Paul surfed sofas for years. But he hid it under a cushion, until it became time to talk about it. A tale of challenge and triumph. A hero’s journey. Paul is an inspiration to anyone determined to master their craft and build their own business

Our journey began when I attended a talk hosted by Paul. I was one of a gathering of creative founders and knowledge-hungry marketers keen to understand the dark art of PR. While it had been taught to us at university (an integral part of the marketing mix), PR had always been a bit of a mystery to me, even the language.

At that talk, Paul brilliantly held court. He shared his knowledge, fielded questions and allowed us to peep in on life inside his growing agency. He demystified many things and explained how a public relations agency can help organisations and individuals build trust through building reputation and demonstrating authority. And how maintaining a positive public perception and mitigating poor publicity are important growth levers for businesses and leaders alike.

Clearly wins awards ‘which is nice’. The agency has been awarded the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) Consultancy of the Year for 3 consecutive years. Clearly is also the 7th PR agency in the UK to become a certified B-Corp, which is more than nice, it’s ‘bloody brilliant’. But where did Paul’s story of founding an award-winning communications agency begin?

Nearly wed to his best friend

Freelance for 8 years, Paul worked overseas in publishing, returning to UK in 2013 where he was offered a contract with a Swedish company based in Malta. He was 41. He did the math and turned down the contract, concluding that he was unlikely to find his love match in Malta (where there is a growing 50+ and a 52% male bias). Besides, he couldn’t envisage himself relocating to Sweden, so Malta was a no-no. He made a pact with his lifelong friend Tim, that if neither of them was on the way to church by the close of that year, they would wed each other. Thankfully, both Paul and Tim met their future wives that autumn. Marriage-of-convenience to best friend averted.

10 years of great stories, told Clearly

Originally founded as a partnership with a former work associate, when the seemingly professional match made in heaven fell apart due to differing motivations and alignment of values, Paul continued alone, and this year is celebrating 10 years of Clearly PR.

But as ever, I’m more interested in what came before. Before Croatia. Before the sidestep to Cardiff, before not going to Malta. What nature or nurture led Paul to the lofty heights of 1 Saville Row?

Paul’s backstory

Paul was raised by his mother, a well-regarded nursing sister at a hospital in Liverpool. His parents divorced when he was 10 months old. He only met his father a handful of times when he was growing up, yet he recalls a wonderful childhood with his mother, in a small village on the coast, which now stands, perhaps somewhat aptly, stands in the shadows of Antony Gormley’s Another Place.

During her 30s Paul’s mother was diagnosed with cancer and forced to retire from nursing. A colleague, and seemingly dear friend, moved into their home to help care for her. Without their knowledge, funds were being diverted and debts racked up. It wasn’t until after his mother’s death, when Paul was only 16, that the misdemeanours were discovered. The family home was sold to fund the debt. Paul was left with nothing. Self-supporting from the age of 16, he took a flat in the village and eventually enrolled at university just to get away.

He left during the second year. Despite building a tight group of friends, he was not like them. He was different. When his peers were heading home for the holidays Paul had nowhere to go. He’d house sit, sleep in his car, do whatever it took. His friends knew nothing of this until years later.

When asked why he didn’t share his situation. Whether it was because he felt shame, he responds with ‘frustration’. He wanted what they had. A place to call home. He was only person he knew from a divorced family.

Not only was he the only person he knew from a divorced family, he’d been to a catholic school and there were definite aspects of that which had a bearing. He definitely felt frustration, and probably a lot of shame along with isolation.

When he dropped out of university, Paul took a variety of jobs to survive and continued to sofa surf until he had exhausted sitting rooms and spare rooms. With all avenues closed, and completely homeless, he tossed his army kit bag over his shoulder and set off to find the father he barely knew. They had had no contact for years.

Paul explains that he ‘pulled a guilt trip’ when at the age of 22 he sought safe haven. Inwardly I’m aghast. Were we not nestled into a circular seat I might have actually fallen off. Not quite believing how he perceived the situation, Paul reiterates that he felt he guilted his absent father into providing him with psychological safety.

Needless to say, they existed in parallel lives, and meeting as adults, Paul realised they had nothing in common. No dramas, no arguments. After 4 months he moved on, started a job at a local newspaper in Chester and has not seen his father since.

“However bad the situation when I was homeless, I knew that it was never going to be my lot. It may get worse, but it would inevitably get better.”

He says the idea of betting on himself and doing business for himself had been there since landing one of his earliest jobs with a quick-witted answer at interview. Betting on himself later led him to Ann Hiatt, author of Bet on Yourself. Some years later, Paul became a Trustee at Bath’s charity for the homeless, Julian House So, what to take from this in terms of how his early years have shaped his career and led to Paul to founding an agency. After 2 hours, we ran out of time, but I’m going to speculate:

Resilience
Determination
Adaptability
Tolerance
Optimism

Perhaps one key takeaway from Paul’s story, and those of other founders I have met, is that experiencing hardship, feeling different or experiencing personal trauma is often a catalyst for entrepreneurship.

