Most agencies have a founding story.
Late Checkout Agency has a through-line.

While her peers were navigating adolescence, as a teen Taya was learning the mechanics of audience, how attention moves and why people choose to follow, through helping manage PR and social media for her parents' businesses. Not as a favour, but as a curious observer who genuinely saw what most adults in the room hadn't yet: that the feed was the new front page, and distribution no longer belonged to those with the biggest advertising budget.

The newsroom years.

At university, Taya became the first student in the institution's history to be invited back for a second internship at the TV newsroom. The offer came outside the standard curriculum, so she met with the Dean to seek permission to accept the offer and still graduate on time. But before she'd even done that, she was employed at one of the country's largest regional newsrooms as a journalist, and was also offered an editing role overseeing scripts and closed captions for the entire state's regional news bulletins.

Television journalism doesn't teach you to lead with context. It teaches you to lead with impact. A visual hook first, then the story. Capture attention before you've earned it, and hold it long enough to matter. That instinct, sharpened under the deadline pressure of live bulletins and broadcast discipline, became the backbone of every LCOA client strategy today.

From the newsroom to premium PR.

With a move to the city came a transition into the world of premium brands and PR, as Taya stepped into roles at a bustling label based across James Street and Westfield, and a brand that sold internationally via Instagram. She personally hosted Sandra Dewi and her 24 million Instagram followers, and managed creative partnerships with the kind of brands that don't need much introduction: Disney, Marvel, 20th Century Fox, American Horror Story, The Simpsons and 2K Games to name just a few.

Lead by a savvy business owner with a penchant for organic marketing and community building, brand psychology and the mechanics of loyalty (way ahead of their time) Taya meticulously studied every launch and absorbed every campaign strategy, shaping her philosophy permanently.

Full circle, by design.

From organic socials for multiple family brands as a teenager, to crafting narratives and visual storytelling in the newsroom, to PR, social media management and digital marketing for brands selling through their organic channels. Taya's path isn't a career pivot. It's a through-line.

Late Checkout Agency was born not from desperation, but from a refusal to stay away from work she loved. Founded during maternity leave, initially as pro bono marketing for a local charity, then quietly built into a full agency under a brand name that reflects exactly how she approaches this industry: deliberately, unhurried, on her own terms.

Today, Taya combines that rare convergence of visual storytelling, audience retention and sales psychology with founder-led strategy that prioritises creating from calm over creating from chaos. The systems she builds for clients work on and off social media, and just as hard as their founders. The brands she positions don't just show up consistently; they linger for longer in the minds of their customers.