My Second Home: Kate Warwick
Founder, PR Savvy
Kate Warwick is founder of PR Savvy, one of the leading business-to-business public relations firms in London’s tech city. PR Savvy gives start-ups and established global corporates the relevant marketing strategies, tactics and tools to construct a campaign that supports their business mission. Kate works from Second Home’s third floor Roaming Area, and we met her to discuss what makes a company newsworthy, and how she gets her clients the best results.
What is the best thing about working at PR Savvy?
The brilliant ideas which come from the team and our clients. Tech is in a constant state of change and we have opportunities to work with some incredible businesses at the front of this change. My favourite moments are usually in messaging sessions, when suddenly the complications fall away and the message becomes clear.
What recent project are you the most proud of and why?
Running the first Blue Badge Style Awards was very rewarding. Blue Badge Style is a start-up which rates venues on their style, accessibility and facilities for people with disabilities. We organised the media outreach for the first award ceremony, where eleven awards were given to stylish hotels, restaurants and bars. Plus one for the most ludicrous lavatory.
On the business side, setting up Word Savvy is this year’s highlight — this came out of my MA in English Linguistics and a love of words. We want to help organisations to extract the knowledge already in their businesses and make have their ideas listened to. Working with an old friend and growing this part of the business is an enlightening experience.
What do you want your company to achieve within the next year?
We want to make all businesses savvy communicators! In 2017 this will involve establishing Word Savvy.
What advice would you give somebody thinking about starting their own company?
It’s not the work that’s hard; it’s the business that is. You set up a business because you’re good at something. This for me was PR, but there’s a lot more to having a successful PR business than just being good at PR. Be aware of what you’re not so good at and either put some time into that, or get some help. Having a mentor that understands the business has also been hugely useful. It’s hard working on your own, you need someone to talk things through with, who isn’t your team, but still understands the challenges of running a business.
How has being at Second Home helped your work?
I love being among like-minded people, in an amazing working environment. The emphasis on connect and collide means I’m constantly introduced to new ideas and ways of working with people. It stretches my brain and keeps me on my toes!
“I love being among like-minded people, in an amazing working environment. The emphasis on connect and collide means I’m constantly introduced to new ideas and ways of working with people. It stretches my brain and keeps me on my toes!”
What is your favourite design feature about Second Home?
The view of the chimney pots and roof top gardens from the third floor and the serendipity of collide and connect, which works in the shape of the studios and workspaces, as well as the events.
What company at Second Home fascinates you the most?
I’ve been at Second Home for 18 months and there’s been an explosion of businesses here in that time. I’m still catching up with everyone, but I’m excited to see the amount of positive disruption going on in businesses like Bulb and the Wonderland Collective.
Outside of work, what place in London stimulates your imagination the most and why?
It’s art galleries. They refresh my brain. I’m a words person, so it does me good to go and look at images. I also love London street names and collect them for our @wordsnerd twitter feed.
We ask everyone to select a book that will inspire others and become part of Libreria’s permanent collection. Which book would you choose and why?
The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell. I think this might be my Desert Island Discs book. It’s complex, spirited and chaotic, but the beauty of the prose and Lawrence’s ideas hold you in. You can smell the heat of Alexandria.
Second Home is a creative workspace and cultural venue, bringing together diverse industries, disciplines and social businesses. Find out more about joining us here: secondhome.io
