The Best Growth Marketing Agencies: How to Choose Them and Who They Are

Selecting the right growth agency for your startup can make or break your startup. The wrong pick can lead to months of pain and wasted resources. The right selection can rocket your startup through the rungs of growth.

Over the years, I have run an agency and worked with dozens of agencies. I’ve pretty much seen it all when it comes to marketing service companies. It’s also something I get asked a lot when speaking with founders, how do you find the right agency for your startup?

So, I have written my key criteria every startup founder should consider when researching, speaking to and selecting their next growth agency.

Startup-specific experience
When hiring a startup growth agency, make sure the agency specialises in startup growth. It sounds obvious, right? But it’s super important. Startups are inherently fast-moving and are constantly trying to validate growth hypotheses. So, you need your agency partner to be used to working in this sort of environment.

Look into the team profiles
Agencies are people-based businesses, so it’s vital you look into the people behind the business. Check out the founder profiles. Have they run a startup before? Do they really know what they are talking about? Credible startup growth agencies should have founders who have a story to tell about growing their own startup in the past, and they should clearly have embedded themselves in the startup ecosystem.

Review their processes
Straight on the agency’s website, it should be super clear what their growth marketing process looks like. When you speak with the agency, make sure they have a super clear and structured approach to growth. Ensure you quiz them on the different expected timelines and results. If they sound unrealistic or uncertain about what they promise to deliver, walk away and move onto the next agency conversation.

How long have they been around?
This might seem like a weird criterion, but believe me, it’s an important one. Younger agencies are normally far more unstructured and are still trying to work out their own processes. I’d recommend working with an agency with at least 3 full years of operational experience, ideally more. After this amount of time, the agency will be more certain who they serve and how they serve their clients.

Reviews and ratings
Ensure they have plenty of independent, detailed reviews on third-party review websites like Clutch. If their online reviews and social proof is not sufficient, you should consider speaking to one of their existing or previous clients. But we’d be wary of an agency that does not have a good level of social proof online, as it’s critical to their business’s success, so it should make you ask yourself the question, “Why aren’t these guys good at marketing themselves?”.

Sector experience
Make sure you read their case studies and review the types of startups they have worked with in the past to ensure they have some familiarity with either your type of business, your ICP or your industry. When you speak to the marketing agency, get them to talk through case studies and make sure you dig into the specifics and you test their knowledge and approach.

**Referrals **
One of the best ways to select an agency is to be referred to one by someone in your network. If you have a trusted person who has worked with them before, you can be sure the agency will be of a high quality. Ideally, the referrer will have worked with them in the same capacity and same industry, so you can be sure they’ll have relevant experience.

Speak to previous clients
Nothing says warning sign like agency owners deflecting your ask to speak to a previous client. Speaking to someone who has worked with them before is going to be very telling. Albeit, they will, of course, select a client they have a good relationship and one where they have performed well. Just take this into account when you are speaking with their client. Try and ask some probing, specific questions about their ways of working and results.

Here are a few startup growth agencies we have found that, based on the above assessment criteria that look like good options.

Growth Division

https://growth-division.com/

Startup experience
Their main website tagline is “Scale your Seed-Stage Startup with a Team of Growth Marketing Experts”. That’s bang on what you want to see. They have plenty of case studies of scaling startups. It’s clear they specialise in startup growth.

Team profiles
Tom and Tristan, the founders, have built and scaled their own startup in the past. This is rare; most agency owners only have experience scaling other people’s businesses or just service-based experience. They are both clearly deep in the startup ecosystem as they have partnerships with and are venture scouts for some top VCs.

Growth process
Growth Division have clearly laid out their growth process and has even built their own growth marketing platform called GrowthEX. They use the Bullseye Framework to identify 3-6 potential channels to market, then they use a rigorous growth experiment process to validate whether those channels work to drive growth.

Been in operation for
Since 2019

Reviews & ratings

• 5 stars Clutch profile with more than 25 ratings.
• Strong case studies

Sector experience

• B2B
• B2C
• DTC
• Marketplace

Quoleady

https://www.quoleady.com/

Startup experience
Quoleady is laser-focused on SaaS startups, especially early-stage and growth-stage companies. Their messaging, case studies, and content marketing all revolve around helping SaaS companies scale through inbound acquisition and thought leadership. They position themselves as a long-term content growth partner rather than a generalist agency.

Team profiles
Founded by Olga Mykhoparkina, a seasoned content strategist and SEO specialist with over a decade of experience in the B2B SaaS world. The team is composed of SaaS-native content marketers, writers, editors, and SEO experts.

Growth process
Quoleady offers a content-led growth strategy, anchored in SEO, LLMO, authority building, backlink building, and content creation tailored for the SaaS buyer journey. Their process typically starts with a content audit and keyword strategy, followed by monthly content production and distribution.

