Indie Agency Guesthouse Expands, Adding Every Man Jack and First Full-Time Hire

One year ago, indie agency Guesthouse launched with a straightforward mission: cut the big-agency bloat and focus on making great creative work. Now, its rapid expansion suggests the approach is working. Founded in 2024 by Mitch Bennett, who previously held creative roles at Baldwin&, BBDO, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, and alongside Wes Whitener at McKinney, GSD&M, and Fitzco, Guesthouse has grown billings by 418% in its first year, though the agency declined to share specific figures. The Atlanta-based agency has landed seven clients, including Magic Spoon, Soccer.com, GreyStone Power, Raleigh Denim Workshop, and Atlanta Vibe. To support the momentum, Guesthouse recently made its first full-time hire, bringing on Fitzco alum Jeffery Quick as partner, brand growth. Quick’s remit focuses on new business development and supporting growth across the agency’s client roster. His arrival coincides with Guesthouse’s latest account win: men’s grooming brand Every Man Jack. Financial terms of the engagement were not disclosed. “I have found working with Guesthouse to be incredibly unique,” Ellie Off, vice president ofmarketing for Every Man Jack, told ADWEEK. “From the outset, they have been a great thought partner and really an extension of our internal creative team.” Bennett and Whitener launched Guesthouse after winning their first pitch for Citizens Trust Bank, turning years of partnership into a full-fledged business. Whitener had been honing his directing skills, while Bennett gained insight into agency operations as a chief creative officer at indie agency Luckie—both experiences shaping the agency’s nimble model. With Quick on board, Guesthouse is looking to accelerate growth even further. At Fitzco, he helped secure $15 million in new business over five years. Having crossed paths with Bennett and Whitener for over a decade, the partnership came naturally. “Jeff was the best account person we’d ever worked with,” Bennett said. “We knew he’d be the perfect partner to help us build a 'non-agency agency'—one that gets clients to great creative work without the bureaucracy.” Quick shares that sentiment. “Mitch, Wes, and I worked together for close to 13 years, and what always stood out was their commitment to simplicity and smart, effective work. We aren’t here to sell clients services they don’t need—whether they need us for a short-term project or a long-term partnership, our goal is to help them get the best creative possible.” Embracing in-house teams Guesthouse operates as both a creative and production shop, integrating with and working alongside in-house teams instead of competing with them. The agency operates with a lean core team and builds bespoke teams around each project by tapping into a wide freelance network. This structure allows Guesthouse to execute work quickly—sometimes taking projects from concept to launch in as little as three days. Whitener, who refined his directing skills at Stateline Films and as a freelancer, leads the agency’s in-house production team. “We spent years at big agencies working on big brands and got tired of the slow speed, the massive meetings, and the bloated budgets,” he said. “We built Guesthouse to be different—to deliver world-class creative by concepting and producing it ourselves. We see in-house teams as partners, not competition.” The approach seems to be resonating with clients. According to Off, Guesthouse has created some “great evergreen brand concepts” for her team at Every Man Jack and helped them increase the amount of “quality social and digital content” they publish every month. Guesthouse has scaled without outside investment. “We started with a client, which gave us an immediate foundation,” Bennett said. “We haven’t taken any loans or investments—we just hit the ground running. Year one was about proving we could do this. Year two is about seeing just how far we can go.” Training the next generation of creatives Beyond client work, the agency is also focused on creative training. Bennett, an adjunct professor at UNC Chapel Hill, and Whitener, a former instructor at The Creative Circus, mentor junior creatives at agencies and brands, helping them develop and present ideas more effectively. Bennett and Whitener’s work—largely from their time at prior agencies—has earned industry recognition, with campaigns like Coca-Cola’s “1,000 Song Celebration” and the Travelocity Roaming Gnome’s first live-action TV campaign. Collectively, they’ve won 15 Cannes Lions, including four Gold, as well as One Show Gold and Best in Category honors. As Guesthouse enters its second year, it is on pace to more than double its first-year revenue growth. As it scales, the agency’s founders remain focused on keeping things simple: do great work, move fast, and build client relationships that last. “Kindness and creativity go hand-in-hand, and we've been really clear that we want to get to know [our clients] and work with [them]. And, we've got the nicest clients coming to us,” Whitener added. “There's so much war language in advertising all the time. Everything is based on war rooms and targeting, and it's so nice to strip that away and actually befriend the people you're working with.”

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Indie Agency Guesthouse Expands, Adding Every Man Jack and First Full-Time Hire

Indie shop founded by BBDO, Baldwin&, and McKinney alums has grown billings by 418% and landed seven clients in its first year

Audrey Kemp

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