Air Marketing is celebrating its 10th anniversary, marking a decade of building sales capability, supporting client growth and developing one of the UK’s leading outsourced sales teams.
Founded in 2016 by Owen Richards and Richard Forrest, Air Marketing has grown from a small start-up into a business of around 100 people delivering outsourced SDR, telemarketing and sales services for organisations across multiple sectors.
Reflecting on the milestone, Founder and CEO, Owen Richards, described the journey as anything but straightforward.
“I cannot believe it has been 10 years. Where the time goes, I don’t know.
I’m not going to do one of those posts where everything has been brilliant. It absolutely hasn’t. In fact, at times it has been pretty horrendous. But that’s the reality of building a business.”
While the path has included its share of challenges, the company’s growth reflects a consistent focus on people, performance and long-term partnerships.
Building a Sales Business From the Ground Up
Air Marketing was founded with a clear belief: sales is a specialist discipline and organisations perform better when it is executed by trained professionals using structured processes.
Over the past decade, the business has evolved from pure telemarketing support into a full sales delivery partner, providing:
- Outsourced SDR and business development teams
- Demand generation and pipeline creation
- Integrated sales and marketing campaigns
- Full inside sales delivery across the revenue cycle
Today, Air teams operate as an embedded extension of client organisations, combining experienced sales professionals with data-driven campaign optimisation and continuous training.
This approach has helped clients generate predictable pipeline and measurable revenue growth.
The People Behind the Growth
For Owen, the defining factor behind Air’s progress has always been the people who helped build it.
In the early years, team members such as Shaun Weston and Marco Alfano-Rogers played a pivotal role in helping establish the foundations of the business.
As the company expanded, leaders including Gracie-May Bryan, Alex Burgess, Verity Studley-Wootton, Neil Clarke and Clodagh Murphy contributed to shaping the organisation and strengthening its delivery model.
More recently, the leadership team has expanded again, with Scott Walker, Esta Rigler and Wesley Vedder helping drive operational maturity and improved commercial performance across the business.
This evolution has helped the company reach new levels of profitability, process maturity and campaign performance. Owen says:
“Despite having rocks thrown at us at times, these guys run into battle with me time and time again. The result has been outstanding to see.”
A Partnership at the Heart of Air
The business was originally launched by Owen Richards and Richard Forrest, who had already spent nearly a decade working together in Australia before starting Air.
That long-standing relationship remains central to the company’s story.
“Richard and I started this journey in early 2016, having already worked together in Australia for around eight years. Our connection goes far beyond business partnerships or co-founders.”
Owen also paid particular tribute to Samantha Bennett, highlighting her role in supporting the company’s journey from the early days through to its current scale.
“I literally could not have done this without Sam. A true friend, an exceptional teammate and one of the kindest, most supportive people I’ve ever met.”
A Decade of Lessons
Looking back over ten years of building the company, Owen believes the biggest lesson is not about growth metrics or financial milestones.
Instead, it comes down to the people you surround yourself with.
“Career success is not the money in your pocket, revenue growth, or the number of meetings your AI agent books while you sleep.
It’s how you choose to live, to work, to share moments with people. It’s having the freedom to laugh at work, win and lose together, and still feel like you have purpose.”
Looking Ahead
While the anniversary marks a significant milestone, the focus for Air Marketing remains firmly on the future.
Demand for outsourced sales capability continues to grow as organisations look for more predictable pipeline and specialist expertise without the cost and complexity of building internal teams.
With an experienced leadership team, a sales academy and a proven delivery model, Air Marketing is entering its second decade with the same ambition that launched the business in the first place.
“To everyone who has played a role in the last 10 years – thank you.”
