^{(Originally shared by Pranay on LinkedIn)}

To hire an agency or build in-house? (This is something most businesses get wrong 🤷‍♂️💭)

We get this question asked a lot by founders / marketing leaders.

There is no one size fits all answer, but here's a starting framework: 🧠 

1. If you're an early-stage startup: find the right agency partner (or fractional marketers) first! You have too much going on, w/ less bandwidth. The core of your business needs your full attention. Get expert help, then build internal capabilities.

‍2. If you're a mid-sized company (with no internal marketing DNA) : outsource about 70% of your marketing functions. Build 30% internally to learn and move faster.

‍3. If you're a mid-sized company (with a strong marketing DNA): Build your internal team to take care of 60%. Get agencies to focus / and experiment with areas you're not strong at, or are ad hoc projects. Keep the critical stuff in-house.

‍4. If you're a large brand: Do both, with a heavy weightage on outsourcing to agencies. Strengthen your internal core team to be brand custodians and manage all the moving parts really well. Develop agency synergies across functions - it typically is most economical to approach agencies vertically, not horizontally. (The reality is it's rare today for an agency to be great beyond their primary superpower).

‍5. If you're an agency: of course build all in-house, but don't forget to outsource to other agencies / fractional talent the stuff that's not your core expertise, or that has unpredictable deliverables.

What we like about agencies: 🏆

• Expertise: Agencies bring specialized skills and experience to the table!
• Fresh Perspectives: Unbiased views on improving your presence from working with multiple clients, new perspectives outside of internal thought bubbles
• Scalability: Flexible resources that can adjust to campaign needs. What many brands overlook is that the right agency partnership can give you access to a full stack of specialists — from strategists and designers to editors and community managers — all working in sync. Instead of expecting one internal hire to juggle it all, you get depth, speed, focus, and cost-benefit too. That kind of agility can be a real unlock for internal teams trying to move fast without burning out.

What we like about building internal teams: 💪

• Deep Brand Understanding: An in-house team lives and breathes the brand's ethos.
• Direct Oversight: Complete control over strategies and messaging.
• Accessibility: Readily available for quick turnarounds and collaboration.
• Cost-effectiveness: Once you've cracked a strong marketing playbook, it can make sense to bring in-house the core skills so they can work more deeply.

Still deciding? Use this quick checklist: 🧠

Ask yourself:

• Do we have a strong in-house marketing lead?
• Are our needs project-based or ongoing?
• Is our brand still being shaped or already well-established?
• Do we need specialist skills or generalist support?
• Can we afford to build a team that covers all core marketing functions?
• Is our internal team at capacity or equipped to scale?

If you're leaning toward flexibility, speed, or breadth of skills — an external partner might be the better bet for now.
If brand depth, long-term consistency, and tight control matter more — start building in-house.

👉 Ready to find your marketing dream team? Let’s get started.