Behind the business

Behind the business

Hi, my name is Nathan, and I’m the managing director at Backbone.

I don’t want to waste your time – so let’s cut straight to the chase.

You’re here because you want to grow, and you want to know if I’m the right person for the job. What you don’t want to hear about is the long winded story how I almost went bankrupt at 25 before launching this beast.

So here’s the short version.

Two years ago I was broke, with a 100k lease, living in a mansion in the most expensive street in New Zealand. I’d also convinced my business partner to join me in pursuit of something that didn’t even exist yet.

I was renting my room out on Airbnb to buy groceries and sleeping under my desk in a retrofitted co-working space I set up in our lounge.

BUT

Between the two of us. We had one client. One job we hated.
And a dream.

I hustled until my business partner Paul could quit the day job he hated, and I moved from the office to a single bedroom (my partner was stoked).

Having both been business owners before, we got it. The world didn’t need more hyped up marketing that didn’t actually deliver results.

We started building out methodologies and processes that we could apply to fellow business owners digital growth.

Then we measured, reviewed, amended, started from scratch.
Over. And. Over. And Over again.

Both in our business and in our clients businesses, we reviewed and refined until we found a recipe that worked for everyone.

That’s what we have now – a pretty epic recipe for digital growth.
That actually works.

That’s what Backbone is about.

Marketing that works, by a couple of business owners that wanted to bring some integrity to an industry full of charlatans.

Not guesswork, smoke, mirrors and bullsh*t. But a proven and documented system, backed by data, to allow extraordinary people to achieve their goals.

And make the world a better place in the process.

The dream team

Shannon Tatana
Account Manager
Jo Alviar
Digital Marketing Assistant
Paul Wilson
Co-Founder
Ben
Digital Strategist
Braeden Phillips
Content Marketer
Troy May
Head of Partnerships
Nathan Frater
Head of Strategy
Lucy Mangin
Head of Design
Ollie
General Manager
Jo Alviar
Digital Marketing Assistant

We grow with our clients, not off them.

There are lots of experts, agencies, and service providers out there who are good at getting paid but not so good at helping you grow your business.

At Backbone, we do things differently.

We grow with our clients, instead of growing at their expense. That means we treat our clients like partners and help them create long-term, sustainable business growth.

In fact, the reason that Backbone was started in the first place was because our founder, Nathan Frater, got screwed over by marketing agencies in the past…

The Story Behind Backbone.

Before starting Backbone, Nathan was involved in several different businesses. Again and again, he’d run into problems with the marketing agencies that he was working with.

They would promise amazing results and wouldn’t deliver. They would be hard to communicate with and would slow projects down. Their services were over-priced and the work they produced was mediocre.

Overall… there was a clear theme: These agencies cared more about getting paid than they did about helping businesses grow.

This is when Nathan knew he could do it better.

In his spare bedroom, along with his best-friend from High School, Nathan created Backbone. Within three months, it was a thriving agency, with a number of clients and over 6-figures in revenue.

The reason Backbone became a success so quickly was because it offered entrepreneurs exactly what they needed.

After being an entrepreneur for years, Nathan knew business owners needed an agency that could deliver on their promises and get results.

Backbone is an agency created solely for entrepreneurs.

Here’s the thing, we get it.

Our founder and many of our team have run their own businesses, so we know what it is like being a business owner.

Too many entrepreneurs find themselves working really hard in their business – but don’t have enough time to focus on growing their business.

That’s how Backbone can help. Unlike a lot of marketing agencies, who offer services that are disjointed from your overall mission – we step in and create a unique growth system for your business.

Here’s how we’re able to generate consistently profitable results for our clients…

In the last year, we’ve generated over 20 million dollars in revenue for our clients.

In fact, most of our clients, when they sign-up to work with us, end up doubling their revenue.

We’re not magicians, we just do what works.

Every client gets a customized strategy for their unique business, not just a copy-and-paste strategy that may work in one industry but fails in another.

We go deep with our clients… and really find out what makes them different, why customers should buy from them and not anyone else.

Our marketing is backed up by hard data. We use the latest tools and work with skilled experts to track how campaigns perform. We tweak and change things until everything is working perfectly.

Feeling like your business could use a boost?

We don’t want to be making money off you – we only want to profit if you are making far more money than you are paying us.

