Local Business Accelerators campaign winner in Chichester nominated to gain mentoring from Deborah Meaden
Access by Design's Clive Loseby. C120013-1 Chi Accelerators Campaign Photo Louise Adams
As advancements with internet technology continue to evolve at an extremely rapid pace, keeping ahead of the pack takes some considerable skill.
So it is little wonder judges of the Local Business Accelerators campaign have selected an innovative web company, Access By Design, as the chosen winner for the competition.
The Birdham-based firm is now in its third year of trading and is leading the way in forging vibrant, user-friendly ‘responsive design’ sites working equally effectively across PCs, iPads, netbooks and smartphones.
What makes the company especially stand out from the crowds is that its intuitive designs combine with software specifically devised to assist the blind or those who suffer from dyslexia.
Having worked hard with his wife Jessica, a digital artist, Access by Design’s managing director Clive Loseby was delighted to see their enterprise vindicated with a campaign win. They are now being put forward as a regional winner for the chance to win mentoring from Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden.
“We are so excited to have won this campaign as we have never won anything before.
“Having three mentors to help me with different aspects of the business including its marketing and finance will be great.
“This is fantastic and has come at just the right time for us as there’s a lot happening with the company and we are very excited about 2012,” enthused Mr Loseby, who said the boost of the campaign had come off the back of a particularly-testing period for the business last year in which it had been forced to downsize amid economic pressures.
But with new initiatives in the pipeline, its close-knit team of staff have ensured its evolution.
From an early age Clive, a keen musician who was formerly a TV composer who had credits including working for the likes of Universal and Disney, had also harboured a strong passion for all things computing.
He recalled: “My fascination with computers began when I was ten years old when I saw an old IBM green-screen computer at my school, Bishop Luffa, which had Space Invaders on it. I was told of a programme to write computer code and it just went from there,” explained the 42-year-old, who felt the support of his wife and three children had been vital to his success so far.
His immensely varied CV spans everything from county council database administrator and musician and setting up degree studies through latter spells becoming an IT trouble-shooter in Chichester.
“The idea for Access By Design really came about as it related to my wife being a wheelchair-user – Chichester’s older buildings used to be very inaccessible for those with disabilities which is something Jessica has campaigned for. We thought we could apply the thinking of making something more accessible work with websites,” said Clive.
He added: “What we are aiming to do is offer sites designed so clients can have full access to maintaining them for themselves, which is what we have found people want.
“We’re also at the cutting edge with the responsive design of sites. It means websites automatically adjust to however you are using the internet, whether on a computer or phone. We were not the first people to start doing this, but we are the only people who are linking this with features such as larger print and design with assisting blind people.”
As Clive explained, there are several other key strands to the business, including Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) which he revealed was just as vital as having a clean website that is easy to navigate.
“If you are not in the top one or perhaps two pages of a Google search then you might as well not be bothering. We can promise to get you right to the top of those searches within a few months as we now have a deal with the major SEO provider in the country.”
“I love my job and doing things no-one else does. I find it exciting that we really can help people to the top of Google. I love the flexibility of being in the studio we are in and doing all the creative stuff that comes with that.”
- For more information visit access-bydesign.com
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Chichester
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South west
