Tom Shea

Tom Shea

CEO, Adgile Media Group
  • Adgile transforms delivery trucks into high-impact mobile ad platforms.
  • Behavioral studies revealed consumers trust branded trucks as product carriers.
  • Adgile provides RoAS for offline ads, modernizing traditional OOH media.
  • Entrepreneurial resilience and teamwork fueled Adgile’s innovative market entry.

Who are you and what do you do?

Tom Shea -- co-founder and CEO of Adgile Media Group. Adgile turns last-mile delivery trucks traveling the densest urban areas into mobile billboards on behalf of consumer brands. There are two things that make this interesting. The first is sort of something we stumbled upon early in our story. We initially took business from all categories -- consumer and B2B alike -- and we still do, but have shifted heavily into consumer specialists. Why is that?

We originally thought people were buying us because of the price point or the cool tech coupled with a traditional OOH platform. However, once we saw outsized return and retention from folks playing in the consumer categories, we went to those brand teams and asked why they kept coming back. Their answer sort of changed the game for us. They told us they liked what we offered because it was the only form of advertising that no one knew was advertising. This led to a long-form behavioral psychology study that showed that 96.3% of people who see a branded truck believe the truck is delivering product on behalf of the advertised-for brand, whether that is true or not. This became our wedge at the intersection of OOH and the consumer space, and that's why we leaned into the consumer-facing market.

The second point is that our technology enables us to provide our clients with proof of performance -- RoAS for offline media. This was a missing piece of the puzzle for traditional OOH platforms in the past, and needed to evolve to keep pace with digital. An exciting evolution in the Adgile story has been the growing use of our assets to support experiential marketing plays. Our mobile Adgile trucks can go wherever the audience is — from retail store parking lots where products are sold, to parked alongside brand pop-up shops, influencer homes for PR package drops, or even on the street for live sampling and interviews. Whether it's concerts, festivals, or in high-foot-traffic areas, these trucks turn moments into content -- and content is King.

What did it take/how did you get started?

While my dad was a New York firefighter, he started a sign company. So I had some early exposure to the advertising world from a vendor's perspective. Fast-forward to post-grad. I met my co-founder in Chicago while juggling a nights and weekends Masters program at U of Chicago and working full-time at McMaster-Carr. Adgile was sparked by the ambition to create something new, a sharp eye on the advertising game, and a clear realization: traditional OOH was stuck in the past, and tech hadn’t caught up.

We saw the gap -- and decided to build the bridge. It helped that I had some early exposure to the ad world — and a lot of hands-on experience with how tech can level things up. Candidly -- our first iteration of Adgile had some glaring flaws. We didn’t have all the answers, so we found people who did. We asked questions, listened hard, and got pushed and challenged by mentors who helped sharpen our thinking. That hustle and guidance shaped Adgile into what it is today.

What does the future look like for you and your business?

It's hard to say at this point — we are still a relatively young company, and while we rapidly grown into the largest truckside advertising company in North America -- we have a lot of growth opportunities ahead of us. We have some exciting developments in the hopper that I can't talk about just yet -- so you'll have follow along to find out!

What drives / motivates you on a daily basis?

I truly & authentically just love the sport of business. I love thinking through the different business cases, I love diving into the data, and I love being around people who are trying to make things happen & change the world. I love how entrepreneurship really takes a village and feels like a team sport. I love the challenge. And more than anything -- I love being part of the solution to the challenge.

What advice would you give someone interested in doing what you do?

Good things happen to people who put themselves out there. Don't wait for life to just happen -- get out there and create your own luck.

What has been the hardest part of your business journey?

During the early days of Adgile I had some pretty serious, sudden health issues that turned my world upside down. I was still at UChicago and McMaster-Carr (both of which I had to step away from for a time). In many ways, the success of Adgile is attributable to insecurities that were borne out of that situation.

I channeled all of my time & energy into Adgile, battling back to prove mostly to myself that I hadn't lost a step. I still struggle with some of those health issues today, and fortunately have been able to design a life where I can work around them, but there's no question they're an important part of the story.

How have you managed burnout thus far?

I'm still struggling to strike an appropriate balance, but the best part of building a business is building a team. I’ve got a team around me that I can lean on in nearly every situation. I know someone will be there to handle things should I need to take a break. Apart from that, I try to remind myself that taking breaks & relaxing, in many instances, is actually the profit-maximizing decision. Longevity is a material part of the equation & I have a fiduciary responsibility to optimize for it. It is literally part of the job! I find that framing to be helpful.

What are a few resources that you'd recommend?

Book: 1) Algorithms to live by, 2) Nudge. Podcasts: Marketing Operators, Limited Supply, TBPN Live

‍‍The STATS

List the founder

Tom Shea, Max Flannery‍

How many hours a week do you work on this hustle?

~80

# of Employees?

10

When did you start?

2018

How much did it cost to launch?

$300,000

What were your funding methods and ballpark amount raised?

Family + friends round (SAFE) --> Series Seed (Venture). ~$6m total raised

Annual revenue?

$5-10M

Projected revenue?

$5-10M

What's the #1 thing you need right now?

Sleep!

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