Marcus Richards
Digital? It’s everyday life for us. We achieve real results in a digital world, for brands that want to conquer challenges. That want to outsmart their problems. And forge a new path. That are willing to take a chance. And do things differently.
We think first. Then act. Whatever their mission, we help clients find their direction. And we lead with conviction. We keep questioning to understand. And we always ask, is there another way?
Our business was created by pressing the reset button with an aim of doing great work for forward thinking businesses. Our values are:
Client first. Our decisions should always put our clients first.
Stay humble. Success is the aim, but never let it go to your head.
Do Amazing work. We only do “great”, not just “good”.
Collaborate. Work with the best to achieve the best.
Be dependable. Successful relationships and results are delivered through trust.
Tell us about yourself?
I’m a software engineer by trade, and started to work on early generation ecommerce websites in the early 00’s after leaving university.
I was lucky enough to build a prototype ecommerce platform from the ground up straight off the bat, developing behaviour and recommendation based algorithms that would go on to form a key part of the ecommerce proposition for a Manchester based tech business.
My strength was back-end development and I had a great understanding of databases. Following my stint in Manchester I moved to, what was then called, a “New Media” agency, in Barnsley who at the time were producing amazing digital experiences for the likes of Yorkshire Tea and Network Rail, well before their time.
It was here that I developed my front-end development skills and coupled them with my understanding of how people behave online and my back-end skills.
This very rounded set of skills quickly led me to see an opportunity for going alone, such was the demand at the time, and in 2004 I started my first digital consultancy business working for other agencies and tech businesses.
This took various forms and over the next 13 x years, my business was acquired, I nearly led an MBO in the business that acquired me and went on my own again in 2011. Then in 2017 started Tall with my now business partner – Guy Utley.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Life is not a sprint, success takes time, a lot of effort and some luck along the way, and that’s for most things in life. Don’t let the bumps in the road erode your enthusiasm, love and passion for what you do.
What problem does your business solve?
Our business helps forward thinking brands and organisations shape culture, change perceptions, change behaviour, accelerate growth and inspire innovation. We call this “success in a digital world”.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
This is very closely connected to the point above. The inspiration for our business came from our love, passion and intrigue for how the combination of creative and tech based skills can shape the digital world we now live in.
If you think back even over the last decade it’s amazing to see how far we’ve come across both disciplines. Our ability to be involved with that and shape how the world experiences digital through the projects we deliver is our true inspiration. We’re ever so lucky.
What is your magic sauce?
Our “magic sauce” is the combination of our people and culture.
We are real. Our industry is full of over confident bull-shitters. People who fill our lives with unnecessary jargon and on-trend nonsense.
We’re in it together. We are a small team but we expect everyone to step up and own part of the projects they work on. It’s kind of like playing football, when someone passes you the ball, you’re in charge of what to do with it next.
We talk like a human. In an industry that requires a tonne of communication between clients, partners and our work mates, it’s important not to let acronyms, jargon and buzzwords lead to time wasting and confusion.
Sometimes we have to but, where possible, we skip the jargon and speak in a language everyone can understand.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
Our vision is to continue doing great work, for great clients, with great colleagues and building upon the great reputation we’ve developed in the last 5 years.
Given the uncertainty of recent times it’s difficult to plan for the long term but we’re lucky to work in an industry that is in high demand at the moment.
There are lots of opportunities out there and if we make the right moves over the next 12-18 months we’ll be in a good position to take advantage of them.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
The biggest challenge we have, which is a constant, is our ability to stay relevant. Our industry is extremely fast paced and making sure that our proposition stays relevant and aligned to our markets is our biggest challenge.
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
We want to work with forward thinking brands and organisations, helping them set their path to digital success.
