Zak Mroueh didn’t want to announce his new agency, Zulu Alpha Kilo, with a lot of fanfare.
Despite potential clients and international agencies knocking on his door, the one-time chief creative at Taxi kept things small and has been quietly going about his business in a temporary office. But with the agency now moving to its permanent home—as big a public and an official opening as there’s likely to be—the question becomes what is he working on? Well, he’s still not saying.
Mroueh, who is Zulu’s sole owner, would not disclose the names or numbers of clients at launch, saying he’s signed non-disclosure agreements with all of them.
He did say Zulu has about 20 full-time staff and that he created his self-funded agency on a flexible model of “collapsible” teams—a mix of full-time and freelance staff. He estimates his talent mix to be 80% fulltime, 20% freelance.
“Sometimes what clients who pay for a big-name agencies get is bodies sitting in seats when it’s not busy,” said Mroueh. “With the model I have, I can build teams and break them down. Depending on the client, I can build a team of freelance and fulltime to suit their needs… Clients will get what they pay for. They won’t pay for people sitting idly by waiting for briefs.”
All staff members will be a part of the creative process at Zulu, added Mroueh. As a means of avoiding the “silos” inherent in other multidisciplinary shops, every employee regardless of background will be encouraged to contribute to the creative process.
However, the 41-year-old would also not provide the names of any staff members, saying he was hesitant to reveal names while still trying to fill some key positions.
“There’s a few people I have offers out to, so at this point I can’t say anything.”
“One thing I can say, when we’re out pitching new clients, the reaction to an independent, home-grown creative agency has been tremendous. I’m turning work away.”
The company is moving into its new office in the Ontario Design Centre in Toronto’s east end today.
