Why I quit my job at a well respected marketing agency to build my own

By the time I quit my job at a very well respected social media agency in Austria, working conditions had long become unsustainable. It was not so much the cynical divide between what the C-suite said and what actually happened — though that certainly didn’t help. Or the complete misunderstanding of key concepts like “data driven”, “agile project management”, “community”, or “holacracy” — or everyone’s favourite, “flat hierarchy”. I cannot count how many internal re-structurings I’ve witnessed — every single one of which failed to make any operative difference.

An agency, whose C-suite is hysterical in their fear, is doomed to fail.

What really drove me insane, was that both the organisational structure and the cost structure of the agency inhibited any actual innovation and drove everyone to work far beyond their limits, reducing both the quality of the product, and fulfilment of key employees. Inevitably we were all living in an environment of self-reinforcing fear. Especially the C-suite was at times even hysterical in their fear, making the entire agency incredibly risk-averse. Even obvious new tools that could reduce costs while improving output where deemed “too risky”. In today’s economic environment, such an agency is doomed to fail, despite all the smart and brilliant people it employs.

I myself am starting with what I know: digital marketing & innovation leadership.

While agencies like this are focused on their fears of loss and their failures, the rest of the tech world is propelled forward by a spirit of optimism. And while I think the problems described above are a deeper challenge for our society, I myself am starting with what I know: digital marketing & innovation leadership.

So together with UNIQUE, UNIQUE relations, and UNIQUE research I founded UNIQUE unchained, a digital first marketing and innovation agency that is embedded deeply in the entire value-added chain to develop holistic solutions for complex problems for our forward thinking clients.

If you want to keep updated on what makes a modern marketing and innovation agency, follow Unchain|ed on Medium.