Charlie Makin launches specialist startup consultancy

Charlie Makin, founder of Pintarget, has launched a specialist consultancy focusing on growth strategies for startups and scale-ups.

Work It Out will deliver specific programmes to help early-stage ventures create effective strategies for customer acquisition and retention — reasons that many founders cite as failure of a new business.

These programmes will centre on insight, strategy and execution, and will use the Addressable AV Accelerator on Sky AdSmart that enables early-stage companies to carry out AV tests on limited budgets.

Makin said: “We will provide robust insight and strategy, so early-stage ventures can apply the same rigour to customer acquisition as they would to fund raising or building tech. There is a real risk that a poor or unproven acquisition strategy can severely limit a startup’s chance of success.

“We bring a rigorous data approach that will, hopefully, reduce this. My aim is that we consult with businesses before they work with specialist agencies, so they have clarity on how to acquire customers and certainty they can deliver the business plan. We will help them find the right partners for the future.”

Makin founded Pintarget, a location marketing and media agency, in 2016 before selling to The Specialist Works in 2020.

He is also co-founder of Booth Lockett Makin, which sold to Havas in 2009 and later became Arena Media.

Before that, he was a director at Saatchi & Saatchi.