From the attic to the world, entrepreneur’s tips to get to top

Back in 1986, James Sommerville and his business partner Simon Needham bought a new fangled Apple Mac, picked up a grant from the Prince’s Trust and founded a design agency in an attic bedroom in James’s grandmother’s house. Attik – the name is inspired by the place the business was formed – is now a branding agency working with blue chip clients such as MTV, Coca-Cola and Toyota.

Later this month, Mr Sommerville will encourage other Yorkshire entrepreneurs to think globally when he attends the Institute of Directors’ (IoD) Momentum Gathering.

He will speak at the joint IoD, UKTI and Leeds Metropolitan University event on June 18 at Whitehall Place in Leeds. The Yorkshire Post is the event’s media partner.

Mr Sommerville will draw on his own experiences when he speaks about the best ways of managing a global brand.

He said: “Every business needs to be exporting.

“The benefits far outweigh the pitfalls and events such as The Momentum Gathering are a great opportunity for companies to educate themselves about the issues they may face when they embark on their journey.

“What British business, and Yorkshire companies in particular can tap into, is the fact that foreign markets respond to great work and talent. We have loads of that in this region.”

Mr Sommerville said Attik had been helped in the early stages of its overseas expansion by the fact that it had creative products that were visual and easily transportable.

He added: “When we started working on the international stage in 1996 there wasn’t the same access to digital media, so you had to physically open offices in other countries to make an impact.

“Ultimately, to be successful you still have to visit foreign markets, but a lot of the early stages of the work can be done electronically, thus saving time and money.”

He said it was important that businesses fully researched the countries they planned to trade with before launching any new initiative.

“You have to be respectful and mindful of the local culture as well as bringing a unique product to their market.

“While your product can be very exciting, you cannot railroad them with your ideas,” he added.

To book tickets for the event, telephone 0113 243 0152.

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