Wayne
Team & Hiring
We’ve welcomed Nicola to the team this month, a brilliant addition and exactly the kind of person we want around as we push the business forward. You’ll be hearing more from Nicola below…
Recruitment has been lively. We had a BDM accept an offer and then get pulled away by a higher offer within 72 hours. Our offer was a good one, so fair play. Rather than slow us down, it allowed us to re-focus and respond in the right way. We’re now hiring two BDMs, not one, and we expect both to be in place at the start of March.
Bigger Thinking, Bigger Moves
My sessions with Tim this month have been some of the most productive yet. We’re thinking bigger and continuing to raise the bar every time we get close to it. The goal to become a leading agency in Leeds is coming to fruition and this is giving me an even greater level of confidence, which I feel is growing through the team. We’re in a great position, and the focus now is execution.
Back on the Airwaves
My new years’ resolution for 2026 is to make time for my hobbies and the things that energise me, and this month delivered exactly that. The contracts are signed and I’m really pleased to announce that I’m launching a radio show with my good friend Andy, starting on 3rd March on LDC Radio, every other Tuesday from 9pm to 11pm.
Dance music has always been a huge part of my life, especially the 90s and 2000s era. This gives me the opportunity to continue playing that music to a live audience while also staying close to new music releases in the present day.
Alongside that, I’ve been deep into learning Logic Pro 12 and picked up an AKAI MPK Mini IV keyboard. Music production is the next skill I’m determined to master. When I get into something I need to understand it properly; how it works, why it works, and how to do it to the absolute best of my ability. Learning Logic Pro is already reminding me of when I learned After Effects many years ago due to its complex and seemingly endless user interface. There are so many options and buttons and sounds and presets to go through, but I’m already putting some tracks together which I like the sound of.
Sun and Snow
Lianne & I spent Valentine’s weekend in Grasmere in the Lake District, our favourite part of the country. You could lift Grasmere up and drop it into Switzerland or Norway without anyone noticing, it’s absolutely beautiful. We had blue skies through the day and heavy snow overnight, giving us proper snow-capped mountain views from the hotel window.
I ❤️ Claude
At this point I’m completely obsessed and my wife is probably getting a little bit suspicious about this ‘Claude’ I’m always talking to. I mentioned last month that I took out the Pro plan within an hour of using it, and now I’m seriously considering upgrading to Max. If the pricing was more reasonable, I wouldn’t hesitate, but I might be left with no choice if I continue to use it so heavily.
Claude is not another ChatGPT or Grok, it’s on a whole other level. You can build skills in Claude, you can provide instructions to carry out when you add something to a chat, you can create automations, and this is me being vague because I encourage you to stop what you’re doing and learn Claude as soon as possible – it will be the biggest up-skill of 2026. It’s almost limitless in what it can do, it’s powerful, it’s intelligent, and I’m starting to think that our entire agency will have no choice but to work with it in the very near future. If you work in the tech/creative industry and you’re not using Claude right now, you’re already behind. Get on it!
Andrew
Self-Improvement and New Skills
In February, I have been focusing on upping my skills as well making improvements to our workflow. It’s been a very chilled out month outside of work with just one weekend out and the rest of the time spent just relaxing.
This month has been a good opportunity for learning as we improve skills and better our processes to deliver great projects. I’ve had discussions and spent some time to improve leadership skills and delegation management. We have also been experimenting with new ideas to improve our efficiency and project management. One such idea was introducing a physical Kanban board we can use to better track the progress of projects. This will be particularly helpful in achieving Twilo’s project goals for 2026.
Improving our work was not the only self-improvement we have made in February as we also had the opportunity for an afternoon with first-aid training. This was a great experience and a nice refresher since I think the last time I was taught any first aid would have been over 10 years ago! Adding some friendly competition to the CPR practice with scoring also made this a lot of fun which I think we all enjoyed very much.
Some Quiet Down-Time
At home, it’s been a very quiet month. I suppose the only somewhat interesting thing I have done is have a ride out to Manchester on one Saturday. I went with some friends around the shops and spent a good portion of the night hanging out in bars on Canal Street. We stayed overnight in a hotel very close to Canal Street which was situated in an underground room. It was actually really nice for the price of the room. It had a TV we could connect our phones to. It also had a full kitchen area which we of course did not use but was a nice-to-have.
Besides going on a night out, I’ve finally gotten used to my coffee machine from January and I’ve got a good milk jug and thermometer coming so I am so far enjoying all the home made coffees!
Matt
Persistence Paying Off
This month we created and submitted a Google Ad for one of our clients. As always, we followed the guidelines and provided exactly what Google required.
However, there was an issue which meant that the ad couldn’t go ahead. For some this would cause a big crisis and panic, but that’s not how we work at Twilo!
