The founder of one of the UK’s first ever digital content marketing agencies has launched a new consultancy designed to help other agency owners grow their business.
Scaled.co.uk launches following a six-month phase of research and is the brainchild of Zazzle Media founder Simon Penson. As part of his plans, Penson is teaming up with former colleague and Ride Shotgun chief growth officer Richard Marriott, who takes up the newly created role of senior partner in the new consultancy.
Together, the pair plan to offer a full suite of agency-focused growth services including everything from mentoring and coaching to hands on strategic and tactical growth services. Marriott will also take charge of developing a platform to further help businesses in the digital services and agency space while continuing to offer fractional B2B marketing and commercial services as part of the wider consultancy offering.
Marriott said: “Having recently helped Ride Shotgun revolutionise their sales and marketing strategy, and previously playing a pivotal part in the growth of Zazzle Media and Stickyeyes, it’s exciting to be able to help other agency owners and founders on their growth journeys. Simon and I have lots of exciting plans in the pipeline and this is just the beginning.”
Further to Marriott’s hire, Scaled plans to make further hires across partner and back office roles in the coming months.
Penson addeed: “With the majority of agencies failing to get past a few million in revenue it was clear to me that the lessons of growing an agency business past 100 people had real value to others. The mistakes we made can help them avoid the same pot holes. We are actively on-boarding experienced senior leaders now to help us deliver those services.”
Penson has spent the last three years as a partner at a venture capital firm Haatch, and has also succesfully navigated his own agency’s merger with Leeds-based Stickyeyes followed by a rumoured eight-figure joint group sale into IPG just 15 months later.
He now hopes to share the financial lessons he has learned with other agencies: “It’s been two years now since we exited our earn out period and in that time I’ve spent a lot of time helping start-ups scale through my work as a VC,” he said. “That time has been super helpful in validating a lot of the lessons hard learned as an agency founder, and the reality is nothing quite has the buzz of agency land, and so I had to come back!”
