"Celebrate Austin Entrepreneurship Project" - Apogee Search

Can Your Target Audience Find You?

This is the question that greets you on the homepage of Apogee Search. Gosh, we all hope that those we desire as clients can easily discover us when they go looking for our products or services, but too often we are lost in the crowd of the over populated internet.

Founded in 2001, Apogee Search is an industry leader and one of the country's largest marketing services firms. Their highly experienced staff of internet marketing professionals work to deliver a variety of client solutions that goes far beyond click-throughs to a website.

In a world where hundreds of companies and consultants claim to be Search Engine Optimization experts, companies are confused on how to gain the results they desire for their internet marketing investment. CEO and founder Bill Leake wants to help educate his customers on what success really looks like in the world of internet marketing.

I have known Bill Leake for over a decade, and he is an entrepreneur with a real passion that goes beyond just building a successful company. The father of seven children, he wants to make sure that he is making a difference for his clients, his industry and his community. Bill takes pride in seeing his company's efforts achieve real results for customers.

"We're in the business of helping other businesses grow, by helping our customers implement measurable, provable online marketing campaigns to drive leads, sales, and profits. In a tough economy, our clients need us even more", says Leake.

"We know how much impact we're making in our client base, since we see the numbers. For every job we create within the walls of Apogee Search Marketing, we've probably helped create about 20-25x that number for our clients and their supply chains in turn from the increased business we've helped them bring in. In that sense, what we do can really serve a higher purpose, as our ripple effects throughout the economy are magnified far beyond our walls. Properly done, company building can be a truly noble endeavor".

Bill credits Austin as a great place to grow a company. He sights three things about the city that allows the entrepreneurial spirit to thrive:

1. Phenomenal talent pool

2. Phenomenal place to live personally (did I mention he has seven kids).

3. Phenomenal state tax & regulatory policies

I agree. Austin is phenomenal on so many levels. Austinites have a love affair with Austin - and this pays dividends for the business community.

Bill wants to see other entrepreneurs succeed - and often will sit down for lunch with those seeking his advice. However, he does not like those who just wish they had some other "dream job" or their own business - he thinks people need to take control and take action; "There's a big difference between being an entrepreneur and being a wantrepreneur. Far far far too many folks whine about their day job and have a 'fantasy job' that never moves beyond fantasy. Fantasy jobs are fine, as are fantasy football teams, but at some point you have to get off the fence and jump into the pool."

He believes that good advisers and hiring the best employees are the most important parts of growing a business. Leake tries to surround himself with the smartest people, and listens and learns. He knows that he is the one who must make the final decision and follow his passion, but doing this in combination with the right team is what has lead his company to being on this years Inc 500 list of the fastest growing companies.

Thanks to Bill Leake and Apogee Search for being another great example of Austin entrepreneurship and we look forward to seeing the company's continued success.

Have A Great Day.

thom