Agency Intensive

25 years in PR. Two agencies. One very big decision.

Kat started out in London at Cake. Then she headed to Australia for 12 months. She stayed 13 years.

At 28, she founded One Green Bean in Sydney with backing from independent ad agency Host. It grew fast, winning Google, Nike, Uber and Diageo, plus Australia's biggest bank, supermarket and car brand.

At around 50 staff, Havas came on board as a shareholder. In 2015 Kat moved back to London to open One Green Bean London inside Havas HQ. Havas later bought the business outright. Kat stayed on for two more years, then in 2025 she handed over the keys.

Today she's the founder of Knock Three Times, an AI-first creative PR agency backed by Common Interest.

Who's this episode for?

You'll get a lot out of this one if you're being approached about investment or a sale and want to know what life with a network shareholder is really like. It's also for you if you're wondering when it's time to step away from a business you founded, or trying to work out how your clients will show up when their customers ask ChatGPT or Claude for an answer.

The honest bits

Kat doesn't gloss over the hard parts.

She explains why she brought Havas in. Australia's market caps out on budgets, and she wanted bigger work on a global stage.

She admits she was the biggest skeptic about moving into a ten-storey network tower. A year in, she toured warehouses in Shoreditch and Dalston to move the team out. Her team asked if she was mad. They loved the office. It was her first real lesson in how much the next generation's expectations had changed.

When she resigned, she had a six-month notice period. She refused to spend five and a half months pretending nothing was happening, so she told her team and clients within three weeks.

She also admits that, looking back, she probably should have travelled instead of going straight into writing a book.

PR in the age of answers

The second half gets into what Kat calls the holy trinity. Editorial coverage influences AI, and AI influences people.

While the network conversation about AI was all about efficiency and headcount, Kat wanted something different. She wanted to build a comms business with AI baked in from day zero, focused on capability and specialism, not size.

Knock Three Times runs on a private Claude Enterprise setup, plus three tools built in-house. Audit finds the editorial sources LLMs actually draw on for a category. Architect turns that into a media targeting strategy. Readiness scores press releases out of 100 for structure, newsworthiness, data and whether they read as AI-written.

She also shares why a dog walker's blog in the West Midlands gets cited by LLMs for Butternut Box alongside national titles. She explains why LLMs recommend confidently in FMCG but stay cautious in health and finance. And she shows how a Readiness score dropping from 74 to 40 after client amends gives her an objective way to push back on a watered-down release.

If you're thinking about your own exit, or how your agency stays relevant now that people ask AI for answers first, this one's packed with real, candid lessons

Topics Covered:

0:25 – How Kat got into PR and founded One Green Bean in Sydney at 28

2:46 – Rapid growth: winning Google, Nike, Uber and Diageo

6:48 – Taking on Havas as a shareholder at 50 staff and opening One Green Bean London

12:35 – Deciding when to leave the business you founded, and why AI was the trigger

18:07 – Resigning, telling everyone straight away and going straight into writing a book

25:15 – Launching Knock Three Times: capability and specialism over headcount

30:30 – The age of answers and building the agency on Claude Enterprise

33:47 – Audit and Architect: finding the sources LLMs cite, from national titles to a dog walker's blog

39:37 – Readiness: scoring press releases out of 100 to stop them being watered down

43:29 – The PR tactics that will matter most for eCommerce brands

“Just don’t be a dick” is easy enough and potentially one of our favourite lines in this podcast, shortly followed by “we're actually two 80-year-old women" we can’t confirm or deny. 

Here’s to another episode of Agency Intensive. It’s number 21 and Richard Hill sits down with Matt and Russell, co-founders of Rusty Monkey, an agency that’s been thriving for over two decades in the ever-changing world of digital services. 

Together, they reflect on over 25 years of navigating recessions, technology shifts, evolving client demands, the pandemic and now the rise of AI “It can be a gaslighting jerk”. They manage all this while staying true to the kind of business and culture they want to build.

Tune in as the conversation dives deep into the real keys behind sustainable agency growth: building resilient, profitable and enjoyable businesses that last, without getting caught up in vanity metrics or relentless headcount expansion. 

If you’re looking to understand how to adapt, price creatively, build enduring client relationships, leverage events for business development and have a laugh, this episode is for you. 

