Creative Capes Future London Academy

How do you succeed as a start-up? How do you grow your agency from 20 to 100 people? How can you carve your niche in the market? 



In our last episode of Agency Growth Stories, Emily Heyward, co-founder of Red Antler – the leading creative agency for startups and new ventures, including Hinge, Prose and AllTrails – shares her insights on these questions and more. 



Emily was named among the Most Important Entrepreneurs of the Decade, a Top Female Founder and one of the Most Powerful Women of 2019 by Inc. Magazine and Entrepreneur Magazine.🔥



Here is what we covered in our chat with this creative legend: 

00:00:00 - Intro: Who is Emily Heyward? 

00:01:15 - Rapid Fire Questions

00:03:30 - Red Antler: How It All Started

00:14:25 - Defining Your Clients & Revenue as a Start-Up

00:18:53 - Growing Beyond 2 People: InHouse vs. Freelance

00:21:50 - Bringing In Clients in the Early Days

00:26:30 - Hiring & Establishing and Effective Team Structure 

00:35:34 - Pricing Projects as an Agency 

00:40:15 - What You Need to Change as a Leader to Grow

00:44: 22 - Where is Red Antler now?

00:46:05 - The Future of Small & Mid Agencies 

00:47:15 - Opportunities in the Current Market

00:50:27 - Transparency within the Agency

00:52:15 - What Keeps You Going as a Founder?

00:56:24 - How a Project-Based Business Works: Hiring vs. Freelancing

00:59:03 - Helping Clients Understand the Importance of Brand 

01:04:28 - Marketing and Community as Part of Your Brand Strategy

01:08:08 - AI in the Creative Industry: Uses and Shortcomings 

01:12:00 - Key Things to Define for a Client’s Strategy 

01:14:02 - How Do You Keep Key People Without Giving Equity Away?

01:17:50 - Can You Growth Without Expanding Your Services? 

01:20:10 - Final Thoughts



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What is the key to rapid growth? When is it time to expand your team? How should you approach a global expansion? 

In this episode of Agency Growth Stories, Natalie Graeme, Co-Founder of Uncommon – Europe’s fastest-growing start-up in advertising history, answers these questions and more, as she shares her experience of growing Uncommon from 0 to over 200 employees, working with global brand partners – including ITV, WWF, British Airways and SiriusXM –  and creating a memorable brand identity through ingenious PR strategies. 



Here is what we covered: 

00:00:00 - Intro: Who is Natalie Graeme? 

00:01:11 - Rapid Fire Question

00:06:11 - Early Days: The Formative Years of Uncommon 

00:09:55 - Uncommon’s Studio Model

00:14:35 - Uncommon’s Rapid Growth & Secret to Success

00:23:40 - Uncommon’s Global Expansion &The Strategy Behind It

00:32:23 - Growing Beyond 30 People: When to Hire and How to Structure Your Team

00:44:45 - From 70 to 240 People and How Your Role as a Founder Changes



Questions from the Audience: 

00:52:20 - What are the Most Common Mistakes of Agency Start-ups in The Early Days?

00:53:50 - How do you Control Quality and Production during Growth in a Joint Venture?

00:54:53 - How do you Manage Client-Side Delays and Keep Things Running? 

00:56:20 - How do you Balance Hiring Full-Time Vs. Freelance?

00:58:39 - How did you Secure Funds at the Start?

01:01:53 - How do you Select Clients? 

01:03:33 - Do you work with Retainers or on a One-off Project Basis?

01:04:29 - What was Uncommon’s PR Strategy at the Beginning? 

01:05:34 - What is the difference between your Studio Model and an Advertising Agency?

01:08:28 - How do you Get New Clients without Word of Mouth? 

01:12:13 - How Important is the Agency’s Brand?



Final Advice 

01:15:08 - What Can You Do to Look After Yourself as a Founder? 

01:16:50 - If You Could Change One Thing in the World, What Would It Be?



