Waypointers

What are the pros and cons of taking angel money? Should you seek funding from friends and family? How can you avoid ending up with a messy cap table when taking early-stage investment?

In this episode of #Waypointers, partners Deepa Shah and Jim Houghton pool their experience and discuss the different funding options available to agencies looking to support their growth.

They also consider the different flavours of institutional investment and the vital issue of preparing your agency and its leadership team before going out for PE funding.

Tune into to find the answers to these questions and much more.

Katie Street, Owner and Founder of Street Agency, joins Phil to argue that a marketing-based approach to sales is the best way for agencies to grow and secure new business.   

With only 5% of your target audience in the market for your products or services at any time, you need to ensure you’re reaching them in the most effective way.   

B2B Marketing allows you to identify your core audience, create relevant content for them, and know when best to pitch.  

Tom Otton, Create Group CEO, joins Phil Gripton to explain how he successfully built and grew an agency across the Middle East and North Africa.  

Tom shares his insight on how to build a successful agency model that can navigate the challenges and maximise the opportunities presented in individual countries, and build lasting business relationships in nations where change is a constant.  

Growing your agency internationally isn’t easy but it’s vital to scale your business and build a global brand. 

A real challenge is adapting to a different business-style. Countries like the US have different approaches to client-relations, reporting and budgets. You need to know how to speak their language. 

To succeed you also have to prove the benefits of hiring your agency despite the potential drawbacks of being based internationally.

Join us on our latest Waypointers episode where Paddy Moogan, Aira CEO and Co-Founder, shares his insight to build a non-domestic client base. 

In this third episode of our Challenger series, Waypoint partner, Matt Lacey sits down with Luke Smith, founder and CEO of Croud.

Luke reflects on Croud’s recent acquisition of social media agency, Born Social and talks about his ambitions for the business.

Tune in to hear about Croud’s origins, an honest account of what it was like to secure private equity investment, as well as the ownership structure and culture that sets it apart from the competition.

Well-designed user journeys are essential to boost conversions rates, however, UX is often executed imperfectly, requiring a lot time and money on revisions.

In fact, research has shown 50% of work on digital products is what’s known as ‘rework’. That equates to around $2.3bn of time on revisions. 

Join us for our 11th episode of Waypointers where UserTesting’s Bruce Hunter and Phil Gripton discuss why digital design should be a business priority, regardless of sector. 

UserTesting is a leading UX design business helping companies all over the world improve their User Interface. 

Remote working has quickly enabled agencies to build an international workforce, but managing a culturally diverse team comes with a whole new set of challenges. 

It can be hard to know where to go for guidance. Look no further!  For the last 20 years, Tom Otton, CEO of Dubai-based Create Group has been building a 200-person, culturally diverse agency and client base spread across the broader MENA region. He explains the lessons he’s learnt along the way with Waypoint’s Jamie Learmont in our latest Waypointers episode.

Have you ever heard of Hopium? It could be what’s blocking your agency's success.
 
Listen to our latest Waypointers podcast episode where David Kean, Co-Developer of Catalyst2 discusses with Phil Gripton, Partner at Waypoint, about how Hopium can undermine your sales strategy.

Hopium: (Noun. An obsessive sales / business development behaviour characterised by habitual episodes of unsubstantiated optimism, persistent delusion, and expressions of self-deception within the context of winning new business.)

The frequent changes to online paid advertising can be hard to navigate. Platforms like Google, Amazon and Meta regularly update their practices, which can be highly confusing to businesses. Frequent updates mean being an early adapter is essential to ensure budgets and resources are used effectively. 

In this Waypointers episode, Dan Chorlton, Co-Founder and CEO of GOA Marketing discusses with Phil Gripton, Partner at Waypoint, about new developments in paid advertising. 

This honest and up-to-date discussion with an industry expert provides key insight into online advertising, its challenges and how to utilise it effectively and profitably. 

In the first of our longer form podcasts, we introduced a set of agencies that we call “Challengers” – if you want to catch up on that episode you can do so here.  In the latest instalment of our Challenger series, we are delighted to bring you an exclusive interview with Michael Birkin, the CEO of kyu, part of Hakuhodo DY Holdings. As the former group CEO of Interbrand and then CEO of Omnicom Asia-Pacific Michael needs no introduction. kyu itself grabbed the headlines in the UK when it acquired Lexington.
 
In this fascinating episode Michael talks to Waypoint partner Jim Houghton about his career to date, what makes kyu tick (and whether or not it can be called a “Challenger”) and how the Lexington deal took shape. Tune in for this and much more.