Been in operation for
Since 2019

Reviews & ratings

• 4.9 stars on Clutch with 4 reviews
• Strong case studies and client testimonials on the clients page

Sector experience

• B2B SaaS

Fintech24h

https://fintech24h.com/

Startup experience
Fintech24h positions itself as a comprehensive marketing solution provider for blockchain projects, emphasising its commitment to supporting startups in the Web3, metaverse, NFTs, and DeFi spaces. Through tailored growth campaigns, strategic matchmaking, and fundraising support, the company is known for empowering early-stage to Series A startups to scale effectively in global markets.

Team profiles
The leadership team includes Founder & CEO Vincent Nguyen, an experienced venture builder and growth strategist. Fintech24h's team is composed of blockchain-native marketers, Web3 growth hackers, and community specialists who thrive in fast-moving, collaborative environments. Their execution is supported by a wide network of strategic advisors and regional partners.

Growth process
Fintech24h employs a "Plug & Play Marketing Model" integrated with an OKR (Objectives and Key Results) framework. This flexible and data-driven approach ensures each client benefits from a customised execution roadmap, aligned with their fundraising cycle, GTM goals, and target market priorities. This model supports faster and more predictable growth outcomes.

Been in operation for
Since 2021

Reviews & ratings

• Fintech24h has earned trust across the blockchain ecosystem through its co-hosted events, visibility at top-tier global conferences, and deep collaboration with early-stage VCs and ecosystem builders. However, its public website still lacks detailed case studies outlining ROI and success metrics of past campaigns.
• Fi24h Dealmakers’ Club (Season 2) brings together 1,000+ global C-level leaders, with direct support for 12 projects and a total of $40 million+ in raised capital.
• Backed by a strong network of 13+ capital partners (e.g., Asva Capital, Jets Capital, YardHub, Quantix, CyberTim Ventures...) with investment tickets ranging from $100K to over $20M.
• Complemented by 30+ solution and ecosystem partners spanning tech, launchpads, exchanges, and legal/consulting domains.

Sector experience

• Blockchain
• Web3
• Metaverse
• NFTs
• DeFi

Ladder

https://ladder.io/

Startup experience
Ladder talks the language of startup growth across the website, despite most of the client logos being slightly larger corporate companies.

Team profiles
The CEO and cofounder previously ran his own startup, which productised happy hour, where he raised money and scaled the mobile app. The founder and the team have deep scale up experience.

Growth process
On Ladder’s homepage, there is a useful video explaining their approach to growth strategy and growth process. They have also built their own technology to interact with their clients called Growth Benchmarks.

Been in operation for
Since 2015

Reviews & ratings
4.5 stars on Clutch with more than 10 reviews

Sector experience

• B2C
• Marketplace

NoGood

https://nogood.io/

Startup experience
NoGood positions itself as a growth partner for startups and scaleups, and speaks directly to founder and startup pain points across its website. Their case studies and services reflect a heavy focus on venture-backed tech startups, although their client roster also includes larger names like Nike and TikTok.

Team profiles
The team features alumni from top startups and global agencies. The founder, Mostafa ElBermawy, has a background in both startups and enterprise, including roles at American Express and Publicis.

Growth process
NoGood emphasizes a data-driven experimentation framework they call “Growth Squads,” which are cross-functional teams tailored to each client. Their approach is rooted in continuous testing and iteration across the full funnel.

Been in operation for
Since 2017

Reviews & ratings
We can’t find an independent review site for NoGood, but they have some strong self-made case studies.

Sector experience

• B2C
• DTC / eCommerce
• Marketplaces

GrowthRocks

https://growthrocks.com/

Startup experience
GrowthRocks speaks directly to startups and scaleups, especially in the tech space, with a focus on growth hacking, lean experimentation, and product-market fit. Their messaging leans heavily into the startup vernacular and early-stage growth pains, though they also showcase case studies with mid-size and enterprise clients.

Team profiles
The founder and CEO, Theo Moulos, has a deep background in digital marketing and growth, having led strategy and growth efforts for multiple startups and scaleups. The broader team includes growth marketers, data analysts, and developers with technical chops and experience in agile startup environments. They also have a sister company called Growth Hacking University, indicating their authority in startup-focused growth education.

Growth process
GrowthRocks follows a structured growth hacking process inspired by Sean Ellis and the lean startup methodology. They begin with a comprehensive growth audit, build out a backlog of experiments, and run tests in sprints, measuring traction via clear KPIs. Their services span funnel optimization, customer acquisition, CRO, and viral loops, and they also emphasize training clients in growth methodologies.

Been in operation for
Since 2014

Reviews & ratings
Some strong case studies and a few testimonials

Sector experience

• B2C
• eCommerce
• Marketplace
• Service businesses