The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges for the business community, and for one Vermont entrepreneur in particular, it also presented an opportunity. Strong Brand Social, a Shelburne-based marketing education and consulting firm, has grown 182% in the last three years, earning them a spot on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list for the first time. By doing so, they join up-and-coming household names like Olipop, Scrub Daddy, Athletic Brewing Co., and Skims. Given the tumultuous economic conditions in recent years, this is no small feat.
What began in 2017 as a social media agency has grown into a dynamic, forward-thinking company that has helped over 22,000 brands navigate the digital world with “industry-defying strategies.” Katie Wight, founder and CEO, initially started a social media marketing agency for Vermont-based brands and family-owned businesses. At the time, social media marketing was still relatively new, especially in Vermont. However, her ability to work with and elevate local businesses, such as Vermont Smoke and Cure, Phoenix Books, Rhino Foods, and Burton Snowboards, was a driving force behind the company’s early success.
[Katie Wight, Credit: Strong Brand Social]
Then the pandemic hit, and 80% of the agency’s revenue vanished almost overnight. She and her team pivoted, transforming their client-based agency model into an education and consulting firm. "We took the training and onboarding materials I had created for my employees and turned them into courses and workshops," she explained. With consumers homebound, there was a global shift in how brands needed to reach them, and an immediate need to do it well. The market responded enthusiastically to Strong Brand Social’s guidance. "Small businesses were trying to figure out how to connect with their communities digitally, and we were able to help them do just that."
Katie attributes much of the success to being rooted in Vermont values and says her business model reflects a "triple-bottom-line" approach. She recounts attending a 2017 conference where she discussed working with businesses committed to sustainable practices, something she later realized set her apart in the competitive world of digital marketing. "It was considered fringe at the time," she recalls. "But now, these values give us a competitive advantage in a market that increasingly demands social responsibility from businesses."
Today, the company has grown from four team members to a fully remote team of 10 full-timers, supported by over 25 contractors. Half of the full-time staff are based in Vermont. For Katie, Vermont offers something far more valuable than just a place to do business: it provides a work-life balance that she believes is essential for long-term success. “If I worked in New York City, I just know I’d lose my whole life to work,” she said, emphasizing that Vermont’s unique lifestyle was essential amid the intense demands of entrepreneurship.
[Katie Wight, Credit: Strong Brand Social]
Looking ahead, the company’s mission is clear: to reshape the social media marketing industry into something more sustainable and aligned with businesses’ true goals. The Vermont values of community, sustainability, and balance have been Strong Brand Social’s competitive advantage, and as the company continues to grow and evolve, they remain foundational to its success.
Collectively, the nine Vermont companies on the Inc. 5000 list created 137 jobs and had an average growth of 182%. Here are the other Vermont companies that made the list:
Sticky Brand (South Burlington) – 729% growth, ranked 629
Fluency (Burlington) – 554% growth, ranked 910
Quorum Data (Burlington) – 432% growth, ranked 1,184
Widewail (Burlington) – 366% growth, ranked 1,401
IXIS (Burlington) – 119% growth, ranked 3,864
Staticworx (Williston) – 113% growth, ranked 4,008
Image Relay (Burlington) – 110% growth, ranked 4,079
Reconciled (Burlington) – 73% growth, ranked 4,968