Greater London Enterprise Awards 2020

40 | Greater London Awards 2020 41 | Greater London Awards 2020 Aug20633 Growth Services Company of the Year - Europe With a “centre of gravity” in London, GRO.TEAM is a disruptive and different business growth agency. Following the firm’s well-deserved success in the Greater London Enterprise Awards 2020, we got in touch with Rorie Devine to find out more. Established as TeamCXO.com in 2014, GRO.TEAM is different to anyone you might have worked with before. Naturally, by focusing on making other people successful, the firm have made great strides themselves. To start, Rorie provides a brief overview of the firm and offers more insight into its typical clientele. “GRO.TEAM join up services traditionally found in recruitment, marketing and interim agencies into a “one stop shop” as a business growth agency for start-ups and established businesses. Collectively, we help customers to grow via business coaching, interim services, permanent talent recruitment, digital marketing and growth marketing/hacking.” Since forming, GRO TEAM have been regularly challenged by a number of similar businesses across Europe. However, as Rorie goes on to explain, with genuine expertise at the heart of it, the firm has been able to prosper. “The GRO.TEAM story started at Betfair. Initially, I thought “wouldn’t it be great if there was somewhere I could go to bring in genuine experts to take accountability for X leaving me to focus on Y” and so on. Unfortunately, nothing like that existed as the ‘management consultancy’ model was (and still is) broken. It works by overcharging clients premium rates for smart but inexperienced and inexpensive people. Some management consultancy contracts are so long and complicated that by the time a client realises they’re not getting the value for money or effectiveness they need; it is difficult or impossible to end the relationship. “In response, I resolved to form TeamCXO.com to meet the need for genuine expertise where people need it, when people need it and only for as long as they need it. Unfortunately, with few people knowing what CXO meant (it’s a generic term for CTO, CEO, CFO etc), we changed the name to Interim. Team and off we went. To begin with, we were growing very rapidly, and people loved our relentless customer focus, but clients kept asking us “we need some permanent people as well…do you do that? And can you help us grow as well?”. Eventually, we decided to give clients what they wanted and relaunched GRO. TEAM as a business growth agency to work with people to grow themselves via coaching and mentoring, grow their teams with interim or permanent talent and grow their businesses via digital marketing and growth hacking. “Access to free coaching and mentoring genuinely seems to be making a difference to outcomes, no matter how good you are you can always get better, and it seems the more successful people are the ones benefitting from coaching and mentoring.” The firm’s internal culture is one based on personal qualities, and as Rorie goes on to explain, this has helped shape the successful company that GRO.TEAM is today. “For us, being a great team player and having a willingness to learn every day is more important than any specific experiences an individual may have. Through a lightweight and effective bureaucracy-free operating model, our style is to give people their head and help them be successful rather than micro-manage them.” Rather than a hindrance, the outbreak of COVID-19 has presented a number of opportunities to GRO.TEAM which it is currently taking advantage of as Rorie informs us. “The pandemic has only accelerated the need for digital transformation, and we are involved in a number of exciting and disruptive mobile app- based initiatives at the moment.” Finally, Rorie comments on the benefits of the firm’s location, before outlining some of its plans heading forward. “Over the years, we’ve worked in 11 countries from Brazil to Sweden. London, however, is a great “melting pot” and “talent crossroads” that we find really powerful as a centre of gravity. “As I have said above, as a self-selecting network of more than 200 high impact, high credential people, we have decided that if we’re serious about adding more value than we extract then we should include free coaching and mentoring as part of all of our engagements.” Company: GRO.TEAM Contact: Rorie Devine Web Address: https://gro.team Aug20637 Best Domestic Appliance Engineers 2020 Established by Quintin and his now wife Jacqui, Astrid Technologies pride themselves on getting the job done right, to the highest standards and to the client’s specifications, first time. To begin, Quintin provides a brief overview of the firm and offers more insight into its clientele. “Typically, our services include domestic appliance repairs and maintenance, domestic gas repairs, gas safety certificates and handyman work. If the appliance can’t be repaired, we also replace machines with highly trained installation teams. Freestanding or integrated. A highly- qualified and determined team of engineers will ensure that whatever problem you are experiencing, be it woodworking, cosmetic, plumbing or with an electrical or gas appliance is resolved in no time and at the best possible price. At all times we strive for complete customer satisfaction while serving estate agents with rented properties, landlords and private clients.” The staff members of Astrid Technologies have played a vital role in the success of the firm but as Quintin goes on to explain, without the necessary training this wouldn’t be possible. “The internal culture here is based on the idea of giving our customers the best service we can with reliable and trained staff. All of our staff are trained to the highest level before they start the work process. Training is also given on HR and the use of PPE.” With more people now working from home due to COVID-19, inevitably domestic appliances are being used more and problems are occurring. Moreover, as Quintin points out, this has increased the company’s workload. “Domestic appliance repairs have spiked since the lockdown due to people being at home. That is where we come in and we normally get you booked in the same day with our professional service engineers.” Finally, Quintin signs off by touching on the benefits of the firm’s location, before highlighting some of the exciting plans which lie in the pipeline going forward. “Arguably the main benefit of being London based is we can travel around the city quite easily. Moving forward, as we are expanding very quickly, employing more people on a monthly basis, we will eventually look to add more permanent staff.” Company: Astrid Technologies Ltd Contact: Quintin Carelsen Web Address: www.astridtech.co.uk Founded in 2011, Astrid Technologies Ltd is a family-run business offering high-quality home and maintenance services to London and the surrounding areas. Following the firm’s well-deserved success in the Greater London Enterprise Awards 2020, we touched base with Quintin Carelsen to find out more. “Typically, our services include domestic appliance repairs and maintenance, domestic gas repairs, gas safety certificates and handyman work. If the appliance can’t be repaired, we also replace machines with highly trained installation teams.“