By Elainna Ciaramella
Utah is the birthplace of quite a few tech startups which have put the Beehive state on the map as a high-tech hub, rivaling Silicon Valley as an epicenter for expertise and innovation. Now, Utah isn’t solely incubating a few of the greatest expertise firms on this planet, its unparalleled ecosystem is luring high-tech firms from out-of-state. On this case, it was Scorpion, an web advertising firm based in 2001 in Los Angeles because the brainchild of then twenty-two-year-old Rustin Kretz, Scorpion’s authentic founder and present-day CEO.
Within the early 2000s, the web as a advertising device was nonetheless a brand new idea to most companies, particularly within the authorized business the place pioneering Scorpion began serving initially, however Kretz may see the web’s infinite potential and what it may do for a corporation’s presence within the market, to not point out its backside line.
Quick ahead to the current day, Scorpion continues to evolve right into a cutting-edge supplier of expertise and providers for companies. Its objective has remained fixed all these years—to assist firms perceive their distinctive market dynamics to maximise their advertising efforts.
Scorpion gives a high-touch, red-carpet web advertising expertise for its shoppers. It blends search engine optimisation, evaluations, promoting, electronic mail advertising, chat and messaging, social media, web sites, lead administration, appointment scheduling with AI expertise and groups of actual individuals to assist every buyer obtain its distinctive targets.
On April 14, 2021, Scorpion introduced a $100 million funding from Bregal Sagemount (New York) to increase its expertise and buyer choices. Based on Scorpion, this funding got here at a time of great development and because the firm was finalizing its plans to open a brand new headquarters within the Salt Lake Metropolis space. Because the massive announcement final yr, Scorpion has formally opened its new headquarters in Thanksgiving Park in Lehi, Utah.
Within the press launch, Scorpion introduced that it could be bringing a crew of executives, award-winning designers, builders and repair professionals to town to permit for continued enlargement of expertise and innovation. “The corporate continues so as to add to its practically 1,000 staff, bringing elevated experience throughout quite a lot of verticals together with authorized, dwelling service suppliers, healthcare and franchises.”
Based on Raj Ramanan, chief working officer at Scorpion, Utah is dwelling to a rising and thriving tech and enterprise group, and that actuality made Scorpion excited to hitch it.
“We in the end landed in Utah due to the state’s engaging enterprise local weather, tight-knit group, entry to unbelievable expertise, top-tier way of life components, and the good high quality of life supplied right here. Additionally, the realm’s robust gross sales tradition made it an awesome place to construct out our gross sales and advertising groups,” says Ramanan. “We’ve got immense plans for continued development and innovation—and Utah stands as a key issue for us in reaching our targets.”
Scorpion acquires Wheat Artistic and MediaSmack in 2021
In September of 2021, Scorpion announced the acquisition of Wheat Artistic, a number one franchise advertising company with intensive expertise in franchise development and improvement options primarily based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“We’re delighted to hitch forces with Scorpion and proceed our work creating significant and impactful shopper outcomes,” defined Justin Baloun, CEO and co-founder of Wheat Artistic. “It’s an honor to hitch the Scorpion crew, which shares with Wheat Artistic a ardour for client-focused dedication and success.”
The strategic acquisition of Wheat Artistic supplied Scorpion’s franchise clients with new and highly effective enterprise improvement capabilities, defined Ramanan. Additionally, by bolstering the corporate’s experience and choices, it helped Scorpion appeal to new franchisees, producing larger development alternatives and fostering robust native relationships for every franchise location.
“The [Wheat Creative] acquisition enabled us to supply probably the most complete suite of options for franchise and multi-location manufacturers. The franchise-focus expands franchisor capabilities to our current franchisee capabilities; the expertise resolution can now supply and strengthen a franchisor’s enterprise technique, whereas additionally servicing every franchisee’s branding wants to make sure success.”
Two months following the announcement of Wheat Artistic’s acquisition, in November of 2021, Scorpion announced the acquisition of MediaSmack of Frisco, Texas, a supplier of digital advertising options unique to the authorized business.