That’s why we offer a guarantee… We don’t get paid until we hit agreed-upon KPIs. We keep working until we hit them.

Here’s how it works:

We’ll have a look at what you are currently doing to grow your business. We will figure out what is broken, where there is room for opportunity, and what your business needs to evolve to the next level.

Then we’ll put together a unique growth strategy for your business, and together, we’ll work out some KPIs that are realistic and profitable.

Then, it’s our turn.

If you want to see if we can help, then book a free 30-minute consultation with one of our team leaders.

Don’t worry – we’ll be straight-up with you if it doesn’t look like we can help.

If you aren’t happy with your marketing and you want to increase your business growth, then book a free 30-minute consultation below.

The dream team

Nathan Frater
Head of Strategy
Lucy Mangin
Head of Design

We grow with our clients, not off them.

There are lots of experts, agencies, and service providers out there who are good at getting paid but not so good at helping you grow your business.

At Backbone, we do things differently.

We grow with our clients, instead of growing at their expense. That means we treat our clients like partners and help them create long-term, sustainable business growth.

In fact, the reason that Backbone was started in the first place was because our founder, Nathan Frater, got screwed over by marketing agencies in the past…

The Story Behind Backbone.

Before starting Backbone, Nathan was involved in several different businesses. Again and again, he’d run into problems with the marketing agencies that he was working with.

They would promise amazing results and wouldn’t deliver. They would be hard to communicate with and would slow projects down. Their services were over-priced and the work they produced was mediocre.

Overall… there was a clear theme: These agencies cared more about getting paid than they did about helping businesses grow.

This is when Nathan knew he could do it better.

In his spare bedroom, along with his best-friend from High School, Nathan created Backbone. Within three months, it was a thriving agency, with a number of clients and over 6-figures in revenue.

The reason Backbone became a success so quickly was because it offered entrepreneurs exactly what they needed.

After being an entrepreneur for years, Nathan knew business owners needed an agency that could deliver on their promises and get results.

Backbone is an agency created solely for entrepreneurs.

Here’s the thing, we get it.

Our founder and many of our team have run their own businesses, so we know what it is like being a business owner.

Too many entrepreneurs find themselves working really hard in their business – but don’t have enough time to focus on growing their business.

That’s how Backbone can help. Unlike a lot of marketing agencies, who offer services that are disjointed from your overall mission – we step in and create a unique growth system for your business.

Here’s how we’re able to generate consistently profitable results for our clients…

In the last year, we’ve generated over 20 million dollars in revenue for our clients.

In fact, most of our clients, when they sign-up to work with us, end up doubling their revenue.

We’re not magicians, we just do what works.

Every client gets a customized strategy for their unique business, not just a copy-and-paste strategy that may work in one industry but fails in another.

We go deep with our clients… and really find out what makes them different, why customers should buy from them and not anyone else.

Our marketing is backed up by hard data. We use the latest tools and work with skilled experts to track how campaigns perform. We tweak and change things until everything is working perfectly.

Feeling like your business could use a boost?

We don’t want to be making money off you – we only want to profit if you are making far more money than you are paying us.

That’s why we offer a guarantee… We don’t get paid until we hit agreed-upon KPIs. We keep working until we hit them.

Here’s how it works:

We’ll have a look at what you are currently doing to grow your business. We will figure out what is broken, where there is room for opportunity, and what your business needs to evolve to the next level.

Then we’ll put together a unique growth strategy for your business, and together, we’ll work out some KPIs that are realistic and profitable.

Then, it’s our turn.

If you want to see if we can help, then book a free 30-minute consultation with one of our team leaders.

Don’t worry – we’ll be straight-up with you if it doesn’t look like we can help.

If you aren’t happy with your marketing and you want to increase your business growth, then book a free 30-minute consultation below.

The dream team

Shannon Tatana
Account Manager
Jo Alviar
Digital Marketing Assistant
Paul Wilson
Co-Founder
Ben
Digital Strategist
Braeden Phillips
Content Marketer
Troy May
Head of Partnerships
Nathan Frater
Head of Strategy
Lucy Mangin
Head of Design
Ollie
General Manager

Hi, my name is Nathan, and I’m the head of strategy at Backbone.

I don’t want to waste your time – so let’s cut straight to the chase.

