Demi Ward
We can’t believe how quickly time flies and how far we’ve come.
Ten years of projects, pitches, big wins, tough calls, new faces, old friends, and a whole lot of learning. To mark the occasion, we asked our founder and CEO, Lee Fuller, a few questions about the journey so far.
Finding out where it all began, from the name, the leap into running an agency, and the moment everything came together.
I would love to give you a beautiful story here, but in honesty, I listed as many names as I could think of and searched for blanket brand coverage across the web, social media, and more – and this won. I liked the sound of it the best.
Flaunt was really born out of frustration. I actually had a SaaS content marketing platform when I left IPG, and was consulting alongside that. A few months later, I decided we could build an agency differently, one that focused on the people and environment, and ensured that the clients felt that when they worked with us.
It’s hard to pin down a milestone. I did write a note to myself in December 2014 (the year before I set Flaunt up) that said,
Calm enough to be incredibly effective and just on the right side of crazy.
Ten years as an agency owner comes with a lot of moments for learning, winning big, and changing your strategy. The agency space has changed so much alongside our growth in the past ten years, and continues to evolve. We asked Lee some questions about his professional career, Flaunt’s big moments, and learned experiences.
There are too many to pick just one.
I’m not good at looking backwards, but I do believe in legacy, and at this point, I would like to think we have had a positive impact on enough people at this point that if we didn’t exist anymore, our memory might live on fondly for a little while.
Our clients’ belief that an incumbent is doing a good job.
I feel like that every time I walk into the office, but we can always be better.
It’s all a challenge; there have been a lot of lows and luckily more highs, but I wouldn’t change it.
Trying to be remote but quickly learning that our ideas on the value of human interaction are right, in our opinion.
The agency world has always been fast, but more has happened in the last six months than I have ever seen. I think there was a stigma around agencies, maybe even 5 years ago that they would charge you a load of money for nothing, but from what I see of the market now, brands need agencies now more than ever, and I think agencies should keep that in mind in the future (the good ones anyway).
I would say fire faster and stay true to your first principles. Too many occasions in the first 4/5 years I didn’t act fast enough with this and it caused more disruption than it should have because of that.
Flaunt has always been built around its people, whether that be through regular team socials, extensive benefits, understanding team members, or hybrid working. Here’s how Lee would describe Flaunt’s culture in the past decade.
Kind, fast, adaptable, and resilient.
They are all pretty great – Christmas is always special. The competitive part of me would say the last Hazelwood Castle team building day, but mainly because I beat Jamie at Archery and tug of war.
Their love for the agency.
The way we treat people.
Ten years on, and we’re still pushing for better. Better work, better culture, better results. We’ve grown, we’ve changed, we’ve learned a lot. But the core of Flaunt is still the same: treat people well, work hard, stay curious.
Thanks to everyone who’s been part of the journey so far. From the clients, the team (past and present), the people who took a chance on us, and the ones who keep showing up every day to make it all work.
