Dan Knowles

Digital Technology

Dan Knowles discovered his natural ability as a salesman while at Staffordshire University and has since started his own social media and marketing consultancy, working with clients to weave digital technology into the fabric of their businesses.

His fast-growing firm, Mega Social, has helped SMEs through to large, blue chip organisations integrate social media and online communication channels as sales and customer engagement tools. “Digital is a skill in the modern workplace and it’s something I’ve been championing since the rise of social networks,” Dan explained.

“When I started at Staffordshire University, my first assignment was about using text messaging for businesses. We were looking at how this new technology was going to change industry. Fifteen years later and I’m showing businesses how to use smartphones to connect with their customers.”

Sales Career

Dan grew up in Lancaster and, by his own admission, “wasn’t very academic”. However, his interest in business prompted him to sign up to a Business Studies degree at Staffordshire University in 2001.

He said: “On the Open Day at Staffs, the people showing me around were interested in talking to me about me, rather than just showing me the facilities. They took a keen interest in what I wanted to do, which was different to the other universities I looked around.”

During his time on the course, Dan always strove to improve his employability prospects and took a string of part-time jobs. “The one that stands out for me was working on the shop floor at Ann Summers when I was 18/19 years old,” he recalled. “Many of my mates wouldn’t have dreamed of taking that job but I came away from it realising I was alright putting myself in challenging situations, handling difficult sales and conversations.”

After graduating in 2005, following a sandwich year at a recruitment business in Manchester, Dan returned home and soon found a part-time job in retail. He quickly rose to Store Manager and then Regional Manager before hitting a promotion wall after two years.

He said: “It was a really good job, but it got to a point where I couldn’t progress any further, so I left and began a start-up business with a friend.”

While applying for other jobs, Dan launched Me Hungry, an online takeaway food service similar to the more recent and hugely successful Just Eat. “Me Hungry was a bit ahead of its time,” he explained, “but it did well locally in Lancaster before we both got offered jobs and left it after six months.”

Dan spent the next two years on a graduate scheme at Yorkshire Bank, before a three-year position in the Department for Strategic Business Services. He helped businesses struggling with large loans get back on their feet so they could repay their debt. With the sector still feeling the effects of the financial crisis, Dan decided to take voluntary redundancy in 2012.

Mega Social

At his next job, as a Business Advisor at Lancaster University, where he spent two-years, Dan realised much of the support businesses were requesting was related to social media. This gave him the idea to become a self-employed social media expert and start Mega Social in April 2015.

He said: “We’ve been going 18 months and have an office in Morecambe and four full-time staff, so it’s going really well. We regularly employ temps from Lancaster University and I’ve returned to Staffordshire University for the past three years for Global Entrepreneurship Week. I love the enthusiasm and vibe you get from working with students and I think it’s really important to maintain those links.”

Dan works with many of his former employers and aims to continue growing the business. “Digital is increasingly important for sales and generating inbound sales leads,” he explained, “and many businesses are looking for expertise to help them use these tools effectively.”

Course studied

Business Studies

Year of graduation

2005