LONDON — Northeastern University graduate Calypso Newman remembers all too clearly what it was like to have to sell the clothes off her back as she toiled in order to make her startup vision a reality.
Newman knows what it is like to pour everything into a new business venture; to ask for help from those in her industry and to have the door shut on her.
It is because of her own experience when starting out that, when any young person contacts her for business advice, her default position is to make every effort to oblige.
“I have a rule that anyone young who ever emails, I will help no matter what,” she says. “We’ve all got half an hour to spare, so that is my big thing.
“I firmly believe that values are incredibly important. I think if we don’t have values in business, then we lose our focus.”
Newman’s startup is Rock Badger, her consultancy that partners with clients to develop ways of telling its stories through artistic mediums and technology.
She says part of what the agency does is use “real data and art” to explore the positive impact businesses are having on the environment through a product called VisuAIise Sustainability (AI plays a part in some of the work her artists produce).
For example, if a client records in its annual report that it has helped plant 10,000 trees that year, artwork arranged by Rock Badger can bring that to life for consumers and employees, Newman explains.
“Art provides an entryway into what appears abstract and hard to engage with and uses technology really creatively to tell stories,” she says, speaking from her base at Northeastern’s London startup hub.
Born out of a love of art, having graduated with an art history degree from Northeastern University in London in 2021, Newman had to go the extra mile after founding Rock Badger in November 2022.
Less than two years on and she can be found giving talks to Facebook-owner Meta, chairing panel discussions at the UK Creative Festival and organizing industry events at the Saatchi Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in the British capital.
But she says the early days were not always glamorous and sometimes found herself being “ignored” when reaching out to people in the industry as she looked to gain a foothold.
Newman is determined to harness that experience by ensuring others have the best start to their careers. Even though Rock Badger is a small operation, she regularly takes on interns, including those studying at her alma mater.
Newman’s efforts to give something back were recently recognized as part of Northeastern’s 2024 Women Who Empower Innovator Awards.
A rock badger, also known as a rock hyrax or dassie, is a mammal that is native to Africa and the Middle East. After learning about the intrepid animal, Newman found they brought to mind the artists who she wanted to partner with during her fresh venture and used the creature as inspiration for the branding behind her agency.
“As animals, they’re survivors,” she explains. “They hide behind the rocks to avoid predators, so they are very resilient — but they are also very timid. It reminds me a lot of the artists I work with. They can be quite shy and reserved, and so I am helping them with the commercial side. I’m focused on the values of the rock badger, like them being resilient, brave and thinking outside the box.”
After graduating, Newman worked for an art startup and then a major auction house before following her “gut” and setting out on her own.
What stood her in good stead, she says, was her time spent studying art history with Northeastern’s experts and being encouraged to face her public speaking fears head-on at London’s many museums.
“Something that was unique was we had to stand in front of a painting, whether it was at The National Gallery, the Tate galleries or even in the classroom, and present for 10 minutes on our ideas,” Newman recalls.
“I remember being in front of the Ardabil Carpet [the world’s oldest dated carpet] in the V&A [Victoria and Albert Museum] discussing it. And I remember literally shaking, being terrified. But later today, I’ll be speaking to a company about my business and I’m talking at Meta this week about what I do.
“Those skills, to be able to stand up and be forced to speak clearly and concisely about images, of being able to present in public and to speak, I’m so grateful for that. I used to tremor but now I do it all the time and I host speaking panels — it is a big part of the job now and I love doing it and that is thanks to [Northeastern].”
Her association with the university is not over either. Last year, she combined with her former teacher Kate Grandjouan, an associate professor of art history, to run workshops on art and innovation. The idea is to expand that offer in future.
“I love working with the students because they have such good ideas,” Newman says.
“They spent their teenage years gaming and they are pretty technical. When I did the workshops back in December, I invited them to undertake a challenge that involved using art and technology as part of a client brief and their answers were so good — I was so impressed. I’ve had a few interns from the university too, and they have all been brilliant.”
Newman lists Rock Badger’s values as threefold: optimism, reliability and collaboration. With a willingness to partner with others, along with her own enthusiasm for all things art, technology and business-related, she is determined to keep her focus by practicing the values she preaches.
