Steve Leach was born in Forres, Scotland in the late 1960s. After attending local schools, he ventured into a lingerie business, called Silky Drawers at the age of 21. Steve held a job as a firefighter, and was a commercial pilot before making a permanent foray into his own internet-based business. After several other business attempts, in 1996 he looked at the possibility of an online business.
His wife Heather, a public relations professional, suggested they start a one-stop shop web design, hosting and services operations. At the time, this type of business was booming all over the internet. Heather handled the company’s marketing and public relations while Steve, concentrated on the client base for their new business.
Their primary business at this time was to build and promote websites for other businesses. As the over-saturation of the web-design business became apparent, Steve made the decision to concentrate their business on the promotion and marketing of their client’s businesses. This was the birth of the present-day Bigmouth media. Using search engine optimization, online advertising and brand protection (to protect clients brand names from misuse by others) BigMouth Media would soon become the innovator and number one media company exclusively on the Internet.
It was here, that Steve had found a home in creating the world’s largest digital marketing agency. He founded the company Bigmouth Media in his basement, beginning with three staff members. His concept was simple: Optimize a company’s visibility on the Internet using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and online advertising. His product was to convince businesses that he could make their product easier to find in the global marketplace, and offer brand protection.
The Leaches and Bigmouth Media are credited with starting the SEO phenomena that has swept every business on the internet and created thousands of competitive businesses like Bigmouth Media. Although none are quite as successful to this multi-million pound company.
First year sales, with a client base of less than 20, generated more than £200,000. Steve, his wife, Heather, and one employee began to build their little home based enterprise into an international business and by 2007 Steve Leach achieved Entrepreneur of the Year from Real Business.
In 2006, Global Media (a German company) merged with Bigmouth Media in a deal worth more than £60 million.
Today Bigmouth Media has sales of over £100 million this year, and the company has gone from three staff members to more than 200 employees in 13 offices worldwide
The client list is quite impressive with 350 of the world’s biggest brands including British Airways, Tesco, Starbucks, Adidas and BP.
Steve has said of his business, “It’s been a wild ride, and sometimes it’s pretty hard to believe, but we’re still so busy that it’s not something either of us really has time to dwell upon. When we launched the business in 1996, I always thought it was possible we could build it into a major international company, but if truth be told I never thought for a moment that it was very likely, “