Company update klaxon

Last September 50 Degrees celebrated its 10th anniversary. A business that I started as a bit of a stop gap has turned into something much bigger over the years. Over the last year or so, during a couple of the quieter periods (when were they?!), I’ve had time to reflect on where I wanted 50 Degrees to be in another ten years’ time, and the sort of business I wanted it to be. The basic question I asked myself was what was the thing I valued most?

I decided that the most important thing was working with a team of great people, who work together with a real sense of purpose, in an environment where they can flourish and have some fun. I flatter myself that the team of brilliant associates I’ve been privileged to work with over the years have enjoyed that experience (at least to a degree!), but I wanted to do something more to build for the future.

I chatted with my long-term collaborator, Emily Bagley-Duncan, about my thinking over a few Zoom calls (obviously!), and the idea for a new 50 Degrees formed. In short, Emily and I agreed to become partners and to change the structure of the organisation so that we could scale up and recruit more talented people. We’re currently working across three continents, across multiple sectors and we recognised that if we’re going to continue to deliver results for our clients (that’s the whole point, after all) then we needed to make changes that help us to get more clever people on board.

And, I should probably say it’s not just about new faces. I’m delighted that some of my trusted associates (basically the most talented people I’ve worked with over the last twenty years) have agreed to ‘get on the bus’, becoming part of a new management structure and joining 50 Degrees on a full-time basis as employees. 

It’s a new 50 Degrees. We have a new logo, so it must be official. We’ve also spent time thinking about our purpose, our values and the culture we want to build. All of that good stuff can be found right here, should you care to take a look.

What will the changes mean? The fundamentals remain the same – great people, supporting our clients to win new business, working in a flexible, responsive and relaxed way. Emily’s now in charge of bid quality and bid production, and our growing team of writers. We’re expanding our solution development and mobilisation capacity/capability to meet unmet demand. And we are opening a London office in the summer – with a roof top bar, essential for all the ‘meetings’ we need to catch up on.

I’m really excited about the year ahead and looking forward to working with our clients and their teams over the coming months. The relaxing of Covid restrictions, the ability to meet in person, I mean, even travelling on a train is going to be next-level. 

If you have any questions about the ‘new’ 50 Degrees then please don’t hesitate to give us a shout.

Many thanks,

Andy Bowie
50 Degrees Founder