📣 Please note, these events are for Agency Hackers’ members only.

If your agency isn’t a member yet, get in touch with Anne.

“We’d really enjoyed the work we’d done in high-growth tech companies. The briefs were really interesting and the budgets were robust. So we decided to niche into that sector – and the US was a prime market,” says Nick Farrar, founder of Shaped By. 

“We knew that’s where we had to focus.”

After years of steady but local growth in Bristol, Nick and his team decided to specialise in high-growth B2B tech brands — the kind raising Series C to pre-IPO funding rounds and looking to make a global splash. 

“These companies already understand the power of creativity,” he says. “They want to look different and they’re ready to invest in it.”

The shift paid off – albeit slowly.

“It took a lot of planning and a lot of work to crack the market,” says Nick. “We had to build a new team, invest a lot to build our brand in the US, and develop relationships.”

“The pandemic actually helped. It proved you don’t have to meet anyone to build real relationships. Some of our biggest clients had billed us millions before we even met them in person.”

Today, the agency’s US work delivers 93% of the agency’s revenue. Margins are up, salaries have risen, and Bristol talent is now competing – and winning – on a global stage.

“It was a leap of faith,” says Nick. “But the worst that could happen was we’d fail trying to be the best we could be.”

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to crack America, without losing your nerve or your identity, this is the session for you.