The founder is stepping into two very different industries.
The boss of a Leicester-based marketing agency has sold her company to its internal senior management team.
Mocha Marketing has been transferred in equal shares to managers Steve Stuart and Chloe Dennis in full.
The business has been the pride and joy of founder Gemma Orton for seven years, building the business from a start-up in a back-bedroom to the award-winning agency that it is today.
Gemma said: "After seven years of building Mocha, I feel the time is now right to pass the reigns over to two people who I know will take Mocha to the next level. Of course, it was not a decision that I came to overnight.
"It’s hard to describe the love you have for your own business. People compare it to the love of a child but it comes with a lot of emotions and I for one, have loved this journey. But I realised that I’m ready for a new challenge to push my boundaries.
"To sell the business internally is a dream come true. It means that our team and clients are unaffected by a huge upheaval but can continue to enjoy all the benefits of the Mocha that they know, whilst continuing to grow on the excellent foundations in place.
"Selling externally wasn’t an option for me. I simply wouldn’t have done that to our team or our clients. My plan to sell only started and ended with Steve and Chloe who have proved themselves to be more than capable to take over from me and were both, thankfully, over the moon at my proposal."
Gemma will continue to play a role at Mocha for at least a year, mentoring the senior management team and of course, will remain a constant ambassador for the business.
But her next step is to take a central role in her and her husband’s new business Orton Property Group, which will consist of a number of buy-to-let and holiday-let properties, as well as spending time learning how to be a smallholder farmer at their new home.
Steve Stuart, Digital Director, joined the business in January 2020, when his small London agency was acquired by Mocha.
Steve has since become the backbone of the client output - especially in a time when the whole world has gone ‘digital’.
Chloe Dennis joined Mocha as Agency Manager in 2019 and quickly became the leading influence of the day to day operation.
Chloe will resume the role of Managing Director in the new structure. For those who don’t know, Chloe is also Gemma’s sister so to enjoy this journey together has been the icing on top of the cake for the pair.
Gemma added: "I honestly can’t thank enough, all of the people who have played a part in Mocha over the last few years, however small. We have received so much support which has had a huge impact on the reputation that we have today as a marketing agency.
"As a business, we are in the best position that we have ever been and I’m genuinely excited to see what Steve and Chloe go on to do over the next few years."
