When Natasha Hatherall touched down in Dubai back in 2010, building one of the region’s top PR agencies wasn’t part of the plan. What started as a simple aim to freelance—with hopes of more yoga and some long-overdue work-life balance—unexpectedly grew into TishTash Communications Group, now home to a 70+ strong team spread across multiple countries. Along the way, Natasha carved out her own space in the industry, not just by delivering campaigns that made noise, but by shaping a workplace where people actually wanted to show up. Her people-first mindset comes from her own years of navigating offices that felt heavier than the workload itself, and that personal experience laid the foundation for a culture where flexibility, empathy, and treating people like actual humans aren’t just tick-box policies.
From introducing policies like menstrual, menopause, and infertility leave to creating a space where team members feel genuinely seen and supported, Natasha continues to shape the narrative that building a successful business starts with building up your people.
In this week’s Insider Tips, the Marketing and PR expert opens up about the realities of PR life (spoiler: less champagne, more spreadsheets), what it really takes to make your mark in the industry, and the lessons she’s learned from building a business on her own terms.
You moved from the UK to Dubai in 2010 and built a powerhouse PR agency from the ground up. What was that leap like, and did you always know you’d end up running your own firm?
This was never my plan and those who know me will know that I call myself the “accidental entrepreneur” as it all happened very accidentally and organically. After 15 very busy years of a corporate career, my plan was to freelance, travel, go to yoga and have more work/life balance, but before I knew it, I had more work than I could handle myself and I hired a friend to help and well, the rest is history. I’ve never worked so hard or so many hours a week in my career – but when you love it and it’s for you, it does feel different. Today TishTash is a fully integrated communications agency, with 70+ team members and a presence in multiple countries. Looking back, I expect this was always the path I was supposed to take as I was that child having a little side hustle at school, I also used to paint and sell my artwork when I lived in the UK – so clearly I had an entrepreneurial streak in me even if I was a little in denial about it.
TishTash has become a major name in the industry—what was the biggest challenge you faced in those early years, and what’s one lesson you wish you knew back then?
PR is a very competitive industry and there are so many PR and marketing firms in the UAE/wider region. There is also a high turnover of agencies who don’t go the distance too—I’ve lost track of the number that have been and gone during my 13 years. So, entering into this space and making your mark definitely isn’t for the faint-hearted, as you really do need passion, commitment and a drive to succeed. Creating a name for yourself in a competitive industry takes time and you need to build your credentials and earn respect in the industry—patience is needed, coupled with a little grit!
The one thing I’m always very grateful for in the UAE though is the amount of opportunities and how start up and young agencies/businesses will get considered for projects and have the chance to work with amazing global brands. I always say, if I had launched my agency in London, I definitely would not be where I am today with TishTash. I’m so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had and the supportive entrepreneurial community of the UAE.
TishTash has been named a Great Place to Work multiple years in a row. What’s your secret to keeping your team happy and thriving?
I’m really passionate about making a difference in this space and being a “people first” organisation and I’m proud of what we have achieved in this space. This was largely driven by my own career and work experiences, which helps you learn how you do and don’t want to be as a boss and as a company. For me personally, I never wanted anyone to be afraid or to dread coming into work every day as I’d felt this way at times in my career. I haven’t always got it right myself and I’ve learned lots the hard way over the years, but the biggest thing I’ve seen is that if you put your team/people first, then the rest will follow as they will look after your clients, the business and results, and all the good stuff will follow. I believe in true flexibility, in treating our team as human beings and being sensitive to their individual needs. Many of our team have been with us 5-10 years, so this I believe is testament to TishTash and our culture.
The PR world has changed massively in the last decade. What’s one thing you think people still get wrong about it?
People thing PR is glamorous and that we spend our days at events drinking champagne wearing nice clothes! This seems to be what my family and friends think anyway! The reality is that the glamorous side accounts for about 5% of our jobs and when you’re hosting events you’re largely exhausted from all the work that went before, smiling lots and looking forward to it being over (a success of course!) and home in your PJs! PR and Comms is actually very admin heavy and we spend a lot of time at our desks writing, or in spreadsheets and preparing reports.