Time Stamps: 

00:00 Sustainable agency growth tips

05:13 Balancing different services for stability

07:38 Balancing multiple services in agencies

11:33 Setting up project-based work

14:15 Discussing Budget Estimation Strategies

17:17 Sponsor message from Aristo Sourcing

22:02 Rethinking company structure

23:31 Finding our minimum viable audience

28:16 Challenges of Scaling a Business

31:16 Running events to win business

32:26 Growing the event's audience

38:33 Networking at events

42:41 AI impact on small businesses

44:53 Using AI for user experience

48:41 Casual and earnest AI users

51:33 Challenges in SEO and Digital PR

53:29 Changes in SEO and consumer behavior

57:52 Derek Thompson's book and TED Talk

Welcome back to Agency Intensive, hosted by Richard Hill, where we dive into the realities of running and scaling successful agencies. In this episode, Joshua Grant, Managing Director of Absolute Design, offers a candid, insightful look at how the agency landscape has evolved over the past 18 months. Together, they explore how agencies can thrive in times of market uncertainty, win client trust, and find opportunities amidst economic pressures.

You'll hear discussion on the rising importance of simplifying tech stacks, identifying and eliminating wasted spend and maximising value from the tools you’re already paying for. They dig into the practical ways agencies are leveraging AI for operations and reporting, while recognising its limits, and reveal how to truly become a trusted advisor to your clients.

Whether you’re looking to tighten operations, deepen client relationships, or future-proof your agency in a noisy market, this episode is packed with relatable stories, actionable insights, and the latest trends straight from the agency frontline.

“Ego Is the Enemy”

Welcome to another episode of eCom@One with Richard Hill! In today’s conversation, Richard Hill sits down with Anthony Barone, co-founder of Studio Hawk and the driving force behind their UK expansion. Anthony Barone shares the remarkable journey of going from a career in hospitality to scaling Studio Hawk from a small Australian team into an international SEO powerhouse with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, London, and Atlanta.

You’ll hear candid stories about rapid growth, building a company culture across continents, and why niche focus has been their biggest lever in sales and partnerships. Anthony Barone also opens up about the role of AI and large language models in the changing SEO landscape—and why mastering the fundamentals is now more important than ever.

Whether you’re running an agency, building your own team, or just curious about the intersection of search, growth, and technology, this episode is packed with hard-won lessons, real-world advice, and a glimpse into what’s next for Studio Hawk. Let’s dive in!

00:00 "Falling Into SEO Career"

05:23 "Building Studiohawk From Scratch"

09:26 Scaling Sales for SEO Success

11:48 "Power of Specialism in Events"

14:03 Shoreditch Cool Commerce Event

17:45 "Building Networks Through Events"

23:12 "Advice for UK Agencies Expanding"

23:55 "Preparation for US Expansion"

26:56 "Planning International Business Expansion"

30:12 "Follow Core Values Intentionally"

35:25 "SEO Opportunities in the AI Era"

38:26 Navigating Marketing Challenges Efficiently

39:55 Shopify, Universal Protocol, Ads Update

43:22 "Ego Is the Enemy" Recommendation

In this episode of Agency Intensive, Richard Hill sits down with Mads Singer, agency trainer and management consultant who's helped hundreds of teams move from founder-led delivery to repeatable, scalable operations.

Mads breaks down why most brilliant SEOs stay stuck at the same revenue level year after year, what the "superhero syndrome" really costs your business, and the exact hiring sequence that prevents you from becoming the bottleneck. He explains the four business buckets every agency needs to master, why you should pick ONE marketing channel and go deep, and how to build repeatable SEO processes that scale.

The conversation covers the three critical growth stages where most agencies get stuck (0-10, 10-25, and 25-50+ people), why writing SOPs yourself is killing your time, and how to hire specialists instead of trying to clone yourself. Mads shares real examples, including the roofing SEO who 3x'd his business in 12 months by going to industry events, and breaks down what it really takes to build a sellable, scalable agency.

If you're a talented SEO stuck in delivery or an agency owner trying to break through revenue plateaus, this episode gives you the exact steps to scale without burning out.

Listen to the full episode now, and don't forget to hit subscribe.

