Marine Tanguy, the CEO of MT Art Agency, on tackling the unique challenges women leaders face
I’ve been in the art world for 15 years, having started as a gallery manager aged 21. My first boss was Steve Lazarides, who discovered Banksy, and he taught me that you don’t have to follow the rules when building a business. That gave me the courage to launch MT Art in 2015 – aB-corp talent agency for artists.
When I started out in the art sector, there was a real ‘party culture’. As a young woman, I didn’t want to stay out late taking clients out for drinks, so I found my own way to close deals that was more about identifying shared interests.
I built my business based on my belief in democratising art. Being a first mover meant I had to educate the market on what I was trying to do, so I did a lot of press and social media, but ultimately it put me ahead of the game.
Unfortunately, women leaders are far more likely to face personal backlashes than men. I experienced cyber-bullying while I was pregnant – people sending horrible messages saying things like ‘I hope you lose the baby’. In difficult times, my instinct is usually to smile and pretend everything is great, but by being open with my team about what I was going through, I learnt an important lesson about leading with vulnerability.
As a founder, I’ve discovered that having a hobby separate from work is really important. I’ve taken up ballet: not only does movement help defuse my emotions when I feel under attack, but I find that having the classes logged in my diary gives me a healthier work-life balance.
If you’re fully in control of the financial side of your business, the rest will follow. The better you know your numbers, and the more clearly you communicate them to your team, the more you can focus on achieving the outcomes you want. www.mtart.agency
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