Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Thimmig.
Mark, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I spent many years in the auto industry. In my journey, not only did I work for General Motors for 13 years through 10 different jobs, but I also had the pleasure of being one of the early executives of AutoNation where I was part of the team that was instrumental in acquiring 400 new car dealer franchises and growing the company in three short years to more than $20 billion.
Following my years in the auto industry, I worked in education developing new schools and new ways in educating at-risk students and helping over 10,000 of them graduate. We created a whole new computer-based learning program.
Through my experience, I developed a passion for creating a new cutting-edge agency that could address the opportunities that entrepreneurs, engineers and designers and others had in their heart and soul.
So, when my two sons moved out to Orange County in 2014, my wife and I decided to move from Fort Lauderdale to Irvine. Shortly after coming to Irvine, news about crowdfunding caught my attention as an amazing way of funding and launching new products for companies and entrepreneurs. I took a significant interest in Kickstarter and Indiegogo and what they were doing and decided to create a new marketing agency focusing on crowdfunding.
Originally, I started at a small table desk at a co-working office called People’s Space. I eventually met a talented graphic designer. We started to create a comparable platform to Kickstarter and Indiegogo. In the process of creating Crowdfundingpays, we realized we were too late to market to be competitive. To compete with them would have cost millions and might not have been successful in the end.
We realized that people wanted to post their campaigns where other successful campaigns were already posted. They wanted to be amongst hundreds of other campaigns. That was the big draw. So, starting a platform from scratch is an extremely difficult process and one we determined was not financially viable.
However, along the way, we found that there were a lot of people who needed professional help with their crowdfunding campaigns. They didn’t have the experience in marketing and they didn’t have the technology or the know-how to create a successful campaign, but they were willing to work with a credible agency to develop and design their campaign and help them launch.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Well, it is never a smooth road for any entrepreneur. There is no straight line from start to finish. Yes, we have experienced many challenges along the way. Sometimes those involved guiding and educating clients through troubled waters. At times, clients run into their own financial problems making it difficult for them to fulfill their obligations.
And then things change when products and industries change. Virtual reality was a hot industry a couple years ago and it went cold. There are many examples of where that has happened. But we have continued to evolve to adapt to constantly changing trends.
We have pivoted with our clients and individually as an agency. We’re excited to have an amazing team today that is flexible and cutting edge in their creative capabilities and skill sets. A huge part of what we bring to clients is our experience of what to do when things don’t go right or change.
I often use the example with our crowdfunding clients that we are like a Sherpa guide. You can climb the mountain yourself. Good luck! You may get there or die on the way. You can hire other inexperienced guides trying to get into the business, unlikely you will succeed. Or you can hire the local Sherpa guides that have been on the mountains numerous times, know the passes, the angles to get you there. Now, we can’t control everything. We can’t guarantee you’ll get to the top, but we have been to the top and taken many clients to the top. And for those clients who want to work with us who are properly prepared, we are their best bet to get them to the top.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Conservaco and The Ignite Agency story. Tell us more about the business.
We started with the objective of building a global crowdfunding marketing agency that could perform every service that is needed to launch a new brand and products. Our clients come from around the world, ranging from a company or a person bringing a product that is not even named yet, all the way through to someone who has some of their digital assets and only needs a video or website or PR.
So, we started, and we were very fortunate people had faith in us, trusted us and gave us opportunities. Over the past four years, we have worked on and promoted nearly 100 crowdfunding campaigns. We’ve become one of the top crowdfunding agencies in the world.
We have raised millions of dollars and have added expertise to support equity crowdfunding campaigns, where we are working on multiple offerings today, with a combined value of $20 million in funding.
We have gained a great deal of expertise, and we are happy to work with companies, entrepreneurs, engineers, and scientists, who can benefit from our expertise. They understand that our Ignite Agency, with years of experience in crowdfunding and special relationships with the leading industry platforms, will substantially improve their odds of success.
New people coming to crowdfunding are learning that the failure rates Kickstarter publishes on its website show that only 35% of the campaigns that run on their platform are successful. Of the 35% that are successful, 70% raise less than $10,000. Therefore, if people want to raise more money and navigate a system that seems very easy to enter, but requires much more expertise to succeed, that’s where our Ignite Agency comes in. We can help. We are delighted when they call us.
In addition to our Ignite Agency crowdfunding work at which we have become very successful, we also work with Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 clients where we do video production, website development, social media marketing and public relations.
I think what we have become today, as a result of crowdfunding and other experiences, is one of the top marketing and PR agencies for companies looking to launch new brands or products that get significant national attention and sales results for a very competitive cost. We are world class at launching new companies, brands, and products.
What sets us apart is that we are a very efficient and cost-effective marketing and PR agency, highly creative and customer responsive. We’re passionate about delivering better results than many of the oldest and biggest agencies in the world while charging considerably less. Our PR team, led by George Pappas, an industry veteran, consistently gets our clients interviewed and published in the leading tech, national Tier 1 consumer publications, TV, and Radio. We literally put our clients, their brands, and products on the map!
So, for businesses that are looking to have a highly productive agency that will work on an affordable cost structure while getting a great deal of personal attention, we are the organization to whom they are going to want to talk.
I am most proud that we have been able to help many entrepreneurs fulfill their dreams of bringing out new brands and products, helping them collectively raise millions of dollars in the process. That’s the underlying fabric of America: small business people, who employ other people, to create new products and services that we all love. We are part of that!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Everyone needs a good deal of luck and an answer to their prayers from time-to-time. I am no exception but equally as important is hard work, patience and the counsel of others. I have been fortunate to work with some of the most brilliant business leaders in the world. They shared their knowledge, experience, and values generously.
Some of my best luck has been to grow up in a great family, marry a wonderful woman who has done an extraordinary job raising our two amazing sons. I’m especially lucky because my wife and my sons work alongside me every day. Now that’s what I call luck!
Contact Info:
- Address: The Ignite Agency a Conservaco, LLC Portfolio Company, 18004 Sky Park Circle, Suite 120, Irvine, CA 92614
- Website: Conservaco, LLC: https://conservaco.com and The Ignite Agency: http://ignitecfp.com
- Phone: 949-829-1034
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/igniteagency/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IgniteAgency1 and https://business.facebook.com/ludicrousgadgets and https://business.facebook.com/ludicrousagency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/IGNITEAgency1
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUX7wB87K50
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
