A masterclass from Doug Richard convinced two senior PR executives that entrepreneurship and enterprise would be the focus of their newly launched Seven Hills communications group

Nick Giles We first met when Michael joined the PR firm Abacus in 1998. I had already been there for about 18 months, working on technology PR. We worked together for about a year, during which time we had various lunches plotting to start a business ourselves.

Michael Hayman I joined Abacus having been a researcher for the Conservative MP Keith Hampson, who advised Michael Heseltine in the Major government. It wasn't a great time to be a Conservative adviser, and so I took refuge in Abacus. Nick had the responsibility to get me up to speed in an area I knew nothing about. I brought more of a campaigning, political approach to the business that has stayed with us.

NG We recognised that we needed to develop our careers more by working for bigger agencies, but the intent was the same and we came close twice to going for it. About 18 months ago Michael called and said he wanted to see me. I had been the UK managing director of Text 100 for almost five years at that point. I knew he was ready to make the move.

MH At the time I was chief executive of The Communication Group. I'd had five years there and had a good sense of what you could do with a new toy. There hadn't been much new in the industry for a while and we knew that together two reasonably big characters from the agency world could build something interesting. We always had enterprise and entrepreneurship at the back of our minds, but there was a seminal meeting with Doug Richard. He gave us a masterclass in entrepreneurial flair and we left wanting to represent people like him. That was our first pitch and he was our first client.

NG There isn't a formal split of responsibilities. We both do all of it. We're both out selling and we're both servicing clients. I probably take on more of the back-office organisational stuff, like the financial management, while Michael is an out-and-out salesman...

MH ...But one with depth, I might add. We've now got a team of 12, plus an advisory panel of six, which means we're a sizeable team. One of the great lessons of partnerships is never go into business with someone that's you, and Nick and I have complementary skills. He brings credibility where my job is to kick the door down and create opportunities. We curb each other's excesses and produce better work.

NG Working with Michael is very stimulating. He's got a sharp mind and he's a great talker and conversationalist. People like his intellect and warm to what he's got to say. He has an opinion on just about everything.

MH Nick's a total professional. I've never worked with anybody where the term instant credibility applies more. Any partnership, especially in its first year, is like a marathon. You have to keep each other going and Nick has never flagged once.

NG Maintaining growth will be a challenge this year. We had a phenomenally good first year and grew well ahead of our plan. We've got natural hurdles like where do we locate ourselves, how do we finance it and how much more work do we take on this year to keep growing at the rate we want it to. We've got ambitions to be a significant player and we want to make sure we get the structural elements of the business right.

MH It doesn't feel like a start-up anymore. We feel like a young business. We've got the vim and enthusiasm of a start-up, but we've got the depth of an older business. There is a level of confidence the team has got to take on whatever comes next. People were surprised a business like ours emerged in a recession. We don't have that element of surprise this year. We'd like to be double the size we are now.

NG A lot of competitors will take this enterprise area more seriously now. We've been the trailblazers and most people in PR have assumed that entrepreneurs mean small money. First, we proved that isn't true, but we've also found that there are a lot of large brands that want to influence entrepreneurs. We are the doors between the two.

MH We work for demanding entrepreneurs and we've got to continue to be inventive and creative, and to deliver. In business you think about what do we need to do and you plan for that, but you don't know what other people are planning for you in terms of how you're going to help them.