Agentic Shift

 In this episode of the Agentic Shift podcast, we talk to Jessica Chase, co-founder of Above the Fold, a programmatic advertising agency. Transitioning from journalism to marketing, Jessica emphasizes the importance of programmatic advertising for business growth. Chase shares her experiences at 1-800-CONTACTS and Rakuten, highlighting her focus on creating efficient processes within her agency. S...

 We talk to Mark Zamuner, founder of Juice Media. Mark shares his journey from founding the marketing agency Two Nil to evolving it into Juice. He discusses his experiences at eHarmony, the process of merging with Blackwood Seven, and the lessons learned from buying back his company. He emphasizes the importance of clear communication and alignment in partnerships, the need for long-term thinking...

We talk to Jon Morris, a returning guest, about the importance of strategic planning and innovation in agency budgeting. Jon emphasizes that every agency has a strategic plan reflected in their spending and highlights the need to connect budget allocations with strategic goals. He discusses the significance of identifying an ideal client profile (ICP) for targeted innovation and the necessity of a...

We talk to Erik Huberman, founder of Hawke Media. Erik discusses his journey from building and selling e-commerce companies to creating a marketing agency focused on small and medium-sized businesses. Hawke Media, now with 300 employees, operates as an "outsourced CMO," emphasizing accessibility and innovation. Erik shares insights on scaling while managing challenges like client churn, leveraging...

 In this episode of the Agentic Shift podcast, we talk to Carrie Kerpen, founder of the Whisper Group. Carrie shares her journey from marketing to founding one of the first social media agencies, inspired by her creative, unconventional wedding at a Brooklyn Cyclones game. She discusses the challenges of constant reinvention in social media, her agency's growth, and its eventual sale in 2021. Now...

Ned MacPherson, founder of Endrock Growth and Analytics, shares how he scaled and sold his agency. Starting as a data consultant in 2014, he built a CRO-focused agency, growing 60-100% annually before being acquired by Power Digital in 2023. He emphasizes cultural fit in M&A, the challenges of scaling a data-driven business, and using AI for execution but not analysis. Post-sale, his team continue...

We talk to Phil Case, President and Chief Client Officer of Max Connect Digital. Phil shares his journey from studying Arabic for diplomacy to pivoting into marketing. He led a successful agency before joining Max Connect Digital, growing it from $17M to over $50M in revenue. He emphasizes audience-driven marketing, long-term brand building, and balancing performance with strategy for sustainable...

We talk to Jerome Myers, the founder of DreamCatchers, who shares his journey from a corporate career to entrepreneurship and his mission to guide founders through successful business exits. The conversation explores Jerome’s personal and professional transformation, emphasizing the importance of purpose, identity, and preparation in the exit process. Jerome highlights the challenges entrepreneurs...

We talk to Todd Taskey, founder of Potomac Business Capital and host of the Second Bite Podcast. The conversation dives deep into the intricacies of mergers and acquisitions in the digital marketing and agency space, with a particular focus on companies in the $1 million to $5 million EBITDA range. Todd shares his firm's unique approach to sell-side transactions, emphasizing the importance of stra...

I interview Adam Edwards, co-founder of Metric Theory, about the company’s founding journey, challenges, and eventual sale to S4 Capital. Adam shares insights into the evolution of Metric Theory, from its beginnings as a pivot from Meltwater Reach's unsuccessful SMB-focused strategy to becoming a successful digital marketing agency. The interview provides a behind-the-scenes look at the growth of...

Marcel Petitpas, CEO and Co-Founder of Parakeeto, talks about how his firm helps agencies and professional service firms measure and improve profitability. He outlines the primary reasons agencies struggle with profitability, which often boils down to "poor delivery margins." He discusses key issues like underpricing, inefficient use of labor, and poor utilization of staff as common causes for low...

We talk to Matt Widdoes, founder of MAVAN. Matt tells us how he has been able to effectively and profitably work with startups, often with less than 10 F/T employees, how he recovered from the sudden loss of several large clients simultaneously, how he successfully spent years as a professional poker player and how it helped him become a better marketer, and why we should all be playing backgammon...

