Perspective FM

This week Jon and Dan talk about Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) and how they both use this as a sales tool. How to introduce an MVP to a client, how to steer a client asking for an MVP in the right direction, controlling expectations and changing how people think about what an MVP is supposed to achieve. There are a lot of challenges to do this properly so that your client has a greater chance of success, and you get more work from them as a result.

Show notes

MVP definition on Wikipedpia

The Lean Startup (paperback/audiobook)

Find us online

Jon Darke - @darkejon

Every Interaction - @everyinteract / www.everyinteraction.com

Dan Gent - @gentusmaximus

Lighthouse - @wearelighthouse / www.wearelighthouse.com

Jon is joined again this week by Dan Gent. They talk about the UK’s referendum to leave the European Union and what effects Brexit might have on their design agencies. Covering their fears about the uncertainty the future might hold, possible impact on new business and hiring, as well as what they are both going to be doing to try and weather the storm. Trying not to focus too much on the negatives, they speak about how to make the best of Brexit and how small agencies might be able to turn this unfortunate series of events to their advantage.

The future is uncertain and so we may revisit this topic in time once the situation has evolved and we think it relevant, but this episode quite accurately captures our current state at this moment in time.

If anyone else out there is concerned about what Brexit means for their digital agency and would like someone to talk to - please reach out, we’d be happy to talk.

Further reading

Interesting survey from London Tech sector businesses finding that 74% believe the business environment may get worse, but only 22% expect to scale back their planned growth ambitions as a result.

This video from the brilliant CGP Grey speculates about the likelihood of various possible outcomes of the referendum result.

This week Jon welcomes designer founder Murat Mutlu from Marvel App to discuss what it's like for a designer to leave the agency life behind and found a product company.

It was great to hear about the journey, challenges and what the future has in store for this world class design tool. Marvel allows designers to turn their ideas into interactive prototypes that can be used to present and test.

Find out more and sign up for Marvel App

Follow Marvel App on twitter

Find us online

Jon Darke - @darkejon

Every Interaction - @everyinteract / www.everyinteraction.com

Murat Mutlu - @mutlu82

Jon is joined by Tom from Lighthouse London to talk about the filter process they both go through when deciding to take on or pitch for a specific piece of work or project.

The list of criteria discussed is not meant to be a prescriptive list we believe every agency should abide by, it’s just a discussion of the criteria that we run through when making those decisions and hopefully there are points that encourage or inspire others.

Find us online

Jon Darke - @darkejon

Every Interaction - @everyinteract / www.everyinteraction.com

Special guest – Tom Johnson - @mrhaste

Lighthouse - @wearelighthouse / www.wearelighthouse.com

This week Jon is joined by his co-founder Neil Gardiner to discuss their experiences with mentorship. Every Interaction have been receiving business mentorship for 18 months now, so it seemed like a good time to reflect and go over some of the benefits having mentorship has brought to their business. They cover how they got started with mentorship, some of the exercise and topics covered as well as discuss alternatives.

Show notes

Our mentor Philip de Lisle

The Org chart exercise from The E-Myth (the book Jon thought was ‘Getting things done’)

Find us online

Jon Darke - @darkejon

Neil Gardiner - @neilgardiner

Every Interaction - @everyinteract / www.everyinteraction.com

In this episode Dan’s co-founder, Tom Johnson joins Jon to talk about how their designers and developers work together in their teams to deliver their client work. As the design focussed half of his company, it was interesting to speak to Tom and discuss the differences between Lighthouse and Every Interaction in term of focus, team make-up and collaboration of team members when delivering projects.

Find us online

Jon Darke - @darkejon

Every Interaction - @everyinteract / www.everyinteraction.com

Special guest – Tom Johnson - @mrhaste

Light House - @wearelighthouse / www.wearelighthouse.com

How you manage feedback from clients can make or break a project. It’s a tricky thing to handle and there are many ways you can go about dealing with it. This week Dan & Jon share their process and different ways of managing client feedback. They cover how to get the most out of presentations and being prepared to receive constructive feedback that benefits the project, you, the client and your relationship.

Show notes

Crystal Maze ticket collecting (yes really)

Find us online

Jon Darke - @darkejon

Every Interaction - @everyinteract / www.everyinteraction.com

Dan Gent - @gentusmaximus

Lighthouse - @wearelighthouse / www.wearelighthouse.com

This week Dan and Jon talk time tracking and how they use this data to help run and grow their digital agencies.

Completing your timesheets is perhaps the most tedious part of your day, however the value this data can give your business is immense. Understanding how much time projects actually take helps you better quote for future work you are asked to cost up. Find out how to get the most from analysing your time and run your company more efficiently as you scale.

Show notes

Lighthouse use FreeAgent, which is also their accounting software (get 10% off with this link)

Slimtimer - something Lighthouse used in the very early days

Every Interaction use Harvest (get $10 off your first month with this link) to record time and invoice clients.

They've also started trailing Forecast to plan their resource and Xero to have visibility over their accounts.

Find us online

Jon Darke - @darkejon

Every Interaction - @everyinteract / www.everyinteraction.com

Dan Gent - @gentusmaximus

Lighthouse - @wearelighthouse / www.wearelighthouse.com

Working for the worst client imaginable - yourself. Dan reveals the process and learnings from recently replacing the agency website for Lighthouse, and Jon talks about the what lies ahead for Every Interaction and the upcoming site replacement project they are planning.

How do we find time? Do these projects run differently to client work? How do you decide how to talk about yourself? All covered in this week’s episode.

Show notes

Lighthouse London's new website

Every Interaction's current website, soon to be replaced, hopefully.

Seth Godin; Obvious or elegant

Find us online

Jon Darke - @darkejon

Every Interaction - @everyinteract / www.everyinteraction.com

Dan Gent - @gentusmaximus

Lighthouse - @wearelighthouse / www.wearelighthouse.com

Dan and Jon talk about the process they go through when hiring a new employee and what they look for in potential candidates. They go into detail about the places they advertise, the applications that come in, the filtering that takes place and how the process is moved forwards into interviews. They also cover what they look for in potential candidates, short intensive courses, as well as gender equality.

You might get a lot from this one if you're either looking for a job in UX, Design or Development, or if you're also a small company looking for hire your early employees.

Show notes

Some of the places talked about where both Every Interaction & Lighthouse post job opportunities:

Authentic jobs

Unicorn hunt (3 beards)

Dribbble jobs

Women who code London

Girls in tech

The 50/50 Initiative
An Initiative to Change the Gender Ratio in the Advertising and Design Industries .

General Assembly
8-12 week intensive courses specialising in Android Development, Data Science, Product Management, User Experience Design and Web Development (as well as some part-time courses), in the following major cities around the world: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Singapore, Sydney, Washington D.C.

Find us online:

Jon Darke - @darkejon

Every Interaction - @everyinteract / www.everyinteraction.com

Dan Gent - @gentusmaximus

Lighthouse - @wearelighthouse / www.wearelighthouse.com