HelloU founder Helen Gill has a passion for inspiring the next generation of digital marketing creatives

“Branding, marketing and communications are everywhere you look, even down to the logos on your clothes.” So said Helen Gill’s graphics teacher many years ago, and it’s resonated with her ever since. Her first taste of work experience in the field came by way of a week’s placement at Hull-based Strawberry while she was studying for her GCSEs, and she loved it so much she went on to study for an...

Gary Jones of MediMusic says his ‘greatest ambition’ is to see music prescribed on the NHS

Sam Hawcroft listens to the sound of science. I learned piano as a child, and often, when I had a headache or felt under the weather, I’d play my favourite Beatles songs and the pain would ebb away. Little did I know then that self-medicating with music – the power of which has been recognised for centuries – would turn out to be strongly backed by science and that, now, artificial intelligence...

A quick chat with Natalie Houfe, BW’s new events director

What’s your business background and how long have you been in business? My dad has been a strong influence, as he always had his own business and has been quite the entrepreneur. He taught me early on about both the advantages and challenges of working for yourself. I am the co-owner and director of Pool Heat, which supplies and maintains swimming pool environmental systems throughout the UK. We...

A smart move

The term may have been hijacked by reality TV in recent years, but here at BW we like to get a sense of someone’s “journey” into business. And it really has been a journey for Lithuanian-born Lana Grisina. Back when there was such a thing as freedom of movement between EU borders, it was Lana’s grandmother who first made the leap, coming to work for a recycling company in Hull. Lana’s family...

Pipe dream

Having always liked to “work with his hands” since he left school, James Walmsley became a signmaker and an engraver before backpacking around Australia for a year. After he returned, he worked for Ideal Standard in Hull for many years before, in 2015, he was forced to give up full-time work for health reasons. A bit of “messing about” with some copper piping in his garage resulted in an...