Fired up Dragon

Oct 22 2009 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

A PIONEERING new online design company started by two Teesside graduates has been taken under the wing of a TV Dragon.

Design Mob promotes young regional designers online, by creating a web-based “shop window” for their work, giving business advice and support, and helping them reach commercial clients.

The company was officially launched just a fortnight ago by Teesside University design graduates Olivia Monaghan, 22, and Michael Crockett, 28, both from Middlesbrough.

The concept so impressed Olivia and Michael’s university tutors that Design Mob was entered for the Blueprint Awards, which recognise bright new business ideas emerging from the North-east’s five universities.

At the finals on Tuesday, US entrepreneur and original Dragon’s Den panellist Doug Richard offered to help personally promote their business.

Mr Richard, founder and chairman of business research firm Library House, high-net investment group Cambridge Angels, boss of mobile service Trutap, and chairman of the Conservative’s Small Business Taskforce, said: “I was very impressed by Olivia and Mike. There is an emerging opportunity for UK-based websites that I am looking forward to exploring with them.”

“We’re both just blown away,” said Ms Monaghan. “He’s going to set up meetings over the next couple of weeks with contacts we could never have hoped to have met so quickly on our own.”

The duo’s ambition is to grow Design Mob into a platform that helps launch the careers of up-and-coming designers from the region, in areas including fashion, graphics and ceramics.

“We came up with the idea because after we both passed our Masters degrees at Teesside, we found there was really nowhere for us to go as unknown young designers, to get our work in front of people and promote ourselves,” said Olivia.

She and Mark were helped through the business nurturing programme run by Teesside University - which has so far helped launch 140 businesses.

Laura Woods, director of academic enterprise, said: “Their success typifies the kind of raw young talent which exists here on Teesside, and which we work so hard to bring through.”