I informed the client and got in touch with Google’s Ad Account team and after further discussion with the team there, managed to resolve the issue so that the ad could go live.
It just shows what we’re about here at Twilo; our persistence is key and we work hard to ensure our clients get the best!
Family Birthday Celebrations
At the beginning of February, my family and I went to Forde, in Horsforth for a Sunday Roast to celebrate my mum’s birthday.
I couldn’t recommend the Sunday Roasts at Forde enough! They’re so tasty and you get a good amount of food on your plate. The restaurant is owned by Matt Healy (from MasterChef not The 1975!) and the quality and expertise are definitely tasted in the food that is served.
As Though We Never Left
Due to the horrendous weather since the turn of the year, my football team didn’t play a game til the 14th February – our last game had been at the start of December!
We had also missed a lot of training due to the weather and low numbers, so when we turned up to play on the 14th we didn’t feel in the best of shape!
Additionally, the team we played had been playing every week and were on a winning streak of 9 games and they had risen to 3rd in the league, one place behind us.
We ran out 7-0 winners, absolutely dominating the game from kick-off. Showing off our quality and looking like the team that had been continuously playing, we all put in a great shift and now we’re looking forward to a cup semi-final and chasing down 1st in the league with the gap being 3 points.
New Running Routes
It’s now just two months until I take on the London Landmarks half marathon. I’ve been continuing my training for it. The runs are certainly getting longer now as I build up pace and stamina before Race Day in April.
My most recent run was 15km at a conversational pace. For a change of route and scenery, I got the train into town and then ran from the train station along the canal all the way home, which was bang on 15km.
I think it’s been one of my favourites runs I’ve done, there were so many nice places along the canal – including some lovely little cafés – that I’ll definitely return to on a walk with my dog. There were also a few locks which helped me to train for any inclines.
Reece
New Builds
February’s been about getting stuck into a new build. I’ve started working on a website for a heat pump manufacturer and we’re using our own custom e-commerce system for it. It’s been good using something we’ve built ourselves and shaping it around a completely different brief. Every client wants things doing slightly differently, so it’s involved a lot of tweaking and refining to get it right. It’s coming together well and I’m looking forward to seeing the finished version once everything’s live.
Alongside the main build, I’ve also been picking up smaller projects. A lot of them have focused on improving performance, adding extra functionality, and making changes that help increase clicks or enquiries. It’s not always the most obvious work visually, but it’s satisfying knowing those small improvements help clients get better results.
First Aid Training
We had a first aid course at work with Natalie from First Steps First Aid. It was good fun and always good to know. We covered CPR and had a go at doing compressions properly, which is harder than it looks! We also went through how to use an AED and what to do in a few different emergency situations before help arrives. Hopefully I’ll never need to use the training, but it’s good to feel like I’d at least know where to start.
Food, pints and crazy pool
Away from the screen, I’ve been going to a local pub quiz. We get there early and play a few games of Scrabble before it starts. I’m not going to lie, my spelling lets me down a lot! I’m confident until someone challenges the word and then it all falls apart. Still good fun though, even if half my points are questionable.
I also tried crazy pool, which is basically crazy golf on a pool table. Thought I’d be decent because I can play normal pool. I was wrong. The ball kept flying off the table. Not once either. Absolute chaos, but good fun.
I also visited Northern Market, which has Northern Monk Brewery inside. Good beer, loads of different food stalls, and a great atmosphere. It’s ideal when you want variety without having to settle on one place.
Looking ahead
February has felt productive. A solid mix of bigger builds and smaller improvements at work, plus a few new things outside of it. On to March!
Liam
February has been a really busy month with a whole host of new projects for me to sink my teeth into, knee-high snow(?)… and even a first aid course!
Plenty of Projects
February has kept me really busy and its definitely tested my organisational skills. Thankfully the daily steps we follow at Twilo have helped keep everything on track and my diary in order. As a creative who loves starting new things I’ve found it tricky in the past to prioritise jobs that are close to completion and instead would get distracted or sidetracked by the new jobs coming in that I couldn’t wait to get my head around! I’ve really found the processes at Twilo a huge help in combatting this – even things as simple as keeping a written diary of all of our daily tasks helps me to put new jobs later in the week giving me brain space to complete outstanding jobs first, it sounds really basic but I’ve found it works great for me!
The renewables e-commerce website that I was working on last month was handed over to our Dev team mid Feb and is coming together really nicely. I think this is one of the best parts of web design and one of the reasons I love it so much, seeing something you’ve put so much time into slowly start coming to life is so rewarding and the devs here at Twilo do such a great job of recreating designs in code.
