Some 10 years ago, Litman and Mallin sold Imaginet, the digital services firm they founded, to a giant ad-industry holding company. “The thing that was amazing to me was the talent they had and the amount of resources, and yet how none of it was integrated for their customer,” Litman recalls. “Nobody from one [holding company] agency ever said, ‘Wow, we’re not good at this. Let’s bring in our sister agency.’”
Founded in 2008, Magnet 360 brings together 22 independent specialized marketing firms, including designers, direct-mail specialists, and traditional ad agencies. “Our motivation was to create an agency network where we could look at our customer and say, ‘What is the problem you’re trying to solve? What is your marketing challenge?’” Litman says.
The Magnet 360 partners also run the Minnesota Cup competition for start-up entrepreneurs. Being entrepreneurs themselves, Litman and Mallin seek to build a more creative business climate. But “we still have a dysfunctional investor environment” in Minnesota, Litman says. Investors in the post-recession economy “are very risk averse.”
