Steven George-Hilley scaled Centropy into a global fintech PR agency, here’s how

As Fortune Herald explores the UK fintech PR agency world, we spoke with Steven George-Hilley, founder of Centropy PR about how he built a multi-million pound business through hard work, long hours and no external investors.

What are the secrets to starting your own PR business?

First, you must have a clear reason for doing so, and that means a genuine passion for PR. Far too many agency owners can’t write a press release, don’t understand the news cycle or have a clue about how to spin a story.

Your employees need to see that you love the job and understand how it works, that will inspire loyalty and trust and most importantly, they can learn from you.

Secondly, you have to be restless – nobody should start a business as a lifestyle choice. Being self-employed is extremely hard work and stressful, and you’ll struggle if you aren’t fully committed to the cause.

If you are passionate about your mission and committed to your clients, then the rest will follow.

What marks Centropy out from your competitors?

We’re faster, better connected and have a results-driven approach to work. Our clients pay us for consultancy, but with that must come tangible outcomes such as quality messaging, content and coverage.

We have a global team of senior industry experts who have strong connections across the national and industry press, including broadcast. This means we can quickly secure high-profile interviews and opportunities for ambitious businesses.

We are also dedicated to client service. Each clients gets access to a large team of professionals with a variety of different skills; this increases the value of service and enables faster delivery of great work.

How has the business grown in recent years?

We’ve evolved naturally into a truly global agency, securing FTSE and NASDAQ listed clients, including major cyber and AI firms, as well as wealth management, fintech and proptech scale-ups.

We have a substantial on the ground presence on the US on both coasts and have further plans to hire in India and Germany. Our main HQ is based in Rupert Murdoch’s News Building at London Bridge, which means we’re never far away from the most influential journalists in the country.

Why should companies invest in PR?

We’re in the social media age, and businesses without the necessary communications infrastructure will struggle to get cut through without a clear message and the ability to respond to breaking news.

Companies are now also operating in a very fast paced, and unforgiving 24-hour news cycle, so being able to reach partners, customers and your wider target audience is incredibly difficult without agency support.

You also cannot afford to be silent, when your competitors are developing increasingly sophisticated ways of increasing their market share. 

What next for Centropy?

Our plan is to invest heavily in hiring senior talent, fine-tune our skillset to meet the requirements of ambitious clients and increase our geographical footprint.

In the US, we’ve seen substantial growth and double the size of the team there, so it’s a market we are keen to continue focusing on in the future.

These are very exciting times, but we will continue to stay rooted in course values of delivering excellent customer service to clients, whatever their circumstances.

Steven George-Hilley is the founder of Centropy PR, a global fintech agency