For more leadership insights check our Design Leaders Programme: https://fla.wiki/435hkc4



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How do you grow from 6 to 1000 people? From £0 to £232 in revenue? When is it time to step down as CEO?

Steve Bell, former Iris Co-Founder, and now CEO at Team17 Group managed over 1000 employees in 14 offices around the world and oversaw Iris' work with some of the biggest, most creatively driven and technologically advanced global brands. 

Here is what we covered in the second episode of Agency Growth Stories with Steve: 

00:00:00 - Intro: Who is Steve Bell? 

00:02:56 - Fire Round Questions

00:11:50 - Iris’ Early Days and Fast Growth

00:16:14 - Culture over Money: Creating Meaningful Equity & Working with the Right Clients at Iris 

00:21:35 - Multiple Founder Dynamic and Hierarchies  

00:24:50 - Scaling Iris Globally & Tough Wake Up Calls

00:34:00 - Maturing Iris, Outside Investments, Mergers & Acquisitions

00:59:00 - Stepping Down as Founder and Becoming a CEO at Team17

01:04:50 - How Should You Start an Agency in 2024?

01:09:00 - The Future of Creative Consulting Services in the Age of AI

01:11:24 - Determining Who to Work With in the Early Days

01:13:45 - How to Keep & Grow Clients 

01:18:25 - Pitching & Winning Business

01:22:18 - Last Words

For more leadership insights check our Design Leaders Programme:https://fla.wiki/4byNd0p



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How do you design a fail-proof hiring process? How do you balance purpose and profit in the early days? And how do you find your first clients?

Get your answer in our first episode of Agency Growth Stories – a series where we talk to the founders of the world's leading agencies about what's on every founder's mind.

Our first guest was the wonderful Abi Freeman — Co-Founder of Brink — an international consulting agency which uses Behavioural Innovation to advise on new ways of working to change the world.

Here is what we covered:

00:00:00 - Intro: Who is Abi Freeman?
00:02:52 - Fire Round Questions
00:04:54 - Why Abi Co-Founded her Company Brink
00:08:01 - How to Find Your First Clients
00:12:17 - How and When to Grow Your Team
00:20:20 - Services to Keep External Rather than In-House
00:22:05 - How to Hire and Manage an International Distributed Team
00:29:12 - Brink’s Failproof Hiring Process: Hiring for Ways of Being Not Just Doing
00:34:21 - How to Build Intimacy with Your Team
00:39:00 - Purpose Vs. Profit, Finding Balance in the Early Days
00:48:18 - How to Measure the Impact of Your Projects
00:56:32 - Common Blinspots in Founders
00:58:01 - How to Get Clients through Networking
01:04:04 - How to Take the First Step to Start Your Agency
01:06:35 - How to Navigate Procurement Processes
01:14:05 - Behavioural Change and Climate Change
01:17:01 - Last Words

For more leadership insights check our Design Leaders Programme:
https://fla.wiki/4byNd0p

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https://www.instagram.com/futurelondonacademy/
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Without any computers or a bank loan, Stuart Trevor launched his first collection at the age of 28, reaping £1.5M.

Today, the founder and former CEO of AllSaints has three successful brands under his wing, loved by the likes of Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, and Justin Timberlake.Join us for our third episode of Creative Legends to hear all about how Stuart made it and what fashion was like before Zara.



Join us for our third episode of Creative Legends, the series where we talk to creative industry icons, and get inspired to continue growing as a design expert.

For more leadership insights check our Design Leaders Programme:
⁠https://fla.wiki/47PS6j8

Maria Giudice founded the iconic design agency Hot Studio and sold it to Facebook after an unexpected chat with Mark Zuckerberg. Now, Maria shares the top lessons from her time at the media giant, running her own agency and teaching leaders to embrace creativity for maximum success.

Join us for our second episode of Creative Legends, the series where we talk to creative industry icons, and get inspired to continue growing as a design expert.

For more leadership insights check our Design Leaders Programme:
https://fla.wiki/47PS6j8