Axle Eight is a boutique digital marketing agency based in Scottsdale, Arizona servicing B2B tech companies across the globe. The agency provides services for brands needing assistance with holistic marketing efforts ranging from SEO, paid advertising, content creation, PR, email marketing, social media and CRM automation. The company's vibrant team thinks of itself as an anti-agency, agency because it wants to throw the old agency playbook out the door and focus on a people first mentality, which translates throughout everything it does both internally and with its clients. Unlike a lot of agencies who don't put an emphasis on keeping their team happy or taking a human and flexible approach to client relationships, this is front and center to Axle Eight's core values. Realizing that as an agency the team is only as strong as its people who work alongside the clients to bring the marketing strategies to life. The agency has a tight knit, relaxed and uplifting culture and it truly values a work/life balance. Bottom line being, the mutual liking shows through the work the agency produces for each one of its clients. This is the type of company the team is building together and likes to work with brands who have a similar mentality. 

A Trendsetting Leader 

Kim Grennan, is the Founder and CEO of Axle Eight. With a B.S. in Economics from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago, Kim started out working for an investment banking firm out of Chicago then moving into corporate strategy at Verizon's Innovation Incubator in Boston covering a variety of B2B industries spanning healthcare to IoT to virtual reality to big data and analytics. After a few years there, Kim moved to Scottsdale and began working at a start-up consulting agency building out their market intelligence department from the ground up. After gaining some experience in the consulting world, she started doing contract consulting work and created a site called FindSideGigs.com that was founded on content which helps freelancers find off-market gig opportunities. She later sold this company to Millo.co and focused on transforming her consulting business into the marketing agency Axle Eight. Today, being the CEO and Founder of Axle Eight, Kim's main responsibilities span from sales and account management to financials and business strategy. Each year the agency is growing faster than ever, and she attributes that to hiring incredibly smart people who are great at what they do. The people who join Axle Eight family are everything to Kim. 

Kim sees a new milestone every year in her life that she wants to crush. Whether it was being the first person in history at Loyola to finish their MBA in just 8 months when she was just 22, to creating a US$1 million in annual revenue business from scratch in her 20s. But she won't discount it, as a young Hispanic woman, obstacles have been plentiful for growing her business along the way. But Kim has been fortunate to have some pretty incredible mentors that continue to push Kim outside of her comfort zone. They tested Kim and threw her into the ring of all men executive board meetings as a 23-year-old and gave her the confidence to pursue anything she could wrap her head around. At the end of the day, people want to know that one is listening and sharp, thoughtful and result oriented. To many, Kim's age and gender might seem like an obstacle. But Kim challenges all women to use this as their greatest asset. She says, "If you speak and live with confidence, doors will open for you. Never be afraid to be uniquely you." This developed mentality is the one thing Kim attributes most to her success.  

Overcoming Challenges to Focus on Growth 

Discussing challenges, Kim says that making the shift from working as a solopreneur to a full-throttle, well engined agency has been a huge challenge to overcome. Kim continues, with a growing team come a need for more structure, processes and operational efficiencies. All of which, at the onset of Axle Eight, Kim and her team did not have and frankly they are still working on each day! Kim adds, "For us, there is a fine line between a start-up environment and a corporate infrastructure that we don't care to cross. So, every process we put in place is very intentional and still allows us that freedom to be agile and work in the ways that work best for our culture. When your company is growing so quickly you have to determine what is most important for you to focus on with the resources you have available to you, so it can feel like a slow process to get where you need to be. But if you can make small steps of progress each week toward the direction you want to go, you'll look back a year from now and be so thankful that you got started." 

Exceptional Transformational Leader Attributes 

The leaders that Kim has always gravitated towards in her life have had similar attributes that she admired. They were confident, personable, bold, and sharp. Kim strongly believes that carrying oneself with a level of confidence helps others trust that one is capable in what they can accomplish. But in Kim's opinion, a leader must be also approachable and personable in a way where others know that this leader will always put the wellbeing of their people first is what the next generation leader should embody. 

Fostering Innovation to Drive Competition 

One thing that Kim is really proud of is the success in how the agency positions Axle Eight today which is to align with the types of clients that it wants to work with. Axle Eight is the anti-agency, agency. Meaning no B.S., no fluff, just quality, high converting strategies that resonate on a human level. Everything the agency does pushes its boundaries a bit, and this type of strategy attracts the perfect clients that have a similar outlook on marketing since the agency loves to work with like-minded brands. Its target audience are companies and fast growing brands that like to be bold. It takes this same approach for all the brands it works with and shines through in everything it does. Kim says, "Positioning ourselves in this way was a big risk at first, particularly since we've always worked primarily with corporate, B2B companies where this is by no means their typical stance in how they may traditionally approach marketing. But this approach for Axle Eight has paid off tremendously over the years and really helps to set us apart from the competition." 

Analyzing the Complexity of Disruptive Technologies  

Discussing disruptive technologies, Kim adds that automation, AI, machine and deep learning impact what the agency does every single day. Marketing seemingly changes on a monthly basis, and a lot of that is tied to the fast trajectory in which people are pushing out new technologies and software. A new search engine algorithm update, such as Google's BERT update from late last year, changed how the team approached SEO and impacted its entire SEO process. The sophistication of their algorithm is growing and adapting in ways where it can now better understand context and actual search intent from a living and breathing human, which is actually pretty incredible. The complexity of creating software that can think and act like a living being is what will no doubt impact everything that the agency does over time. Kim says, "As a leader it is important to understand that technology is one's friend and isn't going anywhere–we must embrace it or risk losing everything. Those who neglect it will see their businesses crumble. It's here to stay!" 

Towards a Digital Future 

Speaking about the future, Kim says that the future is bright, and this keeps her motivated day in and out. When she thinks of what Axle Eight might look like one year or five years from now, she sees a team of people who support and hold one another accountable to be the best versions of themselves. She sees clients who have been with the agency for years and are obtaining a marketing ROI worth bragging about. Kim sees happiness and mutual success all around! Kim adds that, "Technology is here to stay, and our focus on working with tech companies across a variety of industries positions us well for where the future is already headed–all digital." 

Advice to the Emerging Women Leaders of Tomorrow 

To many, Kim's age and gender might seem like an obstacle. But she challenges all women to use this as their greatest asset. If they speak and live with confidence, doors will open for them. Kim's advice to emerging women leaders is one must never be afraid to be uniquely themselves.