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Jun 7, 2016 · 20m · top-founders

From Cleaning Company at 26 to $14m Agency By His 42nd Birthday, EP 266: Andrew Howlett

Andrew Howlett · 10m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews Andrew Howlett, Chief Digital Officer at Rain, about scaling a boutique digital agency from its e-commerce roots into a $14 million powerhouse serving top enterprise brands. Howlett shares practical insights into agency retainer models, high-impact digital campaigns, and the operational advantages of integrated, full-stack technical execution.

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 41.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.7 Guest teaching 2.5 Guest disagreement 1.2 Nathan pushing back 2.2
05100:0010:0020:000:27–3:39 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Episode Teasers Nathan introduces the show and quickly digs into the exact financials and margin of Andrew's initial e-commerce cleaning business. Andrew cooperatively provides the backstory and revenue details.3:39–5:56 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Rain Agency Scale, Retainers, and Enterprise Clients Nathan probes into Rain Agency's retainer models, employee headcounts, and client concentration. Andrew transparently breaks down their enterprise retainer pricing of 50k to 75k per month.5:57–9:33 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Campbell's Chunky Soup Super Bowl Digital Campaign Nathan assumes a traditional multi-million dollar Super Bowl ad buy, but Andrew explains their digital-first influencer strategy for Campbell's Chunky Soup. Nathan pushes on whether the influencer seeding is automated by software or pure manual hustle.9:34–11:46 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Facebook 10th Anniversary Campaign and Agency Margins Nathan clarifies the pricing of the Facebook anniversary project, catching whether it was 150k total or per video. Andrew clarifies the total 450k scope and explains why video margins are lower than software development.11:46–14:24 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Fourteen Million in Revenue and Full-Stack Advantage Nathan contrasts agency cash flow with SaaS hype and asks about competing with holding companies like WPP. Andrew provides a detailed strategic breakdown of their full-stack competitive advantage.14:25–18:52 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Connecting with Andrew Howlett Online The interview wraps up with standard contact information, mid-roll sponsor reads, and the Famous Five quick-fire questions.0:27–3:39 · Guest teaching 2/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Episode Teasers Nathan introduces the show and quickly digs into the exact financials and margin of Andrew's initial e-commerce cleaning business. Andrew cooperatively provides the backstory and revenue details.3:39–5:56 · Guest teaching 2/10 Rain Agency Scale, Retainers, and Enterprise Clients Nathan probes into Rain Agency's retainer models, employee headcounts, and client concentration. Andrew transparently breaks down their enterprise retainer pricing of 50k to 75k per month.5:57–9:33 · Guest teaching 4/10 Campbell's Chunky Soup Super Bowl Digital Campaign Nathan assumes a traditional multi-million dollar Super Bowl ad buy, but Andrew explains their digital-first influencer strategy for Campbell's Chunky Soup. Nathan pushes on whether the influencer seeding is automated by software or pure manual hustle.9:34–11:46 · Guest teaching 3/10 Facebook 10th Anniversary Campaign and Agency Margins Nathan clarifies the pricing of the Facebook anniversary project, catching whether it was 150k total or per video. Andrew clarifies the total 450k scope and explains why video margins are lower than software development.11:46–14:24 · Guest teaching 3/10 Fourteen Million in Revenue and Full-Stack Advantage Nathan contrasts agency cash flow with SaaS hype and asks about competing with holding companies like WPP. Andrew provides a detailed strategic breakdown of their full-stack competitive advantage.14:25–18:52 · Guest teaching 1/10 Connecting with Andrew Howlett Online The interview wraps up with standard contact information, mid-roll sponsor reads, and the Famous Five quick-fire questions.0:27–3:39 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Episode Teasers Nathan introduces the show and quickly digs into the exact financials and margin of Andrew's initial e-commerce cleaning business. Andrew cooperatively provides the backstory and revenue details.3:39–5:56 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Rain Agency Scale, Retainers, and Enterprise Clients Nathan probes into Rain Agency's retainer models, employee headcounts, and client concentration. Andrew transparently breaks down their enterprise retainer pricing of 50k to 75k per month.5:57–9:33 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Campbell's Chunky Soup Super Bowl Digital Campaign Nathan assumes a traditional multi-million dollar Super Bowl ad buy, but Andrew explains their digital-first influencer strategy for Campbell's Chunky Soup. Nathan pushes on whether the influencer seeding is automated by software or pure manual hustle.9:34–11:46 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Facebook 10th Anniversary Campaign and Agency Margins Nathan clarifies the pricing of the Facebook anniversary project, catching whether it was 150k total or per video. Andrew clarifies the total 450k scope and explains why video margins are lower than software development.11:46–14:24 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Fourteen Million in Revenue and Full-Stack Advantage Nathan contrasts agency cash flow with SaaS hype and asks about competing with holding companies like WPP. Andrew provides a detailed strategic breakdown of their full-stack competitive advantage.14:25–18:52 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Connecting with Andrew Howlett Online The interview wraps up with standard contact information, mid-roll sponsor reads, and the Famous Five quick-fire questions.0:27–3:39 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Weekly Contest Winner and Episode Teasers Nathan introduces the show and quickly digs into the exact financials and margin of Andrew's initial e-commerce cleaning business. Andrew cooperatively provides the backstory and revenue details.3:39–5:56 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Rain Agency Scale, Retainers, and Enterprise Clients Nathan probes into Rain Agency's retainer models, employee headcounts, and client concentration. Andrew transparently breaks down their enterprise retainer pricing of 50k to 75k per month.5:57–9:33 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Campbell's Chunky Soup Super Bowl Digital Campaign Nathan assumes a traditional multi-million dollar Super Bowl ad buy, but Andrew explains their digital-first influencer strategy for Campbell's Chunky Soup. Nathan pushes on whether the influencer seeding is automated by software or pure manual hustle.9:34–11:46 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Facebook 10th Anniversary Campaign and Agency Margins Nathan clarifies the pricing of the Facebook anniversary project, catching whether it was 150k total or per video. Andrew clarifies the total 450k scope and explains why video margins are lower than software development.11:46–14:24 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Fourteen Million in Revenue and Full-Stack Advantage Nathan contrasts agency cash flow with SaaS hype and asks about competing with holding companies like WPP. Andrew provides a detailed strategic breakdown of their full-stack competitive advantage.14:25–18:52 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Connecting with Andrew Howlett Online The interview wraps up with standard contact information, mid-roll sponsor reads, and the Famous Five quick-fire questions.

