Interview by Joe Baur
Brad Griffith of Buckeye Interactive
Meet Brad Griffith, founder of Buckeye Interactive, a digital marketing agency.
What is Buckeye Interactive?
Buckeye Interactive is a digital marketing agency specializing in web strategy, engineering and design. We work with small businesses and web-based startups to design, develop, launch and market measurable, beautiful web experiences. In other words, we build websites and mobile apps.
How did you come up with the idea?
I started developing websites when I was 12, building a book report website for George Orwell’sAnimal Farm. I was hooked immediately, and my love of software engineering has become my career.
I grew up in a family of small business owners. I worked at my dad’s veterinary practice as a kid, and my aunt and uncle own a toy store. I experienced first hand how out of reach professional web design and development were for small businesses. Large agencies won’t take on small projects and freelancers tend to be unreliable and inconsistent. My passion for small business combined with the lack of highly professional options for those businesses compelled me to start Buckeye Interactive to provide the highest quality custom design, development and web strategy packaged for small businesses.
What was the biggest surprise in starting your business?
Most entrepreneurs start our businesses because we love what we do. I love working with small businesses and developing web-based software, so that’s our focus. I completely underestimated the amount of time and effort needed to manage the HR and administrative sides of the business. Hiring highly talented people, providing an exceptionally fun and supportive work environment, motivating the team, and managing client expectations quickly absorbed more of my time and attention than developing websites. I truly love the business challenges as much as the technical challenges, though, so this has been an incredible learning experience.
