When we started on September 7, 2017, we had no idea what the future would bring. As we turn the page on our 5th year today, it felt necessary to mark this milestone with a meaningful piece from our passionate and empathetic Co-Founders/Managing Partners- Rebecca Honeyman and Greg Mondshein. Read on to get a glimpse of how each leader (in their own, unique way) has grown with, reflected upon and envisioned the future for this company- one that has so much heart and spirit.
By Rebecca Honeyman
50% of businesses fail in their first five years.
I’d be lying if I said that that statistic didn’t weigh heavily on our minds the day Greg Mondshein and I announced we were launching SourceCode Communications back in September 2017.
After our shared careers spent leading comms campaigns for technology businesses across Europe and North America and being lucky enough to work alongside some of the most talented PR and marketing professionals in the industry, we decided to launch our own agency to try to do things a little differently.
With all the youthful exuberance, enthusiasm and self-belief we could muster, we managed to persuade the wonderful folks at PR Week to listen to our plans. I remember being nervous to share our ideas; what if we were wrong? What if our thinking about putting humanity at the core of brand storytelling didn’t resonate?
Fortunately for 2017 us, we were far too naive to even consider that the people-centered agency we set out to build would have to be so reliant on the human spirit and empathy so early on; we didn’t plan for an office shut down and support for remote staff for half of our years in business due to a global pandemic, nor did we consider that there would be a time in which our team’s basic rights would be threatened giving us the opportunity to so passionately and publicly stand for them.
While we couldn’t have dreamed of some of the challenges we have lived through over the past five years, I am incredibly grateful for the lessons we have learned as a result and it seemed only right to take the opportunity of reaching this milestone to share said gratitude. I’m a little early for World Gratitude Day but here goes…
The SourceCode team. Current and alumni. You are magnificent. From our inception, you have taught the two of us to be better leaders and better human beings every single day. The lessons aren’t always easy but I am forever glad for them. I hope we make you a fraction as proud as you have made us.
Our wonderful clients. Trusting an external team with your business is hard. Listening to and believing that team when they give you guidance is difficult. Thank you for entrusting us with your challenges and dreams, and for letting us come to you with thought provoking ideas that may go against the expected from time to time. We take the responsibility of partnership seriously and will spend the coming five years and beyond continuing to try to impress the hell out of you.
Agency peers. I have been astounded by the levels of welcome and support that have been offered to us as we’ve grown. So many of the leaders that we have looked up to for years have been incredibly generous with their time. A friendly ear here, a gentle nudge in the right direction there. Making introductions and connections for us with only the reward of helping a younger, smaller agency climb the ladder has been an invaluable gift; we only hope to pay it forward someday.
The Industry. From that very first PR Week interview to speaking on panels with PRCouncil, being recognized with awards for client work from PRNews, for our creativity by Provoke, agency growth by Inc, PRWeek, Adweek and TheObserver and for the Diversity Marketing Consortium by SabreAwards – the support has been humbling at the least. The recognition and generosity you have shown us pushes us to continue to improve upon our magic and produce top tier work.
50% of businesses fail in their first five years. We didn’t. Because of this dynamic, heartfelt community, SourceCode turns five today brimming with ideas about what comes next. From investments in analytics and value measurement, continued integration of digital and creative services from Strike 2 into client work, refining our creative campaign development tool The Storyhub to making our professional world a more equitable place with the Diversity Marketing Consortium and WeRaise, we love showing the world what we’re made of.
And we’re just getting started…
By Greg Mondshein
Growing up, my mom’s parental focus was on kindness and empathy. Her goal was to raise kids who cared about others, treated people the way they wanted to be treated, and generally cared about the greater good. While you can see some of these ideals in the ethos of SourceCode, there was less of an emphasis on professional achievement. I’ve talked to her about this and her position was raising happy kids comes from doing things for others, not personal and professional accolades. There’s obviously quite a bit of truth in this.
As I reflect on SourceCode reaching its five year anniversary, the achievements my wonderful friend and partner-in-crime Rebecca Honeyman and I have experienced has been a truly awesome and humbling surprise. In this short time, we’ve been recognized by Forbes, The Observer, Crains NY, PRSA, AdWeek, PRWeek, PRovoke, PRNews, and PR Daily more than 40 times for account work, team building, and overall agency success. Against all odds, Becky and I managed to land a few awards as well. While the PRWeek and University of Florida 40 under 40 Awards have been amazing personal recognitions, what I’ve been most proud to see has been the industry’s celebration of the exceptional human being that Becky is; something those of us who work with her have known for years. In the past 24 months alone, she’s been nominated to the PR Council Board of Directors, PRWeek’s Women of Distinction and numerous other DEI accolades.
To be clear, the accomplishments listed above were NOT the goal. The goal was to build a human-first, empathetic and transparent PR agency. And if we’re being honest, affording two NYC rent bills was second on the list! But, after a bit of reflection, you realize how these things happen. In our business, when you combine a healthy dose of overconfidence, a bit of PR know-how, a mountain of persistence and the ability to convince clients and employees to give us a chance, amazing things can happen.
Today, I’m proud to say we’re 40+ people in 12 states, with 45+ clients, and are capping off 5 straight years of significant growth with our first $10m year. We’ve started a charity in the Diversity Marketing Consortium™, which has donated more than $1M in pro bono marketing services to POC and female led businesses. We started WeRaise, a division within SourceCode working to bring the exceptional mom and caregiver talent currently sitting on the sidelines back into the fold. In addition, we’ve acquired a small business in Strike 2 that’s helping us continue to drive towards a more integrated marketing service offering. All of this, while dealing with a global pandemic, two economic downturns and a technology bubble that currently looms. To put things mildly, it’s been a wild ride.
Reflecting is honestly not my strong suit, but every time I do, it helps. It helps me see the forest through the trees, think more strategically, and approach every day with gratitude. I’m grateful to be in the seat I’m in and most importantly, I’m grateful for all those who helped, encouraged and mentored me along the way. You know who you are and I owe it all to you.
