Blog - Fluency

Tell us about your role and journey into technology. What made you start Fluency? I was a mechanical engineering student at Clarkson University when I got my first computer. Knowing basically nothing about computers, after using it for about a day, I had broken it and I couldn’t get it to boot up. I was worried about how much it was going to cost me to fix it, so I started reading. I read cover to cover the MS-DOS manuals and the Windows manuals. When I finally put those down, I felt pretty comfortable doing most anything on that computer after that.

The two questions I get asked the most are: why would you do another start-up after having a unicorn? And how is Fluency going? My answers are always the same: because I love to build, and it’s going great!

I could do a full stop there, but I’ll dig into that a bit more because it really helps to understand my mindset, the collective vision and motivation I share with the other co-founders at Fluency, and why we believe we will transform digital advertising.

Creativity that resonates is the heart of every effective advertising campaign. Whether it’s digital, print, words, tunes, or a single image, strong creative connects brands to people.

It is for this reason that ‘advertising agency’ is synonymous with ‘creative agency’. These are businesses filled with artists of all mediums; from wordsmiths to music producers to graphic designers to videographers. Together, they create the perfect backdrop for a brand.

There are great agencies and there are good agencies. What distinguishes the two? Content. Not just decent content, but striking, compelling, unique content served for the broadest range of clients, regardless of industry. When you consider the brilliance of a ‘Don Draper’ type, it is not his or her deep knowledge of any specific industry or product. Instead, the expertise exists solely in the ability to solve problems and think creatively.

It isn’t just one outstanding thing that makes a digital advertising agency rise above others; it is the sum of its parts. Over the years, we’ve worked with hundreds of agencies and noticed some striking similarities in those that successfully scaled, and those that struggled. We’ve compiled our Top 10 list of attributes associated with ad agency growth, and some of the key areas to focus on may surprise you.

I have always been a builder. It doesn’t matter if it’s a bedroom remodel for the kids or software - the art of creating form and order to something by bringing together an idea, materials, and skill that result in something tangible is unbelievably satisfying.

I’m building something new now, and the risk/reward is bigger than any project I’ve undertaken. It’s also the most exciting and challenging opportunity I’ve sunk my teeth into...