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. She underscores the necessity of emotional and psychological well-being for agency owners and the evolving landscape of marketing analytics amidst technological change.

 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 in business decisions and the value of support systems in entrepreneurship.

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 adhering to standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure consistent service delivery. The conversation also touches on the challenges of predicting business growth and the role of technology in enhancing operational efficiency.

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 a $20 million venture fund to invest in MarTech, and building Hawke AI for predictive analytics. He predicts AI will have a growing impact on marketing, emphasizing adaptability and strategic advantage. Enjoy the show.

 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 leading The Whisper Group, Carrie advises female entrepreneurs on building sellable businesses and navigating exits. She emphasizes purpose-driven planning to avoid post-exit regret and champions women in business through mentorship and her upcoming book, The Whisper Way.

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 continues growing rapidly within Power Digital, reinforcing the importance of strategy, execution, and the right partnerships.

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 success.

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 face post-exit, such as identity crises, lack of purpose, and unfulfilling use of newfound freedom. Jerome introduces the “Founder’s Exit Paradox” and shares a four-step framework, NEXT—Nourish, Evaluate, Explore, and Transcend—designed to help founders transition successfully after exiting their businesses. He underscores the significance of having a clear identity, aligning with personal values, and preparing for life beyond work to achieve fulfillment and avoid regret.

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 strategic deal structuring, fostering competition among buyers, and addressing key challenges like founder dependency and infrastructure gaps. He illustrates these points with real-world case studies, highlighting successful transactions that propelled companies to new heights.

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 Metric Theory, highlighting how process-driven strategies, client-focused sales, and commitment to employee development contributed to the agency’s success and eventual acquisition.

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 profitability. He explains how agencies should focus on improving operational efficiency by either lowering labor costs or increasing revenue from labor.

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 agency.

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 lesson he’s learned in scaling his business.

We talk to Michael Seidler, founder of Madison Alley, an investment bank with deep experience in the agency M&A space. Michael tells us why some agencies will benefit from AI and others won’t survive, how he has used thought leadership to grow his firm, why consulting firms are shockingly more valuable than agencies, the most important factors that drive agency acquisitions, and how to manage your agency effectively during a sales process. Enjoy the show!

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 selling negotiating book, Never Split the Difference, and he teaches us some great negotiating tips from the book. I also share my riveting story about how I used the book to several hundreds of dollars in a car rental negotiation. Enjoy the show!

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 differentiation matters, and how COVID forced him and a client to make an incredibly fast pivot.

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 investments did not have competitive bids from other investors, what he thinks distinguishes great private equity firms, and how he ended by investing in service companies alongside Sequoia Capital. Enjoy the show!

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 after an acquisition (and whether you should be worried), why selling a factory is easy, but selling an agency is hard, and why timing really is everything in agency M&A.