“This acquisition additional strengthened our capabilities related throughout the authorized area. Particularly, it introduced new options and techniques to our clients within the authorized area. It ensures private harm, felony protection, chapter, employment, immigration and different regulation agency companies have entry to the perfect minds and advertising assets,” says Ramanan.
“We could not be extra thrilled to be becoming a member of the Scorpion household,” says MediaSmack CEO and Co-Founder Zach Thompson. “Our core mission has at all times been to supply regulation companies with the customized advertising methods and specialised experience required to construct up their on-line presence, appeal to the fitting shoppers and luxuriate in regular development. With this acquisition, we will ship on that promise extra successfully than ever.”
Scorpion launches the Scorpion Cares initiative
Scorpion Cares is an initiative that Scorpion may be very happy with. Scorpion Cares assists staff and shoppers of their group in a lot of methods, similar to by offering advocacy and schooling for native companies within the areas the place they’ve places of work, particularly in Santa Clarita and Salt Lake Metropolis by means of organizations just like the Financial Growth Company of Utah (EDC) and the Chamber of Commerce.
Scorpion Cares helps charitable organizations that give again providers and assist to most cancers sufferers, kids in want, and their neighbors experiencing meals insecurity, and lots of different native causes.
Scorpion Cares additionally awards particular person presents of assist for workers and shoppers throughout instances of want. For instance, Scorpion Cares supplied help to staff within the Midwestern and East Coast states that had been negatively impacted by tornadoes and hurricanes in 2021.
In 2021, as a part of its umbrella Scorpion Cares program, Scorpion launched a brand new scholarship initiative that awarded 4 school college students $10,000 every to assist their pursuit of careers in enterprise and expertise. Winners had been chosen primarily based on accomplishments within the areas of lecturers, management, group service and extracurricular actions. Particularly, the 4 key classes are: 1) Ladies in Know-how, 2) Future Designers, 3) Enterprise Management, and 4) Neighborhood Affect.
To be thought of for these scholarships, candidates have to be highschool seniors or present school undergraduates residing in america. Scorpion is at present in its second yr of awarding scholarships to college students. This yr’s scholarship recipients will likely be introduced someday this summer season, based on Scorpion.
Quickly after opening its new HQ close to Salt Lake Metropolis, in December of 2021 Scorpion was named by Utah Business Magazine as among the finest locations to work beneath the class of huge firms with 501-2,500 staff. Utah Enterprise Journal mentioned staff love Scorpion’s versatile work schedule, volunteer alternatives, distant work, revenue sharing, enjoyable firm events, parental depart, dental and well being advantages, and wellness incentives.
“It’s an unbelievable achievement for us, and actually showcases our dedication to offering an empowering surroundings for our groups, in the end serving to them higher serve our finish clients and the local people,” says Ramanan.
To Ramanan, it’s essential for readers to know what Scorpion is actually attempting to do. Scorpion is an area digital advertising firm that leverages superb expertise, experience and excessive contact service to assist small and medium sized companies develop, he defined.
“I believe our aspirational imaginative and prescient, or our underlying core mission, is about empowering entrepreneurs and enterprise house owners to create and keep the companies they need. The pandemic actually taught us how essential small companies are to our native communities and society. As such, Scorpion has a singular duty to assist gas the American Dream and hold these firms empowered.”
And why did Scorpion select Utah to be the brand new headquarters of the corporate? “Utah represents a whole lot of issues for us as an organization,” says Ramanan. “Notably, it’s a illustration of a brand new chapter in our development story. It additionally showcases our dedication to raised serving our staff and innovating our suite of merchandise.
“With Utah’s blossoming expertise and enterprise group, now we have entry to a tremendous expertise pool. When it comes to our development story, we’re hyper-focused on bringing in people who display related values, and have a ardour to assist companies higher work together with their clients.”
Elainna Ciaramella is a enterprise journalist and hopelessly devoted storyteller residing in St. George, Utah. She has interviewed enterprise house owners, researchers, CEOs, and C-suite executives from everywhere in the nation. Her curiosity is infinite and she or he is consistently in search of info that can intrigue and encourage readers.