You’re here because you want to grow, and you want to know if I’m the right person for the job. What you don’t want to hear about, is the long winded story how I almost went bankrupt at 25 (true story you can read here) before launching this beast.

So here’s the short version.

Two years ago I was broke, with a 100k lease, living in a mansion in the most expensive street in New Zealand. I’d also convinced my business partner to join me in pursuit of something that didn’t even exist yet.

I was renting my room out on airbnb to buy groceries and sleeping under my desk in a retrofitted co-working space I set up in our lounge.

BUT

Between the two of us. We had one client. One job we hated.
And a dream.

I hustled until my business partner Paul, could quit the day job he hated, and I moved from the office to a single bedroom (my partner was stoked).

Having both been business owners before, we got it. The world didn’t need more hyped up marketing that didn’t actually deliver results.

We started building out methodologies and processes that we could apply to fellow business owners digital growth.

Then we measured, reviewed, amended, started from scratch.
Over. And. Over. And Over again.

Both in our business and in our clients businesses, we reviewed and refined until we found a recipe that worked for everyone.

That’s what we have now – a pretty epic recipe for digital growth.
That actually works.

That’s what Backbone is about.

Marketing that works, by a couple of business owners that wanted to bring some integrity to an industry full of charlatans.

Not guesswork, smoke, mirrors and bullsh*t. But a proven and documented system, backed by science, to allow extraordinary people to achieve their goals.

And make the world a better place in the process.

The dream team

Shannon Tatana
Account Manager
Jo Alviar
Digital Marketing Assistant
Paul Wilson
Co-Founder
Ben
Digital Strategist
Braeden Phillips
Content Marketer
Troy May
Head of Partnerships
Nathan Frater
Head of Strategy
Lucy Mangin
Head of Design
Ollie
General Manager

Rest Assured, We've Got This

I’m Paul, general manager of Backbone. My passion is to build an elegant business that consistently delivers on the promises we make and is constantly refining our offering.

If you want to talk growth and strategy, call Nate. Seriously, it’s his passion and your life will be richer for it.

Behind his energy and enthusiasm are a team who is dedicated to running an agency that has weekly conversations about efficiency, accountability and the integrity of our results.

There’s that word again, integrity. And no that’s not a buzz word we settled on in our brand meeting. Integrity means doing the right thing by our clients, our potential clients, our staff and ourselves, while also taking responsibility for the impact our marketing has.

We are lean, we are fast, we are experts at what we do and we work hard to bring you the best service we can. Nothing less.

Rest Assured, We've Got This

I’m Paul, general manager of Backbone. My passion is to build an elegant business that consistently delivers on the promises we make and is constantly refining our offering.

If you want to talk growth and strategy, call Nate. Seriously, it’s his passion and your life will be richer for it.

Behind his energy and enthusiasm are a team who is dedicated to running an agency that has weekly conversations about efficiency, accountability and the integrity of our results.

There’s that word again, integrity. And no that’s not a buzz word we settled on in our brand meeting. Integrity means doing the right thing by our clients, our potential clients, our staff and ourselves, while also taking responsibility for the impact our marketing has.

We are lean, we are fast, we are experts at what we do and we work hard to bring you the best service we can. Nothing less.

Looking for a one stop shop? Keep looking.

We stay in our lane, at speed, with relentless focus

WE ARE

Business owners

Driven by data

Analytical and empathetic

(A little bit) stubborn

Innovators and seekers of truth

Environmentalists

Generous

Willing to take a stand

WE AREN’T

Pushovers

A kitchen sink

Impression sellers

Purveyors of the “halo effect”

Yes men

Digital magicians

Marketers

Snake oil salesmen

WE ARE

Business owners

Driven by data

Analytical and empathetic

(A little bit) stubborn

Innovators and seekers of truth

Environmentalists

Generous

Willing to take a stand

WE AREN’T

Pushovers

A kitchen sink

Impression sellers

Purveyors of the “halo effect”

Yes men

Digital magicians

Marketers

Snake oil salesmen

What does Growth With Integrity mean?

We aren’t just a digital marketing agency. We are your partner. Your friend. Your confidant.

We will take a stand for your businesses success.

We won’t let you waste your money (even if it costs us profit).

We don’t sell sh*t you don’t need.

We sell results.

We sell results.

The only way to grow our business sustainability is
to grow with our clients, not off them.