‘‘It’s time.’’
Firebrand managing director Bex Twemlow has sold the Dunedin marketing and digital transformation agency to employees and shareholders Alex Murray and Georgina Guthrie-Murray.
Mrs Twemlow said she recognised she was not going to be ‘‘Mrs Firebrand forever’’ and the next generation of owners were ready to step up. ‘‘That’s always been important to me: building something that can continue beyond me.’’
Mostly it was about the business being in a strong position with great people to lead it forward and she was ‘‘beyond happy’’ with the new owners, she said.
Ms Guthrie-Murray joined Firebrand in the startup phase when blankets were used instead of electricity to heat the space and she sometimes had her baby under the table. Mrs Twemlow always felt an alignment with her and had enjoyed mentoring her and watching her grow.
Firebrand started in 2009 when Mrs Twemlow was pregnant with her second child — and during the Global Financial Crisis. It launched the same month the iPhone 3G hit the market ‘‘which was the moment the Internet genuinely landed in people’s hands.’’
From there the business grew through a mix of mergers, acquisitions, hard work and a little luck. ‘‘It’s always been a very Dunedin story, built on networks, trust, community and giving back.
‘‘We were fortunate to earn the trust of large national clients, delivering e-commerce, custom platforms, and campaigns, as well as local and national government work. There have been some incredible opportunities along the way.’’
But it was also never easy and the toughest times were leading a downsize and those moments still sat with her. Firebrand reached a peak of 25, plus three paid interns, in 2021-22 and it now had a team of 10.
Asked how she felt about leaving, Mrs Twemlow said it was ‘‘exciting and emotional and challenging and confronting and all those things at the same time’’. Her husband Paul would continue as an employee.
About 12 years ago, Mrs Twemlow wrote in a journal that she wanted to be personally and financially free before she was 50 — and she turns 50 in November. ‘‘It feels right; it’s the right time.’’
The last couple of years, which included an unsuccessful tilt at the Dunedin City Council in the last local body election under the Future Dunedin banner, had taught her a lot, particularly around balance and the importance of taking care of herself as well as the business.
Mrs Twemlow described the election campaign as ‘‘the most disgusting thing’’ she had ever experienced. ‘‘When you’ve stood up for a community so proudly and loudly as I certainly had over 17 years of Firebrand, it’s a punch in the gut when that is the experience,’’ she said.
‘‘I absolutely count my blessings every single time I’m not sitting at that table as it stands today.
‘‘The dream outcome of that election was nothing like we see at the table,’’ she said.
A big part of Mrs Twemlow’s campaign last year was for the council to have a growth mindset and to have a plan for that, and she feared for Dunedin. ‘‘In a business sense, if you fail to plan, you are in fact planning to fail. The council needs a growth and enablement mindset.’’
The advent of artificial intelligence was a threat to businesses, particularly in Dunedin where there was an influx of students — who were highly capable, educated young people eager to earn money and study and live in the city — and homegrown young people were second and third place to those jobs. AI brought further threats to the amount of jobs available.
Mrs Twemlow was one of the drivers of the Youth Employment Success initiative and her single most memorable celebration over the 17 years was the launch of YES in 2016.
She was proud of the impact Firebrand had on the community and the measurable results delivered for people. ‘‘Over the years, we’ve supported a huge range of charities, community groups, events and businesses, and there wouldn’t be many corners of Dunedin where Firebrand hasn’t played a small part in helping something grow.’’
In the immediate future, the Twemlows planned to take some time as a family, get a campervan and do a Kiwi road trip. From there, she wanted to support business owners in planning the ‘‘next phase’’ as she saw a real wave of owners coming up to exit over the next five years.
‘‘It’s not just a case of packaging up what you have and putting it on the market. You need to take time to ready your business for the next phase, identify what the significant opportunities are for the next owner,’’ she said.
Mrs Twemlow, who is also involved with several startups, said her next phase was about being more intentional, rather than saying yes to everything, and choosing where she put her energy.