Mentoring Opens Doors

Friday, 31 July 2009

MENTORING OPENS DOORS FOR TEESSIDE’S DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURS

Young entrepreneurs Georgia Rakusen and Beckie Darlington are receiving a helping hand on the road to success thanks to a mentoring programme to support one of the North East’s fastest growing sectors.

The duo, who have set up Haus Projects, a project management and production company specialising in the digital media and creative industries, are the latest to benefit from the Institute of Digital Innovation’s (IDI) DigitalCity Fellowship scheme.

Haus Projects is one of a growing cluster of exciting digital companies to be spun out of the IDI in Middlesbrough and is enjoying the support of a programme that matches young companies with experienced industry professionals. It also provides funding and facilities to assist early stage growth.

Beckie, 26, and Georgia, 24, are graduates of Newcastle University. They are working alongside Jo Carter, managing director of Concept Personnel, a specialist recruitment agency working in the digital sector, to receive tips on how to build their business and extend their contacts within the sector.

“Jo’s been a great sounding board for us,” explains Georgia. “Haus Projects is in its early stages but we’re ambitious to grow the business in the North East and beyond. It’s been incredibly useful to tap into the knowledge of someone who has worked in the sector for many years.

“She’s been able to provide practical advice on the day-to-day operation of the company as well as providing introductions and opening doors to useful contacts.”

The aim of the Fellowship scheme is to drive growth in a digital sector already worth £256 million to the regional economy and recognised as one of the best in Europe. Further growth is anticipated with a recent report by Price Water House Coopers showing migration from traditional to digital media is accelerating.

Jo, who set up Concept Personnel six years ago, has a huge range of experience within the digital sector, as well as advertising, PR and marketing. She said: “It’s been a pleasure working with Haus Projects. It’s a young company with strong credentials, an innovative offering and a clear plan about where it’s going.

“These are exciting times for the digital and new media industry. It’s a sector that’s bucking the downward trend worldwide and particularly here where we have some really exceptional talent and one of the most vibrant clusters of digital companies anywhere in the world.  

“With growth predicted to remain strong we must create an infrastructure to develop talent and do everything we can to support emerging companies like Haus Projects through the IDI and other organisations.”

Georgia and Beckie first met working as volunteers on arts-based projects including North East electronic arts showcase, the AV Festival. They were also involved in the reopening of the Tyneside Cinema, where they worked to create an audio-visual installation with famed entertainers, The Sancho Plan.

This inspired them to set up Haus Projects with the aim of creating and managing events and producing digital content. So far they have won contracts to work on a number of projects and live shows for Design Event, English Heritage and The Forge, an arts organisation based in Durham. The company were also invited to give a presentation about their work with The Sancho Plan and the formation of Haus Projects at the acclaimed digital media conference Shift Happens, at York Theatre Royal in June.

Georgia added: “Volunteering on festivals and events in the early days gave us a real taste for supporting arts-based projects, great experience and some good contacts. It also showed us the growing demand for events and projects with a significant digital media element. More and more events are interacting with audiences digitally.  

“We’re both very passionate about this and want Haus Projects to be the first port of call for any project or event needing digital media. We can help with everything from attracting funding to promoting events and creating and managing live shows.”

Loday Gonpo from the Institute of Digital Innovation, which runs DigitalCity’s Fellowship programme said: “Matching young and ambitious talent like Beckie and Georgia with successful role models such as Jo is a great way to inspire success and ensure continued growth.

“We have helped to start up over 50 digital businesses here at the IDI and Jo is one of a number of leading business people we have working as ambassadors. It’s important to utilise these skills and experience to drive growth. The digital economy is hugely valuable to the region and sustaining this is hugely important.”