In this interview, Roanna Williams shares the sparks and struggles behind starting her own shop, the culture she’s intent on building, and why the industry can’t afford to play it safe. Roanna has never been afraid to go first. As the first woman to chair South Africa’s Creative Circle (2022 – 2024), she’s used her platform to champion mentorship, women in leadership, and braver creativity on a global stage, most recently co-pitching Open Chair as a global mentorship community at the Act Sustainability Hub at Cannes Lions. After years inside big network agencies, Roanna chose a different path. She co-founded Boundless, an agency built on creative freedom, expertise, and the belief that advertising should make people feel something again.

Q: What was the moment or insight that made you decide, ‘I’m going to start my own agency’?

Roanna: It wasn’t a lightning bolt moment. It was more like a slow-burning fire. I started to notice too many bold, brave ideas being suffocated inside beige PowerPoints. And I hate beige. I’d watch concepts with real heart, guts and meaning get watered down until they were unrecognizable. That’s not why I came into this business.

Working in big international network agencies was a masterclass in red tape, slow-motion processes, endless politics, about bottom line not people and inflated egos. Somewhere along the way, I realized I wasn’t actually creating anymore. I was just defending ideas from death by committee, burning myself out in the process.

So I asked myself: If I truly want creative freedom, if I want to make work that inspires, moves and endures, why am I still here? The answer was clear. Step out and build something new.

Starting my own agency wasn’t just a career move. It was an act of creative survival. A chance to create without compromise. To leave behind boring beige and build a legacy of ideas that are bold enough, human enough and loved enough to actually matter.

Q: What did you feel was missing in the industry that your agency could offer?

Q: How did you go from idea to actually starting?

1. We met for a coffee.
2. We met for another coffee.
3. Followed that up with a third coffee.
4. Then bought a coffee machine.
5. And Boundless was born.

Q: Hardest obstacle in your first year?

Roanna: The hardest part of year one was realizing there’s no mysterious “someone else” when you start your own agency. You are someone else. The person fixing the Wi-Fi, washing the coffee cups, chasing invoices, ordering printer toner, watering plants, making clients cappuccino’s. Overnight, “Head of Everything” became an official job title.

But what a gift. This forced us to learn faster, invent smarter, support each other and stay laser-focused on why we started in the first place…to create without compromise.

Q: Do you feel more pressure now than before?

Q: First moment you thought, “We’re onto something here”?

Q: Which project best captures what your agency is about?

Roanna: The project that best captures what Boundless is about has to be our own corporate identity film. Every project starts as a blank canvas. A chance to create something unforgettable. And essentially our corporate identity is a blank canvas.

We aim ridiculously high, to craft ideas that aren’t just seen, but genuinely loved. No pressure, right?

This film isn’t just a launch asset. Every frame, every choice reflects our Boundless philosophy. Be bold, unafraid, curious, have integrity, bring expertise, be human, push the work, let it flourish, and have fun working with people you like while doing it.

After all, if we’re going to try to make the world’s most loved ideas, we might as well love the journey.

Q: How do you define the culture of your agency?

Roanna: We’re experts in what we do, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Weird ideas are celebrated, bold thinking is mandatory and fun is just as important as craft.

It’s a place where people are free to be themselves, free to have an opinion, free to disagree, free to f’up – but not too often;) where a doodle on a napkin could turn into a breakthrough campaign, and where debate is fierce, never boring and always about making the work better.

We aim for excellence, but we chase it with curiosity, energy and an open mind. At the end of the day, our culture is where being brilliant and being human aren’t mutually exclusive. Our ambition is to make the world’s most loved ideas.

Q: Financial pressure at the beginning, how did you navigate that?

Q: One piece of advice for someone starting an agency today?

Roanna: Make sure you are ready for a marathon. Not a quick park run. You need to be all-in for the long haul. Listen to your gut. It will tell you if you are ready.

And don’t expect to have all the answers. You never will. Starting an agency is equal parts chaos and magic. Some days you’ll feel like you’re flying, others you’ll wonder what the hell you’ve done. That’s the ride.

Back yourself, but don’t pretend you have to do it all alone. Partner with people who are brilliant at the things you’re not, lean on them, as together you make each other better.

Another advantage is surrounding yourself with people who back the work, have your back, fight for the work and understand the value of creativity.

And, if you’re a woman stepping into this space, my advice would be to never dilute yourself to fit someone else’s mould. Your voice, your perspective, your way of doing things, your empathy is your advantage.

Q: How has your vision changed since you started?

Q: How do you choose talent?

Roanna: We start with expertise. To work at Boundless, you’ve got to know your craft, have experience and have won some real awards. But that’s just the baseline.

We look for people with a learning mindset. curious, hungry, never thinking they’re done, unafraid to get their hands dirty and willing to be deep in the trenches.

To work at Boundless you need to be smart, curious, open to learning, hardworking, humble, passionate, have the ability to listen with empathy and be possessed with a burning desire to make people fall in love with advertising again.

And equally important: no ego. The best ideas don’t survive in rooms full of egos. Boundless people care more about the work than about being right.

Q: Most common challenge balancing client wants vs. agency vision?

Q: How do you approach projects with tight budgets/timelines?

Q: One thing you wish clients understood about the creative process?

Roanna: David Ogilvy once said: “You can’t bore people into buying your product.” The same applies for the creative process. You can’t rush it into brilliance.

The genius happens in the process, the play, messy magic, the unexpected turns. What I tell clients is don’t kill ideas too early. Let them breathe, develop and grow. Trust us to go there with you, and you’ll get work that’s worth falling in love with, not just worth ticking a box.

Bill Bernbach once said: “Safe work is the riskiest of all.” If we spend the process stripping out the bravery, we don’t just make the work weaker, we make it forgettable and forgettable work doesn’t move anyone including your brand.

Q: How do you keep your team motivated when it’s more problem-solving than creativity?

Roanna: Snacks, bottomless coffee and bad playlists. And then a reminder that solving problems is creativity. It’s what we are all really good at.

Q: AI in agency life, help or hindrance?

Roanna: We treat it like the ultimate sidekick. It’s there to make us smarter, faster and more daring, not replace the messy, brilliant human thinking that actually makes people fall in love with work. So yes, it’s a little terrifying… but also kind of awesome.

Q: Something you’re excited about in the South African creative industry right now?

Roanna: The indie agency explosion. Small teams, big ideas, zero patience for ideas being locked in PowerPoint presentations. These agencies are shaking up the rules, pushing boundaries, reinventing, and making the work better, braver and more exciting.

What I love most is the ripple effect. Indies dare to take risks and the whole industry benefits. Suddenly everyone has to up their game. Clients brief in bolder briefs, teams get sharper and the creativity itself gets better. So watch this space.