In Conversation with Matilda Lucy
Welcome to All Change Please. A new monthly series highlighting individuals (from students to C-suite) who are reshaping their industries and communities by going against the grain, or carving out alternative paths to meaningful change.
If you’re interested in recieving stories from those who reshape existing systems from within and those who challenge the status quo by starting from scratch, hit that subscribe button below.
I’m really excited to kick this off with the lovely Matilda Lucy of Broken Growth who I’ve been super lucky to have connected with here. Matilda is a London-based digital strategist and writer of one of my favourite Substacks reimagining how we grow things online so naturally was top of my list of folks I wanted to chat to on this topic!
Caitlin: In your own words, by starting Broken Growth, what did you want to challenge, or what change did you hope to create?
Matilda: I wanted to challenge two things; firstly the idea that businesses should strive for limitless growth at all costs. It makes no sense on a planet of finite resources. The second thing I wanted to challenge was the reliance most consumer brands have on a small handful of social platforms to achieve this endless growth.
As marketers, strategists, business owners, brands, creatives I think we have a duty to interrogate and improve the broken systems we are operating within.
Caitlin: What made you question the status quo of non-stop growth and our reliance on socials for it?
Matilda: A combination of lived experience and observation.
After years working for and with VC backed startups burning through cash on advertising platforms in order to acquire users or customers as fast as possible I learnt how unsustainable this kind of growth is.
On a personal level there was also this growing awareness of the disconnect between how people were talking about authenticity and connection in the marketing industry while solely operating in spaces designed to commodify attention. The model works ok for brands for now (although not as well as it used to) but really doesn’t work for the people consuming this shit content day in day out. There must be an alternative?
That questioning was the spark for Broken Growth.
Caitlin: Take us back to the start; How did you begin? What was the first step you took?
Matilda: The idea for Broken Growth started brewing while I was on maternity leave in 2023. The first step I took was simply thinking about the questions I wanted to explore in the next phase of my career:
What does growth mean if it’s not tied to bigger, faster, more? What are the alternatives? How can we get there?
I knew I wanted a space to explore these ideas alongside others thinking in the same vein and so (in a very 2023 move) decided a Substack would be a good place to start. I see Broken Growth as a long term project that will evolve over time with the newsletter as the first step!
Caitlin: What was the first bit of evidence or feedback that gave you confidenceto pursue Broken Growth?
Matilda: The first post I published that really began to gain traction was one called “Is it possible to grow your business without social media?” published in July last year. It was viewed by 10x the number of subscribers I had at the time and sparked tens of interesting conversations in the comment section and on calls/ IRL. It gave me confidence to know other people were actually interested in exploring this topic together.
The controllable action that has really increased my confidence over the past year is (sorry this is boring) getting into a consistent writing and publishing rhythm. As a strategist I know the power of strategy to define the direction of a project but I think progress and clarity can only come through doing, testing, iterating on repeat within the framework of the strategy.
Caitlin: What kind of resistance or challenges have you faced so far?
Matilda: These are layered, structural challenges and will only be improved through collective action so I’ve had lots of moments of thinking “who am I to talk about these topics?”. I’ve loved including the perspectives and experiences of people building businesses and brands in different ways and want to do even more of this this year.
Caitlin: How do you approach convincing others to consider a different way of doing things?
Matilda: Honestly for now I don’t really see my role as convincing people who love the status quo when it comes to growth and marketing to change their ways. Maybe the time for that will come later. The people I connect with and work with today know that the old playbooks don’t work anymore. My role is to help them articulate that - often to other stakeholders - and to provide an alternative framework that feels both achievable and inspiring.
It’s about demonstrating the value (commercially and otherwise) of focusing on depth, alignment, and longevity online.
Caitlin: What unexpected benefits or discoveries have you experienced from doing things a bit differently?
Matilda: The more I use my voice to say what I actually think when it comes to my work the more powerful I feel and the more aligned opportunities come my way. A groundbreaking insight I know!!!!
But it’s taken me a long time to get here.
Caitlin: What advice would you give to someone who sees flaws in the way things are, but feels the social pressure to conform or is giving up on feeling that they can?
Matilda: Your point of view and your lived experience are so important because they are uniquely yours. Sharing your ideas is more powerful than you realise. There will be other people who see the flaws that you do and the only way to find these people is to share your ideas whether that’s IRL or online. The only way things will change is by uniting with these people to create the change.
Say what you think!
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I have. Change is a constant and a theme I’m really passionate about - enabling any and all people to be a driver for positive change - so please reach out if you’re interested in discussing and being featured too.
At a time when we readily accept "this is just how things are done," or feel overwhelmed by the amount of disruption and that impact is impossible, or actively want to create a better future but just don’t know where to start, these stories seek to demonstrate that there are always ways forward - whether that's finding new solutions to old problems or questioning commonly accepted "truths" about how things must be done.
