Company: Wasserman X

Category: Creative Operations, HR/People/Talent

Brief: Help Wasserman scale their in-house agency (Wasserman X) by building the infrastructure, workflow, and staffing model to help Wass sustain a new $15MM sponsorship retainer.

Starting State: 14 FTE, >$1MM in annual revenue, recently lost a similarly sized retainer account because they couldn’t sustain the work.

Work: Initially, Wasserman X had 14 full-time employees, many juggling multiple roles, with only four dedicated to creative work. They were responsible for servicing their experiential clients, handling all of Wasserman’s corporate creative needs, and delivering full branding packages for talent represented by Wasserman Talent Management. To service so many stakeholders with varying types of requests and with so few FTE, a lot had to be accomplished:

  1. We created a custom workflow complete with bespoke intake process, socialized it and educated all stakeholders on the new process, and ensured all work requests were funneled through this system

  2. We designed and implemented a fully custom operating system that ensured expectations were clear across the board, that minimized the confusion and need for status documents and meetings, and that not only held everyone accountable to completing their deliverables, but also helped ensure stakeholders were able to ensure they were providing their clients with top-notch quality.

  3. To handle the growing number of creative requests, we brought on and carefully vetted both full-time and freelance creative staff. We also built and managed a tailored freelance system, giving Wass X the flexibility to tap into extra talent during busy periods while keeping costs low—achieving a fraction of what traditional agencies typically spend.

  4. To support this new workflow, we established a creative operations department at Wass X, carefully sourcing and vetting full-time staff for the team. This new department blended traditional project management with resource management, allowing the team to share resource management duties. It was the foundation of our system, which operated like a blockchain, ensuring accountability across the board.

  5. As the team grew, we designed a reporting structure that ensured expertise was evenly distributed across projects, allowing Wass X to effectively serve its expanding client base.

Outcome: In four years, Wass X grew to 140 FTE, ~$40MM in annual revenue, grew that first sponsorship retainer from $15MM to $22MM, and added four additional $10MM+ retainers. They are still using our systems, and thriving.

Company: Teads

Category: HR/People Operations

Brief: Elevate and revamp the North American HR practice by streamlining processes, creating clear standard operating procedures and hiring of staff to support the growth of the company locally and globally.

Starting State: Start-up, about 6 years operating within the US and headquartered in France, with 2 junior team members focusing on HR Administration and Talent Acquisition while Payroll and Benefits Administration was outsourced.

Work:

  1. Scaled the US Offices (started at 180 FTE) by hiring Key Talent Across various departments and within the first year (2019) hired 70 Full-time employees with no recruitment fee and year over year saved on recruiting costs.

  2. Create Clear Job Descriptions/Career Pathing Models for each department in preparation of annual reviews which in turn increased retention by 50% on average YoY.

  3. Developed Salary Bands and Compensation benchmarking to ensure pay equity within the company and market which was a 3-year project in preparation for NYC Wage Transparency Law taking effect on 11/1/2022.

  4. Revamped the Onboarding and Offboarding processes and adapted to remote working during covid that allowed for more efficient ramp-up. In addition, hired an HR Coordinator to manage the end-to-end life cycle of any employee (2020) given the exponential growth of the US during this period (250 as of 2021).

  5. Rolled-out a 2-week (1 session per week) of Management Training for all NA Managers, about 60 in total, across all 3 regions (first time they had training offered) which brought all mid-level managers together. This resulted in cross pollination throughout NA and created an ongoing dialogue for Managers to lean on each other for support.

  6. Brought Payroll in-house and transitioned to ADP Software within the US after an expedited 6-week roll-out for January 2020 launch. Hired a dedicated Payroll Specialist which resulted in an annual savings of $30K for the company and an in-house point of contact for employees. Canada office followed suit in June of 2023 (within an aggressive 4-week timeline) therefore all of NA was using the same payroll software.

  7. In 2021, launched the first 11-week Summer Internship Program that allowed for rising undergraduate Juniors and Seniors and recent college graduates which continued the following 2 summers.  Each program resulted in more than half of the interns class being BIPOC and on average 3 interns were extended into the fall and 10 interns in total (to date) were converted to full-time at the end of the program.

