Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Henry
Hi Aaron, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started in advertising at a small web design firm. While there I learned the basics behind digital marketing as a project manager and then later as an account executive. While in that role, I helped grow the firm signing several marquee automotive clients and performing a good chunk of the work. Trying to provide a white glove service while navigating client demands allowed me to grow my skills as a marketer and with technology.
As the firm stacked awards and account victories like beating revenue projects and started to grow, there was a loss of attention to enterprise clients in lieu of small businesses. SMBs are great people with specific market needs. While I enjoy those relationships, I really enjoy making an impact happen at scale. Beating forecasts and the accolades that follow by doing good work is sweeter when shared with a bigger team.
On one Independence Day I found myself working on a backlog of items while the rest of the office was out. I thought to myself that if I”m going to be working on a holiday then it better be for myself. I took my shoestring budget and generated 1 new client. I lived and breathed that client because my bills depended on it. I had no job prospects, interviews, or even gas money when I made my transition.
That tough time showed me that I could not let up on the hustle. I had nothing more than my own rapidly aging personal computer that was only a dual core with 2GB of ram. I wasn’t going to get a whole lot done with such little horsepower, but I pressed forward anyways. Within the first 45 days I was able to acquire my first client and received my first invoice.
I kept taking on small projects because that was all I could get my hands on at the time. But I quickly realized scaling was going to be a challenge since we had no real line of credit. This forced us to remain cash flow positive and pay our bills. It is liberating when you don’t have to make payments on debt. I slowly saved up $600 and made my first real purchase for the company. I ordered the parts I needed for a custom PC and built it myself with the experience I gained from my tech job in college. Building out our own infrastructure to accommodate our specific needs was and will always be the way we go.
After drudging in the trenches for 6 months we landed our first Agency of Record client. This gave us runway and the ability to increase the team from just me to 5 people. Because our runway was short, we had to get scrappy with our creative process. But that scrappiness has led to clients like Jägermeister, Forbes, Foursquare, Avita, and several other national brands. Now with around 22 team members, we are still growing. It’s our work ethic and dedication that keeps landing us in better waters.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Agencies know the road is never smooth. We’ve had to deal with all sorts of difficult clients. Those that payed slow or extremely late, clients that didn’t value our expertise or experience, and demanding and impatient clients. We have worked through internal client politics, had contractors disappear, and met with antagonistic competition. Even the USPS lost our client’s retainer payments several times.
One of the biggest struggles we are facing is acquiring new facilities for our growing team. At every corner, we are confronted with rising rent costs and reduced benefits. A few years ago, our Houston-area rent doubled at our renewal time, forcing us to relocate off of I-10.
Through it all, we learned our lessons and adjusted our processes. We started to target new clients that value us and paid on time. We also migrated to an overnight or online payment system, brought our team in house, and found new facilities that gave us space to work and host our clients in the Austin area, my hometown.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Foundry512?
We’re a full-service ad agency that builds & scales deep relationships between brands and people, the ones that last a lifetime.
Digital, experiential, or traditional — we create engaging campaigns that drive people to those experiences and deepen the brand relationship throughout their lives, across their networks, and from one generation to the next.
The relationship-building we do for brands through advertising and marketing has led to multi-generational customers, lifelong customers, and entire ecosystems that form traditions around brand jingles. We do our best work with long-term, high-performing brands that seek to make an impact in culture, especially when leveraging technology.
What does success mean to you?
In one phrase, “Overcoming obstacles”. The path to success is rarely about the sprint, but mostly about surviving what comes around the corner and overcoming the obstacles that you face along the way. If you have a clear vision of your future, then you realize the path to success is a marathon and not a sprint.
Pricing:
- Media Planning & Buying: 15% Fee
Contact Info:
- Website: https://foundry512.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foundry512/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Foundry512/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Foundry512
- Other: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Foundry512/@30.404827,-97.721023,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x8644ce1d6aad8b9f:0x946882f8a037f0ed!8m2!3d30.404827!4d-97.721023!16s%2Fg%2F11bc8ckv6v?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
