Extraordinary Us may have been born from the ordinary but as company founder Paul O’Donnell tells us, its output is anything but.
“I’m a very average guy. I’m a middle child, from the Midlands, averagely built, average height. I’ve been type-one diabetic since I was two and that instilled the notion that I’m never going to be perfect – which has been empowering,” he says. “Extraordinary Us is a response to all those things; it’s an exploration of human stories and what their small but significant contributions to the world are. It’s about empowering the ordinary.”
Founded in 2022, this multidisciplinary production company has used this guiding ethos to showcase unexpected stories from unconventional voices. However, an eagerness to take things to the next level led O’Donnell to Creative UK’s West Midlands Create Growth programme. This regionally-focused scheme helps solidify founder confidence by providing bespoke insight on key topics like intellectual property, investment, business building and future growth.
According to O’Donnell, the time was right for a little introspection. “I’m a producer as well as an artist so I know how to make projects happen but I didn’t have any training in what it takes to run a business – and as pressure on the arts grows, we have to think a bit more business sav-ily,” he says, coining his own term for the mindset he wanted to achieve.
Having spent so long in the creative world, it was also a useful demystifying moment when it came to unpicking the business arena. “We’ve been told they’re opposites,” continues O’Donnell. “I think art has historically been scared of business but we have to find a way to sustain ourselves. I’ve been learning through this journey that business and art don’t have to be enemies – they can and should coalesce because they support each other.”
Working with an industry mentor helped O’Donnell meld these two worlds. Meanwhile, the scheme’s various sessions provided tailored structure. “My business plan is a lot better,” he says of his time on the programme. “It was great to know that at least one day a month, I was dedicated to developing my business because it’s so easy to get swept up in solving other problems.” Being around like-minded founders was also useful: “Different art disciplines can be quite tribal sometimes, so it was nice being in a mixed group and finding we have similar problems,” adds O’Donnell. “It was a very supportive group.”
Adding to the middle-ness at the core of Extraordinary Us is O’Donnell’s Coventry location, somewhere that he suggests can often be seen as living in Birmingham’s shadow. With that in mind, having a scheme dedicated to all corners of this specific region is refreshing. “It’s great to see the West Midlands in the spotlight,” he smiles. “Through this scheme, you can finally see just how many fantastic organisations, companies and individuals are in it.”
Paul O’Donnell – Museum of Me, Cheylesmore, Shakira Djibril
With his time on the scheme now complete, O’Donnell’s confidence as a founder has prepared him to take Extraordinary Us to new heights. “It’s definitely changed my psychology in the way I think about investment and funding,” he says of future plans. “It’s all about creating a real business rather than me just trying to make stuff happen. I’m excited to see how the business grows, to go on that journey and continue thinking more business sav-ily.”
