From jamie.goodwin@hullcc.gov.uk | Thursday 5 September 2019
43 Clicks North assembles a team at The Deep who had previously been lured away to build careers.
An expanding Hull digital agency at The Deep Business Centre wants the city to retain its tech talent – rather than see it lost to Leeds.
43 Clicks North has assembled a team of people from Hull who had been lured to the West Yorkshire city to build their digital marketing careers.
Now managing director Mike Ellis is working with other agencies to stop the loss of Hull talent.
He said: “We want to help build a talent pool in Hull and encourage people to stay here and not head off to Leeds.
"We aim to make sure we can pay good salaries because there are some good people around and we want to offer them opportunities.”
Mike drew on his squad number from his days playing rugby league with Gateshead Thunder for the name of the business, which he launched from his home in Hull in 2017 after five years with a major agency in Leeds.
The business expanded to a hot desk in Hessle and then an office near the city centre, Mike recruited a five-person team of people who tired of the M62 commute.
They moved into The Deep at the beginning of August and are already planning their first tech awareness event.
DigiHull is a presentation in the Business Centre’s conference room featuring other Hull agencies Superfly and Diony and a pay-per-click specialist from expanding Leeds agency Journey Further.
Mike said: “The main reasons we came here are financial viability and a much better location. It puts us at the centre of the businesses that we want to work with.
The Deep Business Centre is helping the city retain its talent."By being in here, we will have more conversations with the companies who are growing in Hull and who need support from a digital point of view and the event on 1 October will build on that process.
“A lot of businesses don’t understand enough about how digital technology works and how it can help them. We want to break it down to basics and show them simple changes they can make. Our mission statement is to bridge the gap between big agencies and small businesses.
“The digital sector is improving. It is a fun and exciting sector to be in and we want to provide more job opportunities. There is a lot more talent in Hull than people realise and there is a need to educate people about what is available locally and what it can do for the region’s business community.”
The DigiHull event will take place at The Deep Business Centre on Tuesday 1 October. Book tickets here.