First Aid
This month Natalie from First Steps First Aid came in and gave us a 2-hour class. A first aid course is something I’ve always wanted to do, I think it’s something that everyone should have at least some understanding of, so to finally get the chance to give it a go was brilliant. In the class we learned about burns, breaks, head injuries, how to perform CPR and how to use an AED. We learned some really crucial things, not least being the location of our nearest AED.
Personal Highlights
I’ve been trying to keep my head down a bit this month, trying to get back into the habit of saving money, something we got really good at in preparation for our wedding, but seem to have completely lost since getting back from the honeymoon. So February has been a month of cheap / free activities, I’ve seen my friends a lot and got out for a bunch of walks. Last weekend we did a 10 mile hike in Settle and ended up in knee-high snow trudging through farmers fields and admittedly getting a bit lost in the process! Beautiful views of the countryside from the snowy hilltops made it all worth it.
Looking Ahead
A lot of interesting projects on the horizon and some cool projects currently being worked on. Things feel like they’re moving really smoothly at the moment and projects are coming and going in a really organised fashion. I need to keep organised and maintain my focus on my priorities lists and I’ll look forward to sharing some new case studies next month!
Laura
Creative Ideas and New Directions
This month has included some really interesting conversations with clients about the visual side of their social content. We’ve been exploring ideas for more creative posts around key dates and public holidays, looking at ways to make those posts feel more considered and eye-catching. It’s been a really enjoyable part of the month and a good excuse to sit down and work closely with Liam, whose creative skills are seriously impressive. Seeing how ideas develop from a rough concept into something polished is always satisfying.
I’ve also been spending time thinking about LinkedIn and how different approaches work for business pages compared with personal accounts, particularly around specific campaigns and projects. It’s easy for social media to become a routine of posting regularly, but the real value comes from making sure each post has a purpose and strengthens the brand in some way. A lot of my focus has been on making sure the content we produce is thoughtful and intentional rather than just filling the calendar.
Half Term Adventures
Outside of work it’s been a busy month as usual. Half term brought plenty to do, including a Wicked-themed event for my eldest, who is still completely obsessed. We also went to a glow-in-the-dark slime workshop which the kids loved and, if I’m honest, was pretty fun for the adults too.
We had a lovely day out in Leeds as well, catching the train in and visiting Leeds City Museum, which has a real mummy that my daughter described as “very cool… a bit scary but if you look at it long enough you get used to it.” We finished the day with dim sum, which was absolutely delicious!
Nick
React Native
The main project I’ve been working on this month has been an Android app, built with React Native, which I believe is a first for Twilo. I last worked with React Native in 2018 or so, and it was a miserable, challenging experience back then. These days it’s much smoother, and I’ve had a blast. There’s some novelty to creating a mobile app compared to standard web apps, and it was funny seeing the other guys marvel at the android emulator running a fake phone on my screen! It has been a great learning experience, and I’m looking forward to getting another chance to work on a React Native app.
A Shrekingly Good Time
I had a pretty quiet month in February and only went out on the town two out of the four weekends! Went to Roxy Ballroom and played duck-pin bowling and iceless curling, which I’m not sure how anyone can be good at. Also went to a Shrek-themed bottomless brunch which was great. I was worried it would be a rip-off because it only lasted an hour, but the drinks came so fast that I could barely keep up. They had some people dressed up as Shrek, Fiona and Donkey dancing around singing Smashmouth, I felt like I was 11 again!
Nicola
Joining Team Twilo
Following a successful interview, I joined the team at Twilo in the second week of February as Administrator for the company. This is a new position, created to support Wayne and the team with administrative and financial tasks. I am settling in, learning the ropes and hope to be able to support the team in a variety of ways to enable everyone to maximise their efficiency!
Cultural Exploits
Lee Miller at Tate Britain
In its closing week I had the opportunity to visit the exhibition of Lee Miller’s photography at the Tate Gallery. Lee Miller was an extraordinary, thoroughly modern American model, photographer, adventurer and war correspondent, most prolific in the 1930s and ‘40s in the USA, across Europe, Egypt and the UK. The exhibition showcased her early work in collaboration with Surrealist photographers and artists particularly Man Ray, her work for both UK and US Vogue magazine ranging from fashion photography to articles detailing the devastation of British cities during the Blitz, later Europe and even photographic visits to concentration camps after their liberation. Her work as a war correspondent took its toll leading to her relinquishing photography for avant-garde cookery; however her hidden archive of over 60,000 images and documents was discovered and curated by her son after her death in 1977.
Chameleons at Halifax Minster
Another highlight was seeing my favourite band, Chameleons, play in the majestic setting of Halifax Minster. Aside from being a great gig, the Minster was beautiful and very atmospheric in the evening. It was a bit odd having a bar in a church though! Halifax Minster has a 900-year history and many beautiful features; it is now also a civic venue supporting the community and promoting the history of Halifax and is well worth a visit if in the area.
