Ep 5: An Unexpected Turnaround

Rally

This week’s show is about an advertising industry veteran who tells his story of leading a company through an unexpected turnaround. In 2013, Michael Duda left a firm he’d founded with Phoenix Suns basketball star Steve Nash to lead another. He began the week of Thanksgiving. By Christmas, he was weighing whether he’d stick it out. Several weeks into his new job, he realized things were not what they’d seemed. Before joining the company, Duda had hired professionals to review several years worth of financials. The firm looked stable. But they hadn’t discussed the ad agency’s future contracts. The company had projected more than 40 percent growth potential for the next year, Duda said, but many of its contracts expired around the time he took the helm. In January 2014, the firm missed its projections by 80 percent. On this week’s episode of Rally, Hearst Connecticut Media’s podcast about business leaders facing failure and bouncing back, Duda discusses making hard decisions to keep the company from going under. After successfully navigating the firm through a tumultuous year, Duda left to start his own firm, Bullish. He and his business partner have worked with brands ranging from Casper and Warby Parker to GoDaddy and GNC, including helping create a 2017 Super Bowl ad. Business reporter and Rally host Macaela J. Bennett has spent a year collecting these stories of hardship and missteps in people’s careers to share with listeners inspiring examples of overcoming obstacles. Follow Rally_Podcast: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Email: [e-mail] Media: A segment of “Remember Trees?” by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under CC BY 4.0 A segment of “Room with a view” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY 3.0 “Don't Leave Me” by Marcin Gasiewicz “Unbox Better Sleep” by Casper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7pxl00p-Qo Harry's - Meet the Shaving Company That's Fixing Shaving [60 sec] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJJkUJCPN6s “How Warby Parker Glasses Are Made” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw6EdzcJqdM Peloton Bike | TV Commercial - “Better Is In Us” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpw5vcjWd3c “GoDaddy - The Internet Wants You (Super Bowl 2017 Commercial)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y83xBWxaUX4 “Change the World” by Mitja Mithans A segment of “Cylinder Three” by Chris Zabriski is licensed under CC BY 4.0 “Feeling Positive” by Omin_13 Links: Learn more about Bullish: +http://bullish.co/ + “Plans Call for Reinforcements at Johannes Leonardo” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/business/media/plans-call-for-reinforcements-at-johannes-leonardo.html + "NBA’s Nash, Deutsche’s Duda Team to Launch Startup” http://adage.com/article/agency-news/nba-s-nash-deutsch-s-duda-team-launch-startup/145303/ + “Ad Age’s 2018 A-List Standouts” http://adage.com/article/special-report-agency-alist-2018/ad-age-s-2018-a-list-standouts/312445/ + “Agency of the Future: Survival of the Fittest” http://adage.com/article/news/agency-future-survival-fittest/312949/ + “Bullish Brings the Internet to Life in Super Bowl Spot for GoDaddy” https://www.adweek.com/agencyspy/bullish-brings-the-internet-to-life-in-super-bowl-spot-for-godaddy/125020 + “Bullish: The Greenwich firm behind GoDaddy’s Super Bowl commercial” https://www.greenwichtime.com/business/article/Bullish-The-Greenwich-firm-behind-GoDaddy-s-10907069.php + “GoDaddy Will Return to Super Bowl Advertising” https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/godaddy-super-bowl-commercials-1201942847/