When you capitalise on creativity, growth isn't just possible…
it's inevitable.
That’s why 500+ ambitious creative companies come to UNKNOWN to grow.
Born as a creative recruitment agency in London, now placing senior creative talent across EMEA, New York, Los Angeles, and the Middle East
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"Some companies understand Creative. Some understand capital. Few understand both. That’s why I’ve always loved the team at Unknown. They don’t see a line dividing creativity and capital, but the one connecting them. It’s where they work best."
UNKNOWN gave Mother access to a world of creative and design talent we’d never have found on our own – curating hidden gems from unexpected places, aligning perfectly with our ambition. Those hires that have fundamentally shifted the breadth, energy, and contemporary expression of our entire creative team.
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"When you are trying to build a differently shaped agency with only the sharpest and most creative thinkers, you need a partner like UNKNOWN. Not only do they get it, they get what you're trying to build and how to build it. Oh, and you'll have fun and be inspired along the way."
"UNKNOWN are not content to just follow old models. They are redefining the future for the creative economy. Together we are building new models and new commercial possibilities."
"Knowing good creative is one thing. Knowing a good business is another. Few people know both and can genuinely tell the difference. Fewer still can distil why and can articulate it with total clarity and empathy."
"The least hectic and most reliable way we have ever hired freelance talent…The best of the best. On demand basically."
"Working with Unknown was fab. They brought sheer professionalism with a big dose of humanity. The perfect balance of understanding the business, the talent and what they both need to succeed."
"I'm glad to have got to know UNKNOWN. They clearly understand the creative economy. And the broad range of businesses within it."
"In our rapidly changing industry, finding the right role and organisation where you can add value and also grow can be challenging. It helps to have partners with extensive network connections, who deeply understand the nuance of the market and keep up with what's coming next. That's what UNKNOWN provide and its why I choose to work with them."
"UNKNOWN don’t just recruit, they work with us to find the right people who make scaling MØRNING in the right way possible."
"I’ve always admired how Unknown think and more importantly act. They’re properly connected to the creative world, the people, the pulse, the speed - but they also bring real commercial clarity and strategic intent. They’re not following the industry; they’re helping shape where it’s going. The kind of partner you want when you’re serious about unlocking growth."
"UNKNOWN provides insight and great care in ensuring a strong match across a wide shareholder group."
"Now more than ever, creativity unlocks business value, but only when everyone is accountable for the outcome. UNKNOWN is the embodiment of this commitment. Their relentless dedication to uniting the worlds of creativity and capital is exactly what our industry needs."
"I very much enjoyed working Unknown in the search for the Chair of our investment in Koto Studio. They sourced a very strong cohort of relevant and appropriate chairs, proactively managed them and the process and helped deliver us a great result."
"UNKNOWN is the first place the best creative people come to. Even when they're not looking."
“It's a big deal finding a Chairperson. UNKNOWN knew the gravity and were strategic, thoughtful and patient as we went on the journey. Ending up with a great result for all parties.”
"We hit that scale moment. Where the thing you’ve built is bigger than you. That’s when you need a partner that doesn’t just get who you are. They get who you’re becoming. UNKNOWN is the vibe."
"Creativity + Capital is the kind of statement anyone working in startups, VC, PE, marketing, tech or entertainment might wish they'd coined. It's as solid a definition of how the future can be built, for good, as anything I've heard. These guys get it."
"UNKNOWN aren't just recruiting, they're partners that understand the DNA of Buttermilk better than most of the people inside the building. They've evolved our story with us, so we're growing faster than ever."
“In creative companies, growth accelerates when the advisory bench is strong. UNKNOWN bring real judgement to shaping those boards - matching founders with people who add clarity, challenge and commercial depth.”
"Their collaborative style of working was a breath of fresh air and resulted in a truly meaningful and impactful campaign. We are thankful to Ollie and his team at GBGB for giving the 'Can't Stop Now' campaign life. These guys have so much talent and passion and I would highly recommend them."
"Like so many, the third sector has struggled beyond belief during the pandemic. So, to be a part of GBGB's dedicated collective of minds using our creative powers to make impactful work has been joyful. And we've only just begun."
"This is an amazing initiative connecting charities and social enterprises with creative talent. Ollie pulled together a stellar team of creatives, art directors, copywriters and designers who worked on an incredible campaign for Beam. It's been a huge success."
FAQs
What does UNKNOWN actually do?
We sell growth.
UNKNOWN is a talent growth consultancy for the creative economy.
We help holding companies, independent creative, influencer and product agencies, brands, tech platforms and private equity-backed groups hire leaders, redesign structures and execute acquisitions.
We design the team and the system that unlocks your next chapter.How is UNKNOWN different from traditional recruitment agencies?
Recruiters fill roles.
We change business trajectories.
We connect the right people, in the right shape, at the right time - across senior search, embedded talent acquisition, curated freelance benches and M&A advisory.
