VC Funded Startups Are Sucking Away the Agency Talent.
Agencies and management consultancies were the “force” of change in the late 90’s through the early ‘00’s, representing the “source” of innovation and the next generation of knowledge. Companies sought out organizations that could help reimagine business models, build new channels, specifically digital, implement complex technologies and drive organizational change. From start-up’s to the largest corporations, engaging the capabilities and experience of companies such as MarchFIRST, iXL, Scient, Lante, Organic, Agency.com, Razorfish, Sapient, etc., where a new breed of talent and capability resided, was viewed as being tantamount to success. These companies were built out of an amalgamation of talent from creative boutiques to systems integration and management consulting firms with a focus on redefining the legacy consulting model with a new interpretation of technology + strategy + creativity.
Many of these companies collapsed under their own weight of over investment, aggressive growth strategies and misalignment of market demands in the early ‘00’s. A number of the companies that survived were eventually acquired by holding companies or rolled-up as assets into new companies financed by Private Equity (PE). Razorfish is the “poster child” of roll-ups and eventual sale to Publicis, the global agency holding company. Today, these early start-ups are…
