Wayne
From an honest conversation to a transformed business
This month has been a transformative and productive time at Twilo, filled with positive changes and festive cheer.
We kicked off the month with a team meeting where I outlined some key challenges the business has been facing. The response from the team was outstanding, sparking small but impactful changes to how we operate. These adjustments have empowered the team, who are now collaborating more effectively with our clients, while achieving a sense of purpose as to where they fit and what their responsibilities are.
In November we also welcomed Tim to the team, an experienced business consultant. Tim has started by helping shape Twilo’s strategic direction. He’s also been working closely with individual team members to refine their roles and chart their future progression within the company. Not the only new face, Reece also joined our Developer team and has made a great start, getting stuck into his first e-commerce build. More from Reece below.
For me, this month marked personal growth as a business owner. After identifying that my time was being spent everywhere except where it should be, I’m transitioning into a role more aligned with that of an MD, focusing on business growth, acquiring new clients, and team development. It’s a shift that’s brought clarity to my responsibilities, and I feel this is something I should have done several years ago. Even in this short time, it’s clear that these small changes have led to significant improvements, and it’s been inspiring to see my colleagues seize new opportunities with enthusiasm.
On remembrance weekend I took a trip to Malton, supposedly the food capital of Yorkshire. We stayed in a very nice B&B called The Talbot Inn. Their attention to detail was fantastic, from the radio playing as you walked into your room, to a doggy gift bag, bed and fresh water waiting for Fred on arrival. The food was also very good – I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a night away in North Yorkshire.
On a festive note, Christmas preparations are in full swing! As always, the Twilo Christmas tree made an early appearance, and a trip to the Manchester Christmas markets was a much-anticipated tradition. As usual, I indulged in too many samples of cheese and spiced rum! Fred also joined in the festivities, though I suspect his Christmas antlers won’t survive the season.
Back to business, I’m very grateful for the Bright Points received from my colleagues this month. They will certainly go towards a few drinks on the Christmas do. Looking ahead, we’ve decided to close for a full two weeks over Christmas, giving everyone a well-deserved 16-day break. This pause will allow us to recharge before embarking on what I see as a new and exciting chapter for Twilo. With some final loose ends to tie up in 2024, I’m looking to the new year with clarity. This has created a clear direction, and I can’t wait to see what the new year brings. I’ll be doing everything I can to make 2025 – the year of Twilo’s 10th birthday – our best yet!
Roxanne
A Month of Growth, Gratitude, and Festive Joy!
This month has been wonderfully rewarding, filled with opportunities to learn, develop and grow. I’ve had the pleasure of working more closely with our amazing clients, supporting them with a variety of digital marketing challenges. From brainstorming fresh ideas for social media to tackling complex campaigns, every interaction has been a chance to make a difference and deepen my knowledge. Working within a large team who all specialise in their role has been great for me personally as I am learning tips and tricks from experts in their field.
I also have received such a warm welcome from the team and was elated to be the Bright Points winner for October (I also set a new record for the most points awarded), so this equated to some vouchers which I happily used to purchase some Christmas presents for my sons.
Beyond the office, the holiday season has arrived in full swing at home! The Christmas tree is up, (almost) all the gifts are wrapped, and the cupboards are stocked with treats. My sons were lucky enough to see Santa himself recently, which was amazing – although very wet! It was mainly outside, and it unfortunately rained ALL day – however, this didn’t stop us, and we quickly warmed up with a hot chocolate.
Looking ahead, we’ve officially booked our summer getaway to Greece, and the anticipation of warmer weather and Greek cuisine is already making me smile. My youngest son and I also had a mini ‘date night’ where I introduced him to Chinese food, which was lovely.
As this year winds down, I’m filled with gratitude for both the professional growth and the personal joys that have made this month special. I look forward to wrapping up the year by completing a few exciting milestones both in and outside of work.
Matt
Adventures in Bali: Wildlife Encounters, Cultural Experiences, and Professional Wins
This month, I’ve been getting to know clients more and have been able to meet with some and create exciting proposals for our future work together! Watch this space! I’ve also been working hard with the dev team to add the finishing touches to some new client websites.
Fun in the sun
At the start of November, I was lucky enough to head to Bali for two weeks, and I had an incredible time! I went as part of a tour group called My Adventure Project and met 15 amazing people on my journey.
Over the two weeks, I went to Canguu, Lovina, Ubud and Gili Trawangan (Gili T), and it was nonstop activities and adventure. I did three separate snorkelling trips where I saw manta rays, dolphins, turtles, and plenty of fish in the wild. It was a surreal experience to see these wild animals in real life. Putting my head under water and seeing 30-40 dolphins swimming below me is a memory that’s going to stay with me for a long time. We also went to a turtle sanctuary and saw lots of baby turtles that had been rescued, and when they’re old enough, will be released into the wild.
