The work in practice.
Three founders.
Three businesses.
One senior operator across all of it
Strategy, Marketing, Brand + Operations.
Talawa by Louise Meddar
Luxury leather accessories. London-made. Jamaican roots.
Louise had the product.
Beautiful handbags, hand-crafted in lambskin.
A price point that sat correctly between Polène and Mulberry.
A founder story with the kind of depth that cannot be manufactured.
What she didn't have was a brand that knew what it was.
Or a plan to fund the build without giving equity away.
Or a financial model that showed what the business could actually become.
That's where we started.
We had a 30-minute call. I sent a proposal the next day.
Week 1 - Discovery
I got under the skin of the business. The brand, the market, the cultural moment, the funding landscape.
A check-in at the end of the week.
Findings shared.
Week 2 - Definition
The picture came into focus.
The Jamaican fashion renaissance and the white space it had left in accessories.
The Jamaican Doctor Bird and hibiscus was created as an elegant but cultural brand identity - using red, gold and green in a more muted way.
The competitive set.
The market size and value.
A longlist of funding options with no equity as the brief.
Delivered back to Louise in a full playback session.
Week 3+4 - Development
3 year brand strategy and business plan playbooks delivered.
3 year financial model constructed.
1 year 360 degree marketing campaign delivered and budgetted, including social, pr, influencer and events.
Every funding option researched in depth. The full funding playbook delivered: scenario options, where to apply, in what order, what to say, what it unlocks.
Pitch deck with robust figures to back it up - ready to go.
Phase 4. Delivery
The full launch plan is scoped and ready.
Teaser campaign.
PR and influencer strategy.
Website build.
Studio and lifestyle photography. Events calendar. Production timelines. Launch campaign. The influencer dinner.
We're waiting on Louise's funding. Then we crack on.
Watch this space.
“Nat helped me shape not just the brand but the bigger picture. My story, my direction, and how the business can grow in a way that actually makes sense. Everything felt aligned after that. She also pointed me towards opportunities I would never have found on my own. What I appreciated most is that she really understands what it means to build something personal.”
Velocity Partners
6 month contract - Chief Ops Officer
B2B content marketing agency. London.
A brilliant creative founder, a difficult CEO and a team that did not want anything to change.
Great clients. No systems. Utter chaos.
Everyone was hustling. Nobody was holding the whole picture.
They had just won a huge client in USA and needed to get up to world class speed quickly.
They were scaling fast due to the big win and also looking at raising equity investment within 18 months.
What I did:
Implemented new processes across resourcing, scheduling, briefing, financial visibility and project tracking.
Led specification, shortlist and vendor selection for a new agency management platform.
Built and managed a freelance network fast - quality was not affected.
Worked closely with co-founder on building the creative team. Led the hiring process, tripling the creative department.
Commissioned and produced a £800K photoshoot in Los Angeles.
Exec produced a major film shoot in Barcelona with RSA Films, Ridley Scott's commercial production company.
Project managed US client’s phased rebrand, repositioning and full website overhaul.
I wasn’t exactly welcomed by the existing team when I arrived, even though I had been hired to do a job - change was not on their agenda. I dragged them kicking and screaming to world class standards and the US client was delighted with the work.
What changed: Six months. Chaotic, ad hoc practices replaced with systems that held. 4X bigger team, a more profitable business, a satisfied, newly on-baorded, major US client.
What happened next: Velocity were acquired by Next 15 for an initial £5.9 million. Debt-free. £5.2 million net revenues. £1.35 million adjusted profit before tax.
Today there are now over 100 people there.
What I learnt: Change management is a not for the faint-hearted, you’ve got to ensure the team have been briefed by management on why you are there, then get everybody on-board before you begin.
I also learnt I am incredibly resilient.
“In a very short time, Nat transformed the way we work, replacing chaotic, ad hoc working practices with a systematic approach that dramatically improved efficiency, visibility and productivity. After only a 6-month engagement, she left us a better, more profitable agency and made our business better-equipped for growth.”
Keko London
6 months contract - Chief Ops Officer
Keko was the London outpost of a German luxury automotive agency. Brand new office. World-class client. No operational infrastructure.
The sole client was Bentley Motors.
I built the creative department and studio from the ground up. Set up all creative processes, studio trafficking, workflow and real-time monitoring of design and conceptual tasks.
Led resourcing, talent search and fee negotiation. Managed a team of up to 10 creatives, 4 designers and an edit suite.
What I did:
Introduced creative and production processes for a new London office from scratch
Art-producer on 2 major global shoots for Bentley - South Africa (Continental GT) and USA (Bentley SUV Launch)
Executive producer for the motion film of above shoot, overseeing film producer.
Sourced, commissioned and negotiated fees for photographer Greg Williams (lifestyle), Simon Stock (location automotive) and studio automotive photographer
Client-facing project manager for retouching across all shoots - over 300 images: studio detail, lifestyle, product stills and dynamics
Commissioned and produced complex high-end luxury print campaigns for Bentley at £100+ per pack
Led weekly agency status meetings across the full creative team
Created time logging and financial visibility across the agency
What changed:
A new London office with a busy and productive creative department and studio, fully operational from day one.
A complex multi-location, international shoot delivered, creative processes that held, commercial practices developed.
Profitability tracked and improved.
A world-class luxury automotive client managed efficiently and thrilled with the work.
“Nat joined Keko London at a critical point in its history, the point it scaled from start-up to established agency. This transition could not have been accomplished without Nat’s diligence and rigour. She transformed our creative offering, and more importantly our commercial practices: ultimately our profitability”