Miroma Group and Founders Forum Group have partnered to launch Miroma Founders Network (MFN), a business dedicated to providing global media-buying and marketing communications services to startups and scaleups. The move, led by Marc Boyan, founder and CEO of Miroma Group and Miroma Ventures, and Brent Hoberman, co-founder and chair of Founders Forum Group, addresses a critical need amongst high-growth scaleups for effective marketing services at a viable price point – services traditionally deployed by larger companies and brands.

MFN will provide services including marketing consultancy, communications planning, and media planning and buying, as well as the review and implementation of data and analytics infrastructures. The company will have a dedicated core team in place to oversee and support each business from a strategic point of view, helping to define, build and execute a custom-made marketing-communications offering.

MFN will be the first dedicated venture of its kind established to support entrepreneurs as well as venture and private equity-backed companies at all stages, with a growth-focused approach intricately crafted to meet the distinctive needs of each individual enterprise, from fundraising support to driving sales with a 360º approach through all online and offline channels.

The venture combines Miroma Group’s media buying and marketing communications expertise with Founders Forum Group’s extensive knowledge of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Through its multi-channel offering, MFN will give founders the best available media buying opportunities at much more competitive pricing usually only available to much larger companies via MFN (“most favoured nation”) advertising rates.

Through its key stakeholders, MFN has a unique understanding of how to build and implement a strategic communications infrastructure for startups geared towards sustained customer acquisition and retention. At the same time, MFN has a fundamental appreciation of the key metrics that businesses need to hit to support them along funding pathways, which have become even more critical in the context of the current macroeconomic environment.

The joint venture is being announced at a time when business insolvencies have risen sharply in the UK, from 10% a year ago, in the three months up to September, according to the latest official figures from England and Wales. MFN is designed to provide small businesses, startups and scaleups facing this pressurised economic environment with more tools and services to increase their marketing competitiveness and rates of success.

MFN complements services provided by Founders Forum Group’s creative and brand agency, Founders Makers, expanding FF Group’s professional services offering which also includes executive search firm, Founders Keepers, and full-service law firm, Founders Law. FF Group has tailored its professional services arm to meet the specific needs of founders and their scaling businesses, with each company structured to be more favourable to entrepreneurs than traditional business models.  

For Miroma Group, MFN represents a further expansion of its offering to the sector including strategic communications business, Wake the Bear, who will support the joint venture going forward. Since inception, Miroma Group has built a dynamic portfolio of creative, media ​and content solutions across multiple marketing disciplines, and has deep experience in working with startups and established brands alike whilst also having established a strong track record in startup investing via its sister company, Miroma Ventures.

MFN will service founders globally, with initial emphasis in the UK, US and Asia-Pacific regions.

Marc Boyan, founder and CEO of Miroma Group, said: “MFN aligns precisely with the spirit of the Miroma Group and our commitment to investing in and supporting founder-led businesses.

“As part of the broader Miroma Group, and as a sister company to both Miroma Ventures and Founders Forum Group, this joint venture is uniquely placed to understand and support the key growth drivers and determinants of value creation for our clients, providing a trusted partner and voice that can understand the pressures across the board.

“To my mind there is no better partner with whom to pursue this venture than Founders Forum Group, who acutely understand the unique challenges founders face, and through their network have built a reputation as one of the industry’s leading facilitators of startup growth.”

Brent Hoberman, co-founder and executive chair of Founders Forum Group, said: “This partnership is a testament to the vision we share with Miroma Group and our dedication to empowering founders at every stage of their journeys.

“Complementing our existing offering across creative brand-building, legal services, and executive search, MFN will bring critical media-buying and marketing communications services to scaling founders who need a tailored approach, particularly as many navigate the challenges of today’s fundraising landscape.”

Carolyn Dawson, CEO of Founders Forum Group, said: “There’s acute pressure on return for marketing activities, especially for VC and PE-backed scaleups, and particularly in our current economic climate. This new joint venture is designed to deliver impactful returns for our founder community by leveraging Miroma’s extensive access to responsive multi-channel marketing models, and the Group’s deep expertise across media, growth marketing and communications.”