Interviewing Toronto Entrepreneur: Matthew Goulart
Welcome to our Friday Feature: Toronto Entrepreneurs segment, where we bring you insights, experiences, inspiration, and advice from prominent entrepreneurs in the Greater Toronto Area!
We’ve interviewed prominent business leaders who have been kind enough to take the time to share their experiences with us on what it’s like starting their very own business (and nurturing it as well)!
We believe that these stories would be valuable to other aspiring or established business leaders. On behalf of TorontoEntrepreneurs.ca, we hope that you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed creating it! Feel free to share this story with your networks.
Introducing Toronto Entrepreneur: Matthew Goulart, Founder of Ignite Digital
Company Profile
Company name: Ignite Digital
What does your company do? We are a Digital Marketing Agency.
Year launched: 2008
Number of employees: 6
Website: https://ignitedigital.com/
The Interview
1. How did you get the idea to start your business?
I stumbled into creating a Digital Marketing Agency. We first created a website called BankNerd.ca, and it became within 6 months the largest personal finance blog for Canadians. Maple Leaf Foods saw the work that we were doing organically and approached us about creating a similar strategy for them. They were our first client and news got out of the great work we were doing. More clients wanted us to replicate the great work, and that is when I formalised the organisation into a proper Full Service Digital Marketing Agency.
2. What's the best/worst thing to happen since you started your business?
Best has to be the positive impact we have on our clients. The worst would have to be when we ran out of coffee for one day here at the office.
3. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as an entrepreneur? As an entrepreneur, there will always be challenges. To be a great entrepreneur, it's important to realise you cannot control everything and you have to understand there will always be another hurdle to overcome. The best entrepreneurs rise up and face these challenges head-on. This is why the best entrepreneurs have amazing organisations.
4. What are some lessons you’ve learned as an entrepreneur? The most important lesson I learned is never to give up. As an entrepreneur, you will always face challenges, and you will need to push through each challenge you come into. Vince Lombardi had a great quote I keep in my meeting notes “Winners never quit, and quitters never win.”
5. What are the best parts about entrepreneurship? Seeing the hard work that you and your team do on a daily basis grow.
6. What has been your most effective form of advertising? In the beginning word of mouth was the best form of advertising for us. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) quickly became and still is our #1 driver of leads. Without Search Engine Optimization the organisation would not be where it is today without it. Organically ranking for major keywords that our prospects search for is a major competitive advantage both validating who we are and also increasing our advertising effectiveness.
7. What goals have you achieved for your business so far? Our most recent achievement for our business is positioning us for the future. We recently moved into a much larger location that can support a large staff population then we previously had in our old location. We are positioned now effectively for future growth.
8. What are your goals for your business in 2019? Continuing to provide high ROI for all of our clients. Our average ROI is 302% and while that is an amazing accomplishment I want to see that number increase further. Our continued focus on client success is our ultimate goal every year.
9. Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 years? I will always be working. I work 7 to 7 every day and have been doing it since I was 19 years old. Our business continues to rapidly grow because of our dedicated focus on making sure our clients are successful. We do this by focusing on generating a positive ROI. Our average client currently has a 302% ROI with us. In 5 years the organisation will be significantly larger to support our growing client base.
10. What upcoming projects are you working on? We are always working on new and top Secret projects. We will be making an announcement soon about a new major project that will position us as leaders within a specific industry. We recently internally launched a new automated workflow system that automates our sales and client management processes. Allowing us to focus more on 1-on-1 interactions instead of being bogged down by tasks and follow-up tasks.
11. What trends are you seeing in your industry?
Our industry is oversaturated, and too many companies are providing low-quality service and value to organisations. I see a massive change in our industry, organisations that are not able to provide quality/value will slowly disappear and consolidation within the industry will happen.
12. What business advice would you give yourself if you were to start all over? Wake up early, hit the gym earlier, and never stop.
13. Last but not least, let’s end off with a fun fact! What might we be surprised to know about you?
In our new office, I built all 22 desks by hand. I’m not a professional carpenter by I think I did a good job!
Social Media
Let's get social. Follow Ignite Digital on social media!
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ignitedigitalcanada
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ignitedigitalca
Many thanks to Matthew for sharing his story with us! Stay tuned for our next featured Toronto Entrepreneur!