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

0:00 · Nathan 58.5% · guest 41.5%0:00 · Nathan 58.5% · guest 41.5%3:00 · Nathan 29.7% · guest 70.3%3:00 · Nathan 29.7% · guest 70.3%6:00 · Nathan 23.9% · guest 76.1%6:00 · Nathan 23.9% · guest 76.1%9:00 · Nathan 35.7% · guest 64.3%9:00 · Nathan 35.7% · guest 64.3%12:00 · Nathan 19.5% · guest 80.5%12:00 · Nathan 19.5% · guest 80.5%15:00 · Nathan 64.3% · guest 35.7%15:00 · Nathan 64.3% · guest 35.7%18:00 · Nathan 66.6% · guest 33.4%18:00 · Nathan 66.6% · guest 33.4%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 9:04 Rejecting view guarantees in SOWs

Andrew firmly clarifies that they never guarantee view counts in client contracts due to unpredictable client sign-off and editing decisions.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 8:15 Challenging agency automation claims

Nathan directly challenges Andrew on whether their influencer marketing relies on software or just manual employee hustle.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 6:54 Explaining digital-first Super Bowl strategy

Andrew corrects Nathan's assumption of a 3 to 4 million dollar broadcast placement by breaking down their 500k digital-only influencer strategy.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:04 Validating agency cash flows over SaaS valuations

