Accelerate Places Manchester has enjoyed a spectacular start to 2019. The dynamic office and co-working space, has seen the arrival of the NHS, its newest and largest member, and two of its entrepreneurs have achieved outstanding success with one member being mentored by Dragon’s Den star, Theo Paphitis, and the other the face of a global advertising campaign.
A newly formed digital innovation team, from Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, has become the newest and largest member at the shared office space on Princess Street, taking a mix of co-working desks and private office space.
The team of 18, which works across Greater Manchester to optimise the sharing of information between organisations to support patient care, was successful in securing national funding to be one of the first NHS trusts to roll out the new programme.
Paul Moore, Acting Head of Interoperability for Salford Royal NHS Delivery Team, said: “We have come together with a wealth of experience, and from a range of NHS and non-NHS organisations, to deliver this programme and we are excited by the opportunity this gives us to make a contribution to the 2.8m people living in Greater Manchester.
“We selected Accelerate Places as it was an ideal location for us as we have partner organisations based at offices right next to the two train stations, Piccadilly and Oxford Road. The move into the new premises has been seamless and the team love the modern feel of the dedicated space and positive vibes. We are already seeing the benefits of having a shared, dynamic office space and are looking forward to an exciting future.”
Matt Bird, founder of clothing brand, We Are Gntlmen, received a visit from former Dragon’s Den star, Theo Paphitis, earlier this month after winning the 2018 Many Hands Campaign.
Matt, who has been a member of Accelerate Places for just over a year, won the campaign following his launch of the ‘Humphrey’ shirt where 100% of the proceeds were donated to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Matt said: “I started my business in 2013 in my spare bedroom, so having the opportunity to meet with one of the UK’s highest profile entrepreneurs felt incredible. By winning the campaign, we had the opportunity to meet with Theo in our offices to talk about our business, our plans and the future for our brand. Theo offered some in-depth retail knowledge and advice and also showed interest in the steps we’re taking and we’re already planning our next meetings with him.
“I’ve been at Accelerate Places since 2017 and have found it a great place to grow a business. Being surrounded by great entrepreneurs who are on the same journey really helps and they make a real effort to bring everyone together and make the working space a nice place to be.”
Entrepreneur, Josh Turner, has been based at Accelerate Places in Manchester since November 2017 after launching his business, Stand4Socks. Josh reverse engineered the most comfortable socks, which are ethically made, and has grown the business by over 600% in the last year. Thanks to his incredible achievement, Josh was recently selected to be the face of a Vodafone advertising campaign featuring successful entrepreneurs.
He said: “It was great to be selected by Vodafone for the advert and the profile it has brought to the business has been fantastic, something I wouldn’t have ever expected when I came up with the idea of changing the world with socks.
“We moved to Accelerate Place to be around a number of like-minded people. The space is extremely professional and productive but also relaxing – which is important for a digital creative business like ours. A number of my close friends are running business from the space, some of our suppliers and partners are only a few desks away. It doesn’t feel like an office in the traditional sense. We also love the flexibility to grow provided by Accelerate Places. Although we are currently a very small team, we can double in size overnight if we needed to and this is very important to us.”
“The laid-back feel of the office means quite of few of us barely leave, working late and over weekends which I feel is because of the culture and environment here. It really is a second home for ambitious entrepreneurs!”
Georgia-Kaye Berry, Community Manager at Accelerate Places Manchester, said: “We have had a fantastic start to the year and are really excited that the new digital innovation team from Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust has now joined us. We have a variety of spaces available here for businesses of varying sizes and with different requirements so we can always find a space to suit.
“Our membership is a community of entrepreneurs so it’s a very vibrant place with lots of ambitious businesses looking to innovate and disrupt, so it’s no wonder they are all doing incredibly well. However, Matt and Josh have really stood out this month for their incredible achievements and we are so privileged to be a part of their journey, to watch them grow and to celebrate with them along the way.
“The phenomenal success of our members is really putting Accelerate Places on the radar of a growing number of businesses looking for bespoke and flexible office space in which to start-up, grow or even house brand new teams, all at the heart of our beautiful and very special city.”
