Randall Hartman’s journey from agency strategist to founder of Groundwrk is a testament to the power of passion and purpose.
After noticing a gap in the market—clients with hefty marketing budgets but weak branding and websites—Hartman decided to pivot, focusing on what he truly loved: design and creativity. Groundwrk was born out of a mission to build strong foundations for brands, ensuring they have the tools to succeed before diving into marketing efforts. Today, the agency specializes in branding, web design, and social media management, offering clients a cohesive and impactful digital presence.
In this interview with
Website Planet, Hartman shares how Groundwrk’s dedicated team and commitment to innovation continue to help businesses shine, both locally in Denver and beyond.
What inspired the founding of Groundwrk, and how has the agency evolved to specialize in branding and web design?
Sure. My background was in agency work—specifically in boutique digital marketing and web design agencies here in Denver. While I was on the strategy and account management side, I noticed a constant revolving door of clients. Results in digital marketing are highly subjective, and I found myself less passionate about that aspect of the industry.
What I truly loved was design and creativity. During my time at these agencies, we worked with clients who had substantial marketing budgets but weak branding and underdeveloped websites. They were investing heavily in digital marketing and advertising but directing traffic to brands and websites that weren’t strong enough to support their goals.
That realization led to the founding of Groundwrk. The name itself reflects our mission—building a strong foundation. We focus on branding and web design, ensuring our clients have a solid base before investing in marketing efforts. We don’t offer ongoing digital marketing services ourselves, though we collaborate with partners and assist clients with social media management. However, we don’t handle paid advertising or media spending directly.
Can you elaborate on the range of services Groundwrk offers, including branding, website development, social media management, and ongoing website support, and how these services integrate to benefit clients?
Absolutely. Those are the core services we offer, and we take pride in being specialists rather than generalists. The idea of a “full-service agency” has become somewhat diluted, as many agencies are filled with generalists rather than dedicated experts in specific areas. We believe that by focusing on a specialized set of services, we can provide the best results for our clients.
At Groundwrk, everything revolves around the website—it’s the foundation of the entire digital ecosystem. While branding is technically a secondary service for us, it naturally integrates with our web design process. Many clients come to us for a website but also ask if we can help refine or elevate their brand. Since our team has a background in branding, we love taking on that challenge. Even when working with an established brand, we enhance its presence through thoughtful web design.
As a result, we often help clients update their brand guidelines and provide additional design services, such as print materials, PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, and ad creatives. However, these aren’t services we actively market—they naturally emerge from our client relationships.
Beyond design, we support our clients with website maintenance and ongoing website management. Some clients also rely on us as their go-to design agency for various needs. We always ensure that we only take on projects within our expertise. If a client needs something outside our scope, we connect them with trusted partners—without any referral agreements—because our priority is always what’s best for the client.
Ultimately, we encourage clients to think of us as a marketing Swiss Army knife—if they need something, they can ask us, and if we can’t do it, we’ll help them find someone who can. Our goal is to provide honest, high-quality work in the areas we specialize in and truly enjoy.
How does Groundwrk’s team of designers, developers, strategists, copywriters, and content creators collaborate to deliver cohesive and effective marketing solutions?
We operate using a “pod” structure, where each client is assigned a dedicated team that typically includes a designer, developer, content strategist or copywriter (if the scope requires it), a project manager, and a QA/QC specialist for testing across devices. Including myself, a typical pod consists of four to six people. Clients get to meet their entire team and work with them directly, either face-to-face or via Zoom, while also having a single point of contact for streamlined communication.
Before any creative work is presented to the client, it goes through one to two rounds of internal revisions to ensure quality and alignment. While I have the final say on creative direction, the process is highly collaborative. There are times when I have zero edits because I love what the team has created, and other times when we need to start fresh and communicate that we need more time.
We encourage everyone—designers, developers, copywriters—to contribute beyond their primary roles. For example, copywriters are involved in shaping user experience, and developers go beyond coding to add unexpected, delightful details to a website—what we call “painting the inside of the mailbox.” These small creative touches make a project stand out.
Additionally, we believe in giving our team members creative ownership. Before assigning a project, we ask if they are genuinely excited about working on it. If someone isn’t interested, we assign it to someone else. This ensures that every team member is personally invested in the project, leading to better results and a more enjoyable creative process.
