VezaTalks 016: David Barnes

Host:

Stefan Katanic

Guest:

David Barnes

38:00 Min
Listen on:

Let’s Meet David

David Barnes is a highly skilled professional in the fields of lifestyle marketing, communications, and design, with a wealth of experience working with renowned international brands such as Hugo Boss, Grosvenor Americas, Red Bull, and Thompson Hotels. 

Dave recognizes the value of creating powerful brand experiences that can impact consumer behavior and is committed to developing strategic solutions that leave a lasting impression on customers.

David is known for his creative approach to branding, and for his ability to develop innovative solutions that help his clients stand out in their respective markets.

2. New Beginnings

David recently founded a company called Charrette, which is an agency aimed at disrupting the traditional agency model. The company is a hybrid agency that is stripped down and highly tuned with street cred. 

David has worked in the agency business for some time now, both on the client side and at different agencies, and he saw an opening in the market due to everything happening online and the marketing focus being directed there. 

David explained that there was a gap between coming up with creative ideas and producing content, which Charrette aims to fill. Charrette comes from architecture and is a word for a design meeting. 

The idea behind it is to have an intense design period where the right people are in the room, issues and problems are tabled, and decisions are made in rapid succession, saving people time and money and getting to solutions and outcomes quicker.

The concept behind Charrette is to get the right teams together, get the right clients with the drive to break through the status quo and the old way of doing things, truncate timelines, compress budgets, and get better. 

Charrette is not only a fee-for-service company but can partner with clients to establish KPIs across the brand campaign and business KPIs. David explained that If they hit their KPIs, their fees could increase, but if they don't hit their KPIs, they may discount their fees. The fees are structured as a baseline fee and a performance fee. 

The company aims to show clients that they have their best incentives aligned with their incentives, David sees Charrette growing into an agile Growth Partner Agency.

3. Having a Life in Business

When asked whether having a fulfilling life outside of work gives him the freedom and space to be creative, David agrees that it does. Being physically fit gives him more energy, greater capacity, and better regulation, which allows him to be a better-regulated human being. 

He believes that it is not about any tricks but about having a healthy lifestyle and ingraining healthy habits into one's life. For David, the hardest part of a run is always the first three feet out the door, but once he is out there, he is in the zone. 

He also thinks that some people do not like running because they do not want to be alone with their thoughts, which is an essential aspect of running and running any business.

David enjoys a rich and diverse life outside of work. When asked about his focus outside of work, he mentions his family as his top priority. 

As an outdoorsy person with three daughters and two dogs, he is always on an adventure. Camping, hiking, biking, and skiing are some of the activities that he enjoys with his family. 

He also stresses the importance of staying fit and healthy, as it is the foundation of his energy and vitality. For David, every year is a prime, and things get better with age as long as one is doing it right.

Final Thoughts

David left us with his final thoughts saying he believes in investing in relationships and having good people around you. David explained that he is motivated by the adventure of creating something from an idea and bringing value to others. 

David sees himself as an agent of change, who provides an objective perspective that allows clients to see overlooked opportunities and highly believes that building trust is crucial for taking risks and achieving greatness.

Veza Talks aims to offer valuable insights and inspiration to help you navigate both the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship. Watch the Podcast now!

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