Starting an agency was the hardest thing. If you must do it, learn from my mistakes

 Don’t worry, I’m not about to spew the usual online business-guru bullshit.

These aren’t surefire ways to success. 

They’re more reflections on things I’ve learnt the hard way and how starting a business has changed me as a person. Because if there’s one thing I can guarantee, it’s that starting a business changes you from the inside out.

So if that sounds remotely interesting, here goes: seven lessons from the front line.

1. No one will save you

Let’s cut to the chase, starting a business is really f*cking hard. In fact, imagine how hard you think it is, then multiply it by a hundred.

Worst of all? 

No one around you (not even your partner, parents, or best mates) will truly get it unless they’ve built something themself. They won’t get how chaotic starting a business is. How lonely and frustrating it can be. Being a founder is, I imagine, not far off what living with bipolar disorder might feel like. One day you’re flying higher than a crack addict; the next, you want to pack it all in. The truth is, when you start a business, you are really going it alone. No one will save you. The buck stops with you.

That might sound bleak, but it’s also liberating. Because when no one saves you, you learn to figure shit out very fast. And that skill becomes your superpower. Over the last three years, I’ve learned everything from contracts and business development to HR and building my own website. Yet the power isn’t in each individual skill, it’s in the attitude you develop: the mindset that says, “Whatever happens, we’ll figure it out.” 

That attitude makes you faster, tougher, and more flexible and ultimately, a better strategist and businessperson.

2. A clear market position

I spent the best part of twenty years advising clients on market positioning… preaching the power of strategy, clarity, and differentiation. Yet when I started my own business, I was a complete hypocrite.

In truth, I didn’t spend nearly enough time defining our position in the market. And trying to differentiate an ad agency, in an oversupplied market with barely any barriers to entry, is really hard. Thankfully, after much trial and error, we’ve now found a much clearer, tighter point of difference. 

I just wish we’d done it sooner.

If you’re going it alone, please, don’t skip this step. Take time to study your market, define the unique value you bring, and communicate it clearly. And if you’re starting an agency? Double that effort. The inconvenient truth is that the agency landscape is wildly oversubscribed, with everyone saying a variant of the same thing. So finding your USP is everything.

3. Action beats thought

I’ve never told anyone this, but I dreamed of starting my own business for years before I finally pulled the trigger. 

What held me back? 

Overthinking. 

Yes, you need clarity on your positioning, but don’t overcook it. Don’t dwell too long. Because if you want to start something, action always beats thought.

I’ve seen people far smarter than me fail because they hesitated. They spent too long thinking about what they might do and too little time actually doing it. The truth is, the shape of my business now is radically different from day one. Businesses evolve. You adapt as the market pulls you along and you search for product-market fit. So don’t dawdle, and as Nike would say, ‘Just Do It’.

4. Failure is your friend

One of my biggest insecurities used to be the fear of failure. I was terrified of f*cking up and being judged. Working at top shops like Droga5 and Wieden+Kennedy compounded that fear, these places are full of insanely talented people, and the competition is fierce. But three years into running Defiant, my relationship with failure has completely flipped. I don’t just tolerate it, I love it.

It’s cliché but true: you learn far more from your failures than your wins. Whether it’s undercharging, being taken advantage of, or not standing your ground in negotiations, every screw-up made us smarter and stronger.

So if you’re going to start a business, don’t just prepare for failure, run toward it. Embrace it. Fail fast. Because the faster you fail, the faster you learn, adapt, and grow.

5. Find your people

Starting a business solo has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done and I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s lonely, frustrating, and exhausting.

At first, I struggled to find co-founders. Many of the best people I’d worked with were tied to big salaries or couldn’t take the financial risk. But over time, I’ve found my people, the ones with entrepreneurial fire, who think beyond day rates, and who see the long-term potential. It hasn’t been easy. I’ve learned not to be seduced by big CVs or agency pedigrees. You see, startups need a different breed, people who roll up their sleeves and get sh*t done.

If you’re building something, find the crazy ones. The ones who believe before it’s obvious. The ones who’ll join you for the ride, not the résumé.

6. Time in the market

Since starting Defiant, I’ve seen many agency startups come and go, often with more famous founders and bigger funding. But many haven’t lasted. That taught me something vital: time in the market beats timing the market.

Success compounds. The longer you stick it out, the stronger it grows. In our first year, we worked with small founders and startups. Year two, with bigger challengers like Bella Italia and Clipper Teas. And year three? 

Our best yet, winning work with Beavertown Brewery, Sennheiser, and pitching against (and beating) agencies with hundreds of staff. It still blows my mind. But it proves the point: stay in the game. Keep building. Because time in the market beats almost everything else.

7. Fear no one

One of the biggest shifts in me since starting Defiant? 

I literally fear nothing and no one. This isn’t arrogance, however. It’s resilience. When you’ve been scrappy, self-taught, and relentless, you develop incredibly thick skin. We’ve gone head-to-head with massive agencies and never flinched, and often won.

So don’t start from fear. Lean into what makes you unique. Turn your smallness into strength. Own your challenger spirit. People buy people, and there’s nothing more magnetic than someone fearless enough to bet on themselves.

Would I advise everyone to start a business? 

Definitely not. If i had to start over and do it all again would I? 

Definitely. 

The process of starting a business has fundamentally changed me as a person, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.

Will Poskett is an award-winning strategist and the founder of Defiant. A creative studio working with the likes of Beavertown Brewery, Clipper Teas, Sennheiser and many more. Let him know your thoughts on LinkedIn.