**Topics Covered**

00:00 Introduction

02:07 Why talented SEOs struggle to scale

03:13 Mads' background: From IBM to agency consulting

07:03 The four business buckets: Sales, marketing, operations, finance

08:04 The superhero syndrome killing your growth

13:38 Finding your ONE marketing channel

18:05 The roofing SEO case study: 3x growth in 12 months

20:36 Sponsor: Aristo Sourcing

21:38 Key hires for scaling from 5 to 20+ people

24:30 Building culture with your first hires

28:24 SOPs: What the gurus get wrong

34:34 Leadership challenges scaling £1M to £5M

35:05 Three growth stages where agencies get stuck

46:31 Starting an SEO agency from scratch today

47:19 The ONE process framework

50:02 Breaking down processes for specialization

51:40 Hiring specialists vs. cloning yourself

53:26 Book recommendation: First, Break All the Rules

54:14 Where to find Mads Singer

From wasted pitch decks to strategic conversations that close. Aaron Hutchinson reveals the Win Without Pitching methodology that's helping agencies stop gambling on low-probability pitches and start winning profitable clients through expert positioning instead of endless presentations.

Aaron Hutchinson is a sales consultant and trainer specializing in the Win Without Pitching methodology for creative agencies and professional services firms. Based in the UK, Aaron helps agency owners and their teams move from reactive order-taking to strategic expert positioning through the Four Conversations framework. After years as Managing Director of a creative agency, Aaron founded The Hutch Consultancy to address the industry's most persistent challenge: winning new business profitably without wasting resources on futile pitches.

This podcast episode is relevant to you if you're an agency owner struggling with new business, tired of losing pitches you spent days preparing for, finding it difficult to have confident pricing conversations, or trying to hire and train salespeople who can sell expertise rather than just deliverables. Find out why your pitch win rate is probably lower than you think, what the "three years from now" question unlocks in sales conversations, and why presenting three options beats a single proposal every time.

Aaron reveals the frameworks that separate expert agencies from vendor agencies, introduces RAB (Revenue Above Budget) as the metric that actually matters, and explains why 25,000 UK agencies are competing in a market more crowded than McDonald's locations. If you're serious about transforming your agency's sales process or finally cracking the code on profitable new business without soul-destroying pitch work, this episode delivers practical, immediately actionable frameworks.

Topics Covered:

00:00 - Introduction: The agency world's oldest question

02:28 - What challenges are agencies facing with sales and new business?

04:18 - Why there are 25,000+ agencies in the UK (more than McDonald's!)

07:22 - The two-year email: How long-term positioning pays off

09:32 - Why pitching is gambling (and the real win rates you're facing)

12:44 - What is Win Without Pitching and why does it work?

14:06 - The Four Conversations framework explained

19:50 - The magic question: "We're having coffee three years from now..."

24:58 - Expert vs Vendor: The doctor analogy

28:08 - Pricing conversations: Why money talks are so uncomfortable

31:42 - The secret to avoiding awkward "we don't have that budget" moments

33:19 - The power of options: Why three is the magic number

38:18 - RAB: Revenue Above Budget explained

42:02 - Staying resilient in agency sales: Avoiding soul-destroying work

45:25 - Conversations not presentations: Why we don't use decks anymore

47:45 - Book recommendation: The Four Conversations by Blair Enns

From necessity to 20 years of building software that adapts to businesses, not the other way around. Angelo Zanetti co-founded Elemental during the dot-com crash and turned it into a Cape Town powerhouse that refuses to compromise on quality, security, or in-office culture.

Angelo Zanetti

Angelo Zanetti is the co-founder and co-CEO of Elemental, a web and software development agency based in Cape Town, South Africa. With over 20 years of hands-on experience, Angelo has built a lean team of 25 specialists who focus on creating bespoke software solutions that truly fit how businesses operate, rather than forcing businesses to adapt to off-the-shelf tools.

This podcast episode is relevant to you if you're building software products, running a development agency, scoping MVPs, or trying to understand why that vibe-coded prototype isn't production-ready. Find out why founders bloat their MVPs with non-core features, what happens when someone hands Angelo a Replit prototype with no brakes, and why Elemental's entire team works in-office five days a week in an increasingly remote world.

Angelo shares the realities of digital transformation, the security nightmares hiding in AI-generated code, and why great SEO has driven their lead generation for two decades. If you're serious about building software that scales or positioning your agency to stand out, this episode delivers practical, battle-tested advice.

