A Dallas-based digital growth agency co-founded by Eddy Badrina and Cameron Gawley in 2010, Buzzshift was known as the go-to agency to grow direct-to-consumer brands. Through a unique combination of digital strategy and business consultation, they focused on partnering with DTC brands to create blueprints for their long-term success and bring them to life. Named as one of the INC 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in 2020 and #10 of 2021’s fastest growing companies in Texas, the Buzzshift team had a three-year growth rate of 126%. While they grew brands and revenue, their employees also thrived – Buzzshift was named to Inc.’s best workplaces in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

A Partner To Supercharge Buzzshift’s Growth

Eddy and Cameron weren’t new to selling a business. In fact, they sold Buzzshift in 2016 to buyers who didn’t really understand their business and lacked synergies from both a client and culture perspective. The next year, they bought the company back and shifted the agency’s client focus to mission-led and purpose-based brands, then hyper-focused on DTC mid-market, growth-oriented brands.

Now with an additional co-owner, Grant Denton, they were ready to sell again. This time they knew exactly what they wanted (and didn’t want) in a buyer and were looking for a partner to help supercharge Buzzshift’s growth. After they got burned last time selling to a traditional agency, they reached out to us at Barney thanks to our expertise in their market segment to find them the partner they wanted. With our unparalleled, real-world business acumen, large pool of ready and willing buyers across the world, and uniquely effective approach to marketing agencies, they trusted us to find a financial and cultural fit for Buzzshift.

With their dream buyer, Buzzshift would have access to the resources and support that could help them continue to grow, be more efficient, and serve both their clients and employees at a higher level. Eddy, Cameron, and Grant had spent years growing Buzzshift into a successful, profitable agency and the last thing they wanted was another bad-fit buyer who wouldn’t understand the business, fit the culture, or take care of their clients.

Creating Strategies For Tomorrow’s Digital Media  

A strategically geared, fiercely creative team creating long-term results? At Barney, that’s what we love to see in an agency. Bridging the gap between business consultancy and ad agency, Buzzshift believed in going big by starting small, and telling client stories honestly and passionately. Data-driven, strategy-forward, and results-obsessed with a long list of clients boasting increased sales and return on ad spend, we knew Buzzshift would be a great investment for an agency looking to expand into the DTC marketing space.

Since its inception in 2010, Buzzshift had been shifting brands to scalable, sustainable growth with tailored solutions that fit perfectly. Through a combination of cold-hard data, strategic know-how and fierce creativity, Buzzshift found a way of blending the art of marketing with the science of it to create strategies for tomorrow’s digital media. Clients loved them for their holistic, completely customized digital strategy, and their roster boasted big DTC names like Everlane, Mooala, Jack Black Skincare, Evernote, and Terrasoul Superfoods.

The more we got to know Buzzshift, the more we loved them. Excited to find them the partner they needed to take them to the next level of DTC strategic marketing, we set out to find them a buyer who understood the business, had client and culture alignment, and would be able to meet all three of the owners’ different exit goals.

A Unique Approach To M&A 

At Barney, our approach to M&A is as unique as the founders and businesses we work with. As creative thinkers disrupting a tired industry, we hated the “old school” way of M&A when we went through it ourselves and decided selling your agency didn’t have to be a miserable process. So we redefined what’s possible in the M&A space by changing the way things had always been done, making selling your agency a fast, painless, process that achieves founders’ unique goals.

We were excited to find Buzzshift the perfect partner to take them to the next level. We started by stepping behind Buzzshift’s closed doors and calculating their worth to buyers in today’s market. Once we understood Cameron, Eddy and Grant’s goals and what made Buzzshift special, we put together awesome marketing materials to help potential buyers see what we saw. We reached out to our large pool of ready and willing strategic buyers across the world and found their perfect buyer: Blue Cypress.

A Partner Dedicating To Helping Businesses Achieve Their Next Level Of Success

Founded by Silicon Valley native and serial entrepreneur Amith Nagarajan, Blue Cypress was a family of companies focused on launching new brands and acquiring existing businesses as part of their long-term investment strategy. With members including Sidecar, PROPEL, rasa.io, Tasio, and CIMATRI, each company in the Blue Cypress family was unique in its market, products, services, and operations. With a deep belief in serving purpose-driven leaders who impact the world in positive ways, they shared Buzzshift’s values in supporting purpose and mission-driven brands.

Dedicated to creating a path for innovative businesses to achieve their next level of success, Blue Cypress was the perfect partner to support Buzzshift’s goals. And in return? They got to invest in a thriving digital agency excelling at the art and science of brand marketing, performance marketing, and retention marketing in the growing DTC industry.

Closing The Deal In 80 Days 

Within 80 days, Buzzshift had their new growth partner. Blue Cypress had a unique, profitable company to add to their family, and Cameron and Grant were ready to take Buzzshift to the next level as key members of the leadership team. Eddy walked away to pursue his other entrepreneurial interests, knowing that Buzzshift was in good hands and poised to thrive with Blue Cypress’ support.

At Barney, we celebrated another successful acquisition experience aligned perfectly with the owners’ objectives – adding Buzzshift to our long list of over 150 media, marketing & tech companies we’ve guided through happy-ending acquisitions. Because that’s what we do over here – pour all of our energy and expertise into getting founders the exits they deserve with the best acquisition experience in the world.

“It was such a pleasure working with the Barney team. The buyers brought to the table were great and it felt like we were really able to choose the buyer that fit best for our needs post-transaction. We’re thrilled to cross the finish line and look forward to working with the Barney team on future opportunities.” -Eddy Badrina