On October 2, 2017, we came together as a trio. Since then, we’ve moved once, expanded our office and added five more members to our team.
Three years later and we’re nowhere near huge. We’re still relatively unknown other than to you, our loyal blog post reader. And we continue to approach each project and client—no matter the size—as if the future of our agency depends on it. Maybe that’s because it does.
So where does that put us? Are we still the new kids on the 2000 block of Cherokee? Doubtful. Are we getting ready to issue an IPO? Not quite.
But we’re also not building every estimate from scratch and scrambling to figure out if we should lease or buy a printer after our hand-me-down crashed and earned a Viking funeral off our second floor deck. (That’s a true story no one cares to hear more about.)
While we may not have “made it” just yet, we do think it’s time to reflect on some of the milestones we’ve hit over the course of this three-year whirlwind that has been both unpredictable and everything we could’ve hoped.
October 2017—clocked in for day one at a card table, thanks to the generosity of our friends at Greenleaf Procurement
December 2017—sent out our first Darling holiday gift just before the deadline, socks of course
February 2018—ruptured a pipe in our new office by hanging a toilet paper holder in the exact wrong spot
July 2018—our first intern bravely joins us, with about as much experience as we had at the time
October 2018—launched a beer on behalf of three of our clients (took long enough)
February 2019—our first full-time employee jumps on board to add creative depth and range
March 2019—first run of Darling t-shirts
April 2019—witnessed a couple of our characters throw out the first pitch at Busch Stadium
May 2019—conducted the first Darling cocktail competition, the results of which are hotly contested to this day
June 2019—splashed down at The Lake of the Ozarks with the entire extended family, including 7 kids, two grandparents, a fiancé and our three angel investors, Toni Edinger, Leslie Rodick and Sarah Padberg
July 2019—feral garage cat heroically spayed by an art director
September 2019—Flash Rodick makes his first advertising appearance on a billboard with a life-size photo
October 2019—turned the tables by outfitting our friends at The Watering Bowl with Darling t-shirts
November 2019—welcomed our second employee who we stole from another industry
December 2019—converted the upstairs apartment into more office
January 2020—brought in a data strategist and 3-time chili cook-off champion
February 2020—took on temporary employment at Toppers Pizza and won our first gold ADDY
February 2020—transplanted a writer shortly before sending everyone to work from home for an undetermined period of time
April 2020—hung a sign on our building
June 2020—survived our first Darling camping trip
October 2020—Welcoming our 8th teammate
A lot has happened, but we still like to think of ourselves as lean and nice. We want to remain hungry and able to choose our own adventure. And in this moment, 3+ years after launching, we’re looking around like Wayne and Garth flashing backstage passes while we are in fact backstage.
As we’ve grown, we have been fortunate to receive support, likes, shares and referrals from countless friends, family and colleagues. We appreciate it more than you can ever know. Thank you for getting us off the ground, and please continue to root for us as if we’re still brand new.
So, if it’s okay with everyone, we’ll keep referring to ourselves as a startup as long as we’re scrappy and slightly startled when the office phone rings.