Colin Culliton, CEO, LWA Group
I was born in 1965. I had a very happy childhood. However, I told anyone that would listen I was going to be a successful businessman and be a millionaire at 21. So, I finished school at 17. I finished marketing college at 20. And at 21, instead of being rich and famous, I was doing a grim sales job on €120 a week.
I sold tax disk holders and stickers to hard-pressed shops and garages down the country, working out of a heavily branded Dayglo Carvan. I figured this business thing was more complicated than it looked, and I needed to work a lot smarter.
So I did that, and through good luck and desire, I started my own company called The Printed Image with five others in 1990 just as I turned 25. I built it up to a sizeable and very successful marketing design and print company over the next 30 years.
We have added six companies by Startup and Acquisition in Ireland and the UK, then I sold the Print Company in Nov 2020 in a successful MBO and amalgamated two others. Started a new Video-on-demand business called VAAS with a top Irish TV company called Shinawil, a newco that we feel could do very well in 2022. As a result, we 4 Dynamic and Creative Marketing Businesses in our LWA Group.
Pluto, ZPS, VAAS and Tap Creative. I was a Finalist in the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year in 2016. For the 11th time in a row, LWA Group was nominated a Deloitte Best Managed Business in 2021. Something the team here and I are very proud of.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Instagram because I like the way it lets a picture do most of the talking. Like our new business VAAS is now promoting, I feel creative visual content is the future.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
My passion is to help others to build their brands and sell their own products and services. I love being involved in creating solutions that work. Rarely we have had any problem working with companies of any size and working with varied budgets to help make a big impact.
Now that is even more important as Covid makes old solutions harder to implement. But, on the other hand, digital solutions can be cheaper and madly effective, so great marketing has changed for good. LWA Group reflects that change, and any future offerings or businesses we add here will be digital-savvy businesses.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
Some people I love say I am really unemployable. So, working in the area of producing creative marketing solutions as part of a team and still being my own boss after 36 years has been a Godsend.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Anyone can handle the good times quite well. How you can handle adversity shows what sort of person you really are. My mum Maura Culliton told me that she was a very smart lady.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
From the time they were babies, I told my kids our Culliton Family motto is 'Never Give Up'. Those three words matter to me. What motivates me is the excitement of a new campaign, a new challenge or even a problem, mine or someone else's challenge that needs solving. What excites me is business, preferably working in a team, as I love people more than I love hard work.
What moves me forward is the feeling there is more to learn, and I am always trying to find out more. I strongly believe in lifelong learning, and so, the first thing I did after selling the Printco was to start a diploma with the FT to become a better NED. Studying after so long was energising. I also took on a role as a Strategic Advisor to a family who owned a quality SME who wanted to sell at a good price. I loved that new challenge, and I think it went really well for all involved. Having both bought and sold businesses, I know the importance of aiming for a balanced win-win.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
Life wise alongside my wife Fiona getting married, building a house and starting a business simultaneously. Family wise raising three great kids who don't hesitate to slag off their dad. Work-wise, always focusing on our P and L as the scorecard, we needed to do well and have helped some bright young people progress to make better careers and businesses themselves.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
I love inviting someone new for a coffee and a chat. I bought three companies like that. Linked in and emails work now the way the phone used to. I never really admitted it, but I always feel the fear when I go to a networking event, even now, but making an effort feels better than the alternative.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
My teammates in LWA were asked for one word to describe me for a 50th Plaque they gave me on the day. Energetic. Passionate. Determined. Talkative. Tough. Cocky. Positive. Clumsy. Nuts. That gives you a flavour. I think they filtered out the really bad stuff, which was nice.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
That nearly everyone has a little bit of imposter syndrome. Back then, when we started out, I had a feeling I was out of my depth. In truth, at times, I really was. I just wish I knew others running their business felt the same way. The fact that in business and in life, a lot put in general gets you a lot back out.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
I admire Michael Dell, Michael Collins, Ernest Shackleton, Nelson Mandela, Bill Shankley, Katie Taylor and Al Pacino.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
I like reading, but I love films. I love going on holiday to Tuscany every summer. I love Liverpool Football Club. I love Leinster and Ireland's Rugby teams. I like GAA. I like Politics. I am a big fan of Ireland and would support any sport that involves my county. My favourite thing to do outside of work is to walk with the family and our dogs in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you managed it?
At first, Covid 19 really scared the life out of us in the group. We saw client marketing budgets cut all over. Lots of great people work in the LWA Group. They needed their jobs and their companies back doing well. We had huge events cancelled, and each of the MD's really had to scramble to make ends meet. But, once the lockdown became a reality, we simply buckled down.
We communicated as much as we could, and we were tighter than we ever have been. I feel we made our own luck in each company. The Print business I was running at that time did well with many new products like Covid Shields, Covid Signage, Sanitation Stations and Home Office Desks, most of which we sold online. It felt like we were at war, and the innovation I saw first-hand from the teams was brilliant.
A new idea was becoming a priced and manufactured product on sale on our web site two weeks later. The Agencies treated their people, well and they responded in my view. Despite the firefighting, we even managed to do an MBO in the company in the year. And LWA transitioned out of Print successfully, which had been a long-term objective. So, I think it might be a positive in the longer term in one year negative.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
Yes. My dad was my Mentor, and I lost him in November 2020. By selling the Print Company, I thought we could spend more time together, but the plans of mice and man. I currently mentor three brilliant ladies who are smarter, cooler and more driven than I am. So I get the bigger benefit.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Make sure you have a passion for it. When you have a real passion for an area you work in, you are happy, interesting, and attract others. Passion matters.
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
Lack of confidence in their own ability. Often unfounded and often acted on way too quickly. I have lost some good people because they didn't have the resilience to hang in there. You need a year to get great at something. Learning takes time.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
"Everyone has got a great fight plan until they get punched in the face."
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
I like the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street. I like Louis Copeland and Sons. I like Oatly. I like Supervalu. I like Laya. I like PTSB. I like Butlers. I like BMW.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
I think success is very different depending on the person and the role. For example, a teacher or a nurse clearly does a far more important job than I do. As a result, their successes are far greater than mine ever can be.
However, as a businessman, I judge my own success as delighting the clients, making a consistent return, and growing a business's size. Giving employment and getting people to start in one place with you and finish in another is very fulfilling. Many people I have worked with us have started businesses, and that is good. I find that most people start out very hard on themselves. I know I was.
As you get older, you see that perfect isn't a realistic result, just a good goal driving you to do better. I think I have learned to enjoy the effort more than I used to. I think the work in building something sustainable is nearly more fun than the result, even if it doesn't feel like it at the time.