Every week we feature an interview entrepreneurs who have advanced their business from ideation to execution – something that is in itself hugely commendable – but have also added their own personality to their business.
Karalynn Thomson, managing director of The Animal Agency was inspired by a combination of a life-long love of animals and an understanding the needs of the market.
“From identifying a gap in the market, I watched a documentary on similar agencies in the UK and US and felt that, given the growing film and advertising industry in the UAE, there could be an opportunity for something similar here,” says Thomson.
How did you establish whether there was a market in the region for an animal agency?The best piece of advice I received was to start by writing a business plan to access the feasibility of the start-up and to drill down into exactly what support and finance I would need to get it off the ground.
It really helped understand if and how the business would work, who the customers would be, what their expectations are, what will set the business apart, what the marketing strategy should be and how to price the product, as well as forecast financially.
I looked back at my business plan so often in the first year to refresh my memory and make sure I hadn’t strayed too far from my initial plan.
Did you take any outside professional advice in any aspect of the business?Not as such but I did join a lot of networking and business groups. There is so much support out there for new startups and business owners.
The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and the Dubai Business Women Council are an amazing support network and run some really informative sessions that allowed me to gain a better understanding of different aspects of launching a start-up and running a business.
I also built a network of great contacts and freelance staff that had the knowledge and experience to support the business.
We now work with an exceptional team of animal photographers, handlers, trainers etc. which means that I’m always confident when we go to work we have the most professional and experienced team working with us.
They’re familiar with working on shoots so understand the need for professionalism and time management but also have the animal’s best interests and care at heart.
How did you fund the business?The business was self-funded. Start-up costs were fairly low so it meant that I was able to launch without taking a loan or finding an investor. Any profit made has been put back into the business to help build it.
What was the point where you knew the business would be a success?In year one we were shortlisted for the Ro’Ya Business Awards and the Gulf Capital SME Awards and have now worked for the likes of Jumeirah, Audi ME, Vogue, Etisalat and on Bollywood films.
How has the business and its offerings developed from your early start-up phase?A lot of the first year was spent networking and meeting clients in order to get a better understanding of the types of animals and scope of work required. It was also an opportunity for them to understand how we can help them and also what benefit the addition of animals has to films, advertising or marketing campaigns.
We’re now at a stage where we’re receiving more confirmed work and our clients are more confident in why they should use an external agency.
At start-up I thought the majority of our work would come through magazines and fashion editorial. This actually makes up a very small amount of our work.
We tend to work on larger international projects and a lot of local social media content. This region seems to be coming round to the idea that if you include a cute animal in a social media video it’ll get great traction.
What is next for you, in terms of growing the agency?The focus for the Agency is to continue to maximise our existing relationships whilst generating new ones. We feel like we’ve now got a good grounding in Dubai and it is time to look to expand into the rest of the UAE and further.
We’re focusing on a more streamlined pricing strategy. A better understanding has come with experience of the costing required and the amount of time that needs to go into work.
We also plan to improve our network of partners and animal experts to offer a more 360 solution and continue to identify new and related revenue streams.
Last month we also launched an educational project called Reading Dogs (www.readingdogsuae.com).
Reading Dogs takes trained dogs into classrooms to help children with their reading. Similar schemes in the UK and the USA have shown an improvement in children’s reading fluency of 12-30% and the response here has been phenomenal. We’re now working with several schools and seeing amazing results in children’s reading ability as well as a whole host of social and emotional benefits.
When I started the Animal Agency I always planned to add an educational or social responsibility element to it. Now that we’re established it has allowed us to do just that.
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