Social media, influencers, and digital content—how do you see them shaping the future of PR? And is traditional PR still relevant?
All have their place, and I don’t believe any will die out any time soon, even traditional PR is still crucial in terms of credibility. Our industry is honestly changing very quickly and we’re likely to see the biggest changes and developments in the next 18 – 24 months due to technology, innovation and automation.
Today it’s all about touch points. They used to say a person needed to see or hear about your brand 3 times to consider buying or trying it. Now our world is so cluttered and overwhelming, that it’s 7 times to even get on a consideration list. Hence, it’s really important to get a brand in as many places as possible to help get it on the consideration list and then over the line to purchase/trial.
Our job is harder than ever today, especially when we consider the reality of how “pay to play” the market is getting—but it’s a good challenge to have and new technologies are making it an interesting industry to be in.
For someone dreaming of breaking into the PR world, what’s your best piece of advice today?
Get as much work experience as you can and as early as you can. In today’s world, competition to get into PR is fierce and you need to differentiate yourself. Those graduates who have relevant work experience on their CV do stand out, so try and find work experience in your school and university holidays, practice writing as you do still need to be able to write in our industry even with ChatGPT and spend time understanding the media / PR landscape of the market you want to work in. Also, be prepared to work hard—our industry makes the top most stressful jobs list every year for good reason!
TishTash has introduced workplace policies like menstrual, menopause, and infertility leave. What pushed you to champion this cause, and how has the response been?
It happened very organically that we became a fully female workforce, mainly due to the type of clients the agency worked on and I started to develop an interest in women in the workplace and the unique challenges we face, which sadly do still have an impact on our equality and equity in the workforce. I was in a unique position having a fully female workplace, which wouldn’t be possible everywhere, where my MD Polly and I decided to see if we “designed” a workplace for women and their needs, what the effect would be on our team and ultimately business performance. As part of this, we led the way in launching many women’s health policies for menstruation, menopause and IVF, as well as truly flexible working hours for parents and all team members to help them balance life better. The results speak for themselves—as we’ve gone through a number of years of significant growth, our team has been with with us for many years and we’ve also inspired other businesses to do the same, which is what we really wanted to do.
You also launched Raemona Magazine, which is all about women’s stories and real conversations. What was missing from the media space that made you say, ‘We need this’?
I’ve always loved magazines. I started my career working very heavily in magazines and print media and today they remain my personal go-to when I want to unwind and switch off. I’d always dreamed of owning my own magazine and I felt there was a gap in the market for honest and real content for women. There are many beautiful magazines, particularly covering high fashion and the luxury market, but there was a gap in my view in terms of health, wellness, honest parenting and I wanted us to have the conversations we’re either having with our best friends or even in our own head as we daren’t say it out loud for fear of judgement.
The magazine is in its 4th year now and the response has been so good, better than I anticipated being honest. Readers are showing that they still want to read long articles and that there is a demand for this type of content which many have said is refreshing. The right content is still very important and there is still a place for new titles, but largely playing into more niche audiences and topics.
Between running TishTash, publishing Raemona, and being on multiple advisory boards, how do you manage it all—without losing yourself in the chaos?
Honestly, I’m not sure I do! Even 13 years on running my own business, I struggle with work/life balance a lot and it’s something I’m constantly working on. I love what I do, which makes it easier when having to work long hours. Over the years I have learned ways to manage better. For example, I used to survive on 3-4 hours of sleep. Today and especially as I’ve got older, I know sleep is one of the most important factors in health and wellness, so I always make sure I get at least 8 hours of sleep each night and I go to bed early and wake early. Otherwise, I’m good at regular exercise, I take a lot of vitamins and supplements, and I have a delivered food plan to ensure I nourish my body well. It really is about overall lifestyle in my experience—and you learn it all the hard way over the years!
