Earlier this month, we downed tools for an afternoon and celebrated Fiasco’s 13th birthday in a typical teenage fashion: with fake cigarettes, rebellious (temporary) tattoos, and blue WKDs all round.
Coming of age is a big deal. It’s a chance to take stock of how far we’ve come and raise a glass to all we’ve achieved in 13 years. So we’ve taken a quick look back to when it all began…2010.
In case you need a reminder, 2010 was the year that Instagram was born, Lady Gaga wore that weird meat dress, Prince William and Kate got engaged, smartphones became a thing, and Nicki Minaj rapped *that* iconic Monster verse.
Meanwhile, founders Ben and Jason had both settled in Bristol after graduating. With little agency experience, they went out on a limb and started a studio of their own. Fiasco was born.
Starting an agency off the back of a global financial crash and economic recession, is no mean feat. And during the past 13 years the business has faced many challenges: weathering two more recessions; moving the studio no less than 7 times (leading to the idea to set up Gather Round); to COVID, and adopting new ways of working… It’s been anything but plain sailing.
It’s been a wild ride with plenty of ups and downs, but we’ve always stayed true to our values of openness, integrity and kindness. Starting a company with no existing clients or experience of running a business, might not have been the fastest route to success, but we’ve done it our own way.
More than just surviving, we’ve positively thrived. And that’s a testament to the 15 wonderful people who make up the FD team and all the clients, partners, collaborators and contributors that have helped us along the way.
We’ve got so many exciting developments in the pipeline. We can’t wait to tell you about some of the projects we’ve been working on behind the scenes, as well as progress on our journey to B Corp. But amongst the hustle and busy-ness of day-to-day studio life, it’s good to take a moment to recognise how far we’ve come and raise a WKD – or two. Cheers.
Written By
Nathalie Crease
