Your survival depends on cutting through the noise, convincing a skeptical audience with more options than ever, and positioning your firm to compete.
Our programs and services are designed to help agency owners do two things:
For Marketing Agency Owners Only
I built and sold two agencies. Let me show you what I'd do differently.
Most agency owners are figuring it out alone, making expensive mistakes that someone who's already been through it could have prevented in a 5-minute conversation. PowderKeg gives you direct access to an operator who has built, scaled, and sold two agencies and three companies total. I'll tell you what to do, what to stop doing, and how to stack the odds in your favor.
The Probability Problem
Success is a numbers game.
I'm here to change your numbers.
Every decision you make as an agency owner either increases or decreases your probability of success. The problem is, you're making hundreds of these decisions with no pattern recognition, no operator experience, and no one who's already made (and survived) the expensive mistakes.
That's what PowderKeg changes. You get direct, ongoing access to someone who has been through the entire agency lifecycle twice: the early hustle, the first hires, the scaling pain, the operational chaos, and the exit. I'll tell you the things you shouldn't be doing that are killing your growth. I'll tell you what to do instead. And I'll show you how AI changes the math on all of it.
This isn't a course you watch and forget. This isn't a Slack channel with a thousand strangers. This is an operating system run by someone who's done it, built specifically to increase the probability that you'll do it too.
50%
of agencies fail in the first five years. Most of those failures are predictable and preventable if someone tells you what's coming before it hits.
82%
of agency owners say their biggest challenge is new business development. Not because they're bad at it. Because no one taught them a system.
3x
the output, same team size. That's what happens when an agency implements AI correctly instead of just talking about it.
Who's Behind This
I didn't read about running an agency. I did it. Twice.
I've made every mistake an agency owner can make. I've also figured out how to fix every single one of them. PowderKeg exists so you don't have to learn the expensive way.
I'm Zach Strauss. I've built and sold two agencies and three companies total. I started as an individual contributor, earned Rep of the Year, and worked my way to the CEO seat. I've been the agency owner who was the entire sales team, the owner who hired the wrong people, the owner who figured out how to build systems that scaled, and the owner who sold on the other side. My companies have been recognized on the Inc. 5000 four times and named the fastest growing company in our category twice. I'm not a coach. I'm not a consultant. I'm an operator who's already done exactly what you're trying to do.
2
Agencies built and sold
3
Total companies exited
4x
Inc. 5000 recognition
2x
Fastest growing company
You won't find me flaunting a rented Lambo in Miami. I have 4 kids under 4, a house in the suburbs, and a constant need for a good cup of coffee. I just happen to know how to build high performing companies extremely well.
Inside PowderKeg
Direct access to the operator.
A library that gets smarter every week.
PowderKeg isn't a community where you scroll through posts from strangers. It's direct, ongoing access to me, plus a continuously growing library of short, tactical video guides, templates, prompts, and frameworks built specifically for agency owners. Log in, grab what you need, ask me anything, implement it today.
Inside the Library
▶ Video Guide
Kill the Proposal Time Suck Forever
How I turned 8-hour proposals into 45-minute proposals using AI without losing a single close. The exact workflow, step by step.
◉ Playbook
The Agency Pipeline System
The exact new business system I ran across two agencies. Prospecting, nurturing, qualifying, and closing without feast-or-famine cycles.
□ Template
Client Onboarding SOP (Plug and Play)
Stop reinventing onboarding for every client. This SOP handles intake, kickoff, and project setup so your team runs it without you.
▶ Video Guide
The Pricing Conversation I Wish I Had Sooner
How to restructure your pricing from hourly/project to value-based retainers. The framework, the script, and the math behind it.
◇ Prompt Pack
AI Client Strategy Deck in 30 Minutes
Prompts that build competitive analysis, audience insights, and strategic recommendations. Your client will think it took a week.
▶ Video Guide
The Hiring Mistake That Almost Killed My First Agency
I hired for skill when I should have hired for system. Here's the framework I use now and why it changes everything about your team.
New content added weekly. Library grows every month. The longer you're a member, the more valuable it gets.
The Operator's Playbook
Weekly Video Guides from Zach
3-4 new short, tactical videos every week. Not theory. The specific things I did, the mistakes I made, and what I'd do differently.
Plug-and-Play Templates
Proposals, SOPs, pricing models, onboarding flows, campaign templates. Download, customize, deploy today.
AI Prompt Library
Tested prompts for every agency function. Client strategy, content creation, prospecting, reporting, competitive intel.
Implementation Playbooks
Step-by-step systems for the hard parts: pricing, hiring, new business, operations, and AI implementation.
