““Get out of your own way”. All founders struggle to let go of tasks and give responsibility to others. They tend to hold onto everything and this will only lead to failure as they’ll have too much on their plate. ” – Kathryn Strachan

Founder@ Interview

Interview with Kathryn Strachan

““Get out of your own way”. All founders struggle to let go of tasks and give responsibility to others. They tend to hold onto everything and this will only lead to failure as they’ll have too much on their plate. The ideal thing to do is to delegate the responsibilities and tasks across your team.” – Kathryn Strachan

Today we feature Kathryn Strachan, the founder at Copy House. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.

Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
My name is Kathryn Strachan, and I am the owner and Managing Director of an award-winning content marketing agency, Copy House. At Copy House, we are really passionate about creating a more accessible and fair world with the power of words.

To do this, we break down complicated topics within the technology and FinTech sector to make the information more accessible for our client’s target audience. By educating customers in technology and FinTech, we have created further opportunities for the industry. I’ve always had an interest in complex topics and problems.

So when I saw a gap in the market for a content marketing service that specialises in technology, I took the leap and delved into it. In the space of 2 years, Copy House has grown from a one-woman team to a team of 27 and counting.

I have also expanded Copy House’s services to accompany written content with content design and expanded the business to Europe by launching Copy House Europe.

Due to my passion for building a successful forward-thinking content marketing agency and the support from my talented team, Copy House has grown by 900% since it first launched in 2019.

Not only has my team grown, but I have also expanded Copy House’s client base and now Copy House works with some of the world’s leading technology and FinTech companies, including but not limited to Meta, Klarna, 365 Business Finance, Modulr etc.

A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?

My journey began at University College London (UCL), where I obtained a Masters in English Language and Literature. Here I fell in love with complex subjects and enjoyed the challenge of breaking them down as well as problem-solving.

Shortly after graduating, I intended to branch out into copywriting. Although my father was an entrepreneur, I first decided to have a more stable role, as I often saw him take risks and struggle especially during the 2008 economic crisis. Unfortunately, after falling pregnant with my daughter, I struggled to find secure employment.

Employers were hesitant to hire a copywriter with a young child. For this reason, I was left with no choice but to take the risk, follow in my dad’s footsteps and branch out on my own.

I wanted to be a great role model for my daughter as well as empower other women to take risks. Therefore, after working independently for several months and building my client base, I created my own agency, Copy House.
This was not all smooth sailing and I faced numerous hurdles, the pandemic being one of them.

When the pandemic first began, it was the cause of over half of our clients terminating their contracts with Copy House due to marketing budget cuts.

Instead of giving up, my team and I undertook extensive market research and repositioned Copy House from a generalist content marketing agency to one specialising in technology and FInTech. By niching down, I was able to network and find clients who really needed Copy House’s help in breaking down complicated information and transforming it into digestible content.
This has been incredibly challenging but very rewarding as I am now an award-winning leader, director and owner of Copy House.

In addition to my responsibilities at Copy House, I am also a public speaker for numerous events, including Semrush and the Content Marketing Association. I have also created a successful 10-week SEO course available for those interested in copywriting.

Furthermore, I have also been featured in multiple publications, including our own Technology CMO Outlook Report where I worked with immediate future to deliver insights into the marketing industry in the technology sector. I’ve also taken part in helping to deliver the Agencynomics most recent book on how to Grow Your Agency to the First £5M. Whilst featuring in business magazines such as Econsultancy and Prowess.

Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?

Copy House is an award-winning content marketing agency specialising in technology and FinTech. Although all of our employees work remotely, Copy House is registered in Edinburgh, Scotland. More recently we’ve also expanded by opening a registered office in London, England and in Malta to be closer to our clients.

Over the years, we’ve built strong relationships with leading tech and FinTech giants including Meta, Klarna, 365 Business Finance, Modulr and more. We’re proud to work with a range of established brands from all around the UK and Europe.

We specialise in helping technology and FinTech brands build better relationships with their audience by explaining complex topics in creative, engaging ways to nurture leads through the funnel and boost revenue.

What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?

The reason behind the launch of Copy House in 2019 was because I did not fit into the traditional agency lifestyle. I was discriminated against as I was a new mother with employers often failing to take a chance on me because I could not work the traditional 9-5 job, and asked for flexible working. After many rejections and shortcomings due to my circumstances, I decided to put my faith in my own hands and branch out on my own.

I tirelessly networked by building a personal brand via LinkedIn and attending numerous industry events to build a client base. After a short while, I saw an increase of clients coming in my direction, so I made the decision to hire my first employee and launch Copy House. At first, Copy House was a generalist content marketing agency that covered numerous industries.

