Success leaves clues. Finance Strategists sat down with Vitaly Veksler, founder of Agency Vista. He shared his thoughts on the past, present, and future of the company, as well as the insight he gained along the way. Q: Who are you and what’s your background? Born in a country that no longer exists (USSR), raised partly there and partly in Texas. Graduated from Plano Senior High School. Been around computers and coding one way or another since I was about 12. I have a Computer Science Degree from the University of Texas in Dallas. I had quit college after about two years to start working as a programmer and was quite successful at that (working for some of the largest companies as a 20-year-old kid). I only went back to finish college a few years later to keep my mom happy because she viewed college degrees as a must. Q: Who has been your biggest influence, and why did they have such a significant effect on you? I would probably say that there isn’t one person but rather a series of people from which I have received subtle small influences. My mother taught me how you can feel rich while being desperately poor. My dad, who always asked about my next step any time I would brag to him about some sort of achievement. From the big names – Arnold Schwarzenegger. I admire his “If you are not getting enough sleep - sleep faster” and “I enjoyed work and pain because I knew that with every rep I got closer to my goal.” Additionally, he is also an immigrant who achieved a lot. I can relate to that. Q: Knowing what you know now, what would you have told yourself when you were in your twenties? I would have recommended not getting comfortable working in corporate America and to look for ways to scale my fortunes. Making a great living working for a company only gets you so far. It took me a bit too long to realize and begin to do something about it. Being a developer is like being an artist. You can create whatever you set your mind to. Q: What is Agency Vista? Agency Vista is a global community of marketing agencies, businesses that are serviced by these agencies, products that agencies use, and industry experts that drive thought leadership. The idea is simple: demystify the process of hiring and evaluating the agencies. Make this process as transparent as possible. Ensure that great agencies are rewarded for being awesome, for doing the right thing. Ensure that businesses get connected with agencies that are best suited for them. Ensure the productivity of this relationship through utilization of great products. Q: What makes your company different from its competitors? Most of our competitors are focused on 2 things: 1. Directory service – a simple listing of agencies by category, location, etc. 2. Ability by the users to leave reviews. These are great basic features, but they don’t address several fundamental issues: 1. Reviews are not an adequate way of assessing the performance of the agency. Instead, we focus on real metrics from actual work that agencies do. Can’t fake that. 2. Businesses have no clear and consistent way of evaluating and comparing agencies. Agency Vista offers a simple to understand presentation for every agency and why it is a match for a given business. 3. Agencies still need to use a variety of other features such as job posting, proposal building, team profiles, success stories, etc. Q: What led you to start Agency Vista? Prior to launching Agency Vista, I founded and ran Social Report. The company was acquired and is now part of the Traject family of products. Social Report is an all-in-one social media management platform. It caters mostly to digital marketers and do-it-yourself businesses. During my tenure at Social Report, I had spent a lot of time working with marketing agencies and realized that all of them share similar and very easily solved pain points. They all are looking to do more with less: handle more clients with fewer employees, get more visibility with less marketing, get more leads for less money. I also spent time talking to many business owners and they shared quite a few common worries as well – they all struggled to find good agencies and they all struggled to understand the differences between them. I also saw many agencies not doing the right thing for their clients. Our goal is not to run them out of business but rather to have them up to their game and improve. Q: What has the experience of building the business taught you? Nothing particularly new or innovative, but something that human nature sometimes tries to ignore in favor of one’s own thinking and ideas: listen to your customers, build tools that solve real problems, pivot if you must. Q: Where do you see things headed for you in the next 5 years? We want to be the go-to place for any business wanting to find and hire a marketing agency. We want every agency to be thriving because of Agency Vista (this may mean that some agencies will have to take their game to the next level). Everyone wins. About Agency Vista Agency Vista is the largest network of marketing agencies where businesses can discover, review, and connect with potential partners. Businesses have the confidence in knowing that they are working with trusted and reliable agencies, limiting wasted time and resources. Learn more at agencyvista.com.
Introduction
Who is Vitaly Veksler?
Business
True Tamplin is a published author, public speaker, CEO of UpDigital, and founder of Finance Strategists.
True is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF®), author of The Handy Financial Ratios Guide, a member of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, contributes to his financial education site, Finance Strategists, and has spoken to various financial communities such as the CFA Institute, as well as university students like his Alma mater, Biola University, where he received a bachelor of science in business and data analytics.
To learn more about True, visit his personal website or view his author profiles on Amazon, Nasdaq and Forbes.
