PROFILE
TEES UP !
Name
: Mark Easby Age : 45 Born : Stockton Lives : Appleton Wiske
Organisation & Job titles : Founder and managing director , Better
When I was at school , I wanted to be … Believe it or not , I once went for an interview as an air steward . I wasn ’ t particularly attracted to the job , I just thought it would be flying around the world on an endless holiday . A bit naive , I know . I also briefly thought about joining the police . I think that was because my dad worked as a security guard at ICI for 45 years . I always looked up to him , particularly when he was dressed in his uniform .
The best business decision I ever made was … By far , setting up Better . Fifteen years in , I still remember the day we set the business up . I was scared and excited in equal measure but , looking back , it proved to be one of the biggest and best decisions of my life . Starting with nothing , I ’ m incredibly proud of the agency we ’ ve built .
The worst business decision I ever made was … Ha , well , that ’ s probably deciding not to go it alone sooner – not having the confidence and belief in myself to give it a go . There ’ ve been plenty of mistakes and bad decisions since , but we ’ ve learnt from all of them and we ’ re a stronger agency because of it .
The best part of my job is … I love working with our super-talented team , brimming with local talent , and working with brands from across the world . I feel proud and privileged that we ’ re working with some of the world ’ s most exciting challenger brands from the same building , the former home of Henry Bolckow and John Vaughan , who started the steel industry in Middlesbrough . Right up with this is working in partnership with some amazing local businesses who trust us to be part of their journey .
The biggest downside of my working life is … Leaving the tools behind . As the business has grown and my role has developed , I ’ m no longer working on the tools . I love being at the heart of the creative process and involved in ideation . Nowadays though , I leave that in the very capable and trustworthy hands of our studio team . They are much better ( excuse the pun ) than me .
If I could change one thing to help my organisation , it would be … We need to do more to showcase all the fantastic things that are happening around here and to change the ‘ If you want to get on , you ’ ve got to get out ’ mentality we still see in the region . Across all sectors and all sizes of business , we need more hungry and talented young people . Together , we need to ensure we do more to help raise aspirations , showcase career opportunities , break down barriers and prepare them for the world of work .
Four words to describe me are … I asked the team and they said : Passionate , loyal , driven and grounded … with stubborn a close fifth !
My business mantra is … Look after the money . Look after your team .
My greatest achievement is … From a business perspective , that ’ s got to be building Better . Setting up in the middle of the 2008 financial crisis , with nothing more than a couple of computers we ’ d put on our credit cards , to where we are now is an amazing achievement . We had the strongest trading years yet during the lockdown , and from our regional roots we ’ re now working with global brands . This isn ’ t just my achievement . It is a testament to the business we ’ ve built , the work we do and our small but mighty team made up of homegrown talent .
The advice I ’ d give to business start-ups is … Not long after we started , I met with a successful businessman who kindly offered me some of his precious time for mentoring . The minute we sat down , he asked me about our P & L , balance sheet and cash flow forecasts . I had no idea what he was talking about and felt embarrassed about wasting his time . It taught me early on that it ’ s so important to have a good handle on the commercials and to always look after the money . As a creative business , you ’ ve always got to balance the drive to be “ creative ” and the commerciality of being a “ business ”. Also , my advice to any business founder is to build a team that ’ s better than you , and then always look after them .
30 | Tees Business