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Jun 15, 2016 · 20m · top-founders

He Gave Up 30% Equity, Launched Own Gig, Winning with $800k/yr+ In Revenue. EP 289: Guillermo Ortiz

Guillermo Ortiz · 9m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews Guillermo Ortiz, founder and CEO of Geek Powered Studios, who discusses how he built an $800k+ digital marketing agency after relinquishing a 30 percent equity stake at a previous firm. Ortiz details his agency's exclusive retainer business model, team economics, modern SEO philosophies, and strategic focus on operational independence.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 48.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 3.0 Guest teaching 2.3 Guest disagreement 1.5 Nathan pushing back 2.8
05100:0010:0020:001:28–5:26 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Introducing Guillermo Ortiz and His Competitive Gaming Roots Latka pushes back on Ortiz's broad agency model of doing whatever clients ask, challenging whether offering everything is dangerous and asking what they are actually bad at.5:26–8:06 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Agency Team Size, Financial Performance, and Personal Background Latka drills down into the economics, exploring SaaS expenses, profit margins, and founder compensation in a straightforward financial probe.8:06–10:07 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Leaving Equity Behind, Founding the Agency, and Client Retention Ortiz refuses to name his prior agency partner, and Latka probes into the competitive dynamics and bad ending of his former 30% partnership.10:07–13:14 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 SEO Case Study: Deer Antler Spray and Search Engine Realities Latka live-searches the keyword 'deer antler spray' and points out that the client does not show on the front page organically, prompting Ortiz to educate him on Google's knowledge graph changes and shifting SEO metrics.13:14–16:18 · Nathan as informed peer 1/10 2016 Revenue Goals, Operational Freedom, and Connecting Online Ortiz shares his 2016 profit goals and desire for operational independence before the segment transitions into mid-roll sponsor reads.16:19–19:27 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 The Famous Five Questions and Reflections on Entrepreneurship Latka conducts the Famous Five, discussing MailChimp's CEO and SEMrush, followed by an invitation to play Settlers of Catan and an outro summary.1:28–5:26 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Guillermo Ortiz and His Competitive Gaming Roots Latka pushes back on Ortiz's broad agency model of doing whatever clients ask, challenging whether offering everything is dangerous and asking what they are actually bad at.5:26–8:06 · Guest teaching 2/10 Agency Team Size, Financial Performance, and Personal Background Latka drills down into the economics, exploring SaaS expenses, profit margins, and founder compensation in a straightforward financial probe.8:06–10:07 · Guest teaching 1/10 Leaving Equity Behind, Founding the Agency, and Client Retention Ortiz refuses to name his prior agency partner, and Latka probes into the competitive dynamics and bad ending of his former 30% partnership.10:07–13:14 · Guest teaching 6/10 SEO Case Study: Deer Antler Spray and Search Engine Realities Latka live-searches the keyword 'deer antler spray' and points out that the client does not show on the front page organically, prompting Ortiz to educate him on Google's knowledge graph changes and shifting SEO metrics.13:14–16:18 · Guest teaching 1/10 2016 Revenue Goals, Operational Freedom, and Connecting Online Ortiz shares his 2016 profit goals and desire for operational independence before the segment transitions into mid-roll sponsor reads.16:19–19:27 · Guest teaching 2/10 The Famous Five Questions and Reflections on Entrepreneurship Latka conducts the Famous Five, discussing MailChimp's CEO and SEMrush, followed by an invitation to play Settlers of Catan and an outro summary.1:28–5:26 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Introducing Guillermo Ortiz and His Competitive Gaming Roots Latka pushes back on Ortiz's broad agency model of doing whatever clients ask, challenging whether offering everything is dangerous and asking what they are actually bad at.5:26–8:06 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Agency Team Size, Financial Performance, and Personal Background Latka drills down into the economics, exploring SaaS expenses, profit margins, and founder compensation in a straightforward financial probe.8:06–10:07 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Leaving Equity Behind, Founding the Agency, and Client Retention Ortiz refuses to name his prior agency partner, and Latka probes into the competitive dynamics and bad ending of his former 30% partnership.10:07–13:14 · Guest disagreement 3/10 SEO Case Study: Deer Antler Spray and Search Engine Realities Latka live-searches the keyword 'deer antler spray' and points out that the client does not show on the front page organically, prompting Ortiz to educate him on Google's knowledge graph changes and shifting SEO metrics.13:14–16:18 · Guest disagreement 0/10 2016 Revenue Goals, Operational Freedom, and Connecting Online Ortiz shares his 2016 profit goals and desire for operational independence before the segment transitions into mid-roll sponsor reads.16:19–19:27 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Famous Five Questions and Reflections on Entrepreneurship Latka conducts the Famous Five, discussing MailChimp's CEO and SEMrush, followed by an invitation to play Settlers of Catan and an outro summary.1:28–5:26 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Introducing Guillermo Ortiz and His Competitive Gaming Roots Latka pushes back on Ortiz's broad agency model of doing whatever clients ask, challenging whether offering everything is dangerous and asking what they are actually bad at.5:26–8:06 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Agency Team Size, Financial Performance, and Personal Background Latka drills down into the economics, exploring SaaS expenses, profit margins, and founder compensation in a straightforward financial probe.8:06–10:07 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Leaving Equity Behind, Founding the Agency, and Client Retention Ortiz refuses to name his prior agency partner, and Latka probes into the competitive dynamics and bad ending of his former 30% partnership.10:07–13:14 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 SEO Case Study: Deer Antler Spray and Search Engine Realities Latka live-searches the keyword 'deer antler spray' and points out that the client does not show on the front page organically, prompting Ortiz to educate him on Google's knowledge graph changes and shifting SEO metrics.13:14–16:18 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 2016 Revenue Goals, Operational Freedom, and Connecting Online Ortiz shares his 2016 profit goals and desire for operational independence before the segment transitions into mid-roll sponsor reads.16:19–19:27 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 The Famous Five Questions and Reflections on Entrepreneurship Latka conducts the Famous Five, discussing MailChimp's CEO and SEMrush, followed by an invitation to play Settlers of Catan and an outro summary.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 74.3% · guest 25.7%0:00 · Nathan 74.3% · guest 25.7%3:00 · Nathan 22.4% · guest 77.6%3:00 · Nathan 22.4% · guest 77.6%6:00 · Nathan 29.1% · guest 70.9%6:00 · Nathan 29.1% · guest 70.9%9:00 · Nathan 31.3% · guest 68.7%9:00 · Nathan 31.3% · guest 68.7%12:00 · Nathan 44.7% · guest 55.3%12:00 · Nathan 44.7% · guest 55.3%15:00 · Nathan 73.4% · guest 26.6%15:00 · Nathan 73.4% · guest 26.6%18:00 · Nathan 66.9% · guest 33.1%18:00 · Nathan 66.9% · guest 33.1%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 12:15 Defending agency performance against traditional SERP metrics