We talking to Kris Tait, managing director, US for Croud. Kris tells us what he learned from door-to-door sales in the early days of Croud business, how he grew the US presence of Croud from nothing to a leading agency, why he believes in hustle and a bias for action, what a Croudie is and how it has differentiated their agency, and lastly, how to deliver a smart acquisition strategy to grow your...

We talk to Jon Morris, formerly the founder of Rise Interactive and currently the founder of Fiscal Advocate. Jon tells us how he created a screening test that only 22% of applicants passed, how to navigate the four stages of of a CEO, how his algorithm called CPR measures the effectiveness of an agency and the two most important financial metrics every agency should focus on.

We talk to Bryan Wish, founder and CEO of Arcbound, a full service personal branding firm. Bryan tells us why publishing a book doesn’t magically build your personal brand, why getting press in major news outlets is sometimes great and sometimes not, the importance of building a community around you, the importance of hiring a great operator to partner with a visionary partner, and the number one...

To download the Madison Alley "Value Drivers" PDF, use this link: https://file.io/XZ8DyQzVkZny

We talk to Jonathan Smith, EOS Implementer and Negotiations Trainer and Coach with the Black Swan Group. Jonathan tells us why the EOS system is so powerful, the importance of having an EOS implementer, and how to make EOS work for you for years after your initial implementation. He also tells us how he met and agreed to work with Chris Voss, the founder of the Black Swan Group and the best sellin...

We talk to Pat McKenna, CEO of DMI Partners, a 100 person agency based in Philadelphia that focuses on affiliate and CRM marketing. Pat tells us why they tend to offer a single solution service offering to clients, why it’s important to maintain quality as you scale, the one sentence that describes his agency culture, what he means when he says you should avoid a zero sum agency, why differentiati...

We talk to Sherrick Murdoff. Sherrick ran worldwide alliances and channels at Salesforce. Over more than a decade, he invested in over 80 different companies across 13 countries. Sherrick tells us why Salesforce was open to making minority investments in service companies, why he always wanted to make sure that everyone involved in a transaction felt it was a good deal for them, why so many of his...

In this episode of Agentic Shift, we talk to Keith McCracken, founder of McCracken Advisory Partners, an international M&A advisory firm. Keith tells us about his early life in Liverpool, England (yes, he did cross paths with the Beatles on many occasions), his experience growing, selling, and then buying back an agency, as well as buying other agencies as part of a roll-up, why team members leave...

In this episode of the Agentic Shift podcast, we talk to Jesse Pujii, co-founder of Ampush and Gateway X, and the first person to be on two episodes of this podcast. Jesse tells us about the long and twisted path he took to eventually selling Ampush to Tinuiti, including several different business pivots, taking minority investment from Red Ventures, firing himself as CEO, hiring and then firing a...

Patrick discusses his background and how Level Agency was founded in 2010. He talks about their initial focus on the education vertical and expanding to other verticals like B2B, financial services, home services, and e-commerce. Patrick emphasizes the importance of being experts in a specific vertical while also having the ability to learn from different accounts. He mentions that agencies have a...

Richart Ruddie, the founder of The Reputation Management Company, talks about how he sold his business and the journey leading up to it. He discusses the importance of due diligence on potential buyers and shares an interesting story about a competitor who quit the industry to become a pastor. Richart also explains how he accidentally got into the online reputation management space and how his bus...

Phil Palazzo, founder of PALAZZO, discusses various aspects of selling agencies in an interview. He highlights that growth is the most important metric for agency buyers and explains the complexity of due diligence. Phil shares his own experience of selling and buying back his agency twice. He emphasizes finding the best fit with a buyer rather than focusing solely on financial outcomes. Phil also...

Brian Bowman, founder of Consumer Acquisition, talks about the shocks that impacted his business and led him to sell it. He discusses the challenges faced due to changes in Facebook's Value Bidding, the impact of COVID-19 on the app business, and Apple's removal of their tracking ID called IDFA. Brian shares his decision-making process for selling the company and highlights the importance of worki...