September 20, 2019

Catching Up with VELOX as it Looks for a New Home

Article from IdahoBusinessReview.com. By Shanon Fisher

Next time you see an internet ad or Google Search result, remember that it might have come via an Idaho company.

VELOX Media is a digital marketing agency, meaning it helps its customers grow revenue faster using online strategies such as organic search marketing, Google Ads and other online sources like Quora, LinkedIn, and Yahoo!

The Boise-based company recently landed at 181 on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing privately held small businesses in the U.S. and came in third-highest in Idaho.

Based on the amount of money it represents – at least $3 million to $4 million per quarter – its certification in Google products and good return on clients’ ad spend, VELOX is now considered a Google Premier Partner, meaning it is ranked in the top 3% of Google partners.

“Organic search is the single largest marketing channel,” said Kevin Veon, executive vice president. “Ninety percent of people won’t click on an ad – they’ll just go to the organic ranking. That represents 40% to 50% of revenue capture for all businesses today.”

VELOX focuses primarily on beauty and skincare digital marketing but also works with CBD, fashion, B2B, and a multitude of other brands. They also develop Google ads, Facebook ads, paid search, paid social, referral and media placements.

Coming Back to Boise

VELOX – the name means “swift” in Latin – was founded in Idaho in 2007 and moved to Los Angeles for a short time, said CEO Joe Rowett.

“We did a lot of incubation with other companies,” he said. “We wanted to really expand our digital marketing efforts.”

But their families were still in Idaho, and VELOX moved back to Boise in 2010.

“Boise was a lot different after that,” Rowett said. “The talent is better. As we’ve grown, we’ve seen considerable talent benefits by being in Boise.”

In addition, overhead costs are lower in Idaho.

VELOX has been doubling its revenue for the past five years, Rowett said. Last year, it was $3.1 million, while this year it should be close to $7.5 million, he said.

Needing a new home

VELOX has been growing it’s employees as well. Currently, the company has almost 50 staffers, 26 of whom are in Boise and 20 offshore, plus a team of contractors in India.

“We’re adding an additional five to 10 employees per year,” Rowett said.

The downside is that the current VELOX headquarters – housed in the Garro Building on Bannock Street between Eighth and Ninth streets – is full.

Consequently, VELOX is looking for a new home, somewhere around 5,000 square feet. But the company doesn’t plan to move far.

“We’ll stay in downtown Boise for sure,” Rowett said. “It works with our culture. Continuing to build our culture is really important, and downtown is where our employees like to be.”

So far VELOX is self-funded, so it isn’t getting pressure from investors to decide on an exit strategy.

“Most important is to continue to grow,” Rowett said. “We’re not looking at an exit strategy right now. We’re focused on building a larger team and building a platform around what we do.”

The industry’s emphasis on online shopping is giving VELOX a boost, Rowett said, adding that most of the VELOX’s clients are retailers and 80% of them are business-to-consumer companies in areas such as cosmetics, health and wellness.

“Every brick-and-mortar is looking at an online strategy,” he said. “We’re in the growth phase of looking at how to run these channels for companies and help them with their advertising needs.”

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