The longer version.
About Jake Kurtz.
Founder & CEO of Brick Media, a social media agency in Tampa. I left corporate for good in 2018, reset the agency around social in 2020, and now lead a team of 20+ on a 4-day work week.
- Based in
- Tampa, FL
- Full-time since
- 2018
- Team
- 20+ and growing
01
The starting point
Leaving something good to chase something great.
I grew up in Pittsburgh for the majority of my life. Steelers fan, blue-collar values, the kind of upbringing where you work hard and stay humble. I graduated college and carried that mentality with me into my 20s. Then, in 2013, I moved to Tampa on a whim with a friend. With a fresh energy and environment, I entered the job market to kick off my marketing career.
I started to bounce between corporate jobs for years. Agency roles, in-house marketing positions, the kind of work that looks fine from the outside but leaves you feeling like you're slowly disappearing on the inside. I was performing well by most measures, but I couldn't last more than 12–18 months at any one job. I just knew it wasn't it.
The turning point wasn't dramatic. There was no "rock bottom" moment or lightning bolt. I just got honest with myself about the gap between where I was and what I actually wanted. That's when things started to change.
I never viewed myself as an entrepreneurial type of person, so I started a side hustle just to make some extra cash and see what could happen. Little did I know, that side hustle was the foundation of what eventually became Brick Media. Once my side hustle got more and more serious, I decided to quit my corporate job and go full-time with Brick Media in August of 2018.
“I never viewed myself as an entrepreneur. I just got honest about the gap between where I was and what I actually wanted.”
02
Building Brick Media
What I've built and what's coming next.
Brick Media did well the first two years as an all-around digital marketing agency handling social, web, SEO, and more. Then, the pandemic hit.
In 2020, I had more time to think because the world was on pause. I realized it was time for an agency reset. That's when we pivoted to a social media only focus.
Since then, we've grown every single year in revenue, profit, and employee count. We help brands take their social media to the next level through both organic and paid strategies. We work with a variety of industries like hospitality, B2B, retail, legal, healthcare, and more. We're now a team of 20+ people and growing brick by brick.
Getting here wasn't clean. I've made nearly every classic founder mistake — hiring at the wrong times, bringing in the wrong people, underpricing our services, saying yes to everything, building systems too late, and just about anything else you can think of.
I've also navigated the complex internal stuff, like learning to delegate without losing quality, building a culture that actually holds when things get difficult, and figuring out how to lead people well when nobody taught you how.
Launching a 4-day work week was a decision I made a few years in, and it got national attention when we announced it publicly. This wasn't a PR move. It was a values decision that started with me not wanting entrepreneurship to take over my life. It's still working. We haven't worked a Friday since 2023. I am proof you can run a serious business and still protect the things that matter outside of it.
We're currently scaling from 20 to 30–40 people. That process is teaching me more about leadership and operations than anything that came before it.
03
Faith, family, community
The things that matter most.
Around the time I started my side hustle, I slowly started to find my faith again. I started going to Radiant Church in Tampa, where my wife and I eventually got baptized together. I've been a small group leader and part of the Business Leaders community for several years. That timing wasn't a coincidence. Things started clicking in a way they hadn't before.
I also serve on the board of the Ryan Nece Foundation which is focused on developing the next generation of servant leaders. It's one of the most meaningful things I'm involved in outside of Brick Media.
I'm married to my wife Kelly — a talented local influencer @WhenInTampa and one of the most genuine people I know. We got married on 11/11/22, live right outside of Tampa, and have a golden retriever named Louie. My parents and siblings live back in the Pittsburgh area.
Outside of work I care about fitness, exploring the local food and coffee scene, traveling, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the ongoing journey of becoming somebody the future me will be proud of.
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