Marcus Richards
StackUp Digital are a digital agency based in the North East, UK. We specialise in Headless and Shopify Websites and online stores.
StackUp Digital are a company that provide high-end products and services to support businesses in the areas of web design and development. We consult and advise of challenges relating to website design, development, user experience and user interface design and solve these problems using modern-day, often cutting edge web technologies and agile methodologies.
StackUp Digital predominantly specialise in the design and development of e-commerce websites and products that help eCommerce conversion. We craft solutions that connect with people and bring order to operational processes and at the same time create experiences that resonate with customers to solve complex challenges.
It is our mission to produce websites of the highest level. Our websites are fast, secure, scalable, maintainable and high converting and abide by current accessibility standards such as W3C and A11y. All websites are GDPR compliant.
Our mantra? Design, Build and Convert.
Tell us about yourself?
I’ve been interested in computing, specifically web design and development since the age of 8. My interest had grown after being bought an Aycorn which had a Sega mega drive built into it, any kids dream I imagine, I was very lucky. Ever since that day it never stopped, every day I would sit at the computer, learn about the components, how they work and how they effectively process imagery and code.
I’ve always had a major interest in business, being an entrepreneur and actually graduated University with the BBC Dragon Duncan Bannatyne, I’ll never forget the words he said to me that day “work like you’ve got your last £5 in your pocket and you’ll never go wrong.
My career has always followed a computing direction, and I have a lot of people to thank for being in the position I am today, my family, my friends, my clients and my colleagues. I have travelled the world doing what I love most and am now settled here in the North East with the most incredible family and extended family (our StackUp team) building great things for great people.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Take things one step at a time, there is no need to rush into decisions. Take the risks but make them calculated risks. The hard work and long hours will pay off in the end.
What problem does your business solve?
Taking smaller businesses and helping them scale in the online eCommerce space using cutting edge technologies. We help retail stores increase conversion through designing and building high-performance, accessible & secure websites.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
I wouldn’t really say there’s any form of inspiration behind the business. It’s more about the reasons and there are two reasons we do what we do on a daily basis.
- We do this because we love what we do daily. Our team are highly driven and energetic about this space and the technology stacks that surround it, innovating is fun and we like to be at the cutting edge of web technology.
- The people. It’s the most important part. How people deal and work with people they dislike daily is beyond me. Whoever we employ or choose to work with know and understand how we work and go about our business. Everyone treats everyone with respect, everyone brings the energy, everyone helps each other. That is why we do, what we do.
What is your magic sauce?
A happy team builds the dream for everyone. It’s not just business owners who have busy lives, the people you employ do as well. At the end of the day, everyone has something they want to get done outside of work and so we were very early adopters of remote working, open working hours and the 4 day week, leaving a Friday for self-development. We give staff time, respect and trust, the amazing work follows. To be part of the Stackup team we ask 1 thing, bring the energy and enthusiasm. What else is actually required other than the skillset we interview for. That’s the magic sauce.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
We want to continue to scale up the team and continue to be a great company to work for. We set the standard for eCommerce and headless and those together are going to be a huge player in the next 10 years. We keep pushing and we keep working with great people…and maybe at the same time have a whole lot of fun together.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
COVID, it was pretty big. StackUp Digital was born out of COVID where I and my business partner merged digital agencies and then got it off the ground with a couple of grand each. After 18 months we’ve managed to put ourselves in a great position and have gained a huge amount of traction signing multiple contracts over year 1.
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
We want to work with friendly people who are looking to launch or scale their eCommerce brand to a new height. We work with clients worldwide, adapt and integrate well with their current marketing and eCommerce management teams.
