Growing Pains: The Scaling Of a Digital Creative Agency

In our mission to match businesses to offices, we meet some of London’s most exciting startups and scale-ups. Our series, Growing Pains, sees us sit down for a chat with the founders and CEOs of businesses that are making waves in their industries.  

In this edition, we sat down with Maani Safa, the CEO and founder of the digital creative agency, Poppins, to find out more about the agency with purpose.

What Inspired You To Start Poppins Agency?

Poppins is the 4th agency that I’ve built (with the help of my amazing leadership team), and I wanted to do something different this time. It was March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, I had just moved back from the States and was inspired to start something new. I asked myself: “What's our purpose this time?” and the answer was to have a positive impact on humanity.

But what does this mean? My founding team and I wanted to build a business that cares for its staff and its clients. So we created Poppins. We aim to work with brands and businesses that care about having a positive impact, hence the name Poppins — after the Mary Poppins, the epitome of care and positivity.

We’re proud that 30% of our clients are start-ups that are trying to change the world, as well as brands that people know and love — household names that people trust. The important part for us is that our work, and our clients, are purpose-led.

Can You Tell Us About the Poppins Journey So Far?

In 2020 we launched with only 5 people, and today we are just shy of 40, and growing every quarter. We’re lucky to be one of the fastest-growing agencies in 2020 and 2021. This growth has been quick but not always easy, particularly due to starting during the pandemic. It’s a testament to the people at Poppins and the quality of our work that we are where we are today.

What Are Some of the Biggest Challenges You’ve Faced, and How Did You Overcome Them?

Starting a business during a pandemic is one of the hardest things I’ve done, workwise. Our business is hinged on creative collaboration and ideation and, of course, selling our skills to new clients. But doing this through a screen is never going to be as impactful, and you don’t get the connection you have when you’re sitting face-to-face with people.

Similarly, building company culture is tough when everyone is remote. You have to really work hard at it. As a team we spent a lot of time working together to shape the Poppins culture organically, and now that we’re spending more time in the office that really shows. It’s an environment that’s very open and warm, that doesn’t take itself too seriously — and where everyone is dedicated to doing great work together.

What Has Been Poppins’ Biggest Success So Far?

We’ve been fortunate that our hard work is paying off in terms of profit and revenue, but as CEO and founder, one of the things I’m most proud of is having worked through the pandemic without furloughing a single staff member or letting anyone go for monetary reasons.

People have, of course, moved on over the company lifecycle through a natural churn. But not a single staff member was let go because we couldn’t afford them. We are a family-orientated business and we will always stay this way.

If You Could Go For Dinner With Anyone, Dead or Alive, Who Would It Be?

This is a difficult one. Of course, there’s Bill Gates who’s a fascinating guy. Or Steve Jobs who seems like the obvious choice. I imagine George and Amal Clooney would be super interesting and fun too.

I think I’ll go for Jony Ive. Getting the chance to sit down with him, to talk through his experience working with Steve Jobs, would be amazing. But also getting to really pick his brain about the future and where we’re heading would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

What Three Pieces of Advice Would You Give to Other Leaders?

I think there’s this misconception that all leaders have to be extremely intelligent or wealthy. And while, of course, certain privileges give people a leg-up from the start, for me, I found that being resilient and relentless in the face of adversity is what has given me the edge. For each one of my successes, there are 100 failures. Success can’t be measured in one Instagram or LinkedIn post, because you don’t see the 14-hour work days, the really hard times, the self-doubt. But relentlessness always prevails.

You also need to have faith in yourself and your team. Believe in the business and your purpose and it will work out. This is why having a guiding reason for existing is so important. Money is a valuable resource, but it can’t pay for your purpose. If you’re a leader and you build a genuine purpose into your business, you can rally people behind that and make them believe in it too.

Making a positive impact is also absolutely key. At Poppins, we give everyone 25 days of holiday, we have wellness budgets, we can work anywhere in the world for up to four weeks of the year, and we actively turn away clients that aren't making a positive difference.

In a company, you have to make the individual feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves. You also need to understand people have a life outside of the company. Waking up with ‘Monday dreads’ is the reality for a lot of people every week. So why not create an environment where you love what you do, where you’re working with great people, and you’re producing great work? We’re all about happier Mondays and feel-good Fridays.

How Has Agency Life Changed Post-Pandemic?

I think human connection has become something that people value so much more. It was like breathing oxygen — we took it as a given. But when that was taken away, you realise how much you need that for a happy life.

We were set up to work from home but, post-pandemic, it’s clear that it’s a lot easier to sell things to clients, and to have real connections with your colleagues face-to-face. Talking through a screen takes away a lot of the personal connection you make. When choosing our London ‘House of Poppins’, we looked at so many buildings, but this one ties into the core of what we’re trying to build. It’s a beautiful Grade II listed building that is a mix of old-world glamour and modern innovation. It’s set up for our team members to cultivate a hub for creativity.

What Makes Poppins Different From Other Creative Agencies Out There?

Our purpose and positive impact are core to our company. Staff wellness, mental health, spiritual health and career health are all very important to Poppins, and we put our money where our mouth is.

We work with multiple charities throughout the year, as well as with a carbon company to offset our footprints, making us a carbon-positive business. We try to leave the world a better place than we found it, all while being a profitable business. That’s what makes us stand out as a digital creative agency.

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