Our humble beginnings in Surrey & now Internationally
Why start a business? For some people, it is to have world domination or to be rich beyond their wildest dreams! I promised myself that if I ever became a business owner, I would take all the bad bits from every manager I ever had, and try not to replicate them to my staff members. I would like to say that the making of Thunderbolt was a eureka moment where I saw a particular gap in the market that no one had seen, but alas, it wasn’t that. I was working for another digital marketing agency and the owner and I hit it off from the moment we met. When we discussed his agency’s fees and how we were pricing out some inquiries for which we might be able to provide assistance, Thunderbolt was created as a substitute solution to assist smaller SMEs. I’m pleased to say that we are still the best of friends, and we speak to each other nearly every day. It is probably one of the only Bromances I have.
After working 14 hours a day from my home office, I got my first deal!! Initially, I had no SEO or budgets for PPC, so I went down the route of traditional marketing!! I got in the car and went and did some networking. One person I went and spoke to said networking is not about trying to sell things, it’s about meeting people! I got sent away with a flea in my ear. Three months later, I had a call from that very same person saying they needed a new website.
The journey hasn’t been easy, and anyone who says that probably has invested in a lot of Cryptocurrency. For me, the journey has had lots of ups and downs. My favorite part is having some great clients whom we have helped to grow their businesses, as well as some staff who have gone on to bigger things but have thanked me for the opportunities Thunderbolt has provided them with.
Some of my highlights over the years have been winning the most awards at the Surrey Digital Awards in 2018, becoming Surrey County Council’s chosen overflow partner, as well as a Google Partner, and this year winning the ‘Peoples Award’ for the top 50 tech companies for Culture https://www.peoplesplatformaward.com. Since my first meeting in a serviced office meeting room a decade ago, I now hold conference calls regularly with multinational corporations all over the world.
The world of digital marketing has changed with dynamic targeting PPC and SEO maybe being taken over by AI. Website design and development are focused on the best UX for the user and remarketing and in-market ad campaigns for me mean that the fun of having a great creative may be second to alogryms algorithms and touchpoints. The one thing that will always be consistent is the dedication of the Thunderbolt team to providing exceptional customer service and delivering award-winning digital campaigns for our clients making Thunderbolt one of the best companies to work for, in my opinion.