Why I'm proud to be one of Forbes Next 1000
Written by Katie Test Davis
I got the email a few days before we closed the firm for winter break.
Subject line: Welcome to the Forbes Next 1000 Class of 2021
With dinner-plate-sized eyeballs, I clicked through.
“Congratulations! Forbes and our partners at Square are thrilled to welcome you to the Forbes Next 1000 class of 2021. This first-of-its-kind initiative celebrates bold and inspiring entrepreneurs—like yourself—who are redefining what it means to run a business today.”
I may or may not have sat in stunned silence for a few seconds before promptly bursting into tears.
Being selected by Forbes (FORBES!) for “redefining what it means to run a business today” hit me directly in the feels. It meant that the Next 1000 selection panel—which includes business leaders like Tom Colicchio and Sheryl Sandberg—recognized that what I’ve been building through Forthright is a fresh approach to the PR firm model.
When I decided to found my own PR agency, I was determined to do things differently. I knew how client services and the prototype agency model led to deep burnout for ultra-talented people. I also embraced the opportunity to build a new kind of firm that isn’t trying to be a one-stop shop for every issue, but is instead focused deeply and intentionally on the child-and-family focused issues I know best and the work I love to do.
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On Day 1, I decided Forthright would have a focused niche in the child and family space, which meant the teammates who joined me would need to be rockstar caliber. Every single teammate would need to have an extensive background in the issues facing our kids and families today—from early childhood education to teacher professional development to youth mental health.
I also knew that to succeed in creating a new agency model, I’d need to center my teammates’ happiness and well-being with relentless dedication. I hypothesized that if our teammates had the time, space, and support they needed and deserved, that they would do amazing things for clients.
Today at Forthright, we call that philosophy People First. Three years in, it turns out that when you center your teammates, respect their time and go after projects everyone is passionate about, well, it works.
Instead of having to go after projects that aren’t quite-the-right fit, or overstretch your teammates and ask too much of them, you get to be choosy about the projects and clients you partner with.
You get to work with more than 53 amazing clients across the nation, from California to New York, on issues such as expanding Early Head Start, creating access to youth sports for all kids…and you even land a question about child poverty in the democratic debates during a presidential election.
And then one day, after four rounds of screenings, on a random Wednesday in December, you wind up recognized by Forbes for taking a different path to success.
HECK yes.
I can’t wait to see what we can do next, friends. At the beginning of a new year, 2022 still feels like a foggy mystery, but the beacon of light in it all is you. You walk alongside me and recognize that the new way—the modern, fresh, People First way is THE way.
Together, we can do big things for kids. We can change the world for families. And we can do it with kindness, heart and empathy.
