CREATIVE BUSINESS MASTERCLASSES

CHAPTER 1 – CULTURE & SCALING

Why company culture is everything to a creative business

Hear from 100+ people agency Base Co-Founder Thierry about their journey of international growth across the Brussels, New York, Geneva, and Melbourne studios. Learn how Base scaled their operations, team, and culture, keeping a unified vision for the studio while managing different clients from different markets.

A special focus will be made on how Base created their company culture by setting daily rituals, now followed across all their Bases. The masterclass will provide straightforward advice and tools that can help anyone leading a creative practice.

- How to transform your company from an over-working culture to a stable growth

- How to lead and manage teams through rituals, rather than timesheets

- How to structure international offices to keep the same spirit while allowing local flexibility

- Shares, payouts and business structure – how can you get your people involved

CHAPTER 2 – STRATEGY & CLIENT MANAGEMENT

Become a better leader for your team

Co-Founded by Chris, Kate, and Alexandre, Tendril is a design-driven animation, VFX, and digital innovation studio. They create stories and experiences for brands, technology companies, and the entertainment industry. The studio believes in a strong culture built on diversity and shared experiences, Their mission is to create stories which inspire new ways of looking at the world.

Join the company leadership as they discuss strategy, operations, and client management processes which underpinned their international expansion to 40+ designers across Canada and Brazil.

- How to plan your strategy and think about the future

- How to work directly with clients and keep them happy

- How to be a better leader to your colleagues and partners

CHAPTER 3 – TECH STRATEGY & EXPERTISE

How tech and nature can inform your business strategy

UNIT9 is a truly global studio with 150+ people and international reach across London, Los Angeles, New York, Florence, Berlin and Poland. Founded in 1996, they've weathered technological and industry changes, remaining one of the world leaders in technology, creativity, and production.

Co-founder and Technical Partner Yates Buckley will cover his unique perspective on supporting and guiding UNIT9 through constant challenges and successes across its 24 years. He will explore the ever-changing foundations of a tech-based production group and the regular transformation of the organisation around fluid boundaries. Hear how UNIT9 has balanced working near the edge of the possible while controlling risks on the other side.

- How to work with strategy when it is impossible to have one

- Path dependence and why examples don't transfer

- Managing knowledge and forgetting

- Power law, Pareto distributions and what does it means in your business

- Diagnosing business faults and how hard they are to fix

CHAPTER 4 – GOING GLOBAL, STAYING SMALL

You don't always need big teams for big projects

Masterclass by Kate Dawkins, Kate Dawkins Studio

Kate Dawkins Studio is a BAFTA-winning creative studio which specialises in designing, creating, producing and delivering bespoke digital content for live performances, shows and brand experiences.

Founder, Kate Dawkins, will share her approach to running her agency that allowed her to keep core team under 10 people while delivering projects for the worlds largest brands such as Nike, MTV, Heineken, Jaguar, and Ford, to the London 2012 Olympic Ceremonies.

- How to win international clients without having global offices

- Agile agency model and where to find collaborators

- What do you do when things go wrong

CHAPTER 5 – GROWTH, OPERATIONS & LEADERSHIP

Think about the future whilst growing

Masterclass by Sinx, ustwo

Expect to hear all the ups, downs, lefts and rights of running a creative business for 16 years. Founded by two best friends, Matt 'Mills' Miller & John 'Sinx' Sinclair in London in 2004, ustwo is a 200+ people studio behind some amazing digital projects and games like Monument Valley that cares deeply for their teams, clients, and impact on the wider world.

Sinx will share stories and insights on nurturing an environment of diverse backgrounds, thoughts, views, opinions and life experiences. Hear how the studio grew from a shared vision of an ethical and sustainable business to a fully a B-Corp certified company.

- Understand the economics of your business – what leavers you have, your REAL costs and margins

- What parts of the business you should focus on as a founder/CEO

- Design your business for the less good days

- The Leaders you trust – how to hire for C-Level positions

SPECIAL GUEST

Against all odds

Masterclass by DINES, STUDIO BLUP

Starting your own creative agency straight out of design school is never easy. But with the power of creative obsession, having a strong vision and always being committed to learning from your mistakes, can help you grow your business like Dines has.

Since 2009, the London-based creative agency has made brands culturally relevant through design, strategy and motion. They've helped Nike, Adidas, BBC and many more clients get noticed, and talked about by their next generation of customers.

- Why creative obsession is a gift and how you can use to build your brand

- How to rethink your social media strategy to engage with the next generation

- How to turn your mistakes into your superpower