Its not something we do at Digitl - our clients get that service through our sister company, Pixel Kicks so dont worry Im not going to start shouldering us in as new partners to offer that to your...
Im really pleased to be able to announce that Digitl. will be working with Spinningfields law firm Freeman Fisher on the design and development of a brand spanking new website.
This is a great...
You will have alreadyseen mytweets recently about the event that I am organising over at UKFast next week - the lineup we’ve got is amazing. In fact, we’ve turned down two global names in their field...
Do you want to sell more on Amazon? Don't miss our...
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🚀🚀Had a busy week at Mobile World Congress last week in...
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Big thanks to @OCCA - Oil & Colour Chemists Association &...
Summary
I've got more experience in eCommerce probably than any other person you will meet. There, I said it!
I've worked in the digital sector before it even existed. I've worked with clients such as ebay and JD Fashion PLC. Setup my own agency and raised a six-figure investment (there's a story). Now through Digitl I help businesses grow their businesses through international multi-channel commerce.
– Present (2 years 6 months)Manchester, United Kingdom
Digitl is a unique eCommerce consultancy that aims to deliver growth for retailers in the UK and internationally. I'm the founder of the agency, but my 'real' job is to work with businesses to set their eCommerce strategies and implement growth plans. I use my 20 years industry experience to offer the only outsourced Head of eCommerce service you will find in the UK.
Working with a wide range of partner organisations where required I help businesses identify the right opportunities for them be it here in the UK or overseas and formulate a plan. The team at Digitl can offer full support from these plans including branding; implementation of eCommerce platforms; integration with business systems and marketplaces; and also digital marketing.
We're platform and supplier agnostic - so the advice you get from us is completely the best advice for you, rather than shoehorning you into a pre-designed solution.
I arrange an annual multi-channel conference in Manchester; help arrange meetups on a monthly basis for sellers; have been an awards judge; and a regular public speaker. You'll be able to hear me speak this year at SEO Brighton and eCommerce Show North as well as others.
– Present (4 years 2 months)Manchester, United Kingdom
Helping raise awareness and money for a great cause. Forever Manchester is the Community Foundation Trust for our great city and helps grass-roots organisations.
If you haven't heard about them or would like to get involved, please do let me know and I'll buy you a coffee!
RedStar started as an experiment - by in large that experiment went well growing to a team of 11; turning over in excess of £1m and then getting a six-figure investment. Co-directors were just not for me and in 2015 we closed the business and went our separate ways - for the unabridged version, it may be best we go for a beer!
The business had an outstanding reputation and was regularly nominated for awards. The business was built around an eCommerce platform that I produced and we gained clients including ebay, JD Fashion PLC, Very Clearance, Office Shoes and Debenhams to name just a few.
We started to diversify offering Magento development; integration with ebay and Amazon and other related services based on my experience in the sector - which formed the basis for my second business, Digitl.
My role was the development lead to help on-shore development from an overseas partner.
I was the chief architect of the platform and implemented the system that provided dynamically packaged holidays which at the time was a pioneering change in the industry and is now commonplace.
Lead developer and manager of the back-end development team responsible for SmartCMS - an eCommerce platform and email marketing tool. The software was responsible for helping the brand JD Sports to establish itself as a leader in sports fashion eCommerce; the site grew to a multi-million pound business and continually grew year on year.
Working closely with my co-directors to establish the supporters trust, define it's values and help secure a 3% shareholding in Oldham Athletic Football club.
I worked closely with fans on fundraising and general issues and liaise with the club through the fans elected director.
Developer
LBM
– (less than a year)Manchester, United Kingdom
Part of the development team responsible for writing a business system for O2 and PC World Business
Part of the development team responsible for rebuilding the websites of 8 national radio stations including Key 103, Radio Aire, Rock FM and Radio City in the North West. During my time at EMAP I was part of ClickManchester.com - developing a nightlife and entertainment portal that was highly acclaimed and award winning.
HND, Computing for Business, PassHND, Computing for Business, Pass
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HND in Computing for Business
North Chadderton
GCSEGCSE
–
If you really want to know how well I did at GCSE level, I've been doing something wrong with my career... however for what it's worth I got A, BBB, CCCC ;)
Design and development of a new Magento site for an extremely cool brand. The site was short-listed for Best eCommerce website at the Northern Digital Awards.
A preview of what LinkedIn members have to say about Darren:
Darren's unrivaled enthusiasm for Forever Manchester should not go un-noticed. I am physically and emotionally drained simply reading about his exploits. It is time that he removed the brackets about him being a nice guy from his profile. This is one genuine NICE GUY x
I met Darren at Twitfaced 7 and talked to him about the work Forever Manchester do. He got it straight away and put his approving words immediately into action. He went on to undertake 1 fundraising concept a month and then smashed that target to bits by doing something like 17 (I found it hard to keep up). Suffice to say, Darren is one of those straight up blokes who does what he says he's going to do. Redstar Creative are his company and they are the go-to team for all your webby, techy, fiddley, confusing stuff. Manchester is one of the best cities in the world and Darren and his team are achieving the impossible; making it even better.