Ortiz firmly rejects the idea of judging SEO success purely on #1 rankings, explaining how Google algorithms and CTR drops make holistic marketing more crucial.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 11:53 Challenging guest on live search results

Latka searches for Ortiz's case study keyword live on air and directly confronts him when the organic ranking is missing from page one.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:20 Explaining modern SERP click-through realities

Ortiz educates Latka on real-time algorithm shifts and cites data showing top rankings on huge volume terms now yield low click-through rates due to search layout changes.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 4:14 Interrogating lack of agency boundaries

Latka presses Ortiz on the danger of doing whatever clients request, reframing the question to force Ortiz to articulate what services they refuse or perform poorly at.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Guillermo Ortiz and His Competitive Gaming Roots 4224 Latka pushes back on Ortiz's broad agency model of doing whatever clients ask, challenging whether offering everything is dangerous and asking what they are actually bad at.
Agency Team Size, Financial Performance, and Personal Background 3212 Latka drills down into the economics, exploring SaaS expenses, profit margins, and founder compensation in a straightforward financial probe.
Leaving Equity Behind, Founding the Agency, and Client Retention 3123 Ortiz refuses to name his prior agency partner, and Latka probes into the competitive dynamics and bad ending of his former 30% partnership.
SEO Case Study: Deer Antler Spray and Search Engine Realities 4635 Latka live-searches the keyword 'deer antler spray' and points out that the client does not show on the front page organically, prompting Ortiz to educate him on Google's knowledge graph changes and shifting SEO metrics.
2016 Revenue Goals, Operational Freedom, and Connecting Online 1101 Ortiz shares his 2016 profit goals and desire for operational independence before the segment transitions into mid-roll sponsor reads.
The Famous Five Questions and Reflections on Entrepreneurship 3212 Latka conducts the Famous Five, discussing MailChimp's CEO and SEMrush, followed by an invitation to play Settlers of Catan and an outro summary.

Statements from this episode (6)

Disclosure
Ortiz: Geek Powered Studios accepts only one client per industry per area
“We only work with one client per industry per area.”
Guillermo Ortiz Jun 15, 2016 ▶ 2:56
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ortiz: Geek Powered Studios generated around $800,000 in 2015 revenue
“So in the 2015, the total total revenue was around 800,000.”
Guillermo Ortiz Jun 15, 2016 ▶ 6:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ortiz: Geek Powered Studios spent 30% to 40% of revenue on SaaS
“I would say that it's close to like 30 or 40%.”
Guillermo Ortiz Jun 15, 2016 ▶ 6:54
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ortiz: Geek Powered Studios made $100,000 to $200,000 profit in 2015
“I would say we, it was about, you know, a hundred to 200,000.”
Guillermo Ortiz Jun 15, 2016 ▶ 7:21
Disclosure
Ortiz: CEO salary at Geek Powered Studios is $36,000 per year
“My salary is 36,000 a year.”
Guillermo Ortiz Jun 15, 2016 ▶ 7:33
Assertion Supported
Ortiz: Google's real-time algorithms eliminate update reference points for SEOs
“It's really frustrating how Google just continually shrinks the SERPs. And you know, now they have real time algorithms, so you have no reference point as to what update hits you.”
Guillermo Ortiz Jun 15, 2016 ▶ 12:16
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