Nathan demonstrates business acumen by contrasting real agency top-line revenues against overvalued SaaS startups lacking revenue.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Weekly Contest Winner and Episode Teasers 4212 Nathan introduces the show and quickly digs into the exact financials and margin of Andrew's initial e-commerce cleaning business. Andrew cooperatively provides the backstory and revenue details.
Rain Agency Scale, Retainers, and Enterprise Clients 5212 Nathan probes into Rain Agency's retainer models, employee headcounts, and client concentration. Andrew transparently breaks down their enterprise retainer pricing of 50k to 75k per month.
Campbell's Chunky Soup Super Bowl Digital Campaign 5423 Nathan assumes a traditional multi-million dollar Super Bowl ad buy, but Andrew explains their digital-first influencer strategy for Campbell's Chunky Soup. Nathan pushes on whether the influencer seeding is automated by software or pure manual hustle.
Facebook 10th Anniversary Campaign and Agency Margins 5323 Nathan clarifies the pricing of the Facebook anniversary project, catching whether it was 150k total or per video. Andrew clarifies the total 450k scope and explains why video margins are lower than software development.
Fourteen Million in Revenue and Full-Stack Advantage 6312 Nathan contrasts agency cash flow with SaaS hype and asks about competing with holding companies like WPP. Andrew provides a detailed strategic breakdown of their full-stack competitive advantage.
Connecting with Andrew Howlett Online 3101 The interview wraps up with standard contact information, mid-roll sponsor reads, and the Famous Five quick-fire questions.

Statements from this episode (15)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
uclean.com generated nearly $1 million in its second year
“I did about 200,000 dollars the first year. Second year did close to a million dollars.”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 2:54
Assertion Not checkable as stated
uclean.com generated $750,000 in revenue in 2015
“I think we did about 750,000 dollars.”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 3:19
Assertion Not checkable as stated
uclean.com operates at a 30% net profit margin
“It's about 30%.”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 3:29
Disclosure
Rain employs roughly 100 people across three offices
“About a hundred, hundred employees between the three offices.”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 3:45
Disclosure
Rain's typical monthly retainer is $50,000 to $75,000
“I would say a typical would be somewhere in the 50 to 75,000 dollars per month.”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 5:23
Disclosure
Rain retainer agreements typically last 12 to 24 months
“No, I would say typically 12 to 24 months would be more, more average for us.”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 5:35
Disclosure
90% of Rain's revenue comes from just seven clients
“I would say 90% of our business is spread across about seven clients.”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 5:46
Disclosure
Rain ran a $500,000 digital ad buy for Campbell's Chunky Soup
“So that's, I think where I was going is, is we actually did a much more digital heavy strategy. So ours was, it was all about You know, about half a million dollars in sort of digital buy and, you know, a lot of sort of, you know, finding who the influencers w…”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 6:55
Disclosure
Rain does not guarantee view counts in client statements of work
“No, too many other, other factors at play there, especially just, you know, final sign off.”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 9:08
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Facebook paid Rain $450,000 for three 10th anniversary videos
“Each of those videos were about a 150,000 dollars. And that was a budget that we were given you know, from Facebook.”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 10:10
Disclosure
Rain targets an annual net margin of 15% to 25%
“End of the year margin is going to be somewhere in the 15, 20, 25%.”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 11:26
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Rain generated approximately $14 million in revenue in 2015
“We did about fourteen million dollars last year.”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 11:57
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Rain projected $17 million to $18 million in 2016 revenue
“We'll do probably a couple, about 17, eighteen million this year.”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 12:00
Assertion Contradicted
Icon Fitness controls approximately 75% of the home fitness market
“They control about 75% of the home fitness market”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 12:50
Disclosure
Rain deliberately avoids scaling into a 200-person agency
“You know, for us, we like our size, you know, we want to grow a little bit, but not, not too much, just cause we feel like we're at a good, you know, good size to be able to compete at the highest levels, but not have some of the headaches of being a, you know…”
Andrew Howlett Jun 7, 2016 ▶ 14:06
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