Strategies for Agency Growth: Scaling a Digital Agency with JUICE Co-Founders Michael Lisovetsky and Troy Osinoff
Key Takeaways
- Moving past friend-and-family clients requires building a portfolio of public case studies that demonstrate your quality of work
- Build expertise sequentially - start with one specialty like paid social, master it, then layer additional services only when true capability exists
- Decline clients that do not align with your values even when revenue is tempting - quality over volume drives long-term growth
- Talent acquisition is the primary growth bottleneck for most agencies - invest in dedicated internal recruitment to solve this systematically
- Reinvest profits into operational infrastructure and team building rather than taking income as owners during high-growth phases
- Company-wide transparency around pipeline updates and hiring visibility increases team buy-in and referral engagement
- Invest in outside operational expertise initially, then build internal solutions for long-term sustainability
Gray MacKenzie sits down with Michael Lisovetsky and Troy Osinoff, co-founders of JUICE, a performance marketing agency, to discuss the strategies that fueled their rapid growth. Michael and Troy also co-founded Peachy (web development and design) and serve as General Partners at MAGIC Fund - a venture fund built on a “founders backing founders” thesis.
From Side Project to Full-Service Agency
JUICE started as a focused paid social agency. Michael and Troy had both built careers in growth marketing - Troy as Head of Customer Acquisition at BuzzFeed and Michael as Director of Growth at Common - before launching JUICE together. Their early clients came through their personal networks, but they quickly recognized that relying on referrals from friends and family would not sustain real growth.
The transition from network-driven leads to inbound demand required deliberate effort. Michael and Troy invested in building public case studies, sharing results transparently, and positioning JUICE as a specialist in paid social. Their approach was simple: do great work, document the results, and let the outcomes speak for themselves. That visibility created a flywheel where strong results attracted new clients who were already pre-sold on the agency’s capabilities.
The Case for Sequential Specialization
One of the strongest themes in the conversation is the danger of expanding services too quickly. Michael puts it directly: “If you’re known for everything, you’re known for nothing.” Rather than trying to be a full-service agency from day one, JUICE built deep expertise in paid social before adding additional channels.
This sequential approach to service expansion meant each new offering was backed by genuine capability - not just a pitch deck. When JUICE eventually added services like paid search, creative production, and web development (through Peachy), they did so because they had the talent and systems to deliver at the same quality bar their clients expected. The lesson for agency leaders is clear: resist the temptation to sell what you cannot yet execute at a high level.
Talent as the Growth Bottleneck
Both founders agree that talent acquisition became their single biggest constraint as JUICE scaled. Finding people who could deliver the caliber of work JUICE promised clients was harder than finding the clients themselves. Their solution was to treat recruiting like a core business function rather than an afterthought.
JUICE invested in dedicated internal recruiting capacity early. They built a careers page, created a structured interview process, and made hiring visibility a company-wide priority. When the whole team understands what roles are open and what the pipeline looks like, referrals increase and the cultural bar stays high. Michael and Troy found that transparency around hiring created the same kind of engagement as transparency around sales - people want to contribute when they can see the bigger picture.
Reinvestment Over Owner Income
A defining characteristic of JUICE’s growth trajectory was the founders’ willingness to reinvest aggressively. Rather than pulling significant owner income during the early years, Michael and Troy channeled profits back into the business - hiring ahead of demand, building operational systems, and investing in tools and processes that would pay off at scale.
This reinvestment mindset extended to seeking outside expertise. Early on, they brought in consultants and partners to solve operational challenges rather than trying to figure everything out internally. As the agency matured, they gradually replaced external solutions with in-house capabilities - a pattern that balanced speed-to-solution with long-term cost efficiency.
Growth as an Operating Principle
“Growth motivates every business decision” is not just a tagline for the JUICE founders - it is an operating philosophy. Every hiring decision, service expansion, and client engagement gets filtered through the question of whether it advances sustainable growth. That discipline has allowed them to scale while maintaining the quality standards that built their reputation.
The conversation also touches on MAGIC Fund, the venture fund Michael and Troy launched to invest in early-stage companies. Their thesis - founders backing founders - extends the same philosophy that drives JUICE: invest in people who have the capability and drive to execute, then support them with operational expertise and strategic guidance.
Resources Mentioned
- JUICE - Performance marketing agency
- Peachy - Web development and design
- MAGIC Fund - Venture fund (founders backing founders)
- JUICE Careers - Open positions at JUICE