Topics Covered:

1:07 - How Angelo got into the agency world out of necessity during the dot-com crash

2:25 - Meeting Richard in a Harry Potter-esque location overlooking King's Cross

4:18 - The current setup: 25 people, lean and mean in Cape Town

5:26 - Why COVID was actually good for Elemental's business

6:59 - The advantage of having strong technical backgrounds as co-founders

8:05 - How SEO has been their secret weapon for lead generation

9:51 - Doing exceptional work leads to referrals and repeat business

10:38 - The mistake of trying to be everything to everyone

11:16 - MVPs and the patterns Angelo sees when founders first approach them

12:33 - Why founders jam-pack MVPs with nice-to-have features

14:04 - The "build it and they will come" fallacy

15:55 - Walking through the Change Cars project: competing with Autotrader

18:55 - How the market tells you what features to build next

21:22 - Philosophy: software should adapt to the business, not the other way around

25:18 - Why off-the-shelf tools force businesses into broken workflows

28:21 - The commercial model: discovery, build, then ongoing support and maintenance

32:01 - Why Elemental keeps everyone in-office five days a week

36:06 - The advantages: culture, collaboration, mentoring, and quality control

38:53 - The major challenge: hiring in a world that wants remote work

42:18 - How Angelo stays connected to the technical side without writing code anymore

43:18 - The reality of vibe coding: it looks good but has no brakes

46:32 - Security nightmares in AI-generated prototypes

48:07 - Using AI tools like Copilot and Cursor responsibly

50:58 - Building SEO calculators with vibe coding versus proper development

52:18 - Advice for agencies looking to scale: stop being too generalist

55:23 - Positioning yourself as a specialist and marketing to that niche

57:24 - Book recommendation: $100,000,000 Offers by Alex Hormozi

Learn more about scaling your agency at eComOne.com

From a ski slope conversation to 120+ staff. That's the journey of Impression, one of the UK's fastest-growing performance marketing agencies.

Mikey Emery started in a server room with three co-founders and built an agency that's broken through every glass ceiling—staying profitable, debt-free, and people-first the entire way.

Mikey Emery

Mikey Emery is the Commercial Director and co-owner of Impression, a performance marketing agency with offices in Nottingham, London, and Manchester. After joining the founders in 2014, Mikey has been instrumental in scaling the business from 4 people to over 120 staff while maintaining a relentless focus on automation, AI, and client-centric delivery.

This podcast episode is relevant to you if you're navigating agency growth, struggling with team structure, or wondering how to invest in automation without losing the human touch.

Find out how Impression restructured from channel-based teams to client-centric pods, why they paused client billing during COVID (and grew 50% anyway), and what it really takes to launch into the US market as a UK agency. Mikey shares the honest truths about leadership evolution, making decisions even when you're not sure, and why learning from pitch losses has driven more change than celebrating wins.

If you're serious about scaling your agency while keeping culture intact, this episode is packed with real, usable lessons.

Topics Covered:

1:34 - How Mikey got into the agency world (and why his e-commerce business failed)

3:37 - From bedroom freelancers to first office in 2014

4:46 - Growing from 4 people to 120+ staff across three UK offices

6:22 - The step changes that pushed through growth glass ceilings

8:00 - Why moving into an office space was a pivotal moment

10:18 - Winning seven-figure accounts that changed the trajectory

12:24 - How servicing bigger clients is less operationally complex than you think

14:13 - Splitting time as Commercial Director across growth, marketing, and client services

15:54 - Using data and forecasting to stay 95% accurate on the next 4 months

18:55 - Leadership evolution: from impatient decision-maker to trusting the team

21:22 - Why "a decision is better than no decision" became his guiding principle

23:22 - The agency's approach to AI and automation (it's been core for 10 years)

26:32 - Launching their proprietary AI content production tool

29:19 - Investing in full-time developers and data scientists to build tech in-house

32:16 - The US expansion: why every state is its own country

34:24 - Going from UK-based clients marketing in the US to building a proper US presence

36:02 - Setting up offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami

40:14 - The biggest challenge: COVID and the decision to pause client billing

43:52 - Why they chose not to furlough staff and how it paid off

46:59 - The importance of having a war chest of cash reserves

47:58 - What's on the roadmap: US growth, AI acceleration, and restructuring into pods

49:41 - Moving from 20+ people on accounts to lean, client-centric pod structures

52:40 - One piece of advice: Make a decision, even if it's wrong

53:47 - Why failures drive more change than successes

54:26 - Book recommendation: The Good Company by Arthur Blank

Retainers? Contracts? Slow approvals? Forget it.

