Graham Taylor shares why forced fun and templated branding won't scale in mortgage broking, and what does
In an industry where process, compliance and professionalism tend to dominate, culture can often feel like an afterthought. But for Graham Taylor, founder of Hudson Rose, culture isn’t just part of the business, it is the business.
Taylor said he never set out to design a brand. “I just smashed everything I liked into my business,” he said. “I'd done the job for over a decade. People knew I was a safe pair of hands. So, then it was like, well, if I'm doing that, then just be me.”
A culture that emerges, not one that's planned
Taylor is dismissive of structured approaches to workplace culture. “I think if you try and design a culture, you're doomed to fail,” he said. “Culture is something that happens naturally and has to happen naturally. And that's done by people being happy.”
Hudson Rose encourages employees to bring their full personalities into their work. “We have in our employee handbook, 'You don’t leave yourself at home when you come to work.' You bring yourself, all of yourself with you.”
That freedom, Taylor argued, translates into more honest relationships with clients. “If people are comfortable, they are more receptive to advice. That’s my gamble anyway.”
Presentation as reinforcement, not performance
Despite its informal tone, Hudson Rose is intentional in how it presents itself. From neon signage to colour-saturated internal documents, the brand identity is consistent across every touchpoint. But Taylor insists it’s not style over substance.
“Your technical expertise should be a given. That doesn't define your culture,” he said.
Taylor also pushes back against the industry trend toward remote work, arguing that physical proximity reinforces team identity. “It's a sales role. You need to celebrate the wins and commiserate the losses. Even if it's just two or three of you in a shop, you're all in it together.”
When branding meets business development
Hudson Rose’s approach has attracted a client base that includes not only NHS staff and professionals, but also YouTubers and online creators, a niche that emerged organically.
He makes a distinction between market niche and brand identity. “Some firms assume that if you're marketing to barristers or doctors, everything has to be ultra-slick. But they're real people. You're dealing with them in their personal lives, not their professional personas.”
That principle applies internally too. New hires are invited to contribute to the evolving identity of the business. Monday team meetings often include sharing personal highlights from the weekend, a ritual designed to keep things “human,” as Taylor puts it.
Can identity scale?
Whether such a fluid, personality-driven approach to culture can scale remains an open question. Hudson Rose has grown to four offices, but Taylor acknowledges that further growth will test the model.
“It’s not me dictating what happens,” he said. “It’s me picking the bits that work and pushing the core, while listening to others. Some stuff I say no, but some is really good. Everybody has a voice.”
That openness, Taylor argues, is what makes the firm appealing to some and off-putting to others. “There’ll be loads of people who think, ‘God, I’m not dealing with them.’ And that’s fine. But for people who want something different, we’re here.”
For mortgage professionals thinking about their own brand and identity, Taylor doesn’t offer a formula. But he does offer a stance: “Just do the right thing. Be yourself. That’s the culture. The rest follows.”
