Vector Media Group

Matt Weinberg was a high schooler in the year 2000 when he and his co-founder Lee started what would become Vector Media Group. It wasn't born from a grand vision—it was born from customer demand. They were running a computer repair and installation service when clients started asking about this "new internet website thing." Rather than dismiss it, Matt fell in love with coding. While Lee gravitated toward online marketing, Matt became a developer. "That's how it all started," he recalls. The business remained relatively small for years, but the foundation for what it would become was already there.

For the first 5-7 years, Vector remained a side hustle. Both Matt and Lee worked day jobs and built the business at nights and weekends, often staying up until 4 a.m. before waking at 7 a.m. for their corporate jobs. Around 2005, they made the critical decision to stop doing computer tech support and focus entirely on websites, online marketing, and design. But they didn't go all-in immediately. It wasn't until five years ago that they finally left their jobs, got an office, and started hiring. "It was the best decision we ever made," Matt says. What they built was a boutique agency that could handle everything from strategy to execution—something rare in the market.

The interview doesn't detail exactly how they landed their first customers, but we can infer from their growth pattern that it came through direct outreach and networking. What's clear is that they impressed early clients enough to build long-term relationships. GreenTechMedia.com is a perfect example: Vector worked with them on initial projects, then transitioned them to a retainer relationship that has spanned years. Similarly, they worked with the Associated Press to modernize their aging publishing systems. These weren't one-off deals—they were partnerships built on delivering exceptional results.

Vector's model is refreshingly straightforward. They charge hourly ($180/hour) for development and design work, with retainers ranging from 50 to 100 hours per month on average (though some clients use 400+ hours). For ad spend management, they take a percentage (9-12%) of the total ad spend they manage, which ranges between tens of millions of dollars across their client base. This mix has proven resilient: about 70% of revenue comes from web design and development, while 30% comes from ad spend management and marketing services.

Their agile approach—working in two-week sprints and constantly reassessing—also prevents scope creep and keeps projects on track. Matt emphasized that they're honest with clients about what budgets can realistically accomplish, and they always recommend clients leave budget post-launch for iteration based on customer feedback. This philosophy has helped them retain clients year after year.

As of the interview, Vector Media Group is generating $6 million in annual revenue with 32 full-time employees. They've made the Inc. 5,000 list of America's fastest-growing companies for three consecutive years—all while remaining completely bootstrapped, having never taken outside funding or debt and maintaining profitability every single month since inception. They work with Fortune 500 companies (Google, Associated Press), major universities (Columbia), and scaling startups. At 30 years old with two young kids and a five-month-old at home, Matt admits he's sleeping only 5-6 hours per night. But he's also reflecting on how risk-taking feels harder now than it did when he was younger. His one regret: he wishes he'd been more aggressive and risk-tolerant in his mid-20s when he had less to lose.