Trust Over Transactions: How Relationships Fuel a 7-Figure Design Agency

In this episode of Founders Future, with host Ammar Elm, we sit down with Lawrence Schau, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of KAL Design Co., an experience-driven design agency reshaping how brands connect with audiences. Lawrence shares his journey from VP at Havas Health to entrepreneurship—a leap made possible by a client's one-year commitment that gave him the confidence to launch. With 17 years in creative strategy spanning healthcare, CPG, and tech, he reveals why KAL Design thrives as an "industry-agnostic" partner focused on solving business challenges through trust and strategic creativity rather than transactional relationships.

Lawrence pulls back the curtain on navigating the agency world's shifting landscape, from adapting to AI tools without sacrificing creative integrity to building a referral engine that now drives their multi-seven-figure business. He discusses the delicate balance between scaling efficiently and maintaining the human touch that defines their work, offering hard-won advice for new agency owners: "Spend disproportionate time educating yourself—tools change, but relationships always matter." For anyone wrestling with how to position creative services in an automated world, this conversation is a masterclass in staying relevant while staying human.