Factory is a commerce agency built for how brands grow today. We focus on conversion, retention and operational efficiency. Our work combines strategy, delivery and practical use of AI to make things clearer, faster and more effective.
CO-FOUNDER & TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS DIRECTOR
Lucy Davis
I learned to code in 2015 during my Computer Science master’s at the University of East Anglia. Coming from a Creative Writing background, it was a major shift—less talking about feelings, more lab work. But it led to far more job opportunities.
My first tech role was as a front-end developer at Nielsen Brandbank. I wasn’t great at the coding part, but my communication skills stood out. That’s how I discovered consulting. For over two years, I helped major retailers—Walmart, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, and Waitrose—integrate our software.
In 2018, I joined We Make Websites. Tim, one of my interviewers, became a close collaborator. Together, we oversaw 50+ digital transformation projects for brands like Jigsaw, Alessi, Toteme, Mills & Boon, The Bike Club, and Dr Sam’s.
After lockdown, I moved to Bloomreach. Working with C-suite execs, enterprise sales teams, and landing major clients like Boohoo Group, Mayborn, and Woolworths gave me the confidence to consider starting something of my own.
So when Tim messaged in January 2024—asking if I was interested in “getting the band back together”—it felt like perfect timing. I said yes.
Enter Factory—a venture we’ve unknowingly been working towards for the past five years. We hope you like it.
CO-FOUNDER & COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR
Tim Richardson
My career path has been anything but conventional. I started out in finance at Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and a VC backed start-up accelerator but realised that corporate life was not for me. So, in a fit of creative ambition (or stupidity?), I left finance to start a record label. I spent the next three years cutting my teeth on branding, marketing, eCommerce, distribution and partnerships. But alas, the business failed. So I became a consultant.
I took my corporate and SMB knowledge and spent the next five years applying it as a freelance strategic marketing consultant, working with companies like West Cork Music, Britvic Ireland, and Trinity College Dublin. However, I was destined for agency-land.
In 2016 I joined Shopify Plus agency, We Make Websites, as their first commercial lead. Over the next five and a half years, as Head of Growth then Commercial Director, my focus powered us from £1m to £6.5m and one of the biggest Shopify agencies in the world. Along the way, I advised brands like Pangaia, Toteme, Jigsaw, Toast, Hasbro, This Works, David Beckham and Alessi. After we sold the business in 2021, I cashed my shares and turned my podcast, Your Basket Is Empty (started in 2018), into a solo consulting company that focussed on eCommerce Tech GTM and agency exit strategy. But the thought of starting an agency was always in the back of my mind.
In 2023, I reconnected with Lucy at an industry event. I pitched her the idea of an AI-first agency. One that was a hybrid of very talented humans powered by AI agents. And with that, Factory was born in June 2024.
FACTORY MANIFESTO
What’s Changed in Commerce, and How We’re Responding
Between 2010 and 2020, direct to consumer brands had a relatively clear playbook.
New businesses found opportunity in slow moving categories. Tools like Shopify made it easy to launch. Facebook delivered low cost acquisition. And a low interest environment meant capital was easy to raise. Often, that capital was spent on paid ads to fuel rapid growth.
The COVID period briefly accelerated this trend. Ecommerce surged. Growth targets were raised. Many assumed that pace would continue. But it didn’t. Since then, the market has shifted. Ad costs have increased. Returns are harder to predict. Operational complexity has gone up. Most brands are now running leaner and focusing more on efficiency, retention and long term value.
Meanwhile, AI has gone from theory to application. Since late 2022, it has started to reshape how digital work gets done. From research and content to development and decision making. It’s not replacing teams, but it is changing how they operate and what clients expect from their partners.
We think this shift calls for a different way of working.
Factory is built with that in mind. We’re a commerce agency designed for brands rethinking how they grow. And how they work. We combine strategy and delivery across conversion and retention. Our model blends human expertise with AI wherever it genuinely improves clarity, pace or efficiency.
We use AI throughout our work. But not everywhere for the sake of it. Some problems still need experienced people, structured planning and a bit of patience. Like replatforming. Or long term transformation. Or anything involving multiple departments and a budget spreadsheet. Between us, we’ve delivered over 150 digital transformation projects. We’re generalists by design. Comfortable working across commerce, technology and organisational change when the work calls for it.
Looking ahead, we think agencies will change too. The most effective ones will combine human teams with machine systems. Brands will need partners who can help them adapt to AI. Not just in how they show up to customers, but in how they operate behind the scenes. The new differentiators won’t be headcount or channel depth. They’ll be taste, curation and experience. Agencies will need people who are both deep in their craft and broad in their thinking.
That perspective doesn’t just come from our own work. It’s shaped by conversations with over 150 brand founders, operators and commerce thinkers on Offcuts. Our podcast and newsletter about commerce, culture and AI. That network helps us stay sharp. And keeps our thinking grounded in what’s actually happening.
We’re not reinventing the agency model for the sake of it. The needs of brands have changed. And so has the way work gets done. We’re building an agency that reflects that. Flexible. Outcome oriented. Comfortable working with both people and machines. It’s a practical response to where things are heading.
