86. The London Fashion Agency

Founder: Rosie Davies
Founded: January 2014
Website: www.thelondonfashionagency.com

As a child, it was Rosie Davies’ dream to run a business. Though she struggled with severe dyslexia, Davies worked part-time from the age of 14 and learnt all she could about commerce. Then, while interning with fashion brands in her early twenties, she spotted a gap in the market.

Her business idea grew to become The London Fashion Agency (LFA), a PR start-up that offers product businesses affordable PR through monthly subscriptions. Specialising in magazine product placement, Davies’ business is currently helping 45 new brands to get their products into the public eye.

The start-up says it is gaining more magazine coverage than many traditional PR agencies, amassing over 600 pieces in national magazines and newspapers over the three years since launch. LFA has also recently launched a sister site, PR Dispatch, which offers an automated ‘DIY PR’ subscription service which has gained over 30 subscribers in its first month – without marketing.

Such success hasn’t gone unnoticed. LFA was approached by Disney, but Davies asserts “we’re not selling out”, sticking to her business motto: “Being all things to all people is a recipe for mediocrity.”

In 2016, Davies won NatWest’s Creative Industries Entrepreneur of the Year award, and is now speaking at trade shows about the PR process. PR Dispatch is also rapidly developing its offering, offering nine subscription categories, running bi-monthly PR workshops, kicking off a partnership with ASOS marketplace, and expanding into international fashion hubs including New York and Paris.

Furthermore, LFA is flipping perceptions of the fashion and lifestyle industry upside down, eschewing a “Devil Wears Prada-esque” image for a happy company culture, and building a name for itself as “the UK’s friendliest PR agency”.

Davies has certainly had her critics, with many telling her that starting PR Dispatch would put LFA out of business. But with both brands’ continued success, it now seems obvious she will continue to prove the doubters wrong for years to come.