Where did the name Don’t Panic come from?

There are a couple of references that it could be, but the actual one… One Sunday afternoon, when we were creating the company, we were brainstorming names, and we came up with all sorts of different names, all of which were a bit lame. Andy, my husband, often joked that it would have been Nicky Wake Events if I’d been left to my own devices. Anyway, Andy was reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and on the front of that book, written by Douglas Adams, are the words, don’t panic. And Andy said that’s it. And he was right, and so it was and is still now.

What was Don’t Panic’s first event?

The very first event we delivered was one of our most successful, and it was delivered in partnership with the University of Sunderland. So they basically had an event idea, but no budget, and they said to us, if you can make it pay, you can keep the cash. So, we did, and we made it pay. We re-ran that event nine times around the UK. That demonstrates that entrepreneurial spirit, which is at the heart of Don’t Panic. And I genuinely think that spirit is the thing that’s kept us alive for 20 years. The approach of, we’ll build this, we’ll own it, we’ll deliver it.

What are some of the challenges you have faced?

I guess one of the most memorable was having no staff.

You know, when we started Don’t Panic, it was me in our back bedroom running everything. Eventually, Andy left his well-paid job at GMP to come and join us, and it was just the two of us for a very long time. That was a challenging time as we were working 24/7 and also trying to have a baby at the same time.

Obviously, another challenge which we need to talk about was the effect that COVID had on the events business. I remember in 2020, when the country started going into lockdown and we realised, at that point, it was going to affect our events business. I had to sit down with the whole team and discuss redundancies, but thankfully furlough was introduced so they didn’t all have to happen. But also running alongside that challenge, I sadly lost Andy, my late husband. I was wrestling with grief and navigating a business through COVID, the darkest and hardest of periods over the past 20 years.

With the help and support from an incredible team of people and a lot of friends and family, we managed to navigate through those choppy waters, and I’m delighted we are still going strong today.

What changes have changed the business?

in 20 years, we’ve seen a huge number of changes. I think possibly one of the biggest has been the drive and the change in social media as a marketing tool for events and awards. Content is a massive part of it. And we’ve taken those industry changes and built them into our awards. We now have specific categories and awards for all the new business developments that have occurred over our time.

What have you learnt along the way?

The experience of leading Don’t Panic has fundamentally changed me. I’ve grown up with Don’t Panic.

I’m a very different woman from the one I was 20 years ago. It’s ignited my entrepreneurial spirit. It’s taught me what it’s like to lead a business and to work with some incredibly talented people. I’ve learned a lot about how to run a company and also how not to run a company, but I hope that most of the time, I get it nearly right.

What keeps you motivated, 20 years on?

It’s creating things. I just can’t stop having ideas and creating things, whether that’s in the panic or one of my other businesses. I love that as an entrepreneur, I can just come up with a crazy idea and make it happen.

And what’s next for Don’t Panic?

So, what am I excited about? What does the next 20 years hold?

I’m excited to watch the team grow, develop and blossom and to come up with their own ideas and deliver their own awards. And I’m looking forward to taking things a little slower and perhaps being more of a background founder in the future. I’m hoping that my days of stuffing delegate bags, putting trophies out and stuffing envelopes and all of that may well be over.

But I’m very excited to watch from the sidelines with pride as the team absolutely smashes.

And some questions for fun?

Favourite Destination?

I’ve been privileged to travel to hundreds of incredible destinations with Don’t Panic. I very cleverly built a business that allowed me to fly around the world at delivering award shows.

My absolute favourite, and possibly one of the most memorable ever, was the SEMRush Awards, actually, which took place at Sydney Opera House.

It was a lifelong dream of mine to deliver an event in that spectacular, world-renowned venue. And I was honoured to have the privilege to do that.

Favourite Awards Dress?

My favourite award dress, well, there are many, and I’m very blessed that I can actually put them through the business. I have a range of different gowns, but my particular favourite is a black silk floor length number with feathers all over the neckline, completely over the top, exactly what’s needed for UK Search Awards or something equally glamorous.

Favourite Don’t Panic moment?

Some of my favourite Don’t Panic moments are our now legendary afterparties. One of my favourite afterparty venues is Sway, which we use in London every year after the UK Search Awards. We party till 6:00 AM, and it’s usually the first week in December. The party night ends the year, and the team dances the night away with entrants and judges to all our secretly favourite Christmas tunes. Always a fabulous and memorable, or not so memorable, night for our guests.