Address: 1110 N. Old World Third St., Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Website: www.7summitsagency.com
Year Founded: 2009
Product or service offered: 7Summits is a social business agency dedicated to helping clients apply social media and online communities to drive real, measurable, business results.
Projected 2012 revenue: $6.5 million
President and CEO: Paul Stillmank, co-founder
Other key members of the leadership team: RJ Reimers, co-founder and executive vice president of operations; Bill O’Neil, senior vice president creative experience; Rob Murray, senior vice president of business development; James Davidson, vice president digital strategy; Cullen O’Brien, client managing director; Steve Elmore, client managing director.
Target clientele: Fortune 1000, Global 2000 Mid-Market fast movers- rapid growth to $1 billion segment. Higher education, health care and health care services organizations, financial services, B2B and B2C companies.
What has fueled your company’s growth? “Focus and purpose. By focusing less on ‘what’ we do and more on ‘why’ we are doing it. 7Summits believes in unleashing people to create, compete and innovate in entirely new ways.”
What is the biggest obstacle to your company’s growth? “The number one obstacle is talent. 7Summits is breaking new ground every week in terms of how we apply social and community constructs to business. There is a pivot here from what people are used to doing and certainly in how they are thinking in solving business problems. Finding the right resources and training them in our craft takes time.”
Do you plan any changes in your company in the upcoming months? “7Summits just expanded its presence by doubling its Milwaukee office space, opening a similar facility in Chicago and establishing a resource presence in Denver. Following through on those plans to secure additional talent is a key strategy for 2013 and beyond.”
Who are the business people, locally or nationally, whom you admire? And what traits do those people exhibit that make you admire them? “Warren Buffett for his entrepreneurial and contrarian philosophy towards business.”
What is the outlook for the business conditions of your industry over the next several months? “The market for social business continues to heat up as more and more companies realize the benefits of a more socially connected organization. The market that 7Summits is serving is estimate to eclipse the $100 billion mark by 2020.”
What is your company’s key strategy for rising out of the recession? “7Summits launched during 2009 – the worst year of this recent recession. Our strategy from the start has been driving benefits to the top-line and bottom-line of our clients’ businesses. Social media and online communities are providing very tangible results to companies at a time when those results are more important than ever.”
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