How a Marketing Agency Scaled to Fortune 500 Clients

Ms. Amra Beganovich is the CEO and founder of digital marketing agency, Amra & Elma. She is a top influencer with over 1 million followers across her channels. She has been named as a top digital marketing expert by Forbes, Business Insider, Financial Times, Entrepreneur, Bloomberg, WSJ, ELLE Magazine, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and many more. She develops and manages advertising campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, including Johnson & Johnson, LVMH, Procter & Gamble, Uber, Nestle, HTC, and Huawei.

I was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. I came to this country at the age of 12, and my story is that of many immigrant families; I am a survivor and a fighter, and I am very proud of this. From the age of 12 to 18, I lived in Roanoke, Virginia, and then I went to undergrad at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. I did my MBA in Madrid, Spain. I suppose I was always looking to explore and discover something new. 

How did you get started as an entrepreneur?

It was a pure accident – I was working as an economist in the area of transport, electricity, and water, and I started a blog by teaching myself basic front-end development in 2012. In 3 months, the blog grew to over 150,000 monthly unique visitors and soon brands started approaching us for advertising opportunities. When we realized that we could potentially scale this, I left my job and founded a digital marketing agency. Today, we have a team of 50+ people who work with us in the area of media buying, influencer marketing, content production, branding, and more. Our clients include some of the world’s most notable brands.  

 What is one business lesson you would tell to a startup founder?

There are many lessons that are vital during the early stages of starting a business. The most important one would probably be to stick with it even when things appear bleak. I cannot tell you how many times you are tested in the beginning, and it takes time to figure things out. The longer you stick with something, the more you will master it. Eventually, all these opportunities will appear that you simply couldn’t see when you first started because you were still new to the game.

The other lesson is to make you first $100 in revenue and as soon as possible. It sounds like nothing, but you have no idea what it will do for your confidence. It will also encourage you to pursue larger sums. Most people spend far too long working on a product and too little time trying to sell it. My advice is to sell as soon as possible.