Dynamic Duos: ‘We met and things just clicked’
In this week's Dynamic Duos, we hear from Born's co-founders David Coupland and Jenny Lennon.
In Dynamic Duos, Mumbrella each week asks two colleagues with a professional and personal affiliation to share with readers the importance of workplace relationships in an increasingly hybridised world of work.
David Coupland:
Jenny and I met at our previous agency, and we just really hit it off straight away, both as friends and colleagues. We hit it off as friends with the same sense of humour. We are both able to laugh at ourselves and each other, and quickly developed a deep sense of personal, but also creative trust. There was never anything judgemental between us, only supportive. And over time we realised we shared the same values. I loved how Jenny believed in people, how she supported her team to improve, and how she would nurture ideas and bring them to life in such a real, generous way.
But also, I had just read Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari and we both became so excited about the role of narrative in branding, and creative campaigns. From there we would spend hours in the pub talking about the role of story in culture. We became obsessed with it. About how shared fictions shape the world. How everything a brand does and is, is a story. And ultimately how brands were the great storytellers of our time.
And when we realised that, it was the start of something really special. Not just a friendship, but a creative partnership built not just shared personal values, but a deep passion for what did, and a shared belief in narrative theory.
Jenny Lennon:
David and I met at an oddly perfect time for both of us. We were each looking for something more – not in a dramatic, ‘creative soulmates’ kind of way, but I think we were both a bit stuck. A bit restless. We’d done good work, but we hadn’t quite found the right person to push things with. Someone to build ideas with, not just bounce them off.
Then we met, and things just… clicked, where you’re like, oh, this person gets it. We had the same sense of humour. We took the work seriously, but not ourselves. We could throw half-baked ideas at each other without worrying how they’d land. And more than that, we both had this deep curiosity about the “why” behind the work. Not just what looked good or sounded clever, but what it meant.
Pretty early on, we both got fixated on this idea that everything a brand does is a story. It started with a conversation about Sapiens,, and then quickly spiralled into hours at the pub talking about narrative theory. These were some of my favourite times with David. The early days of figuring out what we believed, and what would eventually become Born. We would talk about what type of agency we would run, and how if we did run an agency we would make sure it was never performative, or ego driven, and that we would make sure we worked 9-5, and had lives outside of work, and made sure people felt supported and listened to and firmly represented. And how we would really own the narrative theory of ‘story’… to think that all of things now define Born, and that those conversations came about from a chance meeting at an agency, blows my mind.
And today, we maintain that passion and drive for doing things right. It’s a friendship built on humour and honesty, and a creative partnership built on shared values, deep trust, and a relentless fascination with how stories shape the world. Working with David has always felt like doing something meaningful, and something that could actually make brands matter more.
David on Jenny:
Most memorable moment with Jenny: The moment we decided that we were going to start Born. It was a moment that changed the course of both our lives, and I’ll never forget it.
Best word to describe her: Refreshing.
Most annoying habit or endearing behaviour she has: Making my ideas better.
Jenny on David:
Most memorable moment with David: Watching David the first time he presented a brand strategy (the first day I met him) and thinking: this is the guy I’m going to start an agency with.
Best word to describe him: Surprising.
Most annoying habit or endearing behaviour he has: Making my ideas better.
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Lauren McNamara is the associate editor at Mumbrella, covering the agency beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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