From Essex to Nashville: a regional agency going places, with Lee Sturgess
In this episode of Lifestyle is a Plan, I’m joined by Lee Sturgess, founder of Polar – a branding studio that’s rethinking how agencies deliver impact.
Over more than a decade, Lee has reimagined what an agency can be. Not the conveyor belt model of endless projects, but a one-brand-at-a-time approach: deeply immersive, collaborative, and designed to create real commercial impact. That ethos has taken Polar into boardrooms in London, Nashville, Monaco, Dubai and Barcelona, partnering with founders, CEOs and marketing teams to transform brands at pivotal moments.
Alongside leading Polar, Lee serves as a Non-Executive Director and advisor to a number of ambitious businesses. Whether guiding a SaaS product, shaping a luxury lifestyle brand or steering a global player through a rebrand, his role is to bring clarity, creative direction and a steady hand at key stages of growth.
Lee Sturgess didn’t follow a traditional agency route. Fresh out of uni he made a choice, to build an agency over joining one. 13 years later Polar is an Essex based but internationally acclaimed branding studio, who really do things differently.
On this podcast episode we’re flying the flag for Essex lifestyle agencies, and discussing how a change in model has improved profits by nearly 100%.
What you’ll discover in this episode:
- Essex to the US – how Lee has carved out Polar’s international visibility
- Strategies for emulating the creativity and standards of major hubs within a regional setting
- The huge benefits a change in model can bring if you’re brave enough
- How saying “no” and maintaining a demand-driven model can make an agency more sought after
- How to step back and lead from the front, by empowering your team
- Why you should look outside of the norm when it comes to networking
- The importance of ignoring industry noise to keep laser focused on your ‘own lane’
- The most important piece of advice Lee would give to every founder
If you’re building a business outside the usual agency hotspots – or questioning whether “more” is always better – this episode offers a refreshing perspective.
Listen here
Guest details
Website: https://www.polar.agency/
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lee-sturgess-75a15239
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Lifestyle is a Plan is brought to you by me, Kelly Molson – an agency advisor on a mission to support solo founders build the agency they want.
I’m here to show the agency world that “lifestyle agency” isn’t a cop out. It’s the future of sustainable growth.
Join my Lifestyle is a Plan newsletter at kellymolson.co.uk.
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