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A business born at a table inside a North East branch of Starbucks has turned ten - and is on-course to turn over £1m for the first time.
Founded by former university lecturer Michael Knowles in 2016, digital marketing agency ROAR's first client was a hair and beauty salon near his North Tyneside home.
Yet without a penny of investment, ROAR Digital Marketing has enjoyed solid year-on-year growth and now works exclusively with seven to eight figure niche and technical B2B brands - growing them into market leaders.
"Ten years ago, I was sat in the Gateshead Starbucks with my wife and her best friend registering ROAR Digital Marketing on Companies House - it was absolutely terrifying, but we've grown so much and the business is in a better place than ever," said Michael.
Boasting a diverse portfolio of clients in sectors ranging from fintech and software to manufacturing and most recently defence, ROAR's helped more than 275 clients during the past decade - helping them to generate in excess of £54m in revenue.
"I previously worked for some toxic agencies that were purely profit-driven and often painted pictures to clients that were simply untrue," added Michael.
"I told my wife that the environment was killing me, and I wanted to create a values-led business where I could be transparent with clients."
From the approach came ROAR - an acronym that stands for 'Real Opportunities, Actual Results'. It is a mantra that's driven the business since day one.
For Michael, his own expertise has also been integral to the company's success.
Having caught Google's attention during ROAR's infancy, he was approached to be a Google Trainer - a role that also helped him gain invaluable training from some of the search giant's leading experts.
But besides expertise and results, it is ROAR's values that have often helped the business navigate even the choppiest waters.
Integrity. Respect. Proactivity - the company's values are etched not just on their website, but as Michael points out, are lived and breathed.
"When lockdown happened, it decimated us and we lost 15 clients in three days. My wife was made redundant and I had a one-year-old," said Michael.
"But my mindset was that this wasn't forever and this was awful for all of us, not just ROAR, so I thought that if I look after these clients now, then they will hopefully come back - almost all of them did.
"We didn't try and hide behind T&Cs, but instead proactively tried to find a solution that would work for us both."
And from then on, the business has flourished.
In recent years, Michael has streamlined ROAR both in size and scale, recruiting the current five-person team based not just on talent but values while the company now focuses solely on just four key aspects; SEO, PPC, content management and website analytics.
Additionally, ROAR's average deal size has grown, after the company refined its offering to meet the needs of larger clients.
“We changed our hiring to be values-first and invested heavily in developing skills, people, and leadership,” added Michael.
“That’s turned great people into thoughtful leaders and marketers, able to support clients to the high standards and values that they deserve.”
And with Michael eyeing up two new key hires in the coming year to help strengthen the team's expertise, ROAR's future looks bright.
"Our projection for the end of the next financial year will be to turn over £1m for the first time and that will feel pretty special for a business launched at a Starbucks,” he added.
For more information, visit https://roardigitalmarketing.co.uk/
