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When Gemma Edward first landed in Spain, running her own communications business wasn’t part of the plan. But a mix of determination, adaptability, and clear values set her on a path that would lead to Get Real Comms Ltd.
Today, she works with international clients, leading a growing team, and runs a business built firmly on ethics and trust.
Gemma’s journey began in Scotland, where she trained in mental health, hoping to build a career in social work. But with jobs scarce, she made the bold decision to move abroad. “I found a job in Spain but, when I arrived, the company had folded,” Gemma says. “I waitressed for a year before landing a content writer role for a healthcare website.”
The real turning point came when Gemma joined William Hill Online in a customer service role. Within a year, she’d moved into content writing and internal comms.
“I was travelling all over, from the Philippines to Bulgaria, training staff on new tech rollouts,” she explains. “My role grew, and I worked on content creation, events, HR support, and employer branding. That led to external PR too, so I ended up being responsible for both internal and external comms.”
Gemma eventually took on a senior role at a leading B2B platform provider in the Gaming Industry where she led internal and external comms. Her work included employer brand, internal comms, ESG reporting, investor relations, business partnering, and more. Then, life changed dramatically. “I gave birth a month after the Covid lockdowns started in Spain,” she shares. “The lockdown there was severe. We lived 8km up a mountain, with police checkpoints and drones monitoring movement. I’d just had a baby, and it was a surreal and mentally tough time.”
Four months later, Gemma and her family returned to the UK. When she told the platform provider she needed to move home, they made her an unexpected offer. “They said ‘If you could start your own company, we’d love to be your client’. That’s how Get Real Comms Ltd started out.”
Since then, the platform provider has remained her largest client. But business has grown beyond that initial contract. “Word of mouth in the industry had people knocking on my door asking for support,” Gemma says. “I ended up hiring someone as an administrator and trained her up to become an account manager. She now handles a couple of clients too.”
Today, Get Real Comms works with four non-conflicting clients across the gaming sector. At the platform provider, Gemma reports into their innovative Chief People Officer and supports a large team overseeing everything from ESG and CSRD reporting1 to internal comms and a variety of HR projects.
“I work on a vast array of topics for the platform provider,” she says. “Right now, I’m running focus groups to identify key pain points. I then share reports with insights and recommendations directly with the CPO and CEO, so we can address them in real time.”
Get Real Comms’ other three clients are smaller businesses within the same industry but operate in totally different areas. Get Real Comms provides tailored support to each, covering social media, websites, and content creation. But Gemma is clear – while they all fall under the gaming umbrella, the sector doesn’t define their work.
“The beautiful thing about communication is that it works in any sector,” she explains. “Once you understand the business and the audience, the principles stay the same. What changes is how you segment your audience, the psychology, and the language. It’s all about what you want people to know, feel, and do.”
Ethics and trust have always been at the heart of how Gemma runs Get Real Comms. She’s selective about who she works with, and for good reason.
“I won’t work with a company unless I believe in what they’re doing,” she says. “It’s about integrity – if I think something isn’t honest or transparent, I won’t put it out. That goes for internal comms, PR, or anything else.”
This commitment to integrity has helped her build deep, trusted relationships with clients. Gemma doesn’t just deliver a service, she becomes part of the team. “We see ourselves as partners, not providers,” she explains. “You tell us where you want to go, and we’ll help you get there.” And the approach gets results. After a recent website overhaul for one client, the team was aiming for a 10% increase in clicks but delivered over 52% growth year on year.
As Gemma’s business grew, it was clear that working from home wasn’t sustainable.
“Mentally, I found it tough working from my bedroom,” she recalls. “I started out hot-desking at The Business Village. But, as the space got busier, I realised I needed my own office – especially as I work with listed companies and sensitive information.”
In early 2025, Gemma took the plunge and became a full tenant at The Business Village.
“It was a big step, but definitely the right one,” she says. “The management team have a personal approach, and the staff are all so friendly. Not many places offer 24/7 access but it’s a real advantage when you’re working across time zones. And there’s a real sense of community here, you can always knock on someone’s door for advice. The entrepreneurial spirit here is infectious.”
Gemma also says it’s become ideal place to welcome clients and grow her business. “We’re having a strategy day here soon, bringing the team together.”
But growth for Gemma is not just about scaling the business. It’s about creating opportunities for others too. “We’re launching a project called Paying it Forward. The idea is to offer flexible training and career pathways for parents who can’t do traditional 9-5 jobs. We’ll bring them on as interns or apprentices, train them in communications, admin, HR, whatever suits them. Our work is flexible – if it meets the deadline, it doesn’t matter when it’s done. So why not help parents who have the skills but are stacking shelves at night to fit around childcare, when they could be doing this?”
Gemma has already spoken to other companies eager to offer opportunities to graduates of the programme. And she’s not stopping at one trainee. “We’ll scale slowly, get the processes right. But this could grow. We turn down work right now because we don’t have the capacity. Imagine what we could do with the right people in place.”
Reflecting on her own journey, Gemma’s honest about the challenges.
“Imposter syndrome was real, especially as a woman, and later as a mum. But I’ve worked on myself a lot. I’ve lost nearly eight stone. I’ve learned that if you don’t look after yourself, your business suffers.”
So, what’s Gemma’s vision behind Get Real Comms?
“It’s simple really,” she says. “We’re creating lifelong relationships between organisations and audiences.”
To get in touch with Gemma at Get Real Comms contact:
