TALKING BUSINESS


A CAPITAL FIRM WITH BIG IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE


From the beginning, Aira Digital knew its people were the key to success. Co-founders Matt Beswick and Paddy Moogan explain what sets them apart from other digital marketing agencies - and their plans for the future.


In January 2015, Matt Beswick and Paddy Moogan decided to join forces and create a London style digital marketing agency with a difference – it wasn’t based in London. The ambitious pair wanted to build an agency that


everyone wanted to work with, and everyone wanted to work for. Aira Digital was born in Milton Keynes with just four


people in the team and a small core of clients. But fast forward three years and their brainchild has


grown to a staff of 29, doubled in turnover every year since conception, acquired another company and become the talk of the industry. 2018 sees turnover hit a record £2.5m. Paddy said: “When I was working in London I felt like


London was the centre of the universe. I loved the idea of building a London agency but not in the capital. “But I was really sceptical of Milton Keynes. I was in


the London mentality, so I thought it would be hard to get clients and staff, but it has been the exact opposite. “It’s only half an hour from London and 40 minutes


from the Midlands and a lot of big businesses have headquarters here. A lot of people working here want good careers but don’t want the daily commute to London.” And people are a key concern for Aira, with one new


starter every month last year. Their staff benefits list is covetable and includes unlimited holiday, team lunches,


annual parking passes and flexitime. “We’ve really tried to focus on the people side of


things,” said Paddy, 33. “We’ve tried to build an agency that we would like to work at ourselves. You spend most of your time at work so we want people to enjoy it.”


The director’s desire to give people the best possible


working environment and perks is admired by his friend and co-founder. Matt, a father-of-two, said: “We are always trying to


give back to the staff. We don’t need to spend thousands of pounds on stuff, it’s about giving people a really good place to work. “A lot of it is testament to Paddy. The one thing he


really enjoys and cares about is making people better. He really tries to keep that ethos. “Because of that, everyone knows they need to keep


learning and keep getting better at what they do. We genuinely want to be the best of the best. We are not perfect by any means but we really spend the time making sure everyone is being the best they can be.” The attitude has created a strong team, with staff


turnover being very minimal and new additions to the ever-growing team actually causing some challenges for the dynamic director duo. “We’ve got some growing pains at the moment from


hitting a certain size,” said Paddy. “We are trying to keep the quality while keeping the margins. You don’t


‘WE’VE TRIED TO BUILD AN AGENCY THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO WORK AT OURSELVES’


18 inbusiness JUNE/JULY 2018


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