ArchiWildish was launched by chartered architectural technologist Mark Wildish seven years ago from an office in his garden.
Eighteen months later, the business was going so well he moved to a serviced office at Wixford Park near Bidford-on-Avon and then in 2020 as Covid hit, Mark moved the business to Atherstone Hill on the Alscot Park Estate in order to be closer to home.
The business primarily focuses on the residential market but also undertakes work for bespoke commercial and public buildings.
In 2019, one of Mark’s projects in Wellesbourne was featured on the hugely-popular Grand Designs on Channel 4 while a year later, his scheme for an Electric Car Charging Station at Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds was granted consent at appeal to become the largest approved EV infrastructure projects of its kind in the UK.
The Challenge
Mark approached the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) Growth Hub to seek their support in growing his B2B network and clients.
He was understandably nervous about having the confidence to expand after recruiting an apprentice in the early days of the business who left after 12 months to go to university, which led to him going it alone at ArchiWildish for four years.
Following the first national Covid-19 lockdown, Mark took the plunge to recruit a full-time employee, architectural technologist Steve Miller, and with their workload continuing to increase, they knew the business was at a stage where further expansion was needed to meet a growing demand for their services.
They were also looking for funding to enable them to calculate measurements more effectively through using 3D technologies and cameras for their detailed work.
The Solution
Laura Delahunty, a Business Navigator at the Growth Hub, suggested Mark should apply for a grant from Focus Digital, which is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund and delivered by Coventry University Enterprises Ltd, towards purchasing a £5,000 stereoscopic camera. Focus Digital Project supports SMEs to innovate through digitalisation.
The stereoscopic camera has two lenses that calibrate to take extremely detailed photos and enables ArchiWildish to build 3D pictures to give accurate dimensions. This is particularly important for survey work and recording the dimensions of existing buildings.
Laura also put Mark in touch with the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s Accelerated Growth scheme which is part funded by the Coventry & Warwickshire Business Support Programme, which is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Russell Grant from the Chamber became Mark’s business advisor to help build his confidence and start to think more strategically about the direction the business should be going in.
The Result
As well as buying the stereoscopic camera, the Focus Digital grant enabled Mark to purchase a new hi-tech desktop PC and laptop to create 3D animations to make buildings come to life for their clients.
And architectural assistant Ollie Hunt has become ArchiWildish’s second employee after joining in November 2020 as an apprentice to cope with an increasing workload.
Mark said: “I have always been aware of the Growth Hub and I approached them to gain advice. Laura has been incredibly helpful in putting me in touch with the right people to grow my business and sending me helpful information as well as being really supportive and encouraging which, as a sole owner, I really appreciated.
“Receiving the Focus Digital grant will help us to take the business to the next level and John Otter from Coventry University Enterprises has been amazing – nothing was too much trouble even when I thought I was asking daft questions!
“The business advice from Russell Grant at the Chamber has been really helpful. I was quite anxious about trying to grow the business even though the demand for work was there.
“I have always had plenty of work from word-of-mouth but I know I need to be reaching out to potential new clients and engaging more with social media and marketing.
“Russell talked me through the process about how to approach it and his business advice has been insightful. It has taken me from the point of having not much confidence to having a lot of confidence!”
The CWLEP Growth Hub
The CWLEP Growth Hub, which is part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), was established by the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership to provide a one-stop shop to help make businesses aware of the advice and support available to them.
The Growth Hub proactively helps businesses grow by providing access to private sector professionals with commercial experience in a whole host of fields including marketing, finance, IT, training and logistics.
The Growth Hub has experts in various fields to help companies access grants and funding to diversify or expand by providing introductions to a range of services and support from other organisations across the region.
The Growth Hub offers help with:
- Access to finance
- Business Innovation
- Business Support
- International Trade Advisers
- Skills4Growth
- Inward Investment
- Planning
- Supply chain opportunities
Partners involved include the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, UKTI, Local Authorities across the sub-region, Coventry University and the University of Warwick.
For further information, email or telephone 0300 060 3747.
Caption: From the left, Steven Miller (ArchiWildish), Jim Clark (CWLEP Growth Hub), Russell Grant (Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce), John Otter (Focus Digital) and Mark Wildish (ArchiWildish)