Direct Access + Peer Network
Ask Zach Anything
Post your challenge, get a direct response from me. Not a community manager. Not a chatbot. The guy who's built and sold two agencies.
Monthly Live Roundtables
Bring real agency problems. Get real answers. These aren't webinars. They're working sessions where we solve things together.
Owner Hot Seats
Quarterly deep dives on a member's real challenge. Pricing, hiring, client retention, growth. You learn as much watching as participating.
Agency Owner Network
A curated group of agency owners. Share referrals, compare tools, discuss pricing, find white-label partners.
Unreasonable Growth For Uncompromising Agencies
Exclusive, one-of-a-kind experiences for the nation’s most ambitious agency owners.
Access the top community, coaching, and workshop programs in the industry with an approach unlike any others.
No tired templates, copy/paste tactics, or fortune-cookie wisdom. Go beyond paint-by-numbers approaches with training that attacks the root of the challenges standing in your way.
"Powderkeg has changed the way we approach creating both short and long term value inside of our agency. I can't recommend their services enough.
Jeff B. - CEO
Agencies Helped
0
+
Agencies Sold From PowderKeg's Leaders
0
In Agency Value Created
$
0
+
With over 50,000 agencies in the U.S. alone, it takes more than being a great marketer to grow a great agency.
- Build a massively valuable agency that they later sell.
- Build a massively valuable agency that they want to keep.
Regardless of your vision, the principles and frameworks to accomplish this are the same.
Over 100+ agencies widened the gap against their competition with PowderKeg
Our Solutions
How We Can Help
When it comes to fixing your entire revenue operations or a specific marketing or sales headwind, my north start is the same: generate more revenue.
Join The Community
Fast-track and accelerate how you solve your most pressing agency problems – get access to an online resource that’s jam-packed with helpful content, consulting, coaching, and a private community where you can ask questions, get feedback from experts, and exchange ideas with peers.
Done-For-You Services
This goes way beyond traditional coaching or consulting. In this program, you’re hiring us to become a fractional leader on your team to identify, prioritize, and execute on solving the most pressing problems your agency faces.
On-Demand Workshops
Access our on-demand workshops to solve a particular issue your agency may face – giving you the flexibility to learn whenever and wherever you want. Stay tuned for even more on-demand experiences coming your way soon!
Lead Generation
Get the output of a full time sales develop rep at a fraction of the cost.
We’ll set in motion ‘done-for-you’, personalized outreach campaigns at scale to get you sales-qualified conversations.
You get to close deals faster and smarter than ever.
Listen To The Podcast
Listen to The PowderKeg Podcast where we share quick tips on accelerating the value of your agency and periodically interview agency owners that have been in your shoes and successfully scaled.
Subscribe to The Newsletter
Ignite Insight, is a bi-monthly newsletter designed to keep busy agency leaders ahead of the curve—all in the time it takes to enjoy your morning coffee. Each edition is packed with actionable insights, cutting-edge strategies, and the latest trends that matter most to your success.
Don't Take Our Word For it
"It's like they are an extension of your team. His responsiveness is unmatched. His idea to build (and him building it) an email marketing campaign over 4 months to our existing book of business generated over $8 Million in new business for us. He obviously more than paid for himself."
Cheryl C.
VP of Marketing
"The guy is an absolute workhorse. Connecting the dots, guiding our team, turning marketing problems into math problems, I've really never met anyone like Zach."
Todd G.
CEO
revenue operations results
I focus on results, Not vanity metrics
When it comes to fixing your entire revenue operations or a specific marketing or sales headwind, my north start is the same: generate more revenue.
108 New Deals & $8.5 Million in Revenue
A B2B manufacturer generated $8.5 Million in revenue and they invested $40,500 for the whole year.
38% Increase Year over Year In Leads
While reducing the overall marketing budget by 45% for the year for a B2B manufacturing company. That’s called doing more with less.
228 Leads in 2.5 Months
I helped a B2B industrial company execute their first strategic paid campaign, resulting in 228 sales-qualified leads in 2.5 months.
14.52X Engagement ROI
A B2B promotional products manufacturing company realized a 14.52X ROI when we implemented the Agile Acquisition methodology to their business.
317% Increase In Lead Conversions
I helped a B2B medical device company more than triple its leads without spending any additional paid advertising dollars.
4x Engagement ROI By Month 2
By revamping this B2B manufacturer’s website and overhauling its customer acquisition strategy, they realized a 4X ROI 45 days into their engagement with me.
The PowderKeg Vision
We’re on a mission to help 1,000 agencies grow their revenue by $5,000,000 each ($5B impact).