The Evolution of KOTA

However you look at it, 10 years is a long time. It’s enough to get through school, learn multiple languages, or, as in our case, build an award-winning web design agency from the ground up. Operating for a decade is an incredible milestone for any business and I’m really proud that KOTA got here. From day one, our mission has been to build a sustainable business based on reputation and quality, and that’s exactly what we’ve done. 

A decade of design.

Over the years, we’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with some of the world’s biggest corporations such as Diageo, Penguin Random House, Matchroom and the UFC. Still, some of our proudest work has come from transforming third-generation family businesses such as Wogan Coffee (best coffee ever!).

As our reputation grew, so did our client base. We’ve been trusted by many of our industry peers to create new brands and websites for their own agencies as well as their clients.

When we launched KOTA, we were primarily UK based, but today, we’re proud to say we’re truly global. 65% of our client base is from outside of the UK or operating with multiple locations. We’ve formed particularly strong partnerships in America, UAE, Canada and around Europe. Working in different time zones can be tricky, but we’ve found ways to make things work smoothly for everyone. Digital tools such as Slack and Zoom have been a critical part of this.

The biggest thank you.

As we reflect back on the past 10 years, we want to take this moment to say thank you.

To every client who has trusted us, we feel so fortunate to have your support and motivated to keep delivering amazing work.

The biggest thank you, however, goes to our incredible team. Whether you’re a designer, developer or project manager, you’ve helped to put us on the branding and web design map. We feel privileged to have each of you as part of the KOTA family. Because without your hard work and inspiring ideas, we are nothing.

I’m proud of our approach to family-friendly policies as well as flexible and fully remote working. It’s important that our people have the autonomy they need to do their very best work – so here’s to more of that!

At the start of 2024, we officially rolled our 4.5 day working week alongside a ‘core hours’ set up. This has given the team more control to run their day, putting their mental and physical health first.

What’s next?

10 years is a good point to reset and look at where we’ve come and where we’re going. Currently, 30% of our turnover sits under our retained service called ‘SiteCare’. Whilst this was originally created as a maintenance package, we’re now offering digital marketing services including PPC, SEO and managed E-Commerce services. This represents a huge opportunity for the business moving forward.

From the very beginning, we’ve been committed to running a sustainable and ethical business. Today, we’re excited to announce that we’re on our way to becoming B-Corp certified. This is something we’re really passionate about, helping us to strike the right balance between people, planet, profit and purpose.

As well as thinking about our wider legacy, we’ve been busy reflecting internally, too. With the help of the team at HappyHQ, we’ve been trying to uncover what KOTA actually means. That is, the values that motivate and bring our team together. As it turns out, we’ve got five:

• Do great work and the rest will fall into place.
• Employ great people who don’t know it all but want to learn it all.
• Make sure your next project is the best project on your portfolio.
• Partner with clients that share your values.
• Put fun at the heart of everything.

Conclusion.

It’s been a busy 10 years. We’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with some of the biggest, best and most exciting brands out there. While our specialism in web design has always remained the same, our services have strengthened and expanded. In terms of size, we’ve gone from employing a few people to spanning a few time zones. If the next decade is anything as rewarding as this one, we’ll be happy.