Strategic consulting for intelligent businesses.
- Agency Owner
- Tech Entrepreneur
- Growth Strategist
- WordPress Developer
- Process Improvement Expert
- Neurodivergent Leader
Digital Agency Growth
Giving agencies the strategic advice, framework, and tools necessary to maximize productivity and profitability—without increasing headcount.
Low-Code Adoption
Hands-on guidance through low-code education and training, and personal insights on how to incorporate low-code into sales and marketing to win more projects.
Process Efficiency
Sharing my vast experience with honing internal processes to maximize output, reduce stress, and address bottlenecks.
Culture & Transparency
Speaking on the transformative power of building a healthy company culture, and prioritizing honest, transparent communication—internally and with clients.
Guides & Tools
Introducing the Vibe Agency Maturity Model
I built my agency, Forge and Smith, from a humble Craigslist ad and single employee all the way to a scaleable powerhouse agency. I applied everything I learned along that journey to launch a successful site builder plugin and a dev-only side business. But I don’t live to work. I can be present for all of my teams, even with my AuDHD, and fully clock out after work every day to be a good husband and father.
The only reason that’s all possible is because Forge reached Stage 5 in the Vibe Agency Maturity Model (VAMM). This framework that I created, based on my deep experience with agency pain points, maps the journey from traditional technical-dependent operations to a fully scalable, productized powerhouse. And that’s the part I can’t wait to share with other agency owners.
VAMM Scorecard
How does your agency rank?
The first step is to figure out where your agency sits within the VAMM. Then you can determine the steps needed to level up. I’ve created a short 10-question quiz to help you assess your current position.
Are you:
- Stage 1: Hustle
- Stage 2: Repeat
- Stage 3: Systemize
- Stage 4: Scale
- Stage 5: Optimize
Download the eBook
Low-Code, High-Impact:
The Agency Guide to Adoption, Scaling, and Profit
If you’ve taken the quiz and you’re not a Stage 5 agency, your next move is low-code adoption. It’s the only way for a web agency to reach Stage 5, and trust me, it’s where you want to be.
- More launches per year
- Slashed build hours
- Shorter project timelines
- Empowered non-developers
- Boosted profit margins
Get a complete end-to-end roadmap for using low-code to create operational efficiencies, drive profit, and increase client satisfaction, including several thorough checklists and honest insights from my own experience with the process
Forge and SMith
Strategic WordPress Agency
I founded Forge and Smith in 2011. It has since grown to be a highly reputable agency for custom web design and WordPress development, plus digital strategy services.
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Years of Awesome
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Websites Launched
Fixing the internet, one website at a time.
Forge and SmithRefoundry
Low-Code Site Builder Plugin
Clients wanted faster project turnarounds. Developer bottlenecks were causing problems. I created Refoundry with a team of engineers to elevate Forge and Smith’s process, and now other agencies have seen its awesome capabilities and come on board.
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faster builds
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annual profit
Build fast. Design freely.
RefoundryBuild & Co
Dev-Only Web Services
The last piece of the puzzle was being able to sell web development services independent of our full process. Doing it profitably was impossible with traditional coding, but the time-savings and speed of low-code enabled me to launch Build & Co.
Agency-quality work. Affordable price.
Coming SoonHundreds of Great Partnerships
It’s always a big deal when a client chooses to trust your agency with their digital presence. I value the relationships I’ve built with clients across so many verticals and niches, and everything I’ve been fortunate to learn from those experiences.
- B2B Services
- Education & Research
- Travel & Tourism
- Engineering & Construction
- Tech & Investment
- Non-Profit Orgs
Meet With Me
Book a discovery call to discuss your agency’s pain points, and how I can help.
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“As agency owners, we’ve seen tech shift fast—especially with AI and LLMs. Shawn helped us adapt with practical, grounded guidance. His mix of technical depth and agency experience made a huge difference. If you need someone who gets both the tools and the business side, Shawn’s the partner you want.”
Stephen saugestad, founder of wallop
Sharing Experiences
Agency Owner Advice
Come visit me in the comments, and tell me about your experiences in the agency world.
Insights
What’s On My Mind
Part of my knowledge sharing journey is a new personal commitment to blogging. It’s good for SEO and good for business, and any smart businessperson will tell you—we have to eat our own kibble.
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Refoundry is Headed for Tech Competition Finals
Refoundry made it to the Top 25 in the annual New Ventures BC competition.
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The Vibe Agency Maturity Model
The Vibe Agency Maturity Model is a roadmap to success for agencies that want to drive growth, scalability, and profit.
Divergent Conversations
Exploring identity, systems, and what it means to not fit the mold. Feels… familiar.
Podcast
Agency Bytes
Sharp, honest conversations about running an agency in the real world. No fluff, just insight.
Podcast
