Geek Powered Studios

Guillermo Ortiz's entrepreneurial journey began in 2009 when he started freelancing while working at another web design company. But the real turning point came in May 2012, when he made a calculated leap of faith. As a 30% partner at the web design firm—despite doing most of the work—he felt increasingly undervalued and unfulfilled. "If I'm going to do all the work, then I'm going to take all the risk and just go out of my own," he decided. Armed with a few existing clients and a competitive spirit honed by years of gaming (he once ranked 6th in the world in Socom 2 at age 14), Guillermo launched Geek Powered Studios and never looked back.

Unlike typical digital marketing agencies that work with multiple clients across the same industry, Guillermo adopted a counterintuitive strategy: one client per industry, per geographic area. This allowed him to develop deep strategic partnerships rather than simply overselling services. "We like to, from the get-go, just sober up small businesses and let them know that SEO is an investment," he explained. "It's going to be a battle." From the beginning, Geek Powered Studios offered comprehensive services—website design, SEO, PPC campaigns, Facebook ads, and even graphic design for trade shows. By positioning himself as a strategic partner committed to "doing everything correctly rather than just one thing really well," Guillermo created a differentiated offering in a crowded market.

Guillermo's first clients came from his existing relationships at his previous employer. One early win became a case study in SEO persistence: Neutronics Labs and their "deer antler spray" product—a keyword as competitive as "Viagra." Working with the company's founder, who had originally introduced the product from New Zealand to the Western world, Guillermo helped them rank highly despite intense competition from less scrupulous competitors trying to capitalize on the trend. This success demonstrated the value of his patient, strategic approach to digital marketing.

By 2015, Geek Powered Studios generated approximately $800,000 in top-line revenue with 15-20 team members, ultimately netting $100,000-$200,000 in profit. The agency's greatest strength proved to be retention: clients stayed for years—often three, four, or more. "Our retention is second to none," Guillermo said proudly. His secret was simple: white-glove service and proving worth every single month after the initial six-month agreement converted to month-to-month. However, he acknowledged the ongoing challenge of managing scope creep while staying honest with clients about capacity and priorities. His largest expense category was subscription services ($240,000-$320,000 of the $800k revenue), including critical tools like call tracking software that provided competitive advantages through data optimization.

By February 2016, Geek Powered Studios was operating with approximately 55 clients and generating approximately $110,000-$120,000 in monthly recurring revenue. Guillermo, now 30 years old and married, was intentionally keeping growth steady rather than chasing aggressive expansion. His 2016 goal was to achieve $250,000 in profit while building out processes and systems that would eventually allow him to step out of daily operations. "If everything runs smoothly and things, the standards are set to where I want them and then I'm not involved, to me, that success," he explained. Based in Austin, Texas (South Congress and Riverside area), with a team of 15-20 "geeks," Guillermo was focused on building a sustainable, systematized business rather than a chaotic high-growth startup—a philosophy aligned with his reading of "Scaling Up" and his admiration for companies like Mailchimp that "do everything perfectly."