Firefly's journey from $100 to the Deloitte Fast 50 in just four years

An Auckland-based digital marketing startup is reflecting on its ranking in the 2018 Deloitte Fast 50 after a four-year journey that started with $100 and a base in an Auckland bedroom.

Firefly, a service-based digital marketing agency, is the work of 28 year old founder Anthony Baxter and his business partner.

With just $100 to the partners' names, they turned Firefly into a business with a near-$2 million turnover, more than 15 staff and growing at a rate of 254% annually, the pair say.

Firefly also ranked 29th on the 2018 Deloitte Fast 50, joining the likes of firms including Electric Kiwi, Moola, PushPay, Invenco Group, Inde, and ZX Security.

"In today's day and age, if you are not in the digital space or don't have a digital marketing strategy you are irrelevant," says Baxter.

"It's that simple and I think more and more people are really starting to embrace this concept and take action.

This year the company and its founders are setting their sights on an Australian launch and continue to grow year-on-year.  Baxter says he encourages businesses of all sizes to invest in digital.

"It still amazes me that some of the most established businesses are still 'considering' digital over traditional media and if they don't move quickly, not only will the miss a golden time of opportunity to build their brand and grow before it's too late.

Firefly works with clients across both in NZ and international, including Deloitte.

"Firefly give us agile digital marketing solutions for seamless integration, customisation and campaign flexibility," says a statement from Deloitte NZ.

"The team is focused on digital transformation - strategy, challenging the status-quo and delivering the best answers for both their customers initial results and continued growth.

Firefly also works with companies such as AJ Hackett, Smartpay and Healthbank. The Takapuna-based team says that the future is looking exciting. "More and more pressures come in for businesses to perform and agencies to be measurable and accountable," says Baxter.

"There needs to be strong results that show return on investment on marketing spend. We look forward to helping more and more businesses make the transition into the digital age and catching the wave.

Firefly is a full service digital marketing agency, providing full, end-to-end agile marketing plans executed with no hidden fees and full transparency.