Happy Birthday, Ammunition
A year in review, and a few key lessons learned.
A year ago today my now wife Kelly and I founded Ammunition. At that point I had been building agencies for other people for 10+ years, and for no shortage of reasons, I decided it was time to set up shop on my own. The day after I formally left my previous agency, I signed a lease at Industrious in Midtown Atlanta, and we got to work.
At this point we didn’t have much except for a few workstations outfitted with Macbook Pros along with displays I picked up at the nearest Apple store, and a name we hastily threw up on a simple landing page. I started reaching out to contacts I had done business with over the years, trying to find the right words to describe the unique way I wanted to position Ammunition, and the sort of clients we wanted to take on. It was like we had everything to do and nothing to do all at the same time. The early days were odd like that.
Within a few weeks we added our first client to the roster, Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating, and shortly thereafter Mitsubishi Electric, their parent company, and pitched and won Mimaki in the weeks in between. Knowing the work was about to pile up, I turned to a long-time friend and someone I trust immensely in Jessica Burch, now our Chief Creative Officer. She and I had worked together in the past, and bringing her to the team was a significant addition that kept the internal synergy, and momentum, rolling. Shortly after Jessica joined, David Bernardino (a long-time client of mine in a past life on the Samsung brand) joined as our Chief Operating Officer.
We got to work providing strategic oversight and digital services, doing enough good work that we pitched (and won) Panasonic about a month later, and Sharkbite a month or so after that, in addition to beginning a relationship with Make-A-Wish Georgia. The more good work we did, the more chances we got to show our chops to other brands (duh).
We expanded our office in Industrious from a three person unit to a 5 person unit, then added another 5 person unit to ensure we had room for everyone. Industrious ran out of room for us, so we moved to a WeWork space fit for 20 in Colony Square.
Sooner than later we started filling out roles in other areas of the business: we added a couple developers to support the technology we were developing; we added project managers to support the agency’s internal teams and ensure we were keeping all the promises I was making (grimace face); and additional design talent to expand the team and ensure we could keep up with the needs of our clients. Before we knew it Ammunition was a seven figure business.
At this point we were doing everything from digital strategy to campaign development to CRM implementations, almost entirely for brands in the Home Building space. It felt like we were onto something, so we repositioned the agency as being primarily focused on the building industry, and reworked our go-to-market strategy, focusing in on three key service areas: research + planning, campaign development, and lead generation. Our focus became solving the problems our customers were facing, rather than promoting our own capabilities. We then added Honeywell, Mr. Steam, Dacor, and Improve USA to the client family.
Our focus became solving the problems our customers were facing, rather than promoting our own capabilities.
Needless to say, the last year has been a hell of a ride. And with all that in mind, as I reflect on the year and all that we accomplished, I want to share some things I’ve learned along the way in hopes they help other founders / CEOs as they embark on their journey:
Lesson #1: You can’t hire for success
This one took be my surprise, but makes complete sense in retrospect. Over the course of the year there are about three hires I can think of that I specifically thought would make us better simply by being on the team. It’s not that simple. Success comes in time and is earned, it isn’t acquired.
Lesson #2: Stay small for as long as you can
Momentum on the new business side has this weird ability to make you reach for the panic button when it’s simply not necessary. Be patient. Wait for tomorrow to come. Odds are it’ll be very different than you thought. Lean on your team for as long as you can until you absolutely have to increase it’s size.
Lesson #3: Focus is critical to new business success
From Ammunition’s inception, I wanted to focus on specific service offerings for specific types of brands, in a very specific category. We focused on Home Building, and built a specialization around that. We joined organizations like NARI, NKBA, and the NAHB, and immersed ourselves in the space. We don’t simply promote our own capabilities, we built ourselves to solve the problems our customers are facing.
Lesson #4: Your first five hires dramatically impact your overall company culture
When you’re adding your first five hires, it’s incredible how each one shapes who you are as an organization, and what it feels like to show up to the office every day. While we’ve surpassed our first five hires at this point, we’re still small, and we’ll continue to relentlessly defend the vibe we want the agency to have: good people who want to do great work and are passionate about what they do.
Lesson #5: If you’re as good as you think you are, always bet on yourself
This one is the biggest for me. One of the ways we’ve built our business is by putting ourselves on the clock. We’ve always been willing to jump, and hope we’d stick the landing. Even from our very first day, we signed a lease and hoped we’d fill a space based on our ability to win business and do good work. We’ve taken that approach in engagements with clients too. Want to see what we can do? We’ll show you. We know we’re good, and know you’ll feel the same way if you just work with us. This has gotten us from walking in the door to long term AOR relationships. Bet on yourself and let the rest speak for itself.
So that’s it. Year one is in the books and I couldn’t be more excited to see what year two brings.
Questions? I’d love to share more of my own experiences with founders looking for advice. Drop me a line: jeremy@ammunition.agency.
PS: to the person who emailed me anonymously just to wish me failure the day Ammunition launched, thank you. To those who bet against me, thank you. To those that stood by my side each and every day in support (Kelly, David, Jessica, my daughter Kendall who gives me kisses at night just when I need them but has no idea, and everyone that wears an Ammunition fleece proudly), I can’t possibly thank you all enough. ❤
