Where she started
Isla had worked in Brighton hospitality since she was 18 — front of house, supervisor, then manager at one of the city's larger restaurants. By 26 she'd hit the ceiling. The hours weren't sustainable and the next step (assistant general manager) didn't appeal.
She'd helped manage the restaurant's Instagram and email list "on the side" and noticed she enjoyed it more than the actual job. But every digital role she looked at wanted "2+ years experience" she didn't have, or asked for a portfolio she couldn't produce.
"I was looking at junior marketing roles for months. They all wanted a portfolio, but I didn't know how to build one. The Accelerator solved that problem in three weeks."
The Accelerator
The Digital Accelerator runs 3 weeks, Mon–Thu full-time. Isla joined the February 2026 cohort with 15 other career-switchers and recent graduates. Each week covered a different domain:
- →Week 1: brand, audiences, content strategy. Built a brief for an imaginary D2C cosmetics brand.
- →Week 2: paid social, SEO, email marketing, analytics. Ran a real Meta Ads campaign on a £100 budget.
- →Week 3: AI tools, automation, portfolio polish. Final-day presentation to a panel of working agency people.
What changed
During week 3 Isla pitched her cosmetics brief to the agency panel. One of the panellists worked at Ancient Brave — a Brighton wellness brand that had been looking for a junior marketer. They talked after the session. Two interviews later, Isla had a written offer.
She started at Ancient Brave 11 days after finishing the course. The Creative Process careers team helped her negotiate the salary up from the original offer.
"The panel day was a job interview I didn't know I was doing. That's the genius of how they run it."
Where she is now
Six months on, Isla owns Ancient Brave's content calendar, organic social, and email programme. She's earning more than she did in hospitality, working sensible hours, and writing the SEO playbook her team uses.
She came back as a guest panellist for the May 2026 Digital Accelerator cohort. Her brief to them: "Apply for jobs you don't think you're qualified for. The course teaches you how to back yourself."
