This blog was written by Joe Koufman, Founder + CEO of Setup.

Armed with 20+ years of marketing, business development, and management experience, Joe Koufman founded Setup to ignite relationships between marketing agencies and client-side marketers. His unique agency perspective – having worked at a small digital firm, an independent full-service marketing agency, and a massive holding company – is what inspired Joe to help marketers find agencies that are the perfect fit. He is the author of the upcoming book: The Connector's Compass - Mastering the Art of Business Matchmaking.

As Setup celebrates our 10th anniversary, we reflect on a decade of pioneering the art of marketing matchmaking. From our early days as AgencySparks to our rebrand in 2019 to become Setup and all the way to today, we've been dedicated to bridging the gap between brands seeking expert marketing support and agencies capable of delivering outstanding results.

Milestones of Growth

Over ten years, Setup has evolved significantly, expanding our team, services, and geographical reach. In the 10 years since I founded Setup, we have made over 800 introductions between marketing leaders for major brands and qualified agencies that can fill gaps in capacity or capability. We have grown the team to seven full-time and two part-time teammates, who are brilliant, hardworking, and cohesive. We have added services for brands and agencies (Custom Agency Search, Marketing Ecosystem Planning, Recruiting, Team Building).

Impactful Partnerships and Success Stories

Our journey has been marked by successful partnerships, connecting brands with agencies that have propelled their marketing efforts to new heights. These collaborations have led to impressive marketing campaigns and lasting relationships that continue to shape the industry. We have consistently received feedback from marketers that our services have been invaluable.

Empowering Marketers Through Education and Events

Setup is committed to driving education and community building by hosting events, including #MarketingMixers, #MarketersBreakfasts, happy hours, and even helping put on an annual conference for college students called SPARKsouth. These gatherings are hubs for learning, networking, and inspiration, fostering a vibrant community of marketing professionals.

Looking Forward: The Next Decade

As we look to the future, our vision is clear: to continue innovating in marketing matchmaking while upholding our core values (honorable, approachable, insightful, tenacious, and innovative). We're excited to explore new frontiers, adapt to changing market dynamics, and keep connecting marketers with the perfect agency partners.

A Heartfelt Thank You

Our journey wouldn't have been possible without our clients, agency partners, and team. Your trust, collaboration, and feedback have been instrumental in our growth. Here's to another decade of success, innovation, and matchmaking excellence!

We hosted a huge celebration!

We brought together the marketing community in Atlanta, as well as everyone who has been a part of our journey to celebrate this momentous occasion! We were so grateful to be surrounded by our esteemed colleagues and community. Check out the recap video - featuring all the hugs and smiles!

As I think about this 10th anniversary of Setup, I want to take a moment to acknowledge all of the people who helped make it a special company:

Early “Sparks” that helped propel me onto the path of entrepreneurship:

Kelly Deen, Jeff Hilimire, Genevieve Bos, Lisa Katz, Glen Caruso, Dave Williams, Jennifer Dorian, and Kelly Gay.

My Setup team, past and current:

Stephanie Peterman, Katia Herrera, Anastasia Kusmarteseva Fussell, William Denning, Kate Jacoutot, Sam Moran, Ethan Parrish, Tiffany Ujjin, Meghan Hilton Freeman, Kayla Floyd, Zevi Solomon, Madeline Evans, Amanda Mercer Thompson, May Amor Beja, Alexis Quarcoo, Evan Rosenthal, and Rhonda Beckmann.