From hospitality and travel to business and technology.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on Copy House’s clients’ businesses, and as a result, over 50% of Copy House’s clients terminated their contracts in the space of a week.

Instead of accepting failure and putting my team on furlough, I decided to undertake extensive market research and discover what sector required the unique skills Copy House offered, even during the pandemic. After conducting this research, I decided to reposition Copy House towards the niche market of technology and FinTech content.

During the pandemic, my team and I restructured the business, networked within the tech and FInTech space and redesigned the website to fit into this new market. By doing this, we were able to keep the team working over the course of the pandemic and prepare Copy House to slingshot back after the pandemic.

To ensure my team’s mental wellbeing was prioritised, I introduced the Employee Assistance Programme. This is where each employee sits with a mental well-being professional and discusses anything on their mind. Whether it’s work-related or external, they are all given one hour every month to talk in confidence to the well-being professional during their working hours.

This scheme did so well that I’ve decided to make it part of the Copy House culture, and put employees’ mental health first.

During the pandemic, I also introduced a work from anywhere (and anytime) policy as many of my employees struggled to make the regular commute. This also became part of the Copy House culture as it meant employees had a healthier work-life balance and when recruiting more employees, Copy House could lead forward by focusing on our employees’ skills as opposed to their location.

Whilst aiming to get the Copy House name out there, I networked within the technology and FinTech space by attending numerous industry events, exploring speaking opportunities and signing up to relevant memberships and networks.

This year, I also started my own monthly series called Copy House TechTalks, where I join other industry leaders to discuss trends in technology and marketing. This has pushed the Copy House brand further and successfully positioned us as thought leaders in the industry.
These efforts did not go unnoticed as Copy House has won numerous awards, including the Business Elite Awards 2022 for Leading Specialists in Technology Content Marketing, hosted by SME News and the Prestige Awards 2021 for The Best Content Marketing Agency of the Year.

I have also won the Business Woman Scotland Award under the Rising Star category.

Alongside these wins, myself and Copy House have been shortlisted for 9 other awards in 13 different categories. This includes our Highly Commended title from The Drum Agency A

wards for Business 2021 for the Best Response to Change.
As well as focusing my efforts on growing Copy House, I’m also a big believer in giving back to the community and giving back to the world. That’s why I joined forces with Winchester Creatives, an organisation that aids young creatives in finding employment opportunities and SmartWorks, an organisation that helps women find employment.

I offered these amazing organisations my 10-week SEO course for free and mentoring through Copy House, as a way to support these young creatives and women.

To embed sustainability into Copy House’s company culture, I have also added two extra days to my staff’s allowance so that they can volunteer and support causes that they personally believe in. This can be done through our partnership with OnHand, a volunteer app that encourages the Copy House team to volunteer in their local community and help both the planet and the people.

The team can also volunteer for external events such as the BIMA Digital Day. Where volunteers visit local schools to teach young students about the opportunities within the digital sector.

I strongly believe that a happy team leads to happy clients. Because of this, I have done everything I can to make the Copy House culture welcoming, diverse and inclusive.

This includes hiring team members based on their skills instead of their location. It also means having an anonymous recruitment process where work is assessed purely on quality ensuring no external bias impacts our decision.

With the growth of Copy House, I was able to introduce more incentives including the ClassPass app. This app encourages employees to take a break from work and instead take care of their mental and physical health. They can use it to book gym sessions, spa treatments or partake in physical activities such as yoga classes or rock climbing.

To ensure the team is encouraged to be social and make meaningful connections, despite working remotely, we host regular virtual team socials and quarterly in-person events. When we break the £1mil mark, we also plan to take the whole team on a trip to Europe to celebrate everyone’s hard work throughout the years.

To ensure Copy House continues to have a positive and sustainable culture, I have put Copy House through the process of becoming a B-Corp business that puts the planet, people and profit at the forefront of all business decisions.

Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?

Aside from the struggle we faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and getting the business back on its feet, my biggest lesson has been to recruit the right people who can contribute to the company culture.
Finding new talent is more than observing who fits into the company culture. It’s also looking at who can add to the culture and take Copy House that one step further.

At Copy House, we have a thorough recruitment process to ensure potential employees are a great fit in terms of knowledge and have the ability to bring their own style into the mix and add to the diversity.

To strengthen Copy House’s recruitment efforts, I expanded Copy House and launched Copy House Europe. By doing this, we were able to see fresh talent from Europe and create a stronger bridge between Copy House and our European clients.