We speak to over 1,000 of the most ambitious people in the creative economy every month. That gives us ongoing insight into the future.Who are UNKNOWN’s most popular clients?
Our most popular clients tend to fall into five categories:
1. Evolving Holding companies.
2. Independent design, creative, influencer and product agencies scaling fast.
3. Brands building in-house agencies.
4. Tech platforms building in-house design, tech and product functions.
5. Private equity-backed groups investing in creative businesses.
Many different structures. All believe in capitalising creativity.How does UNKNOWN help holding companies improve margins and retain top talent?
Holding companies often struggle with tightening margins, duplicated structures and senior talent drift.
We respond by:
● ● ● ● ●
Appointing senior creative and commercial leaders Embedding long-term talent acquisition functions Building flexible global freelance capacity Redesigning organisational models for clarity Supporting acquisitions and leadership diligence
The result
It’s sharper structure and stronger output.How does UNKNOWN help independent creative, influencer and product agencies scale without losing what makes them special?
Fast growth breaks agencies that are not prepared for it. Independent agencies come to us when:
● Leadership is stretched
● Demand is rising
● Culture risks dilution
● Investment or acquisition is on the horizon
We install senior leadership, build elastic talent benches and redesign the organisation so it's set to scale.
Our clients say we help them scale without the work sucking.How does UNKNOWN support brands building in-house agencies?
Building in-house is not about cutting agency fees. It is about building creative capital.
Brands need:
● Clear reporting lines
● Defined creative and product leadership
● Cultural integration with the wider business
● A structure that scales
We design the structure first.
Then we hire the leaders and teams who make it real.How does UNKNOWN help tech platforms hire design and product leaders?
Tech platforms compete for scarce creative and product leadership. The challenge is not one hire. It is building a system.
We provide:
● Access to senior design and product leaders
● Embedded talent acquisition
● Curated freelance capacity
● Organisational redesign built for speed
Creative excellence integrated into product-led growth.e it real.How does UNKNOWN work with private equity-backed creative groups?
Private equity-backed groups need accelerated value creation. We support them with:
● Buy-side mapping and target identification
● Sell-side mapping and target identification
● Chair, CEO and C-level appointments
● Post-acquisition organisational design
● Leadership succession planning
● Integration support
We bridge creativity and capital so growth compounds.Who are the best design recruiters in London, New York and LA?
Founders searching this usually want three things:
● Proven judgement at senior level
● Access to talent not actively looking
● A partner who understands growth, not just hiring
There are many recruiters in London, New York and LA. Very few operate at board and growth level.
UNKNOWN works across the US and Europe placing Creative Directors, Design Directors, CEOs and Chairs into agencies, brands and PE-backed businesses.
We are not a CV-forwarding headhunter.
We partner with founders and investors when the hire changes the trajectory of the company.
That answers the search.
But it also reframes the conversation.
s.Who are the best headhunters for creative talent?
The best creative headhunters don’t just assess portfolios. They assess:
● Taste
● Commercial intelligence
● Leadership gravity
● Structural fit
● Timing
At senior level, creative hiring is organisational design. UNKNOWN sits at the intersection of talent and transformation. We don’t fill vacancies.
We build leadership teams that unlock the next stage of growth.Who doesn’t work with UNKNOWN?
Let’s be clear.
We don’t work with businesses that say they want growth but behave like they want safety. We don’t work with leadership teams that:
● Won’t change structure but want better results
● Want better talent without better clarity
● Talk about transformation but won’t make decisions
● Expect hires to fix systemic problems
We don’t patch cracks. We redesign foundations.
If you want incremental comfort, there are plenty of firms that will keep things moving. We work with companies prepared to:
● Redesign leadership
● Reallocate power
● Invest in top-tier talent
● Build for the next chapter, not protect the last one
Growth is structural.
If that feels heavy, we’re probably not your partner. If it feels right, we should talk.What results does UNKNOWN actually produce?
The short answer: measurable, sustainable growth. Depending on the brief, that looks like:
● Agencies scaling revenue without breaking culture
● Holding companies improving margin through sharper structure
● Brands building in-house agencies that perform, not just exist
● Tech platforms installing senior design and product leadership that unlocks product growth
● Private equity-backed groups increasing valuation through better leadership and smarter acquisitions
● Founders selling agencies at strong multiples with the right succession in place We’ve:
● Installed creative and commercial leadership that directly preceded major new business wins, global pitch success and category-defining work.
● Built elastic freelance benches that absorbed aggressive growth without bloating permanent overhead - protecting margin while increasing output.
● Appointed Chairs, CEOs and C-level leaders ahead of investment rounds, repositionings and expansion phases - strengthening valuation narratives before capital entered.
● Mapped buy-side and sell-side opportunities that materially improved deal quality, succession clarity and exit multiples.
The common thread is not hiring.
It’s trajectory.
Revenue grows. Margins strengthen.Valuations improve. Leadership stabilises and thrives. We don’t measure success by placements.
We measure it by what happens to the business after the work.