“The Dots is critical for the future success of the creative industries – putting creativity at the heart of commerce and industry, whilst also helping creative people realise their full potential. I’m privileged to help shape its future with Pip and her team” Sir John Hegarty

On Friday I received an email from Pip Jamieson, Founder and CEO of The Dots; which has been named as the “LinkedIn for the creative industry”. The Dots is an important place for aspiring creatives’ to both find and share work opportunities, it is full of inspiration from across the industry and is regularly celebrated in their weekly inspiration emails.

I was introduced to The Dots at University where I met Laura Richardson, Head of Marketing and Partnerships at The Dots who gave a very informative lecture and introduced us to the platform. Since then I have met with her and Pip on many occasions including Award shows as well as portfolio review evenings. I think that is one of the best parts of The Dots, the connections they have in the industry and being able to pull these people together for an evening of portfolio reviews which greatly aid in the direction and self development needed to succeed in this industry.

The exciting news that Pip shared with me is that Sir John Hegarty, advertising legend and co-founder of the award winning agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty has been announced as Chairman of this fast growing network for creative professionals The Dots, if you are not yet part of it you need to check it out! www.the-dots.co.uk

So what does this mean for the future of The Dots?

pip
Above: Pip Jamieson, Founder & CEO, The Dots.

Sir John has more than 6 decades of being at the forefront of the creative industry, with eight D&AD awards, fifteen Clios and almost too many Cannes Lions awards to count, Sir John will be leading the next stage of development and growth of The Dots in the UK after securing a £1.5m investment. This means that the website can now be made mobile friendly, it will become easier to promote yourself and to connect with new contacts and opportunities.

  • Since launching in September 2014, The Dots has rapidly become the go-to platform for the creative sector, attracting thousands of clients to promote their brand and recruit talent, including the BBC, Tate, Net-a-Porter, Vice, Airbnb, Sony Music UK, Condé Nast, Spotify, Facebook, Red Bull, WPP, Selfridges, Channel 4, Liberty, Saatchi & Saatchi, Viacom, Fremantle Media UK, Twitter & Somerset House.
  • Alongside this announcement, The Dots has just raised its first round of investment led by Hambro Perks, an investment group founded by Rupert Hambro and Dominic Perks, whose portfolio companies include Laundrapp, Seeinit and (Tech Awards laureate) What 3 Words.
  • Additional investors include seed stage VC Coral Reef, and Angel Academe; a female-led syndicate investing in start-ups with at least one female founder.
  • The Dots was founded last year by native Brit Pip Jamieson, an entrepreneur who has spent the last 15 years immersed in the creative industries, including executive roles at MTV Australia.
  • Named as one of Australia’s top female entrepreneurs, Pip is back in her hometown London, and set to make waves with her successful start-up.
  • The UK’s creative industries contribute 5% of the UK’s GDP and employ 1.8 million people, with the sector expected to grow 35% between 2015 and 2020, a faster rate than more traditional sectors. According to Nesta, creative roles are hard to automate and subsequently critical for the future prosperity of the UK’s economy.
  • The Dots is on a mission to generate one million commercial opportunities for creative professionals by 2018; helping build a stronger, more profitable and diverse creative sector.

‘Sir John is a creative genius who shares our passion for cultivating and championing top creative talent. We’re beyond excited to be backed by and working with such a legend!” Pip Jamieson

The Dots Team

The Dots Team Left to Right: Laura Richardson, Poppy J, John Down, Pip Jamieson, Sir John Hegarty, Harry Harrison, Bethany Lloyd, Spohie Howe, Tom Blackshire.