Due to our work from anywhere policy, our HR team can really focus on individuals’ talent and what they can bring to Copy House instead of looking at where they’re from. Again this helps diversify the Copy House team and push Copy House further.

When creating an agency, there are a lot of challenges that come along the way. Sometimes it can be difficult to know whether the challenge is a growing pain or if it’s just a phase. What I wish I knew before that I know now is to not be afraid to implement policies before they are intended to be implemented.

For example, at Copy House the Pod structure was intended to be implemented in late 2021. However, due to our rapid growth, I noticed that the project manager and account manager struggled to keep up with everything, so I introduced the pod structure much earlier into the business. This meant that we hired additional project and accounts staff and separated our clients and teams into two pods, helping balance the workload, project visibility and demanding deadlines for each client and team.

If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?

I would probably say keep following the right path and you’ll get there. People often doubt themselves the most, so by following the right path and doing what you believe is the best for you and your business, you’ll see results. Just stay true to yourself.

We’re nearly halfway through our interview so it’s a great time to ask how does your business run. What three tools make your business run better?

As we are a content marketing agency, we heavily rely on effective and efficient communication. We want to bridge the gap between our writers and clients and for that reason we use tools such as Google Drive, Clickup and Slack to stay on top of things.

We also use tools such as Google Analytics and Semrush to help push content further and know the effects content is having on our client’s audience.

We couldn’t do our jobs as efficiently without Google Drive. We use this to help share content with our clients and to have everything in one place. Google Drive gives our clients the ability to access documents and make suggestions so our copywriters can go back and amend them.

Another tool we use frequently is Semrush. Semrush is an SEO tool that helps us push content further by increasing organic traffic. It helps our writers develop strong content strategies that rank highly on search engines. Not only do we use SEO to build the Copy House brand, but it is also essential when building a strong marketing strategy for our clients.
We also use Slack to communicate internally with one another.

Slack is a great platform for keeping in contact with each employee and staying on top of projects. When using the Slack app, the team can message one another privately, have group chats, inform others on their whereabouts, e.g. if they’re out of the office, on lunch etc. It’s a really handy tool.

Finally, we have ClickUp. ClickUp is a project management tool that helps the internal staff stay on top of tasks. As the company has rapidly grown, we have outgrown ClickUp and we are looking to transition to Synergist. This project management tool will be able to cater for large scale teams like ours. However, as we are still getting to terms with it, it will take a couple of months before we 100% move over to it.

What do you know now that you wished you had known before?

When creating an agency, there are a lot of challenges that come along the way. Sometimes it can be difficult to know whether the challenge is a growing pain or if it’s just a phase. What I wish I knew before that I know now is to not be afraid to implement policies before they are intended to be implemented.

For example, at Copy House the Pod structure was intended to be implemented in late 2021. However, due to our rapid growth, I noticed that the project manager and account manager struggled to keep up with everything, so I introduced the pod structure much earlier into the business.

This meant that we hired additional project and accounts staff and separated our clients and teams into two pods, helping balance the workload, project visibility and demanding deadlines for each client and team.

What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?

I’m incredibly proud of how much Copy House has grown since its launch in 2019. Since then we’ve grown 900%, went from a one-woman team to a team of 27 and counting, added more clients to our books, have a 56.56% client retention rate, introduced a content design service to complement our copywriting service and launched to Europe, further increasing our team and clients.

In addition to that, I’m also proud that Copy House is ahead of schedule to break through the £1mil revenue mark and become a recognised B-Corp business that puts profit, people and the planet at the forefront of every business decision.

Although I would have loved to win the Drum Awards, I was extremely proud that in the short space of 2 years, Copy House was shortlisted for the category of The Best Response to Change and won the Highly Commended status.

It was a vision I always had for the business, but saw achieving this in years to come. To be shortlisted in such a short space of time has really exceeded my expectations!

What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?

As Copy House continues to expand, I would like to introduce translation and transcreation services on top of our current services.
By adding these into the mix, Copy House can further diversify its content and open the doors for a wider client outreach.

Additionally, I aim to continue building relationships within Europe and become a leading content marketing agency outside of the UK as well as within it.

To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?

“Get out of your own way”.
All founders struggle to let go of tasks and give responsibility to others. They tend to hold onto everything and this will only lead to failure as they’ll have too much on their plate.

The ideal thing to do is to delegate the responsibilities and tasks across your team. To trust them and know the company is in good hands. Founders need to be okay with not being needed and being forgotten. You don’t want your identity to be your brand. They should be two separate entities.

“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and Copy House”

To learn more about Copy House Visit https://copyhouse.io/

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