One of the most exciting developments I’ve spotted so far in 2025 has to be the launch of the Department of Creative Affairs (DCA). So, I was delighted that DCA’s founder, Amar Chohan, was able to join me for a chat here on Small Spark Theory. In this episode, Amar shares his career journey—from aspiring […]
45 min
20 February 2025
EP96: What to measure and why | Lucy Mann
Can you believe we’re already in February? In this episode, we’re diving deep into one of the most crucial (yet often overlooked) aspects of agency sales and marketing—measurement. If you’ve ever struggled with tracking the success of your marketing efforts or found yourself making gut-based decisions about new business opportunities, this episode is for you. […]
27 min
17 January 2025
EP95: Thriving as an agency in 2025 | Jim Hawker
Kicking off our 2025 line-up, we catch up with previous guest Jim Hawker. Since discussing client development with us back in 2019 (see EP28), Jim has gone on to sell Threepipe, the agency he co-founded 20 years earlier. He finally exited the agency last year to focus on a variety of new ventures as a fractional […]
28 min
9 December 2024
EP94: Empowering your people to drive growth | Zoe Tuffs | Times Ten
As we wrap up 2024 with this final episode, I’ve been reflecting on the many conversations I’ve had with agencies throughout the year, as well as the recurring themes shared by our amazing podcast guests. It’s been a challenging year for many, which makes this the perfect moment to focus on an invaluable asset every […]
34 min
9 October 2024
EP93: Managing sales and marketing as you scale | Alisha Lyndon | Momentum ITSMA
As we discussed in episode 92 with Stephen Kenwright, a solid sales and marketing strategy is crucial for agency growth. However, realising that growth brings its own set of challenges. Having experienced rapid growth through acquisition while leading agency sales and marketing, I’m well aware of the pitfalls of maintaining brand consistency while keeping momentum […]
9 September 2024
EP92: How to Scale Fast | Stephen Kenwright
The thing with marginal gains is that it feels small. And we could be forgiven for thinking that applying this approach to agency growth is simply about tinkering around the edges, making small improvements and seeing small incremental results. I know it has a far bigger sales and marketing role to play, but wanted to […]
44 min
5 August 2024
EP91: An agency M&A update | David Blois | M&A Advisory
It’s been 6 years since Tony Walford from Green Square joined me on Small Spark Theory to discuss the practicalities of selling an agency. To say a lot has happened since then would be an understatement. Aside from the obvious economic rollercoaster and acceleration in technology, we’ve seen a seismic change to the way many […]
32 min
8 July 2024
EP90: Unlocking the power of agency newsletters | Jamie Woodbridge | The Inbox Club
Of all of the marketing tools available to agencies, I’d wager that one of the most effective, yet most overlooked, is the humble email newsletter. Which of course, makes it the perfect candidate for marginal gains and the perfect topic for this podcast. And this month, I have the perfect guest in the shape of […]
40 min
3 June 2024
EP89: Agency lessons from an ultra-runner | Clair Heaviside | Serotonin
Small Spark Theory has always been about a mindset. When I started this podcast back in 2017 I wanted to harness the marginal gains thinking that was and still is, so prevalent in elite sport and apply it to an altogether different kind of winning – agency new business. So when I heard Serotonin Co-Founder […]
6 May 2024
EP88: Beyond creativity – the commercial skills you need to succeed | Tim Perry
Early on in my agency career I often used to hear the expression ‘great creative work will sell itself’, and its close cousin ‘do great work and the clients will come’. Of course we know that in reality, certainly for the majority, these things are rarely true, but I’m still surprised by the number of […]
