Hedgehog Lab
 hedgehog lab icon logo | |
 hedgehog lab headquarters in Newcastle upon Tyne | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Digital Product Consultancy |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founder | Sarat Pediredla, Mark Forster |
| Headquarters | One Strawberry Lane, NE1 4BX, , England |
Area served | Worldwide, Global |
Key people | Sarat Pediredla (CEO) |
| Services | Product Strategy, Cloud, Data & AI Strategy, Research & Innovation, Product & Platform Build, Experience / Interaction Design, Artificial Intelligence, App Development, Web Development, Product Development, Software Testing, Support & Maintenance |
Number of employees | 100 (2024) |
| Website | www |
hedgehog lab is a digital product consultancy headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, with additional hubs in Leeds, Boston and Bulgaria.
With nearly two decades of expertise, they specialise in solving complex technical challenges and developing innovative, scalable systems that future-proof businesses. They're more than just service providers; they're partners in innovation which has earned them the trust of global brands such as Aviva, AJ Bell, and Accenture.
hedgehog lab takes its name from Jim Collins’ book Good to Great, which features the ‘hedgehog concept’ of cultivating ‘piercing clarity’ in the pursuit of being great at one thing to achieve long-term results.
History
[edit]hedgehog lab founders, Sarat Pediredla and Mark Forster met while working as developers at a Newcastle-based digital agency. After leaving to launch their own business, they created a tool for the financial services sector and soon generated interest in their software-as-a-service offering.
Plans, however, were disrupted by the 2008 financial crisis, at which point hedgehog lab switched to a digital agency model. This was later refined to focus on ‘post-PC’ technologies, with the company looking internationally to grow market reach while still a micro-business.[1] After launching sites in London and India, it turned its attention to the US, opening an office in Boston in April 2015.
Having secured £1m of investment from Maven Capital Partners - one of the UK's most active equity houses - hedgehog lab had plans to grow revenues by at least 50% year-on-year until 2020.[2] The investment was used to increase the company's delivery capabilities, helped to grow its sales and marketing functions, and allowed the business to move into larger premises to support its growing international headcount.[3]
hedgehog lab secured a further £900k investment from Maven Capital Partners in 2020[4] to support its work with its international client base and further grow headcount. As part of the investment, experienced tech advisor Charles Andrews, who has previously held positions at IBM and Globant, joined the business as chairman.
In April 2023 hedgehog lab secured a £6.3 million investment from BGF – one of the largest and most experienced growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland.
As part of the multi-million-pound deal, hedgehog lab announced the acquisition of York-based digital product consultancy Netsells, in a move designed to support the company's ambitious growth plans. The two companies came together under the hedgehog lab brand and are headed up by hedgehog lab's current CEO, Sarat Pediredla, alongside an executive board that includes ex-Accenture Song managing director and Karmarama founder Ben Bilboul.
The combination of two firms with established and renowned capabilities will enhance hedgehog labs offering and growth prospects massively, by bringing together some of the best talent in the industry and facilitating its continued expansion into new international markets.
Awards/recognition
[edit]- 2023 BIMA Award on User Experience for Dodl by AJ Bell[5]
- 2023 Webby Awards Honoree for Dodl by AJ Bell[6]
- 2023 Best Workplaces in UK by Great Place to Work [7]
- 2023 Prolific North Top 50 Digital Agencies [8]
- 2022 Best Workplaces in UK by Great Place to Work [9]
- 2022 Clutch #1 UK Top B2B Companies[10]
- 2021 UK App Awards, Large UK App Agency of the Year [11]
- 2021 Clutch #3 Global Enterprise App Modernization[12]
- 2021 Clutch #2 Top 1000 Service Providers[13]
- 2021 Clutch #1 Global Mobile App Developers[14]
- 2021 Clutch #1 Global iPhone App Developers[15]
- 2021 Clutch #7 Global Android App Developers[16]
- 2021 Clutch #1 Global Web Developers[17]
- 2021 Clutch #2 Top Android App Developers[18]
- 2021 Clutch #1 iPhone & iOS App Developers[19]
- 2021 Prolific North Top 50 Digital Agencies [20]
- 2020 Prolific North Top 50 Digital Agencies [21]
- 2019 Prolific North Top 50 Digital Agencies [22]
References
[edit]- ^ Gibson, Robert (23 November 2014). "Staggering growth at Hedgehog Lab limited by skills shortage". Thejournal.co.uk. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ Whitfield, Graeme (26 September 2017). "Newcastle tech firm hedgehog lab to create new jobs after £1m investment". Chroniclelive.co.uk. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ Whitfield, Graeme (1 October 2014). "35 under 35: Meet the rising stars of North East business". Thejournal.co.uk. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
- ^ Ford, Coreena. "Tech firm hedgehog lab secures £900,000 investment to go for global growth". BusinessLive. Reach plc. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ "2023 BIMA Award on User Experience".
- ^ "2023 Webby Awards Honoree".
- ^ "2023 Best Workplaces UK".
- ^ "2023 Top Digital Agencies". Prolific North Top 50 Digital Agencies 2023.
- ^ "2022 Best Workplaces UK".
- ^ "Clutch Recognizes the Top 250 UK Companies for 2022".
- ^ "2021 Winners". UK App Awards 2021.
- ^ "Clutch Unveils the 2021 Official Leaders in the Development and IT Services Spaces from Around the World".
- ^ "Clutch Honors the Top 1000 Service Providers for 2021". clutch.co.
- ^ "Clutch Unveils the 2021 Official Leaders in the Development and IT Services Spaces from Around the World".
- ^ "Clutch Unveils the 2021 Official Leaders in the Development and IT Services Spaces from Around the World".
- ^ "Clutch Unveils the 2021 Official Leaders in the Development and IT Services Spaces from Around the World".
- ^ "Clutch Unveils the 2021 Official Leaders in the Development and IT Services Spaces from Around the World".
- ^ "Clutch Announces Leading Firms in App Development for 2021".
- ^ "Clutch Announces Leading Firms in App Development for 2021".
- ^ "2021 Top Digital Agencies". Prolific North Top 50 Digital Agencies 2021.
- ^ "2020 Top Digital Agencies". Prolific North Top 50 Digital Agencies 2020.
- ^ "2019 Top Digital Agencies". Prolific North Top 50 Digital Agencies 2019.