He Built His Agency From Scratch And Sold It For 8 Figures

In this episode of Going Public with Ross Mandell, Ross sits down with Jason Swenk, entrepreneur, agency advisor, podcast host, and founder who built and sold an 8-figure digital marketing agency. Jason Swenk shares how he went from building websites and running a small agency to scaling a major marketing business, working with large clients, selling his agency, and later helping other agency owners grow, systemize, and exit their businesses. Ross and Jason break down the real challenges of building a successful agency, including client acquisition, sales, pricing, hiring, operations, delegation, recurring revenue, scaling systems, leadership, and knowing when to sell. Jason explains why most agency owners stay stuck, why founders become the bottleneck in their own business, and what separates a small agency from a company that can actually scale. This episode also dives into the mindset behind entrepreneurship, risk, failure, reinvention, and building a business that does not depend entirely on the founder. Jason shares lessons from his own agency exit, the mistakes he made along the way, and the strategies he now teaches agency owners who want to grow faster, increase profitability, and eventually sell their business. If you are interested in digital marketing agencies, agency growth, entrepreneurship, business scaling, client acquisition, sales systems, agency exits, recurring revenue, leadership, and how to build an 8-figure business, this episode gives you a direct conversation with someone who has done it and now helps others do the same. Topics Covered: How Jason Swenk built a digital marketing agency from scratch Selling an agency for an 8-figure exit Why most agency owners struggle to scale Client acquisition and agency sales strategies Pricing, retainers, recurring revenue, and profitability Hiring, delegation, and building a team How to stop being the bottleneck in your business Systems that help agencies grow The mindset of successful entrepreneurs Mistakes agency owners make before selling What makes an agency valuable to buyers Leadership, growth, and building a business that can run without you About Jason Swenk: Jason Swenk is an entrepreneur, agency growth advisor, speaker, podcast host, and former digital agency owner who built and sold an 8-figure marketing agency. Today, he helps agency owners scale their businesses, improve systems, increase profitability, and prepare for growth or exit. About Ross Mandell: Ross Mandell is a former Wall Street professional, entrepreneur, author, and capital formation expert who interviews business leaders, founders, investors, survivors, and high-level entrepreneurs about success, failure, money, growth, and the truth behind building something real. 🔗 Links & Resources 📌 Book A Call With Ross https://buy.stripe.com/6oUfZggxt25Bc5Ld8L5Vu05 Join Ross’s Patreon Community for exclusive content and LIVE events https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheRealRossMandell?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator 📲 Follow Ross Mandell on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rossmandell/ 📲 Follow Jason On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/drlisapiper/ ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 — Jason Swenk’s 8-Figure Agency Exit Story 05:45 — Arthur Andersen, the Dot-Com Crash and Early Internet Business 11:30 — Building a Digital Marketing Agency From Scratch 17:15 — From Founder Bottleneck to Scalable Agency CEO 23:00 — LegalZoom, Big Clients and Selling the Agency 28:45 — AI, Automation and the Future of Marketing Agencies 34:30 — Smart Agency Masterclass, Podcast Growth and Content Strategy 40:15 — Building a Business That Doesn’t Own You Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.