A couple of creatives, a developer and a firepit in the woods. It sounds like the setup for a punchline, but it’s actually the unconventional beginnings of Traction, a digital marketing and branding agency based in San Francisco.

On this episode of Bold Creators, Adam Kleinberg walks us through how he grew Traction from a humble “freelance cooperative” out of his spare bedroom to a Webby-winning digital agency that works with clients like Adobe, Bank of America and Apple.

Episode breakdown:

02:34 – Introducing Traction, who they work with, and how they do it 

05:09 – How the burst of the dot-com bubble created Traction 

08:08 – What has changed and what has stayed the same in digital experiences since 2001 

12:29 – How Traction win the recruitment battle in San Francisco against tech juggernauts like Facebook 

15:55 – What it was like winning a contract with Apple 

18:38 – How Traction defines greatness, and how the Apple pitch crystalized it 

22:51 – How to apply a “less is more” philosophy in digital design, with an example from Traction’s work with California Bank and Trust 

25:02 – How Adam keeps fire in his belly to keep winning new clients 

27:59 – What Adam believes is the difference between a creator and a bold creator

Links and mentions:

Traction's website 

Adam Kleinberg’s LinkedIn 

Jack Welch’s book, “Winning”