself on LinkedIn).
Rin Hambrugh & Co.
Words connect us. They make complex ideas accessible. They convey important messages and impressions to those you want to reach. Having experts on the team who know how to put them together while being a crucial second pair of eyes is invaluable. As the team at Rin Hamburgh & Co always say, “You don’t need many words, just the right ones.”
Rin can ensure your messaging packs a punch and has certainly taught us a thing or three. Having started her own agency, she is familiar with the entrepreneurial journey and now works with clients around the world. Rin is well regarded for both her skills and being easy to engage with. Her team are also just nice people with a sense of humour, so working with them is fun too.
MyCloud Media
Tim and his team at MyCloud have supported us in our journey so far and been a key part of web and design solutions for our clients.
Tim has been mates with Rich for years and this makes things really simple for our clients. Tim blends tech and design magic with off the shelf solutions and so can build a web solution to suit your budget. Tim’s experience also means he brings industry insight when it comes to ongoing support and SEO trends which are key to helping customers find you.
When not in front of his multiple screens designing web solutions, Tim can be found clocking up the KMs on his beloved road bike but the less said about the lycra racing gear the better.
Arthur Ellis
Can you combine tackling mental health and be entrepreneurial? Arthur Ellis do.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to access services that provide meaningful support whether you are in business, education or if it’s personal. That’s the challenge Arthur Ellis have taken on and we love working with them to help them on the journey. They are a young exciting team and fun to work with.
We are proud to call them our CSR partner. Their mission is bold, their approach is brave and they have a deep personal connection to seeing it through.
After all, it is pretty inspiring working toward improving the lives of talented young people who through no fault of their own are struggling in the wilderness of the mental health system.
UK Digital Marketing
What if you actually knew someone you trusted who could explain to a 5 year old what SEO is, why you need it, what value it will deliver to your business and are prepared to put their money where their mouth is and show you results in real time….oh and they don’t end up charging for some black magic solution where you never really know where your money is going. Well, we do. And we are proud to have them as a partner..
Kevin Dunn founded UK Digital Marketing a few years ago after a strong career in large digital agencies to deliver answers to these problems and hasn’t looked back. UK Digital Marketing’s stellar success is based on their simple ethos – business is built on transparency, trust, relationships and results. Simples…. as the meerkats say….
Kevin and his team make something pretty technical look simple – a mark of an expert. It is a bit like watching him on the velodrome when he is in his favourite lycra wearing an odd shaped hat.
Kevin has represented GB as a Track Sprinter and has competed at the UCI World Masters Track Cycling Championships and competed against the likes of Jason Kenny in the team sprint at the elite national championships in Manchester. Looks really smooth but best left to those who really know what they are doing….
4 Financial Planning
Successful business owners and their people of all ages think about financial planning. It is not just about images of beach walks in retirement in pastel clothing. It is prudent and can have a load of tax advantages too.
It does sound a bit boring sometimes though. So working with Ian and his company, 4 Financial Planning, was a breath of fresh air. We do our business meetings at the gym and talk about life and outdoor stuff, with a bit of financial stuff thrown in over a second cuppa.
So, with Ian you won’t get an invitation to a generic client lunch twice a year. Neither will you have to visit any wood-panelled offices for meetings. Ian’s approach is to use integrated technology so that less important tasks can be automated. It means he concentrates on the things that matter to you. Sounds sensible. Well he does do financial planning after all…..
UK Payment Services
If strategy, sales and social media seem like the things that will help your new business soar, managing costs and cashflow are the reasons why you will get off, and stay off, the ground.
That means keeping an eagle eye on efficient collection of payment, not paying a penny more than you need to run your infrastructure and making it as easy as possible for customers to move from a buying decision to cash in your till.
So, in a nutshell, the guys at UK Payment Systems had three key things which meant they are ideal partner to have and add on the team.
First, they typically save clients well into double digits on costs, from energy costs to card payment fees. Secondly, they are as serious about saving clients money as they are about enjoying their work.
Thirdly, Steve and Rich (both from Yorkshire) love talking about operational efficiencies nearly as much as discussing Leeds United football club (James remains unconvinced about anything to do with LUFC….)
Albright IP
Intellectual Property is a key asset and grows with your business, so it pays to get it right at the start. Albright IP was founded in 2007 and we are proud to say have our back in the IP minefield. Albright IP have a proven track record in supporting nearly two thousand clients and maintain an approach that feels personal to you at the same time. A tricky see-saw to balance. Albright IP’s ethos is, like all our partners, based on what works both legally and commercially and is advice delivered without surprises. We often pick up the phone to them as a trusted sounding board.
Adrian Hocking is our relationship lead and is an engineer, Chartered British Patent Attorney, European Patent Attorney, and Patent Litigator. Adrian also holds a record among our partners for having the longest list of different qualifications. He started his patent career nearly 25 years ago and we definitely want him on our team, whether it is a legal matter or competing at the genius version of Trivial Pursuit.
Katie Oliver leads on Trade Marks. Having been partner in a large national firm she knows how to manage scale but we can also vouch for her insightful handling of entrepreneurial clients too. She knows how to adapt without breaking stride. Adrian says Katie never seems to sleep – it must be all those weird and endless questions that keep arising from our growing clients! Sorry Katie; we appreciate your patience….
Start…Grow…Scale…
Your Business
