She Was Told She Didn't Fit In. Then She Built Her Own Agency. | Scale HER Up

In this episode of Scale HER Up, Brenda Hector is joined by Rowan Morrison — co-MD and co-founder of We Are Rationale, a B Corp brand agency based in Edinburgh specialising in regulated markets: financial services, healthcare, health tech, and med tech. Rowan set up Rationale with co-founder Sven Clouston six months before the pandemic. She dropped out of school, was the first in her family to go to university, and entrepreneurship was never part of the plan. She came up through marketing in financial services agencies, was put into her first MD role by a mentor who saw something in her before she saw it in herself, and eventually broke out to build something of her own. At her previous agency, she was told by the CEO that she was probably his best performing MD — but that she didn't fit in. She was, she says, delighted. This conversation covers brand strategy, emotional connection in B2B, building a business with the right co-founder, what it means to lead as yourself rather than as someone else's idea of a leader, the 93% Club, diversity of thought, a very strong view on AI and creativity, and a David Bowie quote that sums it all up. In this episode: 00:00 — Introduction 01:00 — We Are Rationale: brand and creative strategy in regulated markets 02:00 — Financial services, health tech, and the complexity that comes with both 04:00 — Helping clients find emotional connection — even when they're selling insurance 07:00 — Not the first business she's run — but the first she owns 08:30 — Dropped out of school, first in family to go to university, never planned to be an entrepreneur 09:00 — The female mentor who dragged her into MD kicking and screaming 10:30 — "I'm a creative. I don't do spreadsheets." — and why that's still true 11:30 — Being your own version of a leader, not someone else's 12:30 — Told she didn't fit in: Dr. Martens at board meetings and challenging authority 14:00 — Co-founder Sven Clouston: sports journalism background, how they met, what makes the partnership work 16:00 — Team of ~16: still at the stage where she knows everyone's name 17:00 — What Rowan has learned about Rowan 18:30 — Being a working mum, the guilt, and her sons telling her they're proud of her 19:30 — Mentoring CMOs, team members, and group sessions — paying it forward 21:30 — The 93% Club: state school, private school, and who gets to run things in Edinburgh 23:30 — Being discriminated against more for her regional accent than for being a woman 25:00 — Why diverse teams make better creative — and what she hires for 28:00 — AI: useful as a process tool, dangerous as a creative tool 29:30 — "It's a confidence engine" — Sven's phrase, and why it matters 30:00 — What you lose when you outsource the struggle 32:00 — The David Bowie quote 33:00 — Pump Up Playlist: Cobra — Geese Scale HER Up is the podcast for female-led businesses ready to grow to seven figures and beyond. Each episode features real stories, tools and tactics to help you build a business that supports the life you want. Only one in three UK entrepreneurs are female — and men are still five times more likely to scale beyond £1 million in turnover. When we change that, we add £250 billion to the UK economy. Ladies, you can do it. #ScaleHERUp #WomenInBusiness #FemaleEntrepreneur #BrandStrategy #BCorp #93PercentClub #CreativeAgency #WomenInMarketing #WomenSupportingWomen #EdinburghBusiness