  8. Various Programs were rolled-out year over year such as the first ever International Mentorship 6-month Program that was piloted in the US and UK regions (2021) with 36 mentor/mentee pairings. It was extremely successful that it was rolled-out globally the following year. Moreover, the US Culture Committee was founded in 2020 and was employee led with HR’s oversight, which celebrated DEI events monthly such as Black History Month, International Women’s Day, Pride Month, to name a few, for the first time. It was very successful that other regions (UK and LATAM) created their own committees to maintain the standard globally.

  9. Employee Recognition was a huge component for the culture and due to remote working, celebrating in person was not possible.  Therefore, we had partnered with Snappy Gifts to send a gift for employee anniversary milestones and HiThrive that allowed employees to send a “shout out” to another employee, integrated with Slack, that had a set point system to redeem for gifts or donate to charity each month.

  10. Benefits were covered by the company 100% so it was important to make sure that employees were able to have access to all resources immediately.  It was imperative that they had mental health resources available and the wait for an appointment during covid was about 2-3 months, therefore we had partnered with Nivati, which is a 3rd party vendor that provided virtual therapy sessions within 1 week of need. This was the first time a global benefit was offered to all.  

  11. Established a simple process for the HRBP across all Regions to respond to all Glassdoor reviews (positive or negative) within 2 weeks to ensure that the company’s rating increased. Over the course of about 1.5 years, the overall rating increased from 3.8 to 4.2.  It was important to gain ongoing feedback from all staff so reviews were welcomed and encouraged. This was essential especially during covid since we were not able to interview candidates on-site so any candidate can read these reviews posted by current staff to better understand the Teads culture.

Outcome: Within 5 years, the NA Territory, had continued growth YoY and remained the leading and most profitable region and as a result, Teads North America was awarded by Ad Age Best Places to Work for 2023 and placed 19 out of 50 companies with over 200 employees.

Company: Barbarian

Category: Agency Operations, Project Management, Fin-Ops

Brief: Help Barbarian build the systems that enable them visibility into cost, utilization, and forecasting.

Starting State: After securing a $12 million social retainer in 2022, Barbarian brought in senior management to lead the account. However, as 2023 presented challenges for ad agencies and the digital/tech sector, they needed a quick solution to get things under control. The agency was top-heavy, with insufficient middle management and hands-on staff. They relied on freelancers charging $1,500 per day for nearly two years, yet despite having a large pool of permalancers, the team still felt overbooked. Meanwhile, project records indicated that burn rates were steady, highlighting an issue of improper staffing and a lack of systems to ensure accountability.

Work: Barbarian equipped their team with multiple SaaS tools, but despite good intentions, this led to confusion around protocols and fragmented processes. Without a unified system, leadership struggled to track business progress effectively. To resolve this, we streamlined the SaaS options, clarified roles and responsibilities for each department, and redefined project management practices within the agency.

  1. We restructured project management to report to finance rather than account management, and clearly redefined their responsibilities. This change created a clear separation between functions, ensuring that each department was accountable for distinct metrics and roles.

  2. To effectively balance responsibilities, we broke down the functions of each department, analyzed their roles across different clients, and consolidated everything into a clear, unified R&R document for the agency. This approach ensured that no single department was solely accountable for an entire KPI, fostering collaboration and shared ownership. We introduced a 'planned' category for all KPIs, assigning this to project management, which was kept distinct from budgeted values. Together with actuals, these three metrics—planned, budgeted, and actual—provided a multi-dimensional view of performance, allowing us to clearly track progress, identify gaps, and understand the story behind the numbers. This structured approach improved transparency and decision-making, aligning teams on expectations and outcomes.

  3. We implemented a system using Smartsheet to streamline project management and improve cross-departmental coordination. By integrating task tracking, timelines, and resource allocation into one platform, we created a centralized hub where teams could easily monitor progress, update statuses, and share real-time insights. This approach ensured transparency, minimized miscommunication, and allowed leadership to quickly identify potential bottlenecks and adjust plans accordingly. The system also provided automated reporting, making it easier to track KPIs and measure project performance against planned and budgeted values.