Adrienn Major is breaking every rule of the traditional agency model with POD LDN — a global post-production powerhouse built on flexibility, speed, and trust.

No retainers. No big contracts. Just on-demand creative firepower that scales up or down instantly.

From managing 80 in-house artists and 1,500 freelancers, to building AI tools and automation into her workflows, Adrienn shows what it really takes to stay lean, reactive, and cashflow smart in a chaotic industry.

This episode is a masterclass in running a modern creative business — from scaling teams globally to rethinking pricing models, leadership, diversity, and the role of AI in post-production.

Adrienn Major

Founder of POD LDN, Adrienn shares her journey from growing up in Hungary to building one of the most agile post-production companies in the world. She explains how ditching retainers and complex pricing in favor of flat day rates created speed and trust with clients, and how a massive freelance pool gives POD the flexibility to handle anything from VFX to CGI on demand.

She also opens up about leadership in a male-dominated industry, why agencies need to embrace automation and AI (including creating an AI version of herself), and the surprising lessons she’s taken from The Wolf of Wall Street.

Whether you’re scaling an agency, exploring automation, or looking for inspiration on building flexible business models, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.

Listen to the full episode now and learn how to scale without burning cash or slowing down.

Topics Covered

00:08 — Introduction: Meet Adrienn Major and POD LDN

01:32 — Adrienn’s journey from Hungary to launching her own company

05:29 — Scaling POD: 80 in-house artists + 1,500 freelancers worldwide

08:31 — Why traditional agencies struggle with reactivity (and how POD solved it)

09:55 — Building a business without retainers or long contracts

12:09 — Flat-rate pricing: £290 per artist per day, £40/hour for smaller tasks

15:16 — How POD helps agencies, in-house teams, and post houses scale flexibly

18:45 — The advantage of tapping into global talent pools

21:41 — Managing a decentralized, international team day-to-day

24:34 — Reinventing workflows: morning check-ins, gamification, and agile leadership

25:25 — How AI and automation power POD’s operations (from onboarding to project setup)

28:52 — Creating an AI version of Adrienn for onboarding and training

32:31 — The future of AI in creative work: threats, opportunities, and collaboration

36:41 — Keeping pace with fast-moving AI tools and platforms

37:11 — Diversity in agencies: challenges and the need for male allies

40:19 — Scaling lessons: staying flexible, keeping overheads low, and cashflow smart

43:16 — Book recommendation: The Way of the Wolf by Jordan Belfort

44:57 — How to connect with Adrienn and learn more about POD LDN

Jason Hennessey’s entrepreneurial journey began when he shared his impressive results in e-commerce and affiliate marketing during a presentation. The audience—mostly lawyers—were so impressed that several approached him afterward, asking if he could help them achieve similar success. Though he hadn’t considered starting an agency before, he left the room that day with seven business cards and the beginnings of $30,000 per month in recurring revenue. That single, 45-minute presentation marked the start of his agency and set him on the path to building a thriving business.

In today’s episode, Richard and Jason explore Jason’s journey from his early days as a self-taught SEO freelancer to building a global team of over 130 people. Along the way, you’ll hear insights on the power of niching down, the importance of agency culture, and how to transition from a lifestyle business to a scalable operation. Jason also shares advice on hiring key leadership roles, leveraging executive assistants to maximize impact, and integrating AI and innovation into agency processes.

Topics Covered: 

00:00 Scaling Agencies: Insights from Jason Hennessey

03:29 Leading Law SEO Agency Insights

08:30 Scaling Business by Hiring Experts

12:22 Documenting Time and Task Management

15:04 Hiring and Business Culture Insight

17:05 "Building a Team-First Culture"

19:59 Hackathon Innovation: HD Translate

25:24 Adapting SEO with AI Innovation

26:32 "Personal Branding for Agency Success"

29:45 "Book as Unique Selling Point"

33:01 Navigating Burnout and Business Challenges

36:29 Balancing Work and Personal Life

39:43 Email Management and Availability

43:07 "My Grandfather, My Greatest Mentor"

46:26 "Balancing Growth and Risk"