EP001 | Al Mackin

Bulletproof Agency Network Podcast

http://bulletproofagencynetwork.com/

Twitter: @bulletproofagency

Overview

Bulletproof Agency Network are pleased to share with you our first proper podcast with guest, Al Mackin

In this episode we are taken on a journey will Al Mackin.

Guests

Our guest for this session is Al Mackin, CEO and Founder of Formisimo, Chairman and Founder of theEword, Chairman of Forever Manchester

Your Host

A journalist and broadcaster for nearly 30 years, Andy runs his own media consultancy in Manchester working with clients like Weber Shandwick, the NFU, and the Institute of Directors.

Andy started in print before 17 years as a BBC presenter & reporter, appearing on BBC Breakfast, Five Live & the Today programme. For five years Andy presented the award-winning BBC1 current affairs programme Inside Out, travelling across

Europe making documentaries on terrorism, the smuggling of illegal guns into the UK and the Manchester IRA bomb. He also made films with Sir Bobby Charlton, Yoko Ono, Lord Heseltine and Johnny Marr.

Find out more about Andy’s media consultancy: www.andyjohnson.tv

Content Covered

(1) Formation, growth and exit from leading Manchester agency The E Word

(2) The story of Formisimo, from identification of potential through to concept realisation. From tech side project to exciting business in its own right

(3) Emergence of Nudgr, pushing the boundaries provided by Formisimo with complimentary technology provision

(4) Challenges in letting go from a successful business you've nurtured to pursue new unknown paths

(5) The importance of a strong ethical culture within the businesses built, from the top down, and crucially picking the right type of individual to pass the torch onto.

(6) Getting the right people involved to advise you on your journey, and the value of experienced non-exec directors

(7) Lessons learned and mistakes made along the way, and how useful that is in future decision making

(8) Differences between running a tech start up versus establishing a digital agency?

(9) Thoughts on the best ways to obtain investment as a tech business

Episode Guest

Al Mackin is founder of analytics start-up Formisimo, a technology company focused on improving online forms and checkouts by measuring and reporting on user behaviour.

He is the chairman of the charity Forever Manchester, that has delivered over £36m of funding to grass-roots groups across Greater Manchester.

Finally he is the founder of theEword, a content-focused Digital Marketing agency that works with brands like Merlin, Atkins, MMU, Co-op bank and Jockey.

Formisimo: http://www.formisimo.com/

Thanks

We would like to give our thanks to Audio Always (www.audioalways.com) or giving us a beautiful base to record this, and again, the team at Art of Podcast (www.artofpodcast.com) for making us sound awesome

Thanks for listening

Bulletproof is produced every month for your enjoyment and we would encourage

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Please join us again for more real life stories from those leading lights that are pushing the northern creative agency scene forward

Next Episode

Our next episode will be recorded on site at Prolific North Live, where we will cover a range of topics from validity of apps, dealing with brand theft through to tips to win large contracts when you are a small player