Wayne
Forward planning and weekends awayI’ve been really happy to see lots of activity in the office in October, with great social media content being recorded and project progressing. As we head deep into the final quarter of 2025, the clocks have gone back, scary movies are on the TV, and I’ve probably spent more time on planning than I ever have before.
Redundancy has been a common topic in my monthly blog entries throughout 2025 and I’m sad to say the trend is only worsening. I avoid the mainstream media, but I must be aware of my surroundings as a business owner, and that means keeping tabs on the economy to understanding external factors which could impact the business.
It makes for bleak reading as Pizza Hut – everyone’s favourite ‘90’s pizza joint – is to close circa 70 restaurants. Also this month, Betfred say 7,000 jobs are at risk, Lidl is making redundancies, and Morrisons, Poundland and Homebase are closing a combined 201 stores before the end of the year.
I remember the 2008 global recession all too well, mostly because I lost a job I loved in 2009. As redundancies climb, 2025 is certainly giving off those same vibes. That feeling from 2009 – being walked to the car park by your colleagues and mentors – is fresh in the memory. It has a big influence on why Twilo is run so efficiently today.
This has been a leading topic in the work I’ve done with Tim throughout October; working on Twilo’s roadmap for 2026. The roadmap is built upon raising standards further, and working more efficiently. Those who know us will know that quality is our driving factor. By raising standards further and working more efficiently, I’m confident that we won’t just maintain our standing through these turbulent times, but we’ll achieve our growth targets and prosper in the next calendar year.
Away from forward planning, we spent a couple of weekends in Norfolk with family and friends. Most notably a trip to Princess Theatre to see the greatest Oasis tribute band; Oasish. For about the 5th time, but this time with more of a story to the set. Terry Christian narrated, and the band included solo sections from both Noel and Liam in the set. But the highlight of the night came out of nowhere, when our friend Laura was suddenly spotted – just in time – with one leg up on the stage! The band had to stop the show, the theatre in a mix of shock and hysterics, myself and her husband frozen to the spot like we’d seen a ghost! For whatever reason, too much alcohol I guess, Laura thought we were at a karaoke bar – and it was her turn to sing!
I’ve celebrated four people’s birthdays this month – happy birthday to them, and Ruben Amorim not only won back-to-back games for the first time, he made it three-in-a-row! All-in-all, a great month, on to the next.
Andrew
Big project preparation and seeing more of the UKI have spent October with some time away to recharge and get ready for some exciting projects coming in November. We’ve got some great work to jump into ready to end the year on a high.
Preparing The Next Big Project
Next week, we will begin on our next project which I believe will be awesome to get out the door. Giving us the opportunity to utilise mobile applications, we will be taking advantage of offline capabilities that will allow the user to carry out fire door inspections with low or no signal. The goal is to make the inspection process more efficient and allow more inspections to take place in one day. I’m excited to write code that will make use of mobile phones such as taking pictures to capture evidence.
UK Adventure
During my time away, I got to travel into Wales to spend some time with family that live there. The rain kept coming and going randomly which I suppose is normal for Wales. We had some good nights playing pool and darts; On one occasion, we accidently stayed up until 6:00 as we got a bit too competitive playing darts. We thought it would be a good idea to play killer where one player has to hit the bull three times, and another player had to hit the ring three times. We are not professional dart players and were there forever! When it wasn’t raining, we went outside and explored the coast. There was a wetlands centre near which had flamingos and ducks.
As my family were getting ready for their holiday abroad, it was time for me to start my train journey up to Scotland for my own holiday. It was supposed to take 8 hours from Llanelli to Kirknewton but thanks to cancellations it actually took 12 hours. I stayed in a Wigwam which was situated on a working farm. I just dropped my bags and went straight to bed after spending the day sat in train stations. The following days, I travelled back and forth to Edinburgh. I had spent a day at the zoo and some time going around Old Town and the rest of the city. I am excited to go back at some point as there is lots I didn’t get chance to do. My next goal is to go to the gallery, the museum and the castle. I did also manage to find a really cool bottle of whiskey in a Nessie shaped bottle.
Matt
Quizzes and comedy nightsReady For My Close Up
This month at Twilo has been another great one! One of the highlights for me has to be working with Liam and Laura to shoot some video content for our socials.
