Thinking of taking the plunge and starting your own business in 2019?
Well, this incredible startup story could be the inspiration you need to get into gear…
Founded by C4DI members John Polling, Jim Wardlaw and Matt Gibson in 2016, Sauce is now an award-winning development company, employing nineteen people (with some additional faces joining the team over the next few months).
Sauce Newbies
"Our startup success is definitely an encouraging story for members of the C4DI community to hear," Rachael Taylor, Business Strategist at Sauce enthuses.
John and Jim were freelance developers in the C4DI Beta on Queen Street, where they met Matt, who was also part of the community and working with a startup digital marketing agency.
“The talented trio decided to join forces to enable John and Jim to take on larger development projects and shortly after, welcomed Matt Weldon on board as an equal partner,” she explains.
Since then, the region’s tech community has witnessed the small-yet-mighty team go from strength-to-strength, creating and developing software for household names, including Siemens and Ideal Boilers.
Meanwhile, Sauce has also delivered quality apps and digital products for locally-acclaimed organisations, such as the University of Hull, Hull University Union and City Health Care Partnership, just to name a few.
This success has enabled the team to expand rapidly over the past twelve months, securing and filling a second office on the second floor of C4DI.
In 2017, their outstanding work was recognised at Hull Daily Mail Business Awards as they bagged Best Startup of the Year. This achievement was followed by Small Business of the Year just one year later.
“Our first goal for 2019 is to continue with the growth of our team as this will allow us to qualify for Medium Business of the Year at the Business Awards,” Rachael tells us.
“We’re already looking into getting a third office, hopefully still within the C4DI building as we love the community here - after all, this is where it all started. We’re very proud to be Hull-based and to be working out of this building.”
You can find out more about Sauce and their impressive portfolio here.
Meanwhile, if you fancy joining their team, they currently have a few jobs going on the C4DI job’s board.
Convinced you have what it takes to start your own business or go freelance?
Get in touch with us today to see how the C4DI community could help you get started.