Our offer
One Accelerator has been developed to support new agency start-ups with capital, marketing and sales support and back office resources. Critically, we will de-risk the funding gap between starting an agency and it generating a sustainable income.
It all begins with a series of ‘How to start an agency’ workshops with luminaries such as Stephen Waddington, the former President of the CIPR, a visiting Professor of Practice in Public Relations at Newcastle University. He runs his own advisory firm for agencies and communication teams, helping organisations work through change, culture, growth, sustainability, and talent issues.
The workshop covers off everything from market and proposition, agency economics and investment models.
You will take what you’ve learned and then provide us with:
- A business plan and CV
- A 12-month financial forecast and cashflow plan
- A presentation to Stephen Waddington and James Crawford, PR Agency One (PRAO) founder and MD
If we like the cut of your jib and the potential of your idea, we’ll become business partners.
Our proposition
Here’s the detail.
- Investment:
- Funding to profitable run rate for up to six months with the goal of breaking even after a year – this will cover the salaries of you and staff you need to hire
- Infrastructure:
- IT – laptop and access to PRAO’s tools
- Financial management – financial systems and business planning
- Marketing systems – website and lead generation infrastructure
- Operations:
- Marketing
- Finance
- HR and management support
- PR measurement excellence tools
- Extras:
- Publicity from programme participation
- Early on the job support from PRAO staff
- Respectful, trustful, working environment
In return for our investment we envisage 60/40 ownership split in the first year. Thereafter you will have the opportunity to earn-in to increase your ownership.
We’ve thought hard about this and think that it’s a model that removes the risk of setting up a new creative business for everyone.
Who is it for?
One Accelerator will equip you with the inspiration, the insight and the concrete tools to turn your idea into a business and take it quickly to the next level, shaving months and even years off the normal journey. We envisage
- In house or agency staffers who think it’s time to strike out on their own, but don’t know where to start and have no funds to support them as they do so.
- Freelancers who have ambition and are passionate about growing something themselves but lack the resources and the full set of skills to take it further.
- Senior PRs who feel they have reached a plateau in their career with few new opportunities in their current job and are thinking: “it’s time to spread my wings.”
- PRAO staff who fancy a new challenge and would like management team support rather than jumping ship.
Make your life extraordinary and apply now.
Register for the next intake of One Accelerator
One Accelerator 