By Jesse Munro
Soshal Group, a social media and web design content and consulting enterprise co-founded by an Algonquin grad came second in this year’s Ottawa Business Journal fastest growing company competition with a three-year revenue growth of 1,294.03 per cent.
“We knew when we submitted the numbers that we had a year of tremendous growth,” said Alex Hosselet, a client partner at Soshal and a business–marketing graduate from Algonquin. “We’re really proud that our growth was self-made – not through acquisition or investments.”
Soshal Group was the only company in the top three and boasting over 1000 per cent growth to do so without any outside help.
“We’re young and we’re being recognized for our success,” said Hosselet of their results. “It really validates what we’ve been doing. We aren’t the business people our parents were.”
That difference in approach is apparent from the moment one walks through the door of Soshal’s office space off of Wellington Street W. Everything is open. Simple decor and the absence of dividers between employees inspire a feeling of community and focus. The work force is young with the average age seeming to fall somewhere south of 30 and all seem excited at the prospect (and result) of doing something different.
“We do innovative, purpose-driven work that helps our communities,” said Hosselet. “We work with clients that have some element of social good.”
With many of their clients in healthcare (CHEO and the Royal Ottawa) and higher education (Algonquin College and York University), Soshal has been selective with the work they take on and the partnerships that they build.
“Our work is not just a transaction, we don’t just execute,” said Hosselet. “We put a lot of time into our clients to form longstanding relationships and make sure that we understand their needs.”
Bill Garbarino, coordinator of the business–marketing program at Algonquin who taught Dave Hale, co-founder of the company, said, “Soshal has been able to pull businesses that weren’t satisfied with what they were getting from others in the industry. The company is a tremendous success story and a significant presence in digital marketing.
“And they’re great alumni,” he added. “They’re always present at events and David comes back as a guest speaker.”
Hale, partner-CEO at Soshal, also teaches in the college’s one-year mobile and social media management program which is how a recent graduate of the program, Sven Walther, became an intern and then full-time project manager at the company.
“Soshal Group is doing amazing things and it’s not all about the profit,” said Walther.
After spending much of his working life self-employed, Walther was impressed enough by the young company’s process and product to apply when a job became available. “I wanted to be a part of something bigger. We really contribute to the community and the employees are just as engaged as the clients,” he said.
Hale reinforced the company’s reason for being when he recalled the company’s origins.
“We founded our business on the idea of working with purpose. We wanted to see if we could make enough money to stay afloat doing that,” he said.
“A lot of young people are getting into entrepreneurship with the goal of getting rich. Our goal is to do some good for the world,” continued Hale. “We’re a case study for the world. We can still be profitable and have a higher sense of purpose.”