Fifteen Years of The Herald Group
It was the summer of 2005. President George W. Bush had recently nominated John Roberts to the Supreme Court. The question over whether Destiny’s Child would officially break up or simply disband lingered—and sadly still does for many. YouTube was just founded along with our nation’s resulting fascination with online cat videos. Facebook was still in its infancy and Twitter was merely a concept. In the midst of all this, a new public affairs firm was born. It was in July 2005 that The Herald Group officially launched.
The initial office space, vintage with a minimalist approach interior, was provided at a steep discount by friends of the founders and included a hodgepodge of borrowed or salvaged furniture. The laptops were purchased on already-overextended personal credit cards. There was no Wi-Fi, iPhones, Slack, Zoom, and there certainly wasn’t an app for everything. Coffee was something made across the street and lunches were often brought from home. The founders agreed that, for the first nine months, they would place all client fees back into the firm before drawing their first paychecks.
Still, the three founders came from different, yet complementary communications, campaign, and technology backgrounds. They were confident they could build a successful research- and technology-driven firm to more effectively win the complex policy, political, and legal battles occurring at the federal and state levels. Fifteen years later, the firm founded by Taylor Gross, Doug McGinn, and Matt Well has successfully grown to serve a multitude of blue-chip corporate clients, leading trade associations, and industry coalitions. And yes, we now have Wi-Fi, coffee, and much more.
The founders point out that the firm’s success has been based on four key factors (in order of importance)
Early and continued investment in our people has served as the most valuable asset and driver of success for the firm. From our earliest hires to our most recent, our executive team to our newest associates, we strive to recruit and promote from within those best aligned with our entrepreneurial culture and those that can enhance it further. Ongoing and strategic investments in capabilities and new technologies have allowed us to better provide all the pieces of today’s complex advocacy puzzle in ways that deliver desired outcomes for clients. And we are uniquely fortunate to have clients we enjoy working for and for whom we view every engagement not as an account to be serviced, but as a campaign that needs to be fought and won.
Perhaps all this is why The Herald Group’s first client still remains one today, and why numerous others have stayed with us for well over a decade. From our innovative and strategic professional staff to our engaging and thoughtful clients, The Herald Group will always focