Browse Case Studies

HyperProspect is a done-for-you growth hacking agency launched in August 2020 that helps founders and companies leverage LinkedIn automation tools for client acquisition. The solo founder grew the business from $0 to $4k MRR bootstrapped with no external funding by positioning himself as an expert in LinkedIn automation and working with billion-dollar revenue companies.

AJ Prasad founded GMR Web Team, a digital marketing agency doing $150,000/month ($1.8M ARR projected for 2015) with a 90%+ retention rate. He built the agency on a foundation of selective customer acquisition and full-service execution, with 11 staff in Orange County and 90 in India. The business operates on a recurring $4,000 average monthly retainer model, achieving high profitability through offshore operations.

The Sales Whisperer, founded by Wes Schaefer in 2006, is a sales and marketing agency that generates approximately $500k annually by helping entrepreneurs implement CRM systems and sales strategies. Wes has built a recurring revenue business through Infusionsoft affiliate partnerships, earning $30k-$40k monthly in passive commissions from 300+ active customers, while diversifying into HubSpot, Active Campaign, and done-for-you support services.

Basic Bananas is a marketing consulting and education agency founded by Christo Haugh that sells a year-long program called "The Clever Bunch" to small business owners in Australia (expanding to New Zealand and Los Angeles). The program costs $8,000-$12,000 annually and includes monthly workshops, weekly webinars, and online support. Over the past 12 months, Basic Bananas generated between $2-3 million in revenue with a 14-person team, using a paid advertising funnel that costs $20-50 per workshop attendee and converts 10% to the full program.

Nick Unsworth built LifeOnFire, a business coaching and digital marketing agency targeting for-purpose entrepreneurs. The company generates significant revenue through a sophisticated event funnel that combines free/low-cost ticket acquisition via Facebook ads with high-ticket coaching upsells, generating $840,000 ARR from a single event with 42 high-ticket coaching sales.

Alex Harris is an award-winning web designer and conversion rate optimization specialist who has built a premium consulting agency generating approximately $25,000 per month from 5 clients at $5,000/month retainers. His business model focuses on helping e-commerce businesses increase conversion rates through data-driven testing and optimization, with customers typically staying for 6 months and expanding into additional services. All customer acquisition comes through referrals, powered by his reputation for delivering results, combined with his podcast, book, and speaking engagements.

Brad Martinot was laid off from Infusionsoft after six years as a product leader and launched Sixth Division in 2012 to provide Infusionsoft users with coaching, training, and implementation services. The flagship $12,000 "Makeover" two-day offering became a multimillion-dollar business, generating $1.6M in 2014 (95% from makeovers) and projected $3.1M in 2015. Brad also built complementary software offerings (Plus This at $59/month and a $97/month membership with live coaching calls) and leverages event sponsorships to acquire customers at scale, recouping service revenue to fund software growth.

Talking Shrimp is a copywriting agency and online course founded by Laura Belgraine, an award-winning copywriter with over 20 years of experience working with major brands including Bravo, NBC, Disney, and HBO. The business operates on a 50-50 revenue split between copywriting services (bringing in $30,000 in August alone) and The Copy Cure, an evergreen online course created with Marie Forleo that teaches people to write persuasively and authentically to drive sales.

Harris Media is a digital agency founded by Vincent Harris in his dorm room that provides comprehensive digital communications and strategy services for political campaigns and advocacy organizations. Operating with approximately 35 employees and 25 clients on retainer, the agency generates over $1.2M annually by managing websites, social media, video production, online advertising, and email marketing campaigns. The agency's primary revenue driver is email fundraising, which accounts for 70-90% of online donations for clients like Senator Rand Paul.

Nehal Kazim founded Amplify Corporation, a Toronto-based paid advertising agency, while still in university at age 22. Starting with $250/month retainer clients, he systematically increased prices and improved service quality, growing the agency to $300,000 in revenue in 2015 while managing $30,000-$50,000 in monthly ad spend across clients. The business operates as a cash flow engine to fund his personal development and information products.

Greg Hickman built Mobile Marketing Engine, a done-for-you mobile marketing agency for independent retailers, after leaving his corporate role as head of mobile at Cabela's. He grew the business to $6,000 MRR through a mix of monthly service packages ($350-$750) and a $1,500 discovery audit offering that reduced sales friction. After losing $1,300 in MRR in a single month due to client churn and challenges with the retail SMB segment, he pivoted mid-journey to serve online marketers and solopreneurs using Infusionsoft marketing automation.

Jay Baer built Convince and Convert into a multi-million dollar strategy consulting firm with three equally-sized revenue streams: speaking (approx. $1.2M annually), corporate sponsorships (approx. $500K+ annually from podcasts), and consulting. The company operates a unique sponsorship model where corporate partners pay to host and sponsor content properties including six weekly podcasts, a top marketing blog with 4 million annual visitors, and numerous educational resources.

Shari Alexander runs Observe Connect Influence, a persuasiveness coaching and speaking business generating $150,000 in annual revenue ($15,000 monthly in January 2016). Her revenue comes from three main streams: one-on-one coaching packages ($5,000-$35,000), speaking engagements ($5,000-$7,500), and online courses. She grew her business primarily through personal referrals and direct outreach to her target market, maintaining a highly engaged 3,500-person email list rather than chasing scale.

Haz Design is a product design agency founded by Tracy Hazard and her husband Tom that has co-designed over 250 consumer products generating over $1 billion in retail sales. Their flagship product, an office chair launched in Costco around 2010, has sold over 1 million units and generated approximately $1 million in combined fees and royalties. The business operates on a retainer-plus-royalty model, with monthly fees ($10,000-$20,000) covering costs and 2-3% royalties on product sales, achieving an 86% success rate for products launched in the last 10 years.

John Lincoln founded Ignite Visibility in 2013 after leaving a comfortable six-figure director role at SEO Inc. to start his own digital marketing agency. With just $10,000 in personal investment and leveraging his existing reputation in the industry, he achieved nearly $1 million in first-year revenue (2013), grew to $2 million in 2015, and was on track for $3 million+ in 2016 with 30 employees and 70 clients. His growth was driven primarily through becoming an influencer in the SEO/digital marketing space via content marketing, blogging, public speaking, and publishing his book "Digital Influencer."

Khalid Salid founded InVesp in 2006, a conversion optimization consulting agency that helps enterprise clients like eBay, O'Reilly, 3M, and Dish Network increase online revenue. Starting with $15-20K in first year revenue while maintaining a $100K+ corporate salary, the company grew to over $1 million by 2011 through high-touch consulting ($8,000+/month retainers averaging 15-24 months). By 2016, Khalid decided to transition the business into a SaaS platform offering A/B testing, heatmaps, video recording, and analytics to compete in the conversion optimization software space.

Flatiron Communications is a New York City-based PR and digital media agency founded by Peter Himler in 2015 after leaving Burson-Marsteller. The agency helps emerging and established companies capitalize on communication technologies, digital marketing, and content strategies. Operating with a lean team of four contractors paid $100-150/hour, Peter runs the business on retainer fees ranging from $7,500-$12,500 per month with six-month initial contracts, serving clients including AIG Private Client Group, Indiegogo, HSN, and various startups.

Crisp Video Group is a video production and marketing agency founded by Michael Mogul in 2012 that bridges the gap between video production and video marketing for national clients. Starting from $100K in their first partial year, the company has achieved over $1M in revenue by 2015 with 300% year-over-year growth in the last two years, operating with 15 full-time employees plus 25-30 national cinematographer contractors. Their success comes from working with both major brands (Coca-Cola, Verizon, Red Bull) and smaller businesses, delivering 80-100 projects monthly through systematized processes and a strong team structure.

Your Social Voice is a done-for-you digital marketing agency founded by Kim Barrett that grew from near-zero to $450k in revenue in 2015 and is on track for $110k MRR by October 2016. The agency uses Facebook lead generation and content retargeting to drive leads for clients through tiered service packages ranging from $4,400 to $11k AUD monthly. With a 80% month-to-month retention rate and 25 active clients, Kim scaled the business using owned Facebook lead gen, two full-time salespeople on commission, and a distributed team across Perth, Philippines, and Africa.

Geek Powered Studios is a full-service digital marketing agency founded by Guillermo Ortiz in May 2012, operating on a unique model of taking only one client per industry to position themselves as strategic partners. By February 2016, the agency had grown to 55 clients generating approximately $115,000 in monthly revenue ($1.38M ARR), with exceptional client retention rates. The agency offers comprehensive services including SEO, PPC, Facebook ads, landing page design, and web development, with a focus on honest communication and long-term client relationships.