After three startup acquisitions, a stint at DoorDash, and over a decade as a brand and creative strategist, I continually encountered the same frustrating reality: exceptional work is locked behind exorbitant pricing, confusing processes, and agencies that specialize in making simple things complicated.
Keep reading until the end to learn more about how you can leverage Sumi, the brand shop, to grow your business (plus a little gift to all my founder and to-be-entrepreneur friends).
The Problem with Traditional Agency Models
I've sat on both sides of the table. As a brand strategist, I've worked with businesses struggling to navigate the murky waters of agency partnerships. As an in-house brand marketer at DoorDash and various startups, I've felt the frustration of being quoted astronomical prices for inflated services. Or even in the research stage, needing to schedule calls with multiple vendors in order to find out if we can even afford to work with them. Talk about a waste of time.
The traditional agency model is broken. It's built on:
- Pricing based on what they thing you can afford ($$$)
- Unpredictable project scopes that mysteriously expand with little to no communication
- Processes designed to confuse rather than clarify
- A false notion that quality creative work must be expensive and exclusive
- Sales procedures that drive up pricing even further (time, talent, effort)
My Lightbulb Moment
During my stint at my third startup, I was tasked with connecting with several agencies for work. I reached out to seven to obtain quotes. The responses ranged from $12,000 to $185,000 for essentially the same deliverables. When I asked for itemized breakdowns, I was met with vague explanations and industry jargon, as well as requests for more calls to discuss the matter.
That's when it hit me: what if creative services could be purchased with the same transparency and simplicity as ordering on an e-commerce site, like how you'd buy anything else? No more calls, pitches, or quotes.
Bringing Affordability to Creative Services
I've witnessed firsthand how technology can simplify complex processes. We're in a new era of convenience, daunting to-do lists, and ceaseless pressure to get things done. Why bloat prices and calendars with meetings when we could just list the price at the onset?
Take DoorDash, for example. The company took something inherently complicated—coordinating restaurants, delivery partners, and customers—and made it accessible through a familiar interface.
The same principles can revolutionize how businesses access creative services:
- Clear, upfront pricing with no hidden fees
- A familiar e-commerce experience where you simply browse, choose, and purchase
- Transparent processes that don't require a creative industry decoder ring
- Professional quality work without the premium pricing that traditional agencies demand
Quality Shouldn't Be a Luxury
Perhaps the most pervasive myth in the creative industry is that exceptional work must come with an exceptional price tag. My experience with startups taught me otherwise. Some of the most brilliant creative solutions came from constraints—limited budgets, tight timelines, and focused briefs.
Through my three successful acquisitions, I learned that what businesses truly need isn't endless creative exploration but strategic, focused execution that delivers results. And that doesn't have to cost a fortune.
With streamlined, fully developed processes, an organized team, and toolkits to optimize our output, we're able to give clients the best of both worlds: professional work, insanely affordable prices, fast delivery, and convenience.
Building the Agency I Wished Existed
Creating this studio wasn't just a business decision—it was personal. I built the creative partner I had always wished for:
- One that doesn't gate pricing information behind sales calls
- One that shows exactly what you're getting and for what price
- One that delivers professional-quality work without unnecessary frills
- One that respects your time and your budget
It's 2025. Now more than ever, people are building businesses, side projects, and more. It's time for there to be a better way to follow your dreams than to search for freelancers, try to contract an expensive firm, or DIY subpar assets on Canva.
The Future of Creative Services
The traditional agency model served a purpose in an era when creative work was more mysterious and less accessible. But today's business leaders deserve better. They deserve transparency. They deserve quality. They deserve simplicity.
By bringing the familiar e-commerce experience to creative services, we're not just building another agency—we're challenging an entire industry to do better. We're proving that professional creative work can be accessible, affordable, and straightforward.
And that's a mission worth pursuing.
Learn more about Sumi
Sumi sells Brand Kits, Creative Services, and more - shop for what you want. Our pricing is flat and transparent.
For all my founder and to-be-entrepreneur friends, you can take 20% off your order with code: FOUNDER20
Don't wait to get better creative and branding for your business (without breaking the bank or sacrificing on quality). We can't wait to show the world who you are.
Sarah Trainor is the founder of Sumi, bringing 12+ years of experience as a brand strategist, creative leader, and startup enthusiast to revolutionize how businesses access creative services.
