Michael Scantlebury on becoming a five time Agency of the Year award winner

Happy new year!

This week on the podcast we are starting 2020 very strong.

My extra special guest this week is Michael Scantlebury, he is the Founder and Creative Director of IMPERO, the winner of 5 agency of the year awards.

And if you are at all interested in how to grow a multi-award-winning world-class agency then this is the podcast for you.

He arrives in the UK at 29 years old without knowing anyone but his wife and over the next 10 years builds one of the most well-respected agencies in the world.

We talk about everything from:

How they beat Wieden and Kennedy in a competitive pitch for a huge global account, that put them on the map.

How to change the structure of your business every time you go from 8, to 16, 20, 30 people. It really requires a fundamental restructuring.

Why he thinks the magic number of employees in an agency is 75.

We discuss setting goals for your agency.

This is probably one of the most honest and accurate accounts you will hear about the pain, yes the pain of growing and running a successful agency. Michael holds no punches when he describes the challenges of getting to where they are today.

He didn’t have an agency background and when he was about 8 people he didn’t even know what an account manager was, he had to ask an employee, what does an account manager do again?

Parental advisory warning, if you have children or young people listening you may want to cover their ears, Michael uses some very colorful language.

This is one of the most fascinating conversations we’ve had so far. Michael is funny, straight-talking, honest, humble and just a pleasure to speak to.

I’m just gonna stop talking now and just say, without me keeping you in suspense any further, my conversation with Michael Scantlebury.