It wasn’t the name
The other day, I had coffee with James Routledge. A pioneering voice in the world of men’s mental health, James is a seriously talented writer and entrepreneur. He knows a lot about brand, and I was keen to pick his brains.
The company I founded, HEX, is my baby, and I’m very aware I’m biased when it comes to the brand. So I asked James, ‘what’s your perspective on HEX as an outsider looking in?’
The big question
He hit me straight away with a question: ‘where does the HEX name come from?’ His first association was a ride at Alton Towers (a lad from Stoke, James is passionate about Staffordshire – theme parks included).
I told him HEX’s origin story. I set up the business with my good friend Katy in 2022. We’d met years before while working at HSBC in the Hexagon Bar at the bank’s global training centre in Hertfordshire. This was where Katy and I bonded over subsidised white wine at £1.16 a glass.
It was in honour of our meeting place that we christened our business HEX. To be honest, it was a working title, but it stuck. And now, I’m very attached to it.
Does the name even matter?
But James got me thinking. The name ‘HEX’ doesn’t say much about us or what we do. Does that matter?
At its heart, HEX is built on friendship. The catalyst for the business was the bond between me and Katy, and our shared ambition. We both wanted to help great people reach their full potential in life and work.
Built on friendship
Through HEX, other friendships have begun, evolved and flourished. There isn’t a single person working with HEX that I don’t consider a firm friend.
The core team: Ella, George, Julie, Linda, Tom, Louisa, Alex, Nigel, and Harold the Labrador, represent the best of what we do. I love them all individually for their strengths, their commitment, and the joy they bring me. Our rhythms and rituals (the Friday Feels emails), and our in-jokes (it’s HEX not Hex), reinforce and sustain our success.
The soul of the business
I’ve concluded that the name doesn’t matter. The important thing is the soul of the business.
This is the same as it was when the business was born. We help people find confidence in who they are, joy in what they do, and fulfilment in what they achieve. We work hard and play hard. We do great work. We focus on impact. We give our clients the best experience we can.
Often, clients become friends.
What really makes HEX
The friendships in HEX are the soul of the business. They nourish me. They make me feel like I belong.
Regardless of name, HEX wouldn’t be HEX without them.
