Although funding is widely available for companies riding the coattails of social media, Column Five has grown 100% organically. “We haven’t had to take out loans or even use credit cards,” says Crooks, who now focuses on running the company’s operations and helping with creative development. Ritchie wears the creative director hat, and Lankow is the CEO and heads up business development.
So far, however, the company hasn’t had to spend too much time prospecting. That’s the beauty of their business model. At the same time their graphics help clients promote their own brands, they double as a marketing tool for Column Five, which typically gets full attribution on their designs. “If we’re doing our jobs well,” says Crooks “word about our company will spread.”