About this article

Read time:

4 minutes

Category:

Life at Skout, Uncategorized

Q&A with our founder Rob Skinner: Celebrating Skout’s 12-year anniversary

This month, we’re celebrating 12 years of Skout (yes, we’re nearly a teenager). To mark the occasion, we thought we’d sit down with the man himself, our founder, Rob Skinner.  

The story of Skout started all the way back in 2010…David Cameron became UK prime minister, Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement, and Apple released the iPad. With just a laptop and mobile phone along with two new clients, Rob brought Skout into the world.  

Fast forward 12-years and despite the odds (and a global pandemic), Skout is a thriving and successful B2B PR and marketing agency with numerous clients, spanning across various industries including legal, finance, technology, and manufacturing. We asked managing director Rob how it feels to reach the momentous milestone.

How does it feel to reach the 12-year milestone? 

Satisfying! I always planned to establish Skout as a proper agency but 12 years ago today it was just me, my laptop and mobile phone, and two new clients. Nothing was certain. I always say, when you’re running the business day- to- day it’s easy to forget where you have come from and stop to think – “I did this.” 

What achievement of Skout’s are you most proud of? 

Although I’m proud of what I’ve achieved personally, I am most proud of the team we’ve built at Skout and the winning culture they have all helped to build. We don’t always get it right (who does?) but we are totally invested in the team, both collectively and as individuals. I believe business success radiates mainly from team strength and stability.  

What has been your biggest learning curve over the past year? 

We’ve doubled in size in the past year – our fastest growth ever. And we’ve more than held it together. The learning curve was my risk averse side realising that we can do more than we think we can. It’s led us on to new directions and more maturity as an agency. 

What advice would you give to someone looking to start their own business? 

Firstly, “don’t overthink it, just do it.” What I learned from day one was that I could do anything I needed to (within reason). I quickly exorcised my demons about all the things I thought I couldn’t really do. The other piece of advice is “be like Madonna” – be ready to reinvent yourself to stay current in the changing world. 

With 12 successful years under Skout’s belt, the future certainly looks promising. Happy 12-year anniversary Skout PR! 

About this article

Read time:

4 minutes

Category:

Life at Skout, Uncategorized

Are you in your measurement era?

Driving strategic storytelling with market trends reports

Browse more blog posts

Posted on
byClaire James
Have you ever been asked to demonstrate the value of your marketing budget to leaders within your business? You’re not alone. According to LinkedIn’s B2B Benchmark report, 76% of B2B marketers feel under pressure to prove return-on-investment in the short term while nearly half cite ROI as the most important metric when reporting to the CEO, CFO and other board...
Posted on
byHonor Williamson
Staying ahead of trends and understanding which stories are resonating with target audiences is integral to great PR. Given the volume of noise in today’s media, making use of tools can help reveal patterns, highlight relevant topics, and guide your content strategy. This is where the market trends report can be a real game-changer. Market trends reports provide insights into...
Posted on
byClaire Lamb
The Guardian announced last week that it will stop posting on X. According to the newspaper, the “benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives.” It went onto say that “this is something we have been considering for a while given the often-disturbing content promoted or found on the platform.”  It’s clear that X has become a...
Posted on
byJack Snell
In today’s fast-paced business environment, every penny counts, especially whilst businesses are under immense pressure to justify every line of their balance sheets. This is where the important of measuring your PR activities comes into play. At Skout, we believe that effective measurement is the key to demonstrating a tangible return on investment in your PR efforts. We recently launched...
Posted on
byRebecca Brown
There are many brands out there that are typically associated with their consumer products, but their heritage actually lies within the B2B market. In most scenarios, the consumer side of the business has grown so big, that it can easily be forgotten that they also sell to a business audience too! GPS specialist and smart watch developer, Garmin, is a...
Posted on
byJack Snell
It’s evident that AI is becoming increasingly beneficial in the daily responsibilities of marketing and PR professionals. Whether it’s streamlining processes or eliminating mundane tasks, there seems to be an AI software tool for everything. But with advancements in AI seemingly happening every day when we log on to work, sometimes it can be hard to keep up, or even...
Posted on
byJack Snell
With summer in full swing, we thought this was the perfect opportunity to have a little fun! Take our quiz and test your knowledge – a perfect excuse to take a well-earned break (we know you marketers are very busy 😉). All answers are at the bottom (no cheating!) And please do let us know your score. PR & marketing...
Posted on
byClaire James
I recently attended a leadership training course where we were asked to define our leadership style and our core values. We were guided through this exercise during the course but it got me thinking about my core values – the things that, when challenged, can prompt a physical reaction and an emotional response. It didn’t take me long to work...
Posted on
byClaire James
The construction sector has long struggled with issues around insolvency. This could, in part, be due to the fact that there are so many sole traders and small firms out there sub-contracting that have struggled financially with the Covid-19 situation and then with the supply chain price increases. But the industry has been sitting at a rate of between 750...
Posted on
byJames Weaver
The fintech industry is renowned for its innovation. In a highly competitive and fiercely contested landscape, connecting with your target audience is crucial, especially when aiming to penetrate a market as dynamic as the UK’s. Therefore, leveraging the power of PR can be a game-changer for your fintech business. Here, we detail how B2B PR can help your fintech brand...

Get in touch

Skout
11 Market Place
Macclesfield
Cheshire
SK10 1EB
Send us a message
Name(Required)

Send us a message