Woman-led content marketing agency partners with synergistic equity firm Influence & Co was founded in 2011 to answer the question “is there a better way to gain expo–
sure?” Founder Kelsey Raymond knew that companies were tired of ineffective traditional PR methods. They were craving a different kind of PR and marketing that would help them achieve measurable business results – and Influence & Co was born to drive those results through strategic content marketing. For over ten years, this women-led agency has been making content marketing simple by providing a collaborative solution to help companies strategize, create, publish, and maximize content that drives measurable results. 

Looking for a Growth Partner

Kelsey didn’t just want any old buyer, and she wasn’t looking for an exit. She wanted a place for her team to continue to grow and a strategic partner where she could cross-sell her clients and capitalize on big growth opportunities. She knew Influence & Co had huge potential, and she was ready to partner with an organization that could help them achieve it. She reached out to us at Barney because that’s what we’re known for: helping agencies find partners that check all of their boxes. As the largest acquisition firm for agencies in the US – with a database boasting more than 25,000 buyers, offices dotting the globe from Los Angeles to London, and a dynamic portfolio saturated in marketing, technology and digital mergers and acquisitions – we specialize in finding agencies a cultural, strategic, and financial fit. Because your agency deserves a partner that checks every single box.

Results-Driven Content Marketing

Influence & Co was founded on a simple principle: companies care about results. They disrupted the marketing and PR industry to meet tangible business goals through strategic content, and they’ve since evolved to deliver measurable results for clients who are specifically prioritizing lead generation, SEO, sales enablement, and thought leadership.

At Influence & Co strategy comes first, and from there they create industry-leading content with their talented team of dedicated content marketing experts. With their epic team, custom technology, and relationships with top online publications, their clients like Ascend Venture Capital, Heartbeat, eLearning Industry, and ProSource were used to getting highly effective marketing solutions.

We loved their industry-disrupting innovation, dedicated team full of experts, relationships with over a thousand publications across industries, and orientation towards results. And we weren’t the only ones – they boasted a long list of awards for their workplace culture, growth, and content marketing expertise. With opportunities to expand their services, expand the goals they help clients reach, and partner with other niche marketing firms to cross-sell services, they had plenty of potential growth ahead of them.

Looking For Great Synergy

Kelsey’s ideal buyer would have great synergy with Influence & Co. She wanted a culture fit, a place for her team to reach their full potential, and expertise to support the agency’s continued growth. The last thing she wanted was a partner who didn’t understand the business, had a misaligned culture, or wouldn’t help her take care of her team members’ futures. That’s why she partnered with Barney – for a simple, painless acquisition process that would get her exactly what she wanted.

Finding Influence & Co’s Perfect Buyer

Excited to find this game-changing agency the partner they needed to support their growth, we hunkered down to make it happen. We started by getting to know Influence & Co inside and out – their numbers, their team, their clients, their offerings, and more. With a deep understanding of the agency and our finger on the pulse of the agency market, we developed a competitive valuation that took Influence & Co’s full potential into account. Then, we crafted amazing marketing materials to showcase what made Influence & Co special and shared them with our vast network of highly qualified strategic buyers. Quickly, we found Influence & Co’s perfect fit: Everlane Equity.

A Synergistic Equity Firm

A private capital provider making equity investments in high-quality companies well-positioned for future growth, Everlane Equity Partners was the perfect match for Kelsey’s goals. With Everlane’s culture fit, dedication to accelerating value creation alongside management teams, and portfolio of aligned companies including Social SEO, Titan Growth, Radd Interactive, and Streiff Marketing, there was an immediate synergy between Influence & Co and Everlane. Everlane’s network created plenty of opportunities to cross-sell Influence & Co’s clients, and their industry expertise would support Influence & Co in reaching their full potential.

“It was an absolute pleasure working with Kelsey and her team throughout this transaction. She is smart and has built an incredible business with clients and teammates that love what they do.”

Amanda Dixon, Co-Founder at Barney

Done, Done and Done 

In the end, Influence & Co and Everlane were a perfect match for each other. Kelsey stayed on at the helm to guide Influence & Co into its next iteration, now with the support of a large growth partner and a network full of cross-selling opportunities. Everlane strengthened its investments in the digital marketing space and got to take a stake in an award-winning, industry-innovating women-led organization. And at Barney, we added Influence & Co to our long list of media, marketing, and tech companies we’ve guided through successful acquisitions to perfect-fit buyers. Done, done and done.