Agency people we have had the good pleasure of working with from the early AgencySparks days to the current Setup times: 

Joe Parrish, Keith Vest, David Mullen (The Variable), Simms Jenkins (BrightWave now Ansira), Vicky Jones (Brand Fever now Phase 3), Will DuPont, Daniel Davenport (Think, Inc now Capgemeni), Richard Warner (What’s Up Interactive), JT Hroncich (Capitol Media Solutions), Mark Pettit (Creaxion), Kevin Planovsky (Vert Digital), Jenn Leahy (Dragon Army), Joe Carter (Hencar), Steve Upton (Influent50 now AARP), Jolean Olson (Scenic Road), Tom Ellis (Swarm now SCS), Danica Kombol (Everywhere now MWWPR), Eduardo Perez, Ricky Echegaray (PM3 now Sensis), Moira Vetter (Modo Modo), Scott Preacher (blacQube), Brett Cooper, Richard Makerson (BlueFletch), Craig Kronenberger (Stripe Theory), Josh Perlstein (Response Media), Jeff Katz, Jason Rockman (DEFINITION 6), Adam Roe, Raghu Kakarala (FortyFour now Bounteous), Javier Santana, David Preiss (Launch), Keehln Wheeler, Steve Roe (MaxMedia), Mike Popowski, Adam Greenwald (Dagger), Brian Easter, Adam Harrell, Kimm Lincoln (Nebo), Rick Milenthal, Lance Pogrow (The Shipyard), Rob Farinella, Allie Clark (Blue Sky) , Andy Crestodina, Todd Gettelfinger (Orbit Media), Jeff McCurry, Robert Taylor (St. John), Henry Pellerin (VantagePoint), Snejana Daily, Hunter Johnson (Xpedition Media), Geoff Wilson, Kacie Gordon, Sara Saxner-Coughlin, Sarah Woodward (Three Five Two), Bob Morrison, Amanda Forgione, Rebecca Lentz (Morrison), Jeff Quick, Dave Fitzgerald (Fitzco), Graham Engebretsen, Scott Jennings (Goods & Services), Martin Stoll, Charles Cunningham (Sparkloft), Kit Hughes, Lisa Arsenault, Suzanne Morris, Laura Beaupre (Look Listen), Jared Belsky, Jack Ogilvie (Acadia), Joe Snowden, Mary Winslow (Luckie), Jon Meck (Bounteous), Eric Swanson, Mike Warin (Sagepath Reply), Elena Hengel, Clark Hjelmstad, Angela Voss (Marketing Architects), Jose Villa, Sergio Mankita (Sensis), Mark Homza, Philippe LeBlanc (Funday), Raj Choudhury (Alloy), Jake McKenzie, Matt McKenzie (Intermark), and Mike Silver (IMA).

Here is a sampling of some of the bright and capable clients who have worked with Setup to find agency support once or a number of times:

Neil Grossman, Andy Chang, Melissa Minihan, Tim Hernquist, Katie Kirschner, Jonathan Karron, Paige Farrow, Scott Thomas, James Peacock, Eric Racine, Maureen Kelly, Aby Varma, Sarah Fordyce, Barb Scherer, Leandi McMurphy, Alex DiMillo, Dan McSwanson, Teresa Caro, Jamie Quenzer, Scott Berg, Jennifer Ramsey, Sandy Zusmann, Marie LaPlante, Ellen Donahue-Dalton, Tracie-Ruth Miller, Dave Faupel, Diego Rodriguez, Lisa Hake, Lisa Kummer, Matt Weiss, Ed Riegert III, Leana Less, Catherine Jackson, Monique Crapper, Emily Kantsios, Trisha Amin, David Arnett, Tessa Horehled, Andy Monfalcone, Adam Naide, Jim Gerard, AK Singh, Stacey Vogler, Drew Hawkins, Tracy Niehaus, Mary Pettit, Shera Shrago, J.R. Ross, Angela Starkey, Spiro Papanicolaou, Steven Nghe, Brad Chicoine, Matt Konigsmark, Pete Srodoski, Cindy Kaufman, Kaylin Durham, Josh Kantor, Andrea Freeman, Catherine Locker, Stephanie Coleman, Jaclyn Cannon, Meagan Price, Bill Koleszar, Tim Minahan, Kaitlin Coghlan, Vicky Jones, Greg Smith, and Wan-Yi Sweeting.

Thank you to all of the people who have helped make Setup such a success over the last ten years. We look forward to working with you all as we grow for the next ten and beyond!

Humbly,
Joe