After originally choosing to study physics at university, Doncaster-born Stephen Kenwright had a change of heart which ultimately led him to where he is now, as co-founder of an exciting digital marketing agency based in Sheffield.

The decisive decision was to apply for a BA in English at Sheffield Hallam University. And after graduating in 2010, he opted to continue learning at Hallam with an MA in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature.

Since finishing his master’s in 2011, Stephen has had a rapid rise in the world of marketing, becoming strategy director after just three years at Leeds-based marketing agency Branded3 and later sales and marketing director at Edit Kin + Carta when the agency merged in August 2018. Stephen also founded the north of England’s largest search conference, Search Leeds, and is well-known in the digital marketing industry, having travelled the world as a guest speaker and panelist.

But now his attention is focused on developing marketing talent back home, in his favourite city of Sheffield. Less than a decade after his student days of joining the Rock Society, sampling Sheffield’s independent scene and running open mic poetry nights, Stephen has helped Hallam students as a mentor and found it particularly beneficial for himself professionally.

He said: “It’s been really interesting to meet people that I think are definitely going to go places. The fact that these students are on a mentoring scheme means that they are much more organised, driven and ambitious than I was at university!

“From my point of view as an employer, I’ve learnt that it makes a lot of sense to recruit graduates who have been on mentoring schemes. They are the type of people we are looking for, with ambition, enthusiasm and potential. It’s nice to know that when you’re first talking to a mentee that you could be talking to someone who could end up being a superstar in their field.”

This experience also helped confirm to Stephen that Sheffield was being under-utilised as a base for digital marketing agencies. And in summer 2019, Stephen co-founded a new digital marketing agency, Rise at Seven, and hopes that through the business he will be able to nurture more home-grown talent.

Based in Kelham Island, Rise at Seven specialises in technical SEO, creative strategy, content marketing, digital PR and social media. 

“It was an easy decision to launch Rise at Seven in Sheffield. There’s a real excitement developing in Kelham Island, also referred to as “Sheffield’s Shoreditch”. The area is surrounded by creatives, passionate technical specialists and budding entrepreneurs.”

Stephen hopes that through his new venture and nurturing new talent, he will be able to give something back to Sheffield in more ways than one.

If you would like to find a mentor like Stephen, join Hallam's digital platform, the Hallam Collective. 

The Hallam Collective is an online global network of Hallam alumni (graduates) who are connecting with each other and offering up career advice and mentoring.