Talia Cotton on starting an agency after leaving Pentagram

In this engaging conversation, Talia Cotton shares her journey from working at Pentagram to starting her design studio — Cotton Design. She talks about the challenges of the first year of being a founder and insightful advice on building and managing a team and maintaining creativity. Read our favourite highlights below or watch the full interview to hear everything Talia shared, it's spot on.

1

3 things you must do before launching an agency: hire an accountant, a bookkeeper, and a lawyer. These professionals can help you set up properly and avoid scrambling and doing all that yourself.

2

Networking is invaluable. Connections can help you secure initial projects and continue to bring in work through word-of-mouth. Have conversations, invite people for coffee or lunch, be active on social media, reach out for publications and participate in events and conferences.

3

When starting, consider hiring people you already know and trust, like former students or colleagues. In your first year, you might not want to take any more risks and go with somebody who has all the skills and knowledge you need.

4

Hire for personalities, not just for the skills. It’s important to balance different characters, interests, and approaches within your team to create a dynamic and learning-rich environment. At the same time, hire people who share your values and working styles.

5

During the first year, say yes to everything. Every single project is going to be a big opportunity because it's more work to release, more things that you can put your voice on, more things that they could connect you with. 

When you have enough portfolio, projects, and people reaching out to you you can step back and decide what kind of projects you really want to do and start saying no to the ones that don’t align with your values and goals.