"The magic of an entrepreneur is in the way they learn from their mistakes and experiences, turning awkward failures into celebrated success stories."
Paul McDowall and Catherine Clark are the Co-Founders and visionary minds behind independent NYC-based branding agency, Clarkmcdowall. True pioneers in the world of branding, they set out to break down traditional silos to create an original kind of agency, built around the power of collaboration and bringing together different perspectives to solve problems. For over 22 years, Catherine, Paul, and their passionate team of brand architects have partnered with some of the world’s most forward-looking brands to make our future brighter.
They continue to seek out brands that are playing an active role in bettering our world through tackling topics such as sustainability, health and wellness, and equality head-on. Whether through evolving their offerings, identifying more effective strategies for brands, or helping their clients to stay future-ready, they are always taking forward-moving steps to create a brighter future.
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Table of Contents
Tell us a little bit about your current projects. What exciting milestone would you like to share with our readers? (Don’t hesitate to delve into your achievements, they will inspire the audience)
Paul McDowall: It’s such an exciting time to be in branding right now. We’re in a cultural moment that is inviting change and favoring the bold – and business leaders are facing all kinds of new challenges and pressures.
We continue to be energized most by our work with the brands that are bringing positive change to the world, to name a few: we are creating a future $1bn snack brand that will break down the barriers that keep so many people from fully embracing healthier foods, turning a complex technology platform into a visionary brand that purposefully fuels better human interactions, and transforming a leading infant nutrition brand with a view to establishing a natural, anxiety-free connection with a new generation of parents. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with these purpose-driven brands all working towards a brighter future.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up?
Catherine Clark: We feel extremely fortunate to have been on this journey in building a business for 22 years now. While every startup business faces its share of ups and downs, we don’t equate hard times with starting a business – in some ways, the stakes are way lower, you throw yourself into it, give it everything you’ve got, and push forward. Hard times happen later, once you’ve established a way of doing things, a reputation, and you have a proven formula you can rely on. But we live in a world where things are changing faster and faster, so if you sit still for too long, you lose your edge.
You need to be always evolving, always open to improving. Our hardest time was probably at the 15-year mark, we had to really rethink a lot of things, reorganize the team, make choices about the kind of work we want to do, and get ourselves out of a “comfortable” spot back into more of a start-up mode again.
That was 6-7 years ago, and we’ve kept moving and innovating ever since. We always need to be slightly ahead of our clients as an agency as they are also changing all the time.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make and what would you suggest they do?
Paul McDowall: The magic of an entrepreneur is in the way they learn from their mistakes and experiences, turning awkward failures into celebrated success stories. Over the years we have worked with many entrepreneurial leaders – both independent entrepreneurs and those embedded within bigger organizations.
What we see as a common mistake is the desire to go too big, too fast. We’ve found the businesses that take it slow and make thoughtful adjustments along the way to improve their product or service as they grow, tend to do better in the long haul.
It is also extremely important for entrepreneurs to be open and listen to their team – avoiding egocentric behavior or thinking they have all the answers. Hearing the opinions and ideas of others as an entrepreneur can be a huge asset, helping you to strengthen your proposition and ultimately ensure its success.
Lastly, try not to do too many things at once or you’ll stretch yourself thin. The choices you make as an entrepreneur are really important – the focus, the intentionality. Without intention, you won’t be able to get where you want to be.
Resilience is critical in critical times like the ones we are going through now. How would you define resilience?
Catherine Clark: Resilience is about being able to go through all sorts of challenges, things out of your control, and being able to remain in balance. A resilient person is self-aware, optimistic, and has a growth mindset with the ability to learn and adapt even during critical, difficult times.
In your opinion, what makes your company stand out from the competition?
Catherine Clark: The world of agencies is highly crowded and confusing for clients to navigate. As we’ve grown our business, we’ve remained committed to leaning into our strengths.
