Lindsay Gray
I don’t think my business would still be here, if it wasn’t for the help and support of these people.
25 November 2024
Out of corporate life and into the Lab
Name: Lindsay Gray
Business: Natterjack Marketing
Key success factor: Curiosity
Lindsay Gray, founder of marketing agency Natterjack says it’s impossible to measure the value of people who have helped her as she has grown her business. From professional advisers and formal mentors to informal chats with fellow founders, she says no one can put a price on this help. For her, the difference has been existential. “I don’t think my business would still be here, if it wasn’t for the help and support of these people,” she says.
Founders, she says, want to help one another in a way she didn’t experience in her former life in the corporate world. But she concedes that accessing this support depends on the founder’s personality. “I’m a naturally curious person – some might say nosey – I talk to people because I like to know what they’re are doing and how and why they’re doing it.”
Living life in the Lab
For Gray, being based in the Eagle Lab at the Bus Station in Whitehaven, Cumbria, which she joined at the end of the Covid pandemic, as things were opening back up, has been a vital part enjoying the sense of community that comes with being a founder.
“I was that person who started my business on my kitchen table. By the end of lockdown, I was going crazy just talking to the dog. Coming here was a lifesaver, and it’s helped the business grow and flourish.”
The business has thrived since, doubling in size for the last three years, with the team growing alongside more clients coming onboard. Gray says the informal part of being in the Lab has played a role in that growth story.
I don’t think my business would still be here, if it wasn’t for the help and support of these people.
The power of the informal
She explains that what is called informal networking – which she describes as chatting at the coffee machine – has led to meaningful business relations. “I can’t believe how often just helping someone make a latte has led to something much more for the business. Especially as I’m a tea drinker,” she deadpans.
She is frank enough to suggest that this willingness of founders to help one another has a darker side. “They will often give you help or offer advice you don’t want, and it’s not always good advice. When you start and run your own business, everyone seems to have an opinion and everyone has advice.”
Plenty of that opinion can hurt you as a founder, while bad advice can hurt the business. Gray has a simple filter system to help pick positive gems and useful ideas from the rest. “I find that if people come to me offering advice, without me having asked for it, it’s because they want something from me or are trying to sell me something. The best help I get is where I have gone out looking for it.”
She cites the example of a successful Scottish entrepreneur who lives a few miles away across the border. She enjoyed his LinkedIn content and opinions and eventually “plucked up the courage” to invite herself to tea.
He was, she says, incredibly supportive, giving up three hours to discuss her business. “If you went to an accountant or a lawyer, that time would cost thousands of pounds. He was willing to sit with me and help.”
She has also taken part in formal mentoring schemes, organised through Eagle Labs, including working with Jackie Waring at AccelerateHer and another Barclays mentor. These sessions helped her understand areas such as how to make her marketing services business more investible and helping “Lindsay the leader” develop new skills, stepping back from the day-to-day running of the business to see the bigger picture.
The importance of giving back
Gray and her team, despite limited resources, also give back and offer help and advice to others, including offering work experience to youngsters and advice on marketing to fellow founders, as well as giving talks on topics like future trends in marketing. “It’s important that we’re able to participate fully and to give back where we can. We all do our bit to help and give back.”
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