Daniel's Story

My gurus who motivate me to do what I do every day are my family. They are my strongest 'Why'! The other three are communities I belong to, youth empowerment and success. 

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Daniel Nikolla was born in Tirana, Albania, in 1993. He comes from a highly educated family. Both parents spent their careers working for the Albanian Government. His dad, Mitro held the position of the Head of Finance for several institutions such as Tirana International Airport, Drejtoria e Sherbimeve Qeveritare, Drejtoria e Pergjithshme e Burgjeve, etc. His mother Neti worked at Albcontrol for over 25 years as a finance specialist.

As a young child, Daniel was devoted to football and learning English through private courses. He was an active (youth to pro) football player from the age of 10 to 20. Throughout the years, he played for Partizani Tirana, Dinamo Tirana and Internacionale Tirana. In 2012, Daniel was taken on a trial at Wacker Burghausen U23, a team playing in Bundesliga 3 of Germany, then.

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MOVING TO ENGLAND

In the following year, he moved to London to study English at Waltham Forest College and Creative Media Production at City and Islington College. His dream to become a professional football player stopped there, but he always followed football closely. During his studies at Waltham Forest College, he played for the football team of the college.

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In 2015, Daniel was elected the Student Union President (HE) at City and Islington College. During his studies, he was also sitting on boards and committees of the college, including the Board of Governors. He enjoyed these roles as he learned a lot by networking with successful business people and policymakers.  The college with over 15,000 students wasn't enough. In 2016, Daniel won the elections to be a councillor in the National Executive Council of the National Union of Students UK (NUS UK). In the same year, he won International Student Officer of the Year (FE) and was runner-up for Further Education Student Union of the Year at the NUS UK Awards 2016. The progression shown by the student union was picked up by the local media of Islington and recognised within the college.

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'FAME'

In 2016, Daniel was selected to feature in a UEFA Euro 2016 short film as part of their 'Make Your Debut' campaign. He and his father Mitro travelled to France, where the European tournament was held, and followed the first match of the Albanian national football team. The video reached millions of people across the world and became extremely popular amongst Albanians. In the same year, he was part of a marketing campaign of City and Islington College and his portrait was placed across the underground stations in North-East London.

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At the end of 2016, Daniel worked for EasyPay Albania before returning to the UK to complete his BA of Arts in Film Production at the University of West London (UWL). (In 2023, he was awarded the Spirit of the Alumni Award at UWL Alumni's annual awards.)

Daniel was always working and volunteering, and this helped him receive an invitation to be an intern for Vixio Regulatory Intelligence in the City of London.

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During his student years, he worked very hard to make ends meet in London, which is known for its high living costs. He remembers that he would often struggle to pay his rent after returning from a holiday. Alongside his studies, he would always be working a P/T job in a bar and restaurant, working as an intern to gain experience and volunteering over 15 hours a week.

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HARDY SIGNS - £1.1 MILLION

In 2018, Daniel Nikolla joined Hardy Signs as the marketing executive. He worked closely with the senior management, his manager and the sales team to improve marketing and sales processes, which have taken the branding, positioning and digital marketing of the company to the next stage. In January 2020, he was promoted to the marketing manager position. The campaigns Daniel set up have generated over £1.2 Million for the company between 2018 and 2023.

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Daniel and his team utilised digital marketing strategies and tactics which have proven highly successful. His achievements at Hardy Signs have been recognised with a 'Young Professional of the Year 2020' award given by the East Midlands Chambers of Commerce and the 'Future Face of Sales, Marketing and Communications 2020' given by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.

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During his time, Hardy Signs won 8 awards, including three Manufacturer of the Year awards in 2019, 2020 and 2023 and achieved record turnover in 2019, 2022 and 2023.

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CHARTERED MARKETER

After 4 years of studying and continuous professional development, Daniel achieved the Chartered Marketer Status, awarded by the Chartered Institute of Marketing UK (CIM). 

He initially studied Professional Marketing diploma (marketing strategy, marketing metrics and digital strategy) at Nottingham Trent University Business School, affiliated with CIM. 

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GENERATION NEXT

Just before winning the Generation Next Young Professional of the Year 2020, Daniel was invited to join the inaugural board of the organisation. Since young people are one of his core values, he was very excited to join the board. In 2021, Daniel was appointed as the Vice-Chair of the board and, in the following year, was promoted to the Chair of the organisation. Read more about Generation Next: www.generationnextemc.co.uk

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He has previously been a member of the United States of America Youth Council in Albania and has volunteered for many organisations and causes.

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MERX MARKETING

As a result of continuous networking, development of marketing skills and increased demand, in 2022, Daniel founded Merx Marketing Ltd, helping organisations to create a marketing engine that turns spending into measurable profit.

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DOWN SYNDROME ALBANIA

In 2021, Daniel founded the campaign 'Run/Support like a Marathoner'', in aid of Down Syndrome Albania. The annual 30-day sprint campaign consists of getting companies to sponsor the runners of the Down Syndrome team at Tirana Marathon.

In 2021, the campaign gathered 30 runners and raised 7,000 Euros.

In 2022, the campaign gathered 220 runners and raised 20,000 Euros.

In 2023, the campaign gathered 320 runners and raised 32,000 Euros.

All funds go towards funding the therapeutical services for children with Down Syndrome, Autism spectrum disorders and other intervention needs, including those with hearing and speech impairment, which are provided at the Down Syndrome Albania Foundation. Daniel runs the Tirana Marathon in memory of his late father.

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