Carrie Rose: founder and CEO of Rise at Seven

A movement is growing. A global agency that's disrupting the
search industry, formed out a vision and the passion and
creativity of a 27-year-old. This is our conversation with the
inspirational Carrie Rose.


"She's too young", "it'll fade away", "it won't last"... The
criticisms of this young entrepreneur have been plastered all
over social media and whispered in the halls of agencies across
the country. But this is not your average business leader. In
June 2019, 27-year-old Carrie Rose launched Rise at Seven, with
business partner and company CCO Stephen Kenwright, with a vision
of using creativity and unbridled drive to disrupt the industry.


Carrie has spearheaded several campaigns for clients, using her
creativity as a nuclear weapon to unleash on social media. This
has seen the company grow to over 60 employees and £4m turnover
in the space of just 18 months. Most impressively, Carrie's
achieved these feats with a refreshing honesty. With her team,
she openly admits that she is new to this journey as a leader,
learning as she's going along. On the eve of the news that the
company is now registered in the US, it's safe to say Carrie is a
fast learner.


Here's a breakdown of what we discussed in the interview:


• What was life like for you growing up and did you have an
entrepreneurial flair from an early age? (1:00)


• You worked at a number of agencies before creating your current
agency Rise at Seven, how did you find working for someone else
and do you feel that this prepared you for running your own
business? (2:17)


• Do you remember feeling intimidated by working with big global
brands at the age of 21/22 or did you not really think about it
at that time? (3:41)


• Can you tell us about making the decision to launch Rise at
Seven and what were the first steps you took to create the
business? (5:41)


• Stephen Kenwright is CCO and your business partner at Rise at
Seven. How has did the relationship with Stephen start and how
did you decide that you would work well as business partners?
(9:00)


• Could you tell us more about Rise at Seven and the journey over
the past 18 months to where you are today? (10:35)


• Veteran business leaders have struggled to maintain staff
morale and togetherness while working from home over the past
year. The majority of your company’s growth has been under some
kind of lockdown or restriction. Have you dealt with this
personally and as a leader? (12:51)


• Learning a skill at university doesn’t quite prepare you for
the real world. How have you found the first 18 months or so of
your company and have you come up against any challenges that
have made you question yourself? (16:47)


• You’re obviously a young female CEO of a rapidly growing
business. Have you had any difficulty with older, more
experienced employees, or other business leaders, not taking you
seriously in business? (18:38)


• Your agency has spearheaded some exceptionally viral campaigns,
what has been your favourite campaign you’ve worked on so far?
(20:26)


• Is giving your staff the ability to run with a creative idea
important to you? (23:10)


• Although the internet undoubtedly has its upsides, how do you
feel about the negative side of social media, online bullying
etc? (24:35)


• Where do you see your company in 10 years’ time? (27:00)


• You’re an unashamed creative. Do you see your future solely
with your creative agency or do you have another dream
opportunity in mind that you would love to pursue? (28:11)


• BUSINESS LEADERS ANSWER THE INTERNET'S QUESTIONS - What is the
worst possible thing to put on your CV? (29:07)


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