Spool - Upsourced

AGENCY TYPE: PR and Communications

LOCATION: Chicago, IL

COMPANY SIZE: 14 Employees

Spool was seeking clarity within mountains of data to make proactive, rather than reactive, decisions to grow.

About The Client

Spool is a PR and Communications agency that connects brands to culture, vision to impact, and headlines to bottom lines. Spool provides PR and reputation management, brand positioning, influencer and creator marketing, and more to bring a fresh approach to how brands earn trust and drive growth.

A small agency ready to grow, Spool came to Upsourced looking for financial support as an extension of their team. They were often making decisions based on gut feeling rather than making confident, data-driven decisions.

“Upsourced is always very clear that the decisions are ours to make, but they give us the right guidance and coaching. It’s not ‘Here’s the information’; it’s ‘Here’s information and a strong point of view based on our knowledge and experience.’”

Jody Moore

Partner and SVP, People and Operations

Our Process

Upsourced met with the Spool leadership team to understand the team’s goals and pain points. The Spool team already had plenty of data, but Upsourced needed to filter down the noise to exactly what the leadership team needed and explain what the data meant in a clean, actionable way. Upsourced implemented weekly utilization and project-status updates shared directly with account teams, so the people running client work have a real-time financial picture. This data allows the leadership team to hire, give raises, and take on more work with an offensive mindset.

How We Helped

Upsourced worked on cleaning up the data to get a clear, honest read on cash position and near-term obligations.
Built utilization tracking to gain visibility on which projects and accounts were profitable.
Established clean visibility into project-related client funds.
Added a consistent reporting cadence that leadership could actively plan around.
Provided comparative context on gross margin, staffing, utilization, and more via benchmarking reports.

“I forget that they have other clients. It just feels like they only work with us because when we reach out, they always respond. They know the names of everybody here. They know who all of our clients are. They know the work that we’re doing. It’s really pretty amazing. And they do truly feel like they’re a part of our team.”

Jody Moore

Partner and SVP, People and Operations

Overall Improvement

As the Spool team gained better visibility into the data that truly mattered, they felt empowered to make confident, data-driven decisions. The uneasy feeling that “the sky is falling” disappeared, and the leadership team was able to shift their focus to sustainable growth. Upsourced’s advice helped Spool shift from a defensive stance (caution on hiring, tight expense control) to offense (investing to retain and grow key people). Spool is now focused on retention and growth, not survival.

“The team is really calm, which helps us feel calm and in control. They explain things to us in a way that is easy to understand and helps guide our decision-making.“

As a specialist in creative agencies, Upsourced has a firm grip on the common challenges and pitfalls of the professional service model. If you want to read more on our POV when it comes to running a great agency, check out our 4-stage guide on the Life Cycle of Agencies.