I didn’t just see animals in the water in Bali, I saw plenty of monkeys! I went to the monkey forest in Ubud. Similar to the snorkelling, it was such a great experience to see wild animals in real life, but with the cheeky monkeys, you couldn’t wear any jewellery, sunglasses, or hats, you had to keep your phone close to you, and you couldn’t have any food or drink because they’d steal it from you, as I saw happen to many people in the monkey forest. When we arrived at the monkey forest, we were stopped by a Balinese school teacher who was teaching his class English. He asked my friends and me if we could take five minutes out to hear his class’s stories of the monkey forest and help them improve their English. This was really fun to do, and I enjoyed knowing that we’re helping these children learn another language.
Other activities included riding a jeep to the top of the volcano of Mount Batur to see the sunrise and the view was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen! We also did a quad bike tour, which wasn’t the safest thing I’ve ever done, but it was always funny to overtake someone and drench them in mud!
I also participated in getting blessed in a water purification ceremony at the Tirta Empul temple in Ubud. I’m not really a religious person, but I found the whole thing very interesting, and our tour guide gave us so much information about the history of the ceremony, what it means, and what each waterspout meant. We all felt really good after it, so it must have worked.
Bali was an amazing experience, and I’d love to go back in a heartbeat. I made some brilliant memories and friends for life!
Aleena
Reflecting on an Eventful Month: Work, Family, and Celebrations
This month has been a whirlwind of excitement, personal milestones, and professional challenges. From diving into ambitious projects to celebrating my sister’s wedding, November has truly been a month to remember.
Exciting New Projects
As someone who thrives on tackling challenges, I was thrilled to kick off work on two significant projects this month. Both are high-stakes and demand creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving—exactly the kind of work I find fulfilling. These projects have allowed me to push my limits and explore innovative solutions. The sense of pride that comes from contributing to such impactful work is unparalleled, and I can’t wait to see how these endeavours unfold.
Annual Visit to My Home Country
On the personal front, I had the joy of visiting my home country during my annual holidays. This trip was made even more special as it coincided with my sister’s wedding. It was a vibrant, traditional Pakistani wedding that spanned four days of festivities. From elaborate ceremonies to mouthwatering traditional food, every moment was filled with joy and cultural richness. The highlight for me was relishing the delicious street food and exploring bustling malls with my family.
Weekend Activities and Celebrations
Weekends were equally packed with excitement. Beyond the wedding, I spent time reconnecting with friends and family, making the most of my time back home. While there were no sports events on my calendar, the energy and enthusiasm of wedding festivities more than made up for it.
Looking Ahead
As the month comes to a close, I feel energised and grateful for the balance of professional achievement and personal joy. Working on challenging projects while celebrating life’s milestones has been a rewarding experience. I’m looking forward to the continued progress on my projects and cherishing the memories I’ve created this month.
Amit
November Reflections: Professional Growth, New Beginnings, and Personal Wins
November 2024 has been a month of ups and down, both personally and professionally, but it’s been a journey filled with valuable lessons. Reflecting on the past few weeks, I can see how much I’ve progressed and how each challenge has pushed me to become better.
Professional Growth: Tackling OpenCart and Backend
In the office, I’ve been getting more deeply involved in my daily tasks, becoming increasingly attentive and productive. My efforts with OpenCart are starting to pay off, as I’ve gained a stronger grasp of its functionalities. Though there’s still room to perfect my skills, I’m proud of the progress I’ve made. Diving deeper into backend work this month has been a significant milestone, something I hadn’t ventured into much before. Backend isn’t as scary as it sounds… unless you forget to debug! 😝
Another highlight of my professional journey this month has been partnering with Reece, a new front-end developer in the company. Working with him on front-end projects has been a delight, and I’m excited about the opportunities to learn and grow from this partnership.
New tools and technologies
In terms of tools and technologies, I’ve been experimenting with new plugins like Flamingo, WP Bakery, and Devmanextensions. These have been fantastic additions to my toolkit and have broadened my understanding of various development processes. On top of that, I contributed by writing documentation, and blogs – Have a look at my blog on wordpress 😁, a rewarding experience that strengthened my communication and organisational skills.
Personal Highlights: Partying and Pumping Iron
Outside of work, November started with a bang! I kicked off the month by attending the Diwali Boat Party 🎉 in London, and what an unforgettable experience it was – full of beers, excitement, energy, and joy. Let’s just say the boat may have rocked, but not as much as my dance moves.
I also embarked on a new personal journey by starting gym workouts this month. It’s been incredibly rewarding so far. The gym has not only boosted my physical energy but also enhanced my focus and attentiveness in other areas of life. It feels great to invest in myself and my well-being.
As the month wraps up, I feel more grounded and motivated than ever. November brought its share of challenges, but with them came growth, learning, and a sense of purpose. I’m looking forward to taking these lessons and continuing to build on them in the coming months.
If December brings me more backend debugging or an extra scoop of protein powder, I’ll be ready for it! 💪🚀
Andrew
Exploring New Frontiers: AI Development, API Authentication, and Adventures in Dorset
I’ve got to work on some very exciting projects this month. One project involved making use of the ChatGPT API to create a specialised chatbot for the medical field. This was my first time developing with AI and I learnt a lot including how to make use of base prompts (These are hidden messages the user does not see. It instructs ChatGPT how to respond to the user’s questions). Going forward, I think this is a very powerful tool that could possibly be implemented in future websites for many different purposes.