  4. We set up a FinOps framework using Workamajig as the central hub for all financial metrics. This integration allowed us to centralize financial data and seamlessly link it with project management workflows, giving us a clear, comprehensive view of all revenue streams. We could easily break down this data by account, department, team, or individual, revealing patterns that helped Barbarian spot and address critical opportunities. This approach was key to helping them navigate 2023.

Outcome: 2023 was a challenging year for digital and tech agencies, with many holding companies consolidating their agencies to cut costs. Despite these industry-wide pressures, Barbarian managed to thrive. We equipped them with the necessary tools to streamline operations, pinpoint key areas of opportunity, and enhance efficiency. As a result, Barbarian was able to save $3.5 million in costs year-over-year, ensuring sustained growth even in a tough market.

Company: Chainalysis

Category: Accounting/Controllership/Finance

Brief: Help Chainalysis’ efficiently scale their accounting discipline while the company is in hyper growth by growing the accounting discipline without disrupting the current workflow, and gearing the company up for public readiness.

Starting State: Chainalysis provides companies with transparency by supporting efforts to combat fraud, money laundering, and cybercrime in the crypto world, and was looking to become a leading provider of blockchain data and analytics in the middle of the highly competitive crypto boom. With 280+ FTE (10 finance and 4 accounting), and looking to double in size, their systems could not meet the demand. Add in the goal of going public, and the need for accurate accounting was even more critical. We needed to scale their finance and accounting operations quickly and efficiently. Here’s what we did:

Work:

  1. Designed and optimized their accounting systems and procedures to enhance overall operational efficiency and strengthened internal controls within the GL team, driving the company closer to achieving SOX compliance

  2. Upgraded the company’s financial reporting system by migrating all existing data from Quickbooks to Netsuite, in turn enhancing scalability, accuracy, and real-time financial insights

  3. Minimized process friction / promoted automation by implementing Navan and Coupa to streamline the expense workflow and P2P(Procure to Pay) process

  4. Oversaw the company treasury function to increase short term cash forecasting and predictability.

  5. Staffed, trained, and mentored the US and international GL team

Outcome: Within 4 years and despite limited resources and a lean accounting team, we were able to establish an accounting system and finance workflow that enables Chainalysis to grow from 280 FTE to 900+ (50 finance team members / 20 accounting globally). This included 3 years of PCAOB audits pushing them closer to public readiness. Chainalysis is now one step closer to being public-ready, having tripled its revenue and expanded into a multi-global company with over six international subsidiaries.

Company: Momentum

Category: Agency Operations, Project Management

Brief: Help Momentum establish a project management discipline and implement Workfront

Starting State: Momentum was an established experiential agency with 8-digit retainers with household brands. They were “promoting” executive assistants to project management, which was proving to clog the workflows even more. They needed proper project management to hold team members accountable, and ensure they were meeting their client deadlines with efficiency. In addition, they were looking to systematize their operations. With offices globally, they were looking for ways to have everyone on the same system and enable inter-office resource sharing.

Work: First order of business was to ensure the project managers were clear on their expectations and responsibilities as they were going to be the owners for Workfront, and the change champions for the company. Secondly, customizing Workfront to work in the way that Momentum does required establishing a clear, company-wide process - something that varied from office to office. Here’s what we were able to accomplish:

  1. Train, evaluate, and staff project management on best practices procedures. Ensure all project managers were clear on their objectives, were familiar with the nuances of Momentum’s work to forecast risk, and understood the value that great reporting brings to their leadership and what they needed to do in order to establish that reporting.

  2. Work with each office to align on a single workflow, and train all members in the new process. This was the first step towards organizational change, and pivotal in establishing a foundation for Workfront to serve as the operational system of record (meaning everything from project management, to finance and HR).

  3. Understand Workfront’s infrastructure and customize it to suit Momentum’s operations. This was a complete overhaul of their systems, and needed to be approached sensitively.

Outcome: Project Management is the heart of the agency, and keeps all projects on time and on budget. They are able to share resources between offices efficiently, and have systems to protect them for mishaps. They are thriving globally with multiple large retainers.

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