The future for Clearly

Clearly was never started as a performance business, but a lifestyle business. Less 10-story tower block, quickly thrown up to make a profit, more a family home modified over time to inhabit and enjoy. Perhaps there is something subliminal in this?

So what makes Clearly different and what does the next decade look like? Every 6 months, the team ask for client feedback. One key question ‘does the work that Clearly PR do for you contribute to your organisation objectives?’ most recently scored them a 9.75 out of 10. After several boardroom chats about how this insight might help them position themselves for the future, the housekeeping began.

Having just dropped PR from the name and with a new focus on value and outcomes, not column inches and likes, Clearly has redecorated the family home and you will now find a thriving growth and reputation management agency when you step through the newly painted front door.

“Attaining B-Corp status and our subsequent business repositioning have been transformational”

He specialised in recruitment comms earlier in his career, so Paul has his finger firmly on pulse when it comes to the UK labour market. It’s become increasingly competitive over the past 4 years. He explains ‘1:4 working in PR lost jobs during the pandemic and 1:10 have lost jobs since. The market is flooded with freelancers. And clients don’t care how big you are, they want to know what can you deliver for them and how much will it cost’. So, setting themselves apart in this way, and focusing on quality over quantity, seems like a sensible iterative change.

Even though I spent a rewarding few months up-skilling and learning the language at Clearly PR (that time when Paul rescued me from my own sofa), one thing that I always meant to ask, and which comes up over and again when I’ve spoken with start-up founders, is ‘what about the elusive little black book’.

“Any agency that tells you they have a contacts list that that will guarantee you media coverage is talking through their arse.”

Over the last few years, the industry has changed. Staff writers no longer exist. Freelancers have filled the void. They cultivate content around their area of interest and write for different specialist publications that need content. Journalists used to be given responsibility for 2 or 3 stories a day. Now they have to turn around upwards of 5 a day. On top of this, they are being inundated by PR agencies pitches (between 50 – 100 pitches a day is commonplace). Usually those with the most compelling subject header will catch their eye. But also, they are looking for content that is specific to the needs of the publication. And they need to be able to turn a press release into a story quickly. They don’t have time to research, reference & rewrite

While a good contact list can help with repeat business – a journalist might reach out again to an agency they know and trust to supply them with commentary quickly – providing great service to both sides of the market is key.

Good stories sell, but it is becoming harder to sell the story.

Part of our role is to make a journalist’s life as easy as possible. Substantiated, well researched and referenced stories are paramount and subject lines are king! And journalists see through fluff. Leave the fluff on the floor. No measure of private contacts or a bulging black book will guarantee content. It might open doors, just a fraction.

When asked who and what inspires him, Paul is quick to reply - ‘anyone or anything relatable’. Take Ann Hiatt for example. Ann is a Silicon Valley veteran with 15 years of experience as the Executive Business Partner for Jeff Bezos of Amazon and as Chief of Staff for Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. Hmm, relatable, how so? Well Clearly helped Ann with executive profiling and Paul knows first-hand that even Silicon Valley veterans get nervous before keynotes. We have common fears. That’s relatable.

And the Sunday Times ‘How I made it’ column where business owners that started with nothing, share their success stories. We all want to know who is behind the brand right? Precisely!

It was personal stories that saw Clearly gaining 370 pieces of coverage for client Baton of Hope. A small suicide prevention charity that helps those directly affected by suicide, Clearly engaged the press and public with real stories. The client ‘would have been happy with a couple of pieces of national press coverage, relatable storytelling resulted in live interviews on BBC breakfast, Radio 5 live, Sky News, Channel 5 News and even caught the attention of the Prime Minister’.

Any advice for new business founders?

Early in his journey, Paul got himself a business mentor. Now a Professor in Public Relations and Communications, his mentor been invaluable as a sounding board. More recently he has enlisted the help of a personal coach. She is from South Africa, says it as it is. ‘No nonsense, speaks her mind. It’s been a hugely beneficial investment that I would encourage any founder to make. I feel better equipped to steer the ship.’

And on that note, our time together draws to a close. Afternoon Fika at Walcot House is over. I feel richer for it. I hope Paul’s story holds interest and is a source of inspiration for anyone starting with nothing.

Walcot House is one of Bath’s best independent venues. Coffee shop and restaurant by day, cocktail bar and event venue by night. The staff are pretty cool, the ‘sweet treats’ were delicious and we enjoyed afternoon fika in the perfect window seat from where we watched creative freelancers doing creative things at the laptops. Visit if you can!

Fika with Paul MacKenzie-Cummins