Daryl Bartell

Why this persona fits the audience

Founder of a 12-person digital agency in Manchester. He personally reviews applicants for account and project roles, keeps the process in LinkedIn, email, calendar links, and a spreadsheet, and has no dedicated recruiting stack in place.

• Age: 36
• Location: Manchester, UK
• Occupation: Agency Founder
• Income: £92,000 owner income
• Education: Bachelor's in Media Studies
• Company size: 12 employees
• Years in role: 4 years

“If I can't see it in front of me and touch it, I'm not spending my money on it.”

Daryl Bartell, 36, is the founder and sole operator of a twelve-person digital marketing agency based in Manchester. Originally graduating with a Bachelor's in Media Studies, he started his venture six years ago from a kitchen table, driven by a frustration with agencies that promised the world but delivered generic results. Today, his firm focuses on high-touch, bespoke campaigns for mid-sized retail brands, priding itself on direct communication and transparent pricing. Despite the company's success, Daryl remains the bottleneck for almost every critical function, particularly recruitment. He firmly believes that software solutions are often over-engineered for small businesses, citing a past failure where a complex CRM took months to implement and yielded little return. Consequently, he sticks to a 'low-tech' stack: LinkedIn for sourcing, Gmail for correspondence, and a meticulously maintained Google Sheet for tracking candidates. This manual approach allows him total control but consumes nearly half his working week. He earns approximately £92,000 annually, a figure he views as modest given the hours worked, and reinvests aggressively into client acquisition rather than internal infrastructure. Daryl is a man of few words but many actions, valuing simplicity above all else. He is currently drowning in the logistics of hiring, finding that his spreadsheet is becoming unwieldy and that his intuition alone isn't catching the nuances of modern candidate behavior. His recent decision to pause expansion was purely to focus on stabilizing his current team's output. He is skeptical of 'revolutionary' recruiting tools, viewing them as distractions, yet he is acutely aware that his current method is unsustainable as he aims to double his headcount within eighteen months. For Daryl, the future depends on whether he can find a tool that respects his time and his bottom line without adding another layer of complexity to his already crowded schedule.

Background & daily life

A day in their life

Daryl wakes up at 6:30 AM, checks emails briefly before letting his son wake him fully. After dropping Leo at nursery, he hits the road, listening to a podcast on scaling businesses while navigating Manchester traffic. By 9:00 AM, he's in the office, immediately diving into the 'hiring spreadsheet' to sort through 15 new applicants overnight. He conducts two video calls back-to-back, taking handwritten notes on personality cues rather than using structured scoring sheets. Lunch is a quick sandwich eaten at his desk while replying to a client's urgent Slack message. The afternoon is split between strategy meetings with his design lead and reviewing campaign performance metrics. Around 4:30 PM, he tackles the administrative backlog, rescheduling missed calls and updating the candidate tracker. He leaves at 6:30 PM, stops for groceries, and spends the evening helping his son with homework before bed. His mind often drifts to the next day's hiring pipeline even after putting the phone away.

Lifestyle

Daryl lives in a semi-detached house in Didsbury with his wife, Sarah, and their two-year-old son, Leo. Their household budget is tight; every penny counts since the agency's revenue fluctuates monthly. He drives a reliable but aging Ford Focus rather than leasing something flashy. Evenings are strictly for family: dinner at 6 PM, bedtime routines, and minimal screen time after 8 PM. On Saturdays, he attends local football matches or meets friends for a pint at the pub, rarely discussing work unless absolutely necessary. His health routine consists of a brisk 45-minute walk before work and trying to hit the gym three times a week, though travel often interrupts this. He manages money by reviewing bank balances every Sunday morning, prioritizing emergency funds over luxury upgrades.

Work life

Daryl runs a small digital marketing agency in a shared office space near Spinningfields. With only 12 staff, he cannot afford a dedicated HR person, so he handles all hiring himself. His workflow is a chaotic mix of LinkedIn DMs, email threads, and a master Google Sheet that tracks candidate stages. He spends roughly four hours a day just on recruitment: sourcing, initial phone screens, and scheduling interviews via Calendly. He relies heavily on his own gut feeling and direct conversation rather than data points. The pressure is constant; if a hire fails, it costs him weeks of training and lost billable hours. He hates administrative bloat and refuses to use complex Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that require setup time he doesn't have. Most days end later than he'd like, fueled by cold brew coffee and a desperate need to finish client reports.

Relationships

Daryl is close to his parents in Leeds but sees them infrequently due to work demands. His wife is his primary emotional anchor and the de facto CFO of the household. He has a tight-knit group of three other agency founders in Manchester they meet monthly for breakfast to share struggles. He is influenced more by practical peer advice than industry gurus. He values honesty in friendships and dislikes pretension. While he has many LinkedIn connections, he considers fewer than ten true confidants. He is supportive of his local community, often sponsoring youth football kits, which reinforces his desire for stability and trustworthiness.

How they decide

Daryl is a cautious, research-heavy decision-maker who relies heavily on peer validation and tangible proof of value. He avoids impulsive purchases, especially those involving recurring subscriptions, preferring tools that offer immediate ROI or save significant time. He typically waits until a problem becomes painful enough to justify the cost and effort of switching systems. If a solution seems too complex or requires a steep learning curve, he rejects it immediately. He trusts recommendations from fellow business owners in his local network far more than advertising or sales pitches.

How they sound

Daryl speaks with a distinct Mancunian accent, clipped and efficient. He avoids corporate jargon like 'synergy' or 'paradigm shift,' preferring plain English. His cadence is steady and measured, rarely raising his voice unless frustrated by inefficiency. He tends to be direct, cutting straight to the point in conversations, often saying things like 'Look, here's the deal' or 'Let's not beat around the bush.' He dislikes vague promises and will immediately challenge someone if they sound unsure. In casual settings, he uses local slang but remains professional. He avoids admitting weakness publicly and rarely says 'I don't know' without immediately following up with 'but I'll find out.'