Published by JumpStart
There’s a sign on I-77 North inviting drivers to “Grow with Us.” Knotice, a direct digital marketing firm in Akron, put it up about three weeks ago. The team’s goal was to let Northeast Ohioans know they’re here and they’re hiring. Knotice has been in Northeast Ohio since late 2003, when Jon Grimm, Brian Deagan, and Bill Landers spun the company out of Craver Marcom. They had an idea for a product that allowed marketers to conduct their key digital marketing functions (web content targeting, email, and mobile marketing) on a single software platform.
With eight people and product development underway, the team came to JumpStart and ultimately received funding. “We were able to do a lot with the JumpStart investment,” said Jon. What they did was launch a product, Concentri, the company’s software-as-a-service offering, and hire talented people. And Concentri did just what they thought it would: maximize the return on investment of direct digital marketing.
As early sales ramped up, the team looked for a space to house a growing startup. For many reasons, Akron was an obvious choice. “Akron is very proactive in making things available for young companies to grow,” explains Jon Grimm in the video.
Knotice’s sales have grown at least 50 percent year over year since they launched. According to Jon, what differentiates the company is that they architected Concentri from the ground up to address all the different digital channels for marketing. Today Knotice’s client roster includes names like American Greetings, Time Warner Cable, and Crocs.
And, with growing sales and revenues, comes a growing staff. Knotice started 2011 with 55 employees and today employs 75 with 12 open positions. The billboard lets the region know they expect that number to increase. “In three to five years if we continue on this growth track – and we fully expect to – we’ll probably employ between 180 and 240 people,” Jon says.
Knotice is hiring account executives, software engineers, sales and marketing professionals, creative talent, finance and administrative staff. And, for job seekers, Jon has a pretty good sell, “We have a really interesting culture here.” Hear more about that culture and the perks of working at Knotice in the video.