Ultimately, our goal is to foster an environment where everyone brings their full creativity to the table, rather than just checking off tasks. That’s what makes our work cohesive, effective, and unique.
Could you share a success story where Groundwrk’s strategies significantly improved a client’s business performance, such as increased brand recognition or customer engagement?
Absolutely. We work with a diverse range of clients, from local restaurants to large national corporations, spanning both B2B and B2C industries. While we often see improvements in conversions, SEO rankings, and other measurable metrics after launching a new site, the real success stories come from the impact our work has on our clients and their teams.
One of our most memorable moments was when a client received a standing ovation from her executive team after presenting the new website we designed. While that might sound cheesy, it was a powerful reminder of why we do what we do—helping our clients shine. A well-executed website doesn’t just drive better engagement and sales; it boosts morale, instills pride in the company, and even creates opportunities for growth.
There’s a ripple effect when a company launches a site they’re proud of—it generates excitement internally, strengthens brand identity, and positions them for long-term success. While data and performance metrics are important, we also focus on the human side of our work. When our clients look good, they gain trust and credibility within their organizations, and that, in turn, builds lasting relationships with us. That emotional impact is what truly drives us.
What role does Groundwrk’s Denver-based headquarters play in serving both local and global clients, and how does the agency build strong relationships within the community?
That’s a great question. Being based in Denver places us right in the middle of the U.S., which gives us a strategic advantage when working with clients nationwide. Over the years, Denver and nearby Boulder have become significant hubs for startups and creative talent, with a lot of funding and innovation flowing through these cities. Boulder, in particular, has long been recognized as a creative powerhouse, and Denver has been able to build on that reputation, especially as the agency landscape has shifted toward more boutique models like Groundwrk.
While we have strong local ties, our reach extends far beyond Colorado. We frequently receive inquiries from across the country—from California to Pennsylvania—because businesses are looking for top-tier creative talent without the high costs associated with agencies in cities like New York or Los Angeles. Denver offers a sweet spot: high-quality work at a more competitive price point. We’re not the cheapest option, but compared to coastal agencies, our clients are often paying nearly half the price for work that, in our opinion, is just as strong.
If I could add to that in terms of community involvement, we also do a lot of nonprofit work. We take on these projects either at cost—where we don’t make any profit—just to support great causes. We love doing this kind of work, but we can only take on a handful of these projects at a time. Sometimes, we also do trade work for local restaurants because we want to create something really cool for them, even if they don’t have the budget for it. Supporting startups and local nonprofits is important to us, and we offer significant nonprofit discounts that cut out all of our profits just so we can help make an impact.
Looking ahead, we’re considering expansion into other emerging creative markets like Austin and Nashville—places where we can continue to be a big fish in a smaller pond. Our focus remains on maintaining a balance between affordability and top-tier creative execution while fostering strong, long-term client relationships.
How does Groundwrk stay ahead of emerging trends in digital marketing and design to ensure clients receive innovative and effective solutions?
There’s a deep obsession behind what we do—we’re huge fans of the industry. We don’t claim to be the best design shop in the world, and in fact, we often find ourselves admiring the work of other agencies. At the same time, we hear that others admire our work too, which is always motivating. When we seek inspiration, we never just look at our own portfolio—we’re constantly exploring what designers across the world are creating, identifying trends, and pushing ourselves to evolve.
Internally, we foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation. We have a Slack channel where our entire team, including both contractors and in-house staff, shares creative inspiration and discusses exciting projects and trends we come across online. It’s a space where we keep each other engaged, inspired, and up to date-with the latest in design and marketing.
As the visionary behind Groundwrk, it’s my role to keep pushing the company toward innovation. Beyond that, staying curious and continuously learning are core values. We believe in being lifelong students of the industry. Creativity drives us—it’s what makes this work so exciting.
On the business side, that passion sometimes makes things challenging. There are times when I don’t care how much money a client has; I just want to take on a project because it’s interesting or fun. Of course, that doesn’t always make my CFO happy—he’ll ask, “Where’s the money?” and I’ll have to admit, “Oh, we’re doing this one for free.” But at the end of the day, our drive comes from the excitement of pushing creative boundaries. With such a talented team around me, I feel incredibly lucky that we can keep each other inspired and ahead of the curve.
Find out more at:
www.groundwrk.com