From day one, we called ourselves brand architects, and that identity captures our core strength in solving complex problems and turning them into simple, and effective solutions. We combine intelligence with imagination to unlock growth – so we can be strategically powerful but in a very creative, unexpected way.
As an agency, we are also extremely thoughtful in our approach. Our clients get a very high-touch and tailored experience with a talented team who is as committed to their business as they are. This has led to long-lasting, prosperous relationships with leaders, who place their trust in us at moments when the answer or best next step is not clear.
Lastly, we are proud to be on the short-list of agencies that have an all-female leadership team. As a 50/50 male-female co-founded business, we have always been committed to creating an environment where women have equal opportunities to succeed and thrive. We believe by allowing everyone’s voices to be heard regardless of level, discipline or gender, we’ve achieved stronger collaboration and therefore stronger solutions for our clients.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?
Paul McDowall : We attribute much of our success to the magic that comes from our collaboration as business owners. We approach things differently, yet deeply respect and value each other’s perspectives. As a partnership, the three traits we’ve found most instrumental in building our business have been humility, resilience and humor.
Humility because ego gets in the way of listening. As a leader, there can be a lot of pressure to feel like you need to have all the answers. But if you surround yourself with passionate individuals who are really good at what they do, you can go so much further. Some of our best ideas have come from being open to hearing feedback, evolving and improving.
Resilience is key because running your own business is extremely demanding – it’s a 24/7 operation. There are personal and financial sacrifices, a lot of emotion, and a lot of problem-solving. Being able to bounce back and move forward is crucial.
Lastly, humor to keep things light. It’s easy to get caught up in the intensity of work. Work is important, but you must have joy and levity, it brings a sense of community. Humor puts problems into perspective and as human beings, we need to laugh and be silly sometimes.
How important do you think it is for a leader to be mindful of his own brand?
Catherine Clark: As a business owner, you have two brands: your personal brand and your company’s brand. As the co-founders of Clarkmcdowall, our personal brands are assets to the company. We want to leverage our individual passions, strengths, and values, not in pursuit of personal fame, but to better support our company, our employees, and the brand’s reputation. It’s extremely important to be mindful of what personal energy you’re bringing to your brand as a business owner. We want our brands to compliment Clarkmcdowall and help lead our team to success.
How would you define “leadership”?
Paul McDowall: Leadership is about having a vision that connects with people, and then helping those people achieve the vision – leading them to success. It’s about creating a sense of togetherness in pursuit of something everyone is motivated by. So that means creating a culture of unity – because collective energy is so much more than individual energy. Putting your ego aside and believing in those you work with – that is leadership.
What advice would you give to our younger readers that want to become entrepreneurs?
Catherine Clark: When we started the business 22 years ago, there was no infrastructure, no digital platforms, no Google slides, nothing. It’s really easy to set up your own business now, so what’s important is to make sure you’re putting something that has value into the world, that brings benefits and really believe in what you’re doing. Think beyond the product or service, build the brand and values from the ground up, and then be brave and not afraid to fail. Take full advantage of all the funding platforms.
Really do your homework and try to understand human beings. Build something more than just a product or service. Think about the whole experience itself. Bandwagonism – in the last 5 years that’s reached saturation point and creating something that’s meaningful + personality. Leading a business is demanding – if you don’t believe in what you are doing, you won’t have the energy to overcome all the challenges. So it’s really key that you have passion for what you are doing.
What’s your favorite “leadership” quote and how has it affected the way you implement your leadership style?
Paul McDowall: “Leaders eat last” – This goes back to the points around ego, humility, and putting others before yourself. It’s important to hire people that are really good at what they do and not feel threatened by them. You want to support these people so they feel fulfilled. As a leader, you want to ask your employees what they need to succeed, what they need to flourish – you need to be mindful and put your ego aside. If the team feels motivated and cared for, they are going to do good work and there will be a great relationship. Happiness is built from this model of leadership.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Paul McDowall and Catherine Clark for taking the time to do this interview and share their knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Paul or Catherine you can do it through their company – Linkedin Page
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