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Look slick with Storeditch Design Studio
This London design agency is expanding into new markets
In conversation with Andrew Burton
My name is Andrew Burton, and I'm the founder of Shoreditch Design Studio. We're a specialist agency that helps startups with all things creative.
Life Before
Before I started Shoreditch, I was in the world of web and app design. I worked in that industry for tech startups for about 15 years.
Inspiration
Shoreditch Design is a specialist design agency. We specialise in UI, UX design, and all things digital creative. We also do a lot of branding, print, video, and motion—anything you need to get your business off the ground and make you look slick and professional. The idea came from my own experience in web and app design.
About 15 years before I started Shoreditch, I started getting a few freelance clients, and that snowballed into forming my own agency, Shoreditch Design. It just went from there, really.
Motivation
My main motivation for starting Shoreditch was to be my own boss. It’s always been an ambition of mine. My father and my grandfather are both entrepreneurs—so that was definitely an inspiration. But after working for several businesses over the last decade or so, I realised I really wanted to be my own boss.
The Idea
I first thought about starting my own business at university. A long time ago now, about 15 years or so. It probably took me about eight years before I tried for the first time. That was a software company. I founded with two other founders, but it didn't get very far. I tried again a few years later, with two of the co-founders, and this is my third attempt with Shoreditch, doing it by myself.
Financing
I funded Shoreditch by self-investing - so it's all self-funded. It grew quite naturally out of freelance clients, snowballing into being big enough to support an agency of hires. So, it is all self-funded through the profits of the first few clients. The first six months of Shoreditch were completely different to what I expected. It was quite different to most businesses where it was a snowball effect from freelance clients getting on more contracts, hiring my first hires, and officially setting up the business. It was all very off the cuff rather than planned. I didn't know what to expect really, but it’s very different to what I imagined.
The Journey
The journey is going really well so far. We just went over four years of being in business. We've managed to grow each year slightly. We've got an office in Shoreditch and two outposts in Melbourne, Australia and Los Angeles, US. It has all been going well so far. We've got grand ambitions for growing a lot more in the future, but we are taking each day as it comes.
Challenges
The biggest challenge so far of running my own business is definitely people management. It's either managing our own team or our clients and trying to balance the relationship between the two and make sure everyone ends up happy. I've got to say that's the most difficult part of running Shoreditch.
Highlights
What I enjoy most about owning my own business is the freedom to work my own hours and on the things that really interest me. Being able to delegate to people is a nice luxury that you don't normally get if you're working for someone else, so that's definitely a benefit. But also, it's just fun building a team, building a culture, and building a brand.
Advice
Don’t fear failure. I think it's common advice for entrepreneurs to give, but it's needed. For myself personally, it's my third attempt at the business and the first one to actually become profitable. If your first attempts fail, try again. Try again with the same business until you've exhausted all avenues or options. But I think it's just a game of iteration, repeating and trying again and not giving up.
Using 1st Formations
I found 1st Formations by a Google Search. I chose them because it looked super simple to start a business on their website. I wasn't too sure about the future of the business at the time, and I'd only been going at it for a month properly before deciding on starting officially. I was living abroad in Ibiza at the time that summer. The way it was all done online looked super simple with 1st Formations. It tempted me to just to go for it there and then.
Company Formation Process
I found the company formation process with 1st Formations really easy. It only required a few personal details. I hate paperwork and all things forms, and even I managed to get through it in less than half an hour. There were constant communications; I remember easy emails to follow, and within a few days, we were good to go. It was a super smooth process, super easy, and very cost-effective.
1st Formation Today
I use 1st Formations today for our registered office address. We get all official documents and paperwork sent to the address of 71-75 Shelton Street, where we're based today. This leaves a lot of mail that normally get sent to our working address separate, which is a great benefit. Especially as we move around in shared office space a lot, it's good to have an actual home for all kinds of official communications.
We also use 1st Formations for filing our confirmation statement each year, making sure all is above board with Companies House.
