The “In Hindsight” Series: Missive founders Nicola Koronka and Emma Ross on the PRmoment Podcast

PRmoment Podcast

In this PRmoment Podcast, we’ll be catching up with UK public relations leaders. Our guests will share their in-hindsight secrets that they wish they'd known at the start of their careers.

This week on the PRmoment Podcast, we're talking to Missive founders Nicola Koronka and Emma Ross.

Missive is a tech PR firm with a fee income of £2.5 m. Current clients include Virgin Media 02, Tech Mahindra and PayU.

Missive was founded ten years ago, ten years which seem to have flown by!

Here is a summary of what Nicola, Emma, and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:

3 mins Emma and Nicola talk about how they met at university and ended up working at Hotwire together.

5 mins Why did Nicola and Emma decide to start a business together?

“The only impressive thing about running your own business is making the decision to do it; the rest just feels like another job. You just put one foot in front of the other. You learn as you go.”

13 mins Emma, was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2019. Needless to say, bone cancer is a very, very serious cancer. Emma talks us through how the last five years have been since her diagnosis.

16 mins Emma talks us through the symptoms of bone cancer and what people should look out for.

17 mins What is a tech PR firm today? Has tech PR become undefinable?

21 mins How is the tech PR market currently because it’s had a tough 18 months.

“It's the enterprise piece that had the roughest ride.”

“The market has returned to strength now. We’ve had some great wins in the last ten weeks.”

“There is a robustness there…The market has turned.”

25 mins Emma and Nicola reflect on ten years of Missive.

“It’s been punctuated with things that happened to us.”

27 mins Are PR employers better now than ten years ago?

28 mins Nicola and Emma reflect on the challenges of PR firm founders bringing senior staff members into their business.

“Giles came into the business at a pivotal time post-pandemic and grew the business successfully. We will never stop thinking about what the business, our team, and clients need and endeavour to put that first.”

“We’ve (only) spent 50% of the time (over the last ten years) working together because of the various leave and absences.”

“We disagree constantly, but we don't row.”

“We're very, very different people but we’re pulling in the same direction. I’m the head, and Emma’s the heart.”

“It’s been the most profound relationship of my life (outside my family.)”

32 mins Emma and Nicola talk about their future plans for Missive, including its D&I Consulting practice.