22 February 2017

BPIF Member Grafenia Plc Reaches Two Milestones with Nettl

Grafenia Plc sees its business store and online format help the industry reach two milestones, with its key brand Nettl, the network of neighbourhood web studios, hitting 100 locations in the UK and also opening their first Nettl Academy.

And Then There Were One Hundred

Nettl, the network of neighbourhood web studios, hit 100 locations in the UK this week. New partners joining in February include Nettl of Inverness, Nettl of Hereford and Nettl of Sunderland. However, it was Nettl of North Shields that claim the kudos of being the 100th Nettl studio in the UK.

Peter Gunning, CEO of Grafenia plc, the people behind the Nettl network said "we're really pleased to welcome so many new businesses to the Nettl family. We're proud to bring so many talented and interesting characters together and to grow our businesses together."

Nettl is a bolt-on for graphics businesses. It's designed for printers, sign-makers and designers who want to do more web for their clients. "We speak to potential partners all the time. We see the same common problems. Some have tried to do web in the past and got their fingers burnt. Some have hired a web developer, only to see them leave and take the knowledge with them. Others have built successful businesses, but are turning down entry-level web work because they can't do it cost-effectively. And some have got really far on their own, but lack the skills to tackle things that clients want like inventory management, Epos integrations or ecommerce."

Billy Searle, who owns Nettl of Cambridge said "In an increasingly tough print market, we wanted to evolve our company to start creating websites, apps and utilise e-commerce websites with EPOSNOW tills for higher value sales."

"Some people still say to us, you're a franchise aren't you?" said Gunning "No. No we're not. We don't use the ‘f' word any more. Nettl takes the best bits about being part of a branded network, without having the restrictions. Our partners can keep their identity. They get geographic exclusivity. They use our marketing to sell more web, print and display. They use our software and systems to deliver web projects more quickly. And they use our training to teach them how to do it all, with their existing team. It's entirely up to them how much they adopt."

Nettl plan to double the size of their network. Exclusive territories are still available in most regions. The Nettl bolt-on costs less than hiring a part-time member of staff and less than you might pay a freelancer.

Nettl Cadets, Class of 2017 Take Their Seats

Every year, ten thousand students graduate from university with a design qualification. Yet, on average there are only 800 design jobs available. Businesses often prefer to hire designers with experience, but getting that experience is tough. Many designers resort to freelancing and building their portfolio through doing work for friends and family. Many more end up working in an unrelated field.

Chris Lowe, Director of Nettl and unofficial ‘head professor of Nettl Academy' said "I see the Nettl Academy as a way for design graduates to gain some experience, get on-the-job coaching and real-world training. It gives them a leg-up and teaches them ‘how to job' in a busy and funky design studio."

The first intake of Cadets mostly hail from Coventry University. They've typically studied Illustration and Graphic Design and have an average age of 21.

Kate is one of the first Cadets. She studied Graphic Design and Multimedia at the University of Worcester. She said "I started at the Nettl Academy because it was a great opportunity to further my skills as a designer and, hopefully, help me start my career."

Chris continued "We hope that the experience a Cadet gets from Nettl Academy will make them more employable. We might keep one or two for ourselves and we've already had interest from other Nettl studios in our network of 100 locations. As a business, we're always looking for talent and our partners are expanding and recruiting. One of the challenges our Nettl partners face is that they don't know what someone's like until they hire them. They could put them through training and then find out they're not a good fit. We think it makes more sense for us to train the Cadets, get them ready for field action and be productive from day one."

Nettl plan to launch a second Academy in Manchester later this year. If you're a design student, or you know one, Nettl are looking for applicants for next term. Find our more or enrol at http://www.nettl.com/uk/nettl-academy/