The Digital Business of the Year award, sponsored by Archant Marketing Services, at the Norfolk Business Awards 2022 will go to a company that shows the resilience required for the fast-paced nature of operating online and has embraced digital innovation to achieve growth.
Here we meet the finalists for this year's award.
Tech Educators
Tech Educators provides instructor-led coding bootcamps to support individuals from all backgrounds into a career in tech.
Founded in 2021 in Norwich, the business has trained over 100 students to date. Its growth has been fuelled by in-house developed courses and global partnerships with businesses including Code Fellows, ChainShot, Ethereum and Polygon.
Tech Educators has two new courses planned for launch in early 2023, and is committed to supporting future tech talent.
The judges said that Tech Educators showed intuitive awareness of its own role, both as a stand-alone business and as part of a much broader network of skills development.
They commended its focus on the individual beyond just course delivery through its “ongoing mentorship of graduates”, and praised its “incredibly ambitious vision” that ties global tech leadership with a passion for the Norwich area.
Lisa Angel
Lisa Angel is a gift and lifestyle brand based in Norwich offering a wide selection of jewellery, accessories and homeware to suit a range of styles.
The business was started in 2004 and has since grown to sell to thousands of customers each year, including internationally through online outlets.
Alongside its thriving ecommerce business, Lisa Angel also has two retail stores in Chantry Place shopping centre and the Norwich Lanes, and a growing wholesale business. It currently employs 130 people.
The judges were impressed by the structure of Lisa Angel and said that it is “great to see an early adopter of ecommerce growing aggressively”, while also successfully balancing its retail and wholesale operations.
They were particularly impressed by the business’ systems, which are entirely in-house and are used from inventory management right through to sales.
NielsenIQ Brandbank
NielsenIQ Brandbank is a leading global provider of digital product content solutions, powering omnichannel shopping experiences.
Headquartered in Norwich, the business employs over 500 people across the globe and operates in 39 countries. It is the content partner to over 52,000 brands and 700 retailers and wholesalers globally and is also proud to work with many local businesses to support them on their path to digitalisation.
The judges called NielsenIQ Brandbank a “sophisticated global leader in its sector” that still demonstrates an “entrepreneurial spirit”.
The business stood out as unique, with solid evidence of innovation even as a global brand. The judges said that it was great to see that, even in its established markets, NielsenIQ Brandbank’s growth comes from “product innovation and driving higher revenues from established customers”.
Norfolk Broads Direct
Norfolk Broads Direct is a family-owned and operated provider of boating and cottage holidays on the Norfolk Broads. Based in Wroxham, it has been helping visitors to experience the best of the Broads since 1878.
The company boasts a fleet of over 100 highly-maintained hire craft and also offers day boat hire and river trips under its Broads Tours brand.
The judges commended Norfolk Broads Direct’s efforts to digitise its business processes and improve efficiency, and said that the business showed “strong evidence of digital innovation” through its use of apps for both auditing and customer service.
They added that the business is “clearly engaged” in tackling the net-zero challenge, having invested in developing an electric day boat and switching to a greener ‘Gas to Liquid’ fuel to power its cruisers.
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