Dave Benton: Take the Path That Sets You Apart From Everyone Else

Dave Benton took his business from one client to the Inc. 5000 list. All images: Dave Benton

Imagine if you went from having your business take off like a rocket ship to losing all but one client in the first three weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now take that one step further and have that one client be completely shut down. You have no revenue coming in on a very ambitious project. For Dave Benton, founder and Creative Director of Metajive, that was reality in March 2020.

His San Diego design firm began 2020 on pace to beat their entire 2019 revenue totals in the first three months of the year. By March, everything changed. Business abruptly stopped, and he realized his 12-year-old firm could potentially go belly up. And yet, despite everything, Benton and team persevered, navigated the challenges, and still landed Metajive on Inc.’s fastest-growing companies of the year list. 

Here, Benton discusses putting his entire 12-person team on one project, how they adapted and evolved during the pandemic, and why he stress-built a backyard fort for his daughter to try and take his mind off reality.

The Metajive team on a trip to Disneyland pre-pandemic.

When we spoke in April 2020, you said your firm had gone from a record-setting year to potentially bankrupt in weeks. What happened?

When Covid-19 hit, we lost 75% of the previous year’s revenue in three weeks. We were one client away from going under—and they were shut down entirely to the public. We literally took every person in our company and put them on this project. It was half because we needed it for the project and half because we didn’t have anything else for them to do. We normally close one to three new client deals a month; we didn't see three client deals total between March and July. There was nothing to swing at and that was scary.

How did you rally your team during this time?

Everyone in the shop knew they were all working on the same project, when they’re normally working on five different projects. Everyone knew the situation, I had to have hard, honest conversations with the team about what was happening and what might happen. I had someone who had their third child decide to leave for another job during the project. I understand why he made the move, and I miss them. Employee-wise, we ended the year twice as big as when we started, even with almost 25% staff turnover. We are now rebuilding our culture and this version of the team is amazing.

Was there a specific point when you knew your company could make it through?

I think we knew we were going to make it when we realized our one client wasn't going to pull out. It was a big enough project to keep 75% of the team afloat for three months. Things started to come back online in July 2020. When we finally got a little breathing room, I tried to sit down at home, but I couldn’t sit down so we just tried to make all the forward progress we could and it is paying off.

Benton found a stress outlet during the pandemic in building this backyard fort by hand.

You mentioned the one client you had, a movie theater company who does business in physical settings. While you can’t name them, what was the scope of the project?

We can’t wait for this project to get released to the public. It is some of our best work ever, a massive project with a new website, mobile app, ticketing system, e-commerce store, rewards program and email communications. We’ve tied together the many micro-interactions that are part of the larger experience and removed friction from the process.

When we started the project 30% of people booked these services through the website. Now 80% of people book these services through the website because they don't want to touch the kiosk or talk to the teller. If the pandemic hadn’t accelerated this, consumer behavior of young people would have over a longer period of time.

Did you take any of these ideas from outside the client’s industry?

Yes, we’re all used to this with airlines, and we’re predicting this is what customers will expect in the future. This project was the first in their industry to do it.

We also referenced a lot of things in the Starbucks app around how you located a Starbucks store, how you chose which store you ordered from and leveraged personalization based on favorites and/or location.  Our goal is to save users time and just take them directly to what they are looking for.  Additionally we know user needs change based on where they are in the experience the way your airline tickets are on your app home screen the day of your flight.

Despite all of the challenges, you still landed your company on Inc.’s list of fastest growing companies of the year. How did you do it?

The Inc. 5000 list is smart because it is about three-year growth, not just one good year. It is about sustaining a good business. We had over 350% growth over the past three years. Consistency matters with your team, clients and how you approach work.  I am optimistic we can be on the list again in a year or two as we have held onto our momentum this year.  I have always believed in running your own race regardless of what your colleagues and competitors are doing. Defining your path is what sets you apart from everyone else.

What’s been your go-to stress reliever through all this?

I still remember the quietest run on the first night of lock down at 10pm and I only saw one car per mile on what would normally be a busy street. I also stress-built a fort in our backyard for our daughter. I looked at boards on Pinterest, made a mood board, then scribbled some “measurements” and “plans” on a napkin. I went to Home Depot and bought the lumber and cement anchors. The total time from inspiration to leaving for Home Depot was maybe half an hour. I started building the same day without any proper plan and when I found myself in need of certain tools throughout the day, I’d walk over to my neighbors and ask to borrow them. The fort is four-feet off the ground and 12-feet wide with a cantilevered roof on the front - I always wanted an architecturally significant house and this is even better.

You could put it on Airbnb.

I thought about that, it would keep you dry but if you are over 4 feet tall you will have a hard time sleeping in it.

If you’d like to read more from The Creative Factor, check out Morten Bonde’s story about working as a LEGO Art Director while losing his sight and how Planned Parenthood Senior Creative Director Elizabeth Bawol designs to advance the organization’s mission.