Jack Rusk is a San Francisco marketing entrepreneur and the CEO of Frisco Web Marketing. Through this company, he offers various services ranging from developing strategic plans, digital marketing to corporate branding.
Before launching this company, Rusk spent a decade working with multiple marketing agencies in San Francisco and New York. It is the experience he accumulated working for these companies that influenced him to open his agency. His move to venture out on his own has been quite a success. Frisco Web Marketing has already established a client list of top tech companies, consumer products corporations, and even startups looking to create awareness for their products. Besides his experience in the marketing world, Rusk attributes his success to his background in data science. He has a degree in applied mathematics from UC Berkeley. He followed it up with a Master’s Degree in Data Science and Artificial intelligence. Jack leveraged these skills to develop proprietary software that companies can use to understand customers and predict the best techniques that can meet future customer needs. So effective is the software that most companies that use it have seen an increase in ROI by over 50%. This has also seen his company grow its client numbers exponentially since its launch. Rusk is leveraging the success his company has generated so far to give back to the community. He is very passionate about the environment and is an active contributor to protecting the Amazon rain forest.
Besides work and charity, Rusk is a family man and loves spending weekends with his family. He has two young daughters who are mentoring to follow in his footsteps of data-driven marketing. Through his mentorship, they have taken a strong interest in STEM units at school.
How did you get started in this business?
I was in the marketing business for a decade before I started my company. Like most ambitious people, I was craving something new and exciting after such a long time in employment. That is how the idea of venturing out on my own came about. I was confident because of the experience I had accumulated over the years and my background in data analysis. I registered the business, and that was pretty much how I got started.
How does your company make money?
We make money by selling trends analysis software. We also offer consultancy services for businesses looking to craft marketing strategies that can help them grow their market share. It’s good business, and so far, we have done pretty well. However, selling the marketing data analysis software has been the biggest driver of the company’s revenues. That’s because it is precise in its analysis and can help our customers identify gaps in the market way before most of their competitors can find them. So far, the uptake has been phenomenal, and it generates up to 70% of our total annual revenues. We are looking into more revenue streams going into the future, though.
How does your company go about acquiring new customers?
We mainly do referrals. A lot of our customers love the value that our products add to their businesses. Quite expected because we help them unlock new markets. One of our clients, a tech startup, was so happy with our services that they sent ten other clients our way. We also use analytical software for data mining and lead generation. It has really helped us in driving sales, and so far it’s confidence-inspiring that the product we sell works, even for us.
How did you work your way up in this business?
I worked my way into this business by first working for someone else. For ten years, I worked for large marketing agencies in NYC and San Francisco. This helped me in two ways. First, I learned how to create the systems necessary to build a business. Secondly, I learned how to communicate with customers, which has been instrumental in running my business. By the time I started the business, I had a pretty good idea of what to do. I believe this has been key to the success that I have recorded so far in the business. It gave me an edge over most people who venture into business with no prior idea of what running a successful enterprise actually entails.
What made you want to work in this industry?
It was one of the fun things I could do. As a data scientist with A.I. skills, I had the option to pursue a career in pretty much any industry I wanted. However, I had friends in marketing, and it felt like they were having so much fun. This motivated me to pursue a career in this industry, and so far, I am very happy about it. Given a choice to do things all over again, I would gladly choose this industry. That’s how much I love it.
What is it that you feel makes you good at your job?
I believe it’s my skill, to be honest. Marketing is a pretty crowded industry, to be honest. The only way to win customers in this market is to offer them something radically different from what everyone else is offering them. I think this is where my skills come into play. With my skills in data analysis and A.I, it is very easy for me to find gaps in the market and inform my clients about them.
What are the perks of working in this type of business?
There are lots of perks that come with being in this business. The most obvious one is the money. This business has given me the life I have always wanted since I was a kid. Besides the money, I get to interact with lots of fun people daily. Marketing departments are some of the most fun in any institution, and since they are the ones I interact with most, my days are always happy and fun.
What are the disadvantages of working in this field?
That’s a tough one. However, one of the drawbacks to this business is that you always have to be on your toes. In this business, if someone comes up with something slightly better than what you are offering, you can easily lose all your clients overnight. While it can help in driving innovation, it can be tiring sometimes. I have got used to these challenges, though. So far, we are on top of the game, and we hope things stay this way for a long time to come.
What’s the most rewarding part of your work?
The most rewarding part of my job is seeing how clients’ businesses grow due to our services. It feels good knowing that what we do has a positive impact. It is a huge motivator for me and my employees.
Where is your industry headed? What excites you about the future in this line of work?
My industry has very good prospects ahead. Businesses will always need marketing experts, and with new industries springing up every day, the future is bright. What excites me most is that marketing is increasingly merging with tech. As this happens, we expect to see a huge increase in demand for our data-driven marketing solutions.
What advice do you give people who want to get into your field of work?
I would advise them to first learn the trade by working under some else. This is a complex business, and jumping into it without prior experience can be catastrophic. You need first to learn things like relationships management firsthand.
Are you willing to be a mentor? If so, how should someone contact you?
I am very willing to be a mentor to anyone who wants to get into the marketing world. However, I am not available at the moment. I have three guys I am mentoring and would like to give them maximum attention for now.