Meet our Founder & MD, William Niven — UNBXD

If you are new around here, every month we have been spotlighting a member of our team! This month we are spending some time with our Boss, Founder & MD of UNBXD, William Niven!

We know many of you are probably very familiar with Will, he has been the face of UNBXD since it was established in 2015 but we wanted to take this opportunity to show more of his personal story.

So, tell us about yourself:

I'm 25, Bournemouth born and bred, and have a Lhasa (dog) called Elvis. I studied Art & Design at the Arts University Bournemouth and then went on to study BA Visual Communication. I enjoy long walks down the beach, a good beer in the sun, and the music of the ’50-’60s for some reason.

Why did you want to start a Creative Agency?

In all honesty, I never set out to start a Creative Agency, believe it or not. After founding several startups within the fashion sector and freelancing as a self-taught 'swiss army knife' creative, my team naturally grew as I took on more clients than I could handle on my own. The business eventually then pivoted to an agency rather than a stand-alone designer.

What keeps your motivated?

Even from a young age, I've always had a strong work ethic which was instilled by my parents who are also very hard workers. I've always had a good eye for attention to detail (which was most likely passed down from my OCD mother), and with that, knowing that I have a dedicated and talented team who share this commitment to their work surrounding me and producing the best quality work possible, it gives me a sense of pride for the work we produce which is second to none.

This in turn keeps the job exciting and motivates me each day to keep pushing UNBXD further.

What have you learned?

I’d like to think you keep learning every day, but if I had to note down my top 5 takeaways from the past 10 years:

No one wins with a long wordy email, pick up the phone!
There is always a solution
There’s no shame in failure
Invest time and money into a good management system early on
Working until the early hours does not make you more productive! (Nothing beats a good nights sleep)

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I always hate these questions, because if we take into account the past few months you never know what life is going to throw at you, but I would say I would like to see our team size double at UNBXD and our business grow in Asia and the US. I think it’s really important to get a diverse perspective, different ideas cultures will ultimately improve your work.

Other than this, who knows! The world is your oyster and it is what you make of it. Just take each day as it comes, don’t take life too seriously, and enjoy what you do.

Keep yours eyes pealed for more in our ‘Meet the Team’ series soon!