Prakash Somosundram started Yolk Singapore (now known as Grey Digital) in September 2001. The venture grew to become one of Asia’s fastest-growing interactive and digital media networks.

But when the company started out it had just $7,500 in working capital, a sum that was barely sufficient to pay the initial down payments and the first month’s rental.

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Operating on this shoestring budget, Prakash and his partners gradually expanded the range of the company’s offerings.

In a relatively short period of time Yolk’s services included digital strategy, social media, rich media, online advertising, viral marketing, interactive marketing, search marketing, e-marketing and e-customer relationship management.

By 2010, Yolk had 40 full-time staff and a presence in Malaysia, Thailand and Australia, in addition to its extensive operations in Singapore. In September 2010, Yolk was acquired by the Grey Group, which ranks among the largest global communications companies.

Prakash Somosundram talked to SeedIn about how he built the agency from start, till post-acquisition by WPP.

Here Are The 7 Lessons He Learned Along The Eay:

Market Your Agency Using Direct Marketing

When deciding on a name for the new company, Prakash and his team members chose ‘Yolk’ as they wanted something very generic and which evoked a bright image representing life.

With practically no money to promote their new company, they chose to initiate their first marketing drive using eggs spray-painted bright yellow. They carried nutritional factsheets to client offices and talked about the different services that their company could offer.

Prakash remembers that this marketing strategy made a strong impact on their prospective customers. When they walked into an office carrying bright yellow eggs, the people there would take notice and usually pay attention to what they were saying.

Even six months after the campaign, people would stop Yolk staff on the road and say, “You’re the guy with eggs, right”?

Get Awareness Through Partnership And Events

In the initial stages, a new company needs to build a brand for itself. This is not easy even if a company is willing to spend large amounts of money on this exercise. It is, even more, difficult for a company with a low budget.

Yolk used a number of innovative techniques to get itself noticed without incurring any expenditure. As a strategy, the company took part in a number of charity events that got large media exposure. This enabled it to showcase its products to future clients. It also earned them a lot of goodwill in the market.

They collaborated with industry partners to build a network that was useful for getting referral business. Another method that Yolk used to gain publicity at a very low cost was to distribute T-shirts with a printed message.

Win Multiple Global Advertising Awards

Yolk gained a great deal of recognition by winning a number of advertising awards. These served to prove to the market that the agency was technically competent and recognised by its peer group for the excellence of its work.

Several regional and international bodies have held Yolk’s work in high esteem. They have won multiple accolades at the Webby Awards and the resultant exposure established Yolk as an award-winning agency. The press even carried several stories about the company’s outstanding track record and its results-oriented working style.

This was an important factor in getting acquired by The Grey Group. The number of awards that Yolk had won reinforced Grey’s impression about their creative capabilities.

The awards also paved the way for Yolk’s expansion into Malaysia and Thailand by creating an awareness about their work in these countries.

Be Prepared Financially If you Want To Exit

When a global company acquires a regional player, it does so with the purpose of expanding its footprint and gaining market-share in the new territory. When the Grey Group bought out Yolk, their chief motivation was also to be able to offer clients the best of both the organisations.

But another crucial reason that Yolk proved attractive to the Grey Group was the Singapore-headquartered company’s financial strength and growing revenues. Prior to the acquisition, Yolk took it upon itself to increase business volumes so that it became an attractive target for a global company.

The decision to sell a majority stake to the Grey Group was not taken overnight. The Yolk team worked out its exit strategy over a five-year period.

The discussions with Grey stretched on for almost two years. This gave Prakash and his team the opportunity to prepare their company to be financially strong and a tempting acquisition target.

Re-look At Your Agency's Business Model

A creative agency can only be as good as its people. Yolk realised early on that building a website is a commoditized business. They could not compete purely on price or only on technical expertise.

Instead, what they did was to marry their craft and technical skills to produce work that was innovative and results-oriented.

The key differentiating factor in the work that Yolk did was that its team was able to deliver best-in-class digital and interactive capabilities to its clients.

For this purpose, it did not rely only on its in-house team. Instead, it took a conscious decision to use an extended network of suppliers, partners and collaborators, many of whom were remotely located.

This business model served it well and was one of the reasons for its great success.

Align Management Team For Exit

When it was decided to sell a majority stake to Grey, Prakash was careful to ensure that the top managers at Yolk were supportive of the idea and each of them knew exactly what role he had to play in the process.

The detailed planning undertaken by the company served it well. Post-acquisition, the company continued to grow its operations and acquired reputed clients like Microsoft, Lenovo, MDA, MICA and Singapore International Foundation.

Yolk became an integral part of the Grey Group and worked as its digital arm, Yolk(at)Grey (now known as Grey Digital). The foresight and planning displayed by the Yolk team in the period prior to the acquisition made the company’s subsequent success possible.

Get A Broker To Help You Raise Funds/Go IPO/Exit

When a company’s owners are planning their exit strategy it is very useful to get the help of an intermediary to assist and guide them in the process.

The expertise and knowledge that a qualified third party can bring to the table are invaluable. The cost incurred for this advice pays for itself many times over in the form of an enhanced value for the transaction.