8. Alley
While big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence seem like the norm for big tech companies, this small marketing business is getting on board.
Revenue: $15.8 million
Growth: 335.39%
Founder: Nick Lavidge (32)
Head office: Sydney, NSW
Employees: 25
Industry: Advertising, arts and media
Website: alley-group.com
It’s been a good couple of years for Alley Group founder Nick Lavidge, whose take on the digital marketing landscape has delivered his business a four-fold increase in revenue over the last three years.
Founded in 2010, Alley Group has helped propel clients such as Youfoodz to the national stage and in the process has taken its own slice of the pie, turning over $15.8 million in 2017-18.
Lavidge founded the company after recognising a need for change in digital marketing, having witnessed large firms desperately trying to hold on to their clients as businesses increasingly look to take their marketing operations in-house.
Alley’s approach is to flip that model on its head by actually helping clients build their own in-house marketing capabilities when they’re ready.
In the case of YouFoodz, Lavidge says after several years of helping the meal delivery business achieve strong growth, it is now licensing its system, software and other intellectual property to help it build an in-house team.
“Building in-house performance marketing teams is extremely complex and often results in major performance issues leading to significant revenue loss — Alley helps their clients avoid this pain,” Lavidge says.
But anyone looking to head over and work for Lavidge will have to jump through a few hoops — seven to be precise.
Alley has a strenuous recruitment process that is conducted over seven parts and hones in on whether prospective workers are the best cultural fit for the business.
“Culture should be hired, not taught,” Lavidge explains.
He applies a similar methodology to looking for clients, saying he’s prepared to turn down offers if prospective partners aren’t a good fit, or will likely take up more resources than they’re worth.
“In the pitch process we actually make it a two-way interview to see if they’d be a good fit for Alley’s client roster, both on a performance and working relationship level,” Lavidge says.