I’ve also explored using different methods of API authentication in November. One project required me to use Microsoft’s SAML which just means a single sign on system. This was a great opportunity to try out authentication methods that I am not used to using and it broadens the tools of which we have at our disposal in the future.
Outside of work, I’ve had some time away in Dorset. We timed this very unfortunately. Upon first arrival into our holiday park that was in the middle of a forest, I became quite excited. The ground was frosted over with temperatures of around -1 degrees Celsius. I am a fan of the cold as it means enjoying blankets and hot drinks in the comfort of the caravan/venue heating. It was also rather pretty; The holiday park was like a winter wonderland with small sprinkles of snow. The snow very quickly went away the morning after which was followed by flooding and that was not so much fun. Despite this, we had some fun nights in with the venue that included three karaoke nights, a Dungeons and Dragons show and middle of the night clubbing.
On the last day of Dorset, we paid a visit to the Bovington Tank Museum. As someone who is a bit of nerd when it comes to modern history and tanks, this was a very cool experience that went beyond my expectations. I love how it slowly takes you through the evolution of the tanks from WW1 all the way to modern day whilst telling you all these real stories which happened along the way. What makes it so special is that most of the tanks in that museum were the real tanks that saw action during the wars. I was easily excited when we saw the Tiger II. Films and video games can never give you the sense of scale and intimidation as being stood next to these machines in real life. On top of that, there was a hole in the side armour where the Tiger had been hit by a Sherman before the Allies realised it had been abandoned and decided to capture it. Details like that add so much character and fascination.
Sayem
Turning Challenges into Opportunities at Twilo Creative
At Twilo Creative, every day brings new opportunities to grow, and I’m always excited to take on whatever comes my way! Recently, I had the chance to build a shipping extension for a Phoenix garden project. This was my first time working on a shipping plugin for OpenCart (usually, I work with modifications), so it was a learning curve. The most rewarding part was figuring things out without a clear roadmap or Pluto tasks, relying on the support of my amazing colleagues. It was challenging, but also incredibly satisfying to work through the unknowns and create something functional.
Another project I worked on was setting up a custom 404 page for OpenCart. By default, OpenCart redirects users to the homepage if they hit a wrong URL, which can be a bit frustrating. I had to dig deep for documentation (which wasn’t easy to find!) but with some persistence, I was able to successfully redirect users to a custom 404 page. The sense of accomplishment when that worked was great!
I also created a mail template for campaign automation. The challenge here was mapping fabric samples to actual products with no clear specs. But, with a bit of creative problem-solving and a touch of intuition, I was able to get everything lined up and functional.
Lastly, I tackled a lead generation plugin. While the task started off a bit unclear, once I got the basic understanding from a colleague, I was able to quickly solve the problem and get the plugin working perfectly.
At Twilo Creative, every challenge is just another opportunity to learn, solve problems, and create something valuable—and that’s what keeps me motivated and inspired!
Reece
My First Month at Twilo and a weekend in Newcastle
Starting a new job always brings a mix of excitement and challenges, and my first month at Twilo has been no exception. I’ve spent a lot of time getting to grips with the company’s structure, processes, and tools like OpenCart and the Grilla Framework. It’s been a valuable learning experience, and I’ve had the chance to collaborate with some fantastic colleagues. Before joining Twilo, I also managed to enjoy a weekend in Newcastle, which was the perfect way to unwind. All in all, it’s been an exciting start, and I’m looking forward to what’s next.
Settling Into the Company Structure
Starting a new role is always a learning curve, and my first month at Twilo was no different. I’ve spent much of the time familiarising myself with internal workflows, tools, and how the company operates. The onboarding process gave me a solid understanding of Twilo’s values, goals, and the way different departments collaborate. I’ve also gotten to know my team and quickly settled into the daily routine. The support from everyone has been fantastic, and I’ve learned a lot in a short time.
Understanding the Company Culture
One of the things I’ve really appreciated is the company culture at Twilo. The team is welcoming, and there’s a strong sense of camaraderie across departments. Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do, which has made for a positive and supportive environment. It’s a great place for both personal and professional growth.
A Weekend in Newcastle
Before starting at Twilo, I spent a weekend in Newcastle attending a friend’s party. It was a great way to enjoy some downtime with friends. I also explored some of Newcastle’s iconic spots, like the Quayside and Newcastle Castle. It was a refreshing way to kick off a new chapter.
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead to the next few months, I’m feeling confident and excited about what’s to come. My first month at Twilo has been a great learning experience, and I’m eager to contribute even more to the team. I’m also looking forward to continuing my growth, both personally and professionally, as I take on new challenges. On top of that, I’m excited for the Christmas party next month—it’s sure to be a great way to celebrate the season with the team.
