Founder & Managing Director at Vrrb, Seth Geoffrion joined our Q&A session.
He shared his personal journey, how we should pronounce “Vrrb”, what they are planning for early 2021 and more. You can read the full Q&A below:
Q1. Can you tell us about your personal journey? How did you end up being a Founder?
Like so many entrepreneurs, I spent years in the corporate world prior to starting my own business. Even though I excelled in those roles, I felt frustrated by the monotony of 9-to-5 and wanted the flexibility to design my own type of life. Since high school, I’d been building websites for small businesses as a side hustle, and in 2008 I decided to ditch the corporate job and become a full-time freelancer. It felt like a big risk, but I said to myself, ‘you’re working 50 hours per week making someone else’s business successful – why not invest the same 50 hours into making your own dream a reality?’ Everything clicked. Within a month or two I had a fully-loaded client roster and began looking for additional designers and developers to help pick up the slack. After a couple of years, I evolved from a freelancer to a small agency, and the business has continued growing every year since.
Q2. What does a day in the Founder/Managing Director’s life look like? How do you spend your time after working hours?
We serve clients in three different time zones, which makes things interesting! It’s not uncommon for me to start my day on a 6am Zoom call with clients in Berlin, and finish the afternoon with a client presentation in Hollywood. Pre-covid, I was living and working from different parts of the world including Spain, Mexico, and Argentina. Outside of work, I’d spend my free time exploring and soaking up the local culture in whichever city I happened to be in. Nowadays, I’m spending most of my free time remodeling my house in Joshua Tree.
Q3. What’s next for your team and Vrrb?
We’re getting ready to launch our first SaaS product in early 2021! It’s a productivity tool designed for creative teams.
Q4. What aspect of your agency required the most assistance in the last six months and do you think you will need it elsewhere in the coming six months? Why?
Over the past six months, I’ve noticed that we’ve had to ramp up our marketing efforts and business development initiatives in order to maintain a consistent flow of new business. Although the pandemic has led to a massive increase in businesses seeking web design and development services, many clients have pulled back on spending which isn’t something we’ve seen in prior years.
Q5. What are the top three remote working tools which your team has been using, internally or externally? And what are your thoughts on them?
Slack – Obviously! It allows us to stay connected wherever, whenever, and I love that we have a searchable history of everything that’s ever been said. Their in-app calling features could be improved, though.
Figma – This platform brings our designers and developers into closer collaboration than ever before. While it’s not ideal for client presentations (yet), it has streamlined our internal workflow and saves countless hours on every project.
Loom – I’m a huge fan of screen recordings and Loom is the cleanest, fastest tool I’ve found. Quickly explaining an idea to a client, or walking developers through a new project couldn’t be easier.
Q6. One of Vrrb’s services is branding and you have just rebranded your website and brand. Can you explain the importance and effects of rebranding for a digital agency and for other businesses?
Your brand is the first thing people see, especially with the majority of interactions happening on a screen these days. When prospective customers look for your services, they’re faced with nothing more than a list of “brands” to consider. That’s why your brand identity is so important. A solid, well thought out brand identity will capture the attention of your ideal customers, and increase the probability of them continuing down your conversion funnel.
Q7. Which industries do most of your clients come from? What challenges have they been facing? How has Vrrb helped them to overcome those challenges?
We don’t focus on a specific industry vertical, but interestingly enough, we’ve attracted numerous clients in the hardware and lighting industry. They face a unique challenge in that their products aren’t super exciting, or fun to look at, but these companies know that they need a visually-driven digital experience in order to stand out and engage consumers. Our team has a knack for making even the most “unsexy” products look enticing, which has helped our clients to gain tremendous value from their presence on the web.
Q8. Digital marketing is evolving every day and it requires digital agencies to step up their game every second. Keeping this fact in mind, can you mention some of your investment plans for business development?
Vrrb will be focusing more heavily on content marketing, as opposed to traditional paid ad buys.
Q9. Why do you think Vrrb stands out from the other digital agencies?
Vrrb, pronounced “verb,” is all about action. We speak the same language as a results-focused business owner or C-suite executive, and that’s what sets us apart. Where some agencies only think about design and aesthetics, our team starts by asking clients what results, or conversion goals, they would like to achieve with their project. Then, we tailor all of our solutions around the client’s unique business objectives. By following this approach, we end up with a stunning product that not only looks great but improves the client’s bottom line as well.
Q10. How does being a DAN member contribute to your agency’s success?
DAN has helped us connect with wonderful clients, and learn from our industry peers through the articles and other content shared on the site. Thank you!
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