It was the first time that all three of us were working on this type of content together and it went really well. The guys showed their expertise ensuring we got the correct camera angles, backgrounds, lighting and volume.
I had the tough task of being in front of the camera, this is something new for me, but I really did enjoy it. My only issue was not trying to trip over my words as I speak, which happened every now and again, but thankfully we could do multiple takes.
A great team effort all around and a lot of laughs along the way. Make sure you keep an eye out for the videos once they’re posted!
And The Winner Is…
In October, I spent an evening in the stunning Hyde Park Picture House, taking part in Ali Plumb’s Untiled Film Quiz Project. As a huge fan of cinema, it was an excellent way to test my film knowledge. I got 72/100, which I’m over the moon with! (The winner got an incredible 94/100).
There was a specific quiz round to the film ‘Hot Fuzz’ too which as a film I’ve seen about 100 times, I of course got full marks for this section.
It was also exciting to meet Ali himself, as a fan of his podcast and interviews with different stars from across cinema and hear more about the people he’s interviewed. Apparently, Tom Hardy smells bad, which drew a loud gasp from a lot of people in the room.
Fun Run
As a keen runner, Sunday mornings I’m usually up and out for a 10k with my dog along the canal, but for one Sunday in October I went a little further. I ran my first ever half marathon! It was a in the moment decision to just keep running and I did, in a time of 2 hour 5 minutes I completed the full 21.1k.
I’m really proud of myself for being able to do it and I know that I have a time to beat in April 2026 as I take on London Landmarks Half Marathon. In the meantime, my focus is back on 10k’s as I have the Leeds Abbey Dash at the end of November, where I have my PB of 45 minutes to aim to beat.
A Night At The Glee Club
October ended with a trip to Leeds’ Glee Club to see one of my favourite comedians, James Acaster! I’m a huge fan of James’ and he had me and the audience in tears from laughing at his usual funny persona.
It was the first time seeing him solely as a standup, I had seen his podcast, Off Menu, before live, but it was a pleasure to finally see him on his own just doing stand-up! It was also a work in progress show, where a comedian is trying out new jokes and material to figure it out for an eventual tour show. So, this was really interesting to see and I’m looking forward to seeing how it finally looks as a tour show.
Reece
Finishing The Energy Project
This month I finished the new website build for an energy company. It was a full rebuild, focused on making the site faster, cleaner, and easier to use. The design needed to feel modern while keeping everything simple so users can find what they need without having to dig around.
A big part of the project was creating an eligibility checker that sits within the site. It was a nice feature to work on, combining layout and functionality in a way that feels natural. Once everything started linking together and testing went smoothly, it felt like the whole project had really come together. Seeing the final version live, running quickly and looking sharp, made all the effort worth it.
It’s always good finishing a build like this, something that started as a blank space and now feels complete. A few small touches and refinements really made a difference to how it feels to use.
Weekends and Music
I went to see All Them Witches live this month. The gig was brilliant from start to finish with a great set and atmosphere all the way through. The last time I saw them was at Download Festival at 1pm in the mud and pouring rain, so this was a completely different experience. Indoors with proper lighting and sound, everything just hit better.
I’ve also been trying out new restaurants every other weekend since moving to a new part of Leeds. The most recent one was Sukhothai. I’d been to the city centre one before, but this new one had the same great food and a relaxed setup. It’s definitely somewhere I’ll be going back to soon, especially as it’s only a short walk away.
Training For The Abbey Dash
I’ve been training for the Abbey Dash run, which takes place in Leeds next month. I’ve been building things up with shorter runs during the week and a longer one on the weekend. It’s been nice getting into a real rhythm and having something active to aim for.
It’s a good excuse to get outside, clear my head, and stay consistent with some sort of routine. I’m hoping to keep the momentum going right up to race day.
Looking Ahead
Next month I’ll be planning the next round of projects and getting started on some new builds. The goal is to keep performance sharp. I’ll also be carrying on with the Abbey Dash training.
Vadym
New challenges and exciting projectsIt’s hard to believe we’ve already reached the end of the month – time really does fly when things are busy! This one has been packed from start to finish with new challenges and exciting projects. Between deadlines, code reviews, and a few late nights debugging, it’s been a month that kept me fully on my toes – but in the best possible way.
I’ve had the chance to work on some really interesting projects lately, each one pushing my skills a little further and reminding me why I enjoy what I do. There’s something satisfying about seeing ideas turn into real, working products, especially when everything finally comes together.
