We recently connected with Shaila Ortega and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Shaila thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

After 13 years in the start-up and corporate world, there was a notable trend: Companies are hyper-focused on finding new customers and automating interactions. This can inadvertently dehumanize the customer experience, leaving clients feeling disconnected and undervalued, which puts companies at risk for inconsistent growth and a bad reputation. Slippery slope, huh? Now, more than ever, people want to buy and work with PEOPLE.

This is why Wave has taken a different approach to building our business by prioritizing two fundamental elements: 1) focusing on client and partner relationships and 2) creating a seamless customer journey (I nerd out on this in the next paragraph). At its core, business is about people; customers are more likely to engage when there’s a genuine connection. By emphasizing the human element, even as we scale into a 7-figure business- we’re building trust and loyalty with our brand, our customers, and the market.

Our North Star at Wave is the customer journey (think key touchpoints for someone to learn, engage, purchase, and adopt your offering) We’re focused on creating an experience that empowers clients to achieve their goals. We’ve been able to focus on the human connection and leverage automation to fuel our customer journey (when it makes sense), driving our customers (and ourselves) to grow sustainably. The result? We’ve grown our average client size from $5,000 to $75,000 while building a community of incredible clients, contractors, and partners.

Shaila, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi! I am Shaila Co-Founder and COO of Wave, A woman-powered marketing agency that creates bold brands that fuel growth. After 13 years as a marketing executive in tech building and scaling brands that generated $100M in revenue, I set out to create the agency I always dreamed of working with. The best part? I am building this thing alongside my two amazing co-founders, Rach and Mandy (sending them so much love and gratitude). I also live in KC, am a sucker for a good pour-over, and love a fresh pair of sneaks (Puma Future Riders, if you must know😎)

Wave was born after a round of layoffs (the tech world was hit hard over the past few years). This was the sign (or push) from the universe to turn the dream into a dang reality. We launched in May 2023 with a mission to empower founders and creatives to drive sustainable growth with powerful branding and go-to-market strategies. Our primary services include brand creation (or refresh), full brand development (we want that brand to work for you!), website development, and consulting.

The best part about Wave is the community that we’re building! We’ve built some incredible brands and websites that showcase our clients in a way that leads to growth. Seeing our customers succeed is what it’s about!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Ohhh, can I! I was a tech marketing executive, and things have been bumpy over the past few years. There was a push to do more with less and show results in a shorter time frame. The pressure and expectations led to working 80+ hour weeks and the type of burnout that was hard to bounce back from, but i had a team to support and a family to provide for, so I kept pushing. The week before I moved my family across the country, I was laid off alongside 30% of the company.

The vulnerability, exhaustion, and shame that I felt was overwhelming. I spent 13 years building towards this one goal- only to have it ripped away in one simple conversation (that’s how it felt in the moment). However, there was a feeling greater than that- determination (with a mix of relief). After a week of processing my thoughts and brainstorming with my incredible support system- I made a decision. It was time to do things differently. I had to. For myself and my family. Instead of diving back into the world of tech, I hired a business coach and used this push from the universe to build the agency I always dreamed of. Was it a risk to go from the cushy tech salary to building my own business? Hell yes. Was the risk worth it? HELL YES! It was time to bet on myself. I launched Wave alongside two incredible women, Rach and Mandy, in May of ’23. We are on track to hit $1M in revenue in our first year. This didn’t just happen. It isn’t luck. It’s 13 years of experience building and scaling brands. The best part is that we’ve been able to do this while finding balance and flow in life. No more burnout, no more 80-hour weeks, no more missing family events. This past year has been full of uncertainty and doubt, but my partner Shawn has been by my side every step of the way. The gratitude and love I have for him and his unwavering support are infinite.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.letsmakewaves.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letsmakewavesco/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wavemarketingagency

Image Credits
Image credits to Motion House Studio (Shawn Ortega and Cole Davis)