Growing in a new direction

 

 

 

In 2015 So Motion decided to move the business in a new direction, making aerial filming with drones a core part of their offering. Ben's talk will look at planning for a business model transition, coping with problems as they crop up, and using existing skill sets to get the new business on track fast.

 

Ben started his career working at one of the UK's leading aerial filming companies. In 2008 he set up his own website design studio, Alpha Wave Media, which later expanded to include SEO, social media and pay-per-click. In 2014 the company rebranded as So Motion, to reflect the increasing use of Video in search marketing and the relationship between search, social and motion images. In 2015, Ben returned to his aerial filming origins by setting up a subsidiary drone filming company, Drone Air, which launched in June. Ben has directed filming of leading TV formats from the air including Masterchef and The Bachelor, and has filmed from helicopters on five continents. 

 

Martin is the director and co-owner of Bright Interactive, a vibrant software development company with 35 employees and over 500 clients. He is particularly interested in applying lean principles to software development, through the practice of agile and lean start-up techniques, and in organisational leadership that favours distributed authority.

 

Martin succeeded in growing a new area of the business to focus on its software product Asset Bank, a leading DAM system. One year ago Martin and his business partner Eric flattened Bright Interactive's management hierarchy and restructured it into self-managed teams, with the goal of creating an adaptable, scalable company that can grow in ANY direction.

 

The discussion will be facilitated by Jill Woolf. Jill has had a wide-ranging career in PR, sales and marketing for over 30 years working at senior management level with the blue chip, not-for-profit/charity and independent sectors. She regularly contributes to a number of publications on PR, marketing and business issues, and is an accomplished speaker, interviewer and trainer. Jill has run her own PR and marketing consultancy, Chimera Communications for nearly 13 years.