Now that the month is wrapping up, I’m looking forward to slowing down just a bit. This weekend, I’m planning to visit some friends in Huddersfield – a little break to recharge, catch up, and enjoy good company before jumping into a fresh month ahead.
It’s been a busy one, but definitely a good one. Here’s to closing it out on a high note and stepping into the next month with the same motivation and energy.
Liam
Cameras, websites and silverware
October has brought some project reflection and some new rewarding opportunities. I’ve been teaching myself how to use a camera (not for the first time) and have been driving everyone mad with the incessant shutter sounds. The Twilo website creeps ever closer to completion, and I picked up my first ever race medal.
Twilo Focus Continues
This month has seen me continuing with work on the new Twilo website, now redesigning and creating all of the case studies to show on the website which is a bigger job than I thought. It’s been really fun to put together all these pieces of work as it forces me to sit down and reflect on past projects and pick out their highlights and display them in creative ways – giving me a much greater appreciation of the time and effort that goes into these jobs.
On top of this, I’ve been playing with the office camera, capturing some lifestyle shots around the office as daily life unfolds. This came about because I felt our social media was becoming quite flat and graphic-based and was lacking personality and transparency. I thought it was important to show the people behind the screen, people work with people at the end of the day, so seeing the faces of the people doing the work and the things we get up to here at Twilo is really important. Hopefully the addition of some people photography has helped shine a light into life here at Twilo.
Doing Good Work
This month also saw the start of a new website project for a charity that provides training and education to businesses and individuals on understanding neurodiversity’s and ultimately raising awareness on accessibility and inclusion. Working on projects like this is really rewarding as it gives you a sense that you’re doing something positive and helping to bring about change in the world (even if it’s only a small contribution in the grand scheme of things).
Charity and contributing to important causes is something that Twilo seems to really value, just before I started, the team completed a charity walk raising money for local charities, and it feels really great to be part of an agency that genuinely wants to make a difference and it really says a lot about the kind of people who work here.
Personal Highlights From October
My main highlight of October was completing my first official race at the Manchester half marathon. I’ve done long distance runs before but never experienced an official race like this, the crowds lined the streets for the entire 21km course, cheering you along, handing out jelly babies, waters and even cans of Stella. The atmosphere was like nothing else, it really makes you feel like a celebrity. We finished in 1:54 (we aimed for 1.55 so we were really pleased with this), collected our first ever race day medals and then made our way into town for a few pints.
Looking Ahead
I’m still really excited for the new Twilo site to go live, I think the new design and the selected projects really elevate the agency and help show off what amazing work gets done behind the scenes here. I’m excited to keep jumping behind the camera and experimenting with that – and really looking forward to some of the projects we’ve got in the pipeline.
Laura
Video production and seasonal content
Video Production Kick-Off
This month, Liam, Matt and I finally brought a long-planned idea to life: creating video content for Twilo. Matt was the brave one in front of the camera, while Liam and I worked behind the scenes on everything from scripting and styling to positioning and editing. It’s been great fun getting stuck into something new and seeing it all come together so smoothly. We even caught a few moments that might make it into a bloopers reel one day.
Getting Ahead of Seasonal Content
I’ve also been looking ahead to the next few months and all the key dates that come with them — Halloween, Bonfire Night, Christmas and everything in between. Each of our clients has their own tone and audience, so I’ve been thinking carefully about how these moments fit into their social calendars. Some are perfect for a bit of light-hearted content, while others call for something more thoughtful and professional.
Shaping Twilo’s Own Strategy
Alongside client work, I’ve been continuing to refine Twilo’s own marketing strategy, focusing on how we can keep showing up consistently and shout more about the brilliant work the team’s doing. The goal is simple: to make sure Twilo’s presence reflects the same level of care and creativity we put into every project.
Life Outside the Office
Outside of work, it’s been another busy month of school runs, swimming lessons, parents’ evenings, and the odd day off with my son. I’m taking the last week of October off for half term, something I’ve been looking forward to since my daughter started school in September. It has felt like a really long term! I’m ready for slow mornings, autumn walks, and plenty of Halloween excitement (it’s basically her Super Bowl).
We’ve also had a few close calls with chicken pox this month, so there’s been a lot of “spot watch” in our house. Stay tuned for next month’s blog to see if we escaped it!
