Fractional Leaders feat. Mark Picken

In this ‘Fractional Leaders’ article, we chat with Mark Picken, a seasoned business builder and strategic thinker who’s spent over two decades helping organisations unlock opportunities. From launching his own marketing agency in his early twenties to scaling a digital transformation start-up into a global player, Mark’s journey has been shaped by curiosity, agility and a deep commitment to making a positive impact. Now, as a Fractional Leader, he brings a wealth of experience to businesses looking to grow with purpose. Here, he shares his story, achievements, and practical advice for scale-ups navigating change.

Can you please introduce yourself and your journey to becoming a Fractional Leader?

Hello, I’m Mark Picken and I help businesses to unlock opportunities.

I started my journey as a raw 24-year-old in a tiny office, with a desk, iMac and a small amount of funding from The Prince’s Trust. I said ‘yes’ to everything that came my way.

I’d studied advertising and trained as a copywriter at college and wanted to create something for myself. So I decided starting my own marketing agency in my early 20s would be the way forward.

Over 20 years, the business grew, adapted and focused on working with organisations that made a positive impact.

I spent a lot of time working in-house for clients, and got to see how other businesses ran, as well as understand the challenges and the innovations. This was a fantastic learning opportunity.

I then become MD of a start-up working in the digital transformation space with the aim of taking something niche to being a global leader. During my 5 years there, revenue grew by over 1000%, the business was profitable, and we expanded to a team of 15 working across multiple sectors in the UK, Ireland, Europe, USA and Australia.

I’m now using the experienced gained over 26 years to help other businesses to unlock opportunities and see the value in what they do.

Let’s talk impact, what achievements are you proud of the most?

I’m most proud of the work I’ve done to support others.

Showing people respect, understanding and treating them well in business, and as individuals, is something I aim to do every day.

During my career, I set up and established a voluntary networking group for young people in business. The idea was to support people new to business to learn and develop networking skills with their peers. The organisation grew and expanded and ran for over 15 years, well beyond the time I stepped back. It created a strong community, forged business opportunities, and even led to several marriages and births.

At the same time, I was a mentor for The Prince’s Trust and provided guidance to young people starting out in business. Having been through the process myself, I was able to provide first-hand experience.

I am also proud to be a trustee for CEDA, a charity that empowers disabled people, so they are happy, connected and seen.
In terms of targets, taking a business through the £1m revenue barrier, while being profitable, for the first time was a brilliant feeling. Then scaling it up to £1.75m revenue and profitable, was awesome.

Outside of work, it’s being a parent to 2 teenage girls and supporting them as they navigate life.
And running. I’ve run 5 marathons and 4 ultra marathons, as well as countless half marathons and other distances. It’s the place I go when I need to clear my head and plan.

Based on your work with start-ups and scale-ups, do you have any pieces of wisdom you could share with businesses in scale-up mode?

It’s all about value. How you value people, and the value you (your product or service) bring.

Valuing people is so important. They will remember if you do treat them well, or you don’t.

It helps you to build a strong team that will work together, as well as grow as individuals.

But it’s also important to value everyone you deal with. You never know when you’re going to need that contact. Whether that’s put you in touch with someone who can make a huge impact on what you do, or to help you out when you might need it.

Focus on the value you will bring to your clients. If you can emphasise the value of the product or service you’re offering, and what that will ultimately give them, then it will help the decision makers.

It’s also important to be agile and flexible. Things change that are outside your control. How you respond to that is vital. And if you can be flexible, while retaining your values, then it puts you in a stronger position.

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If you are a fractional leader and would like to be featured as part of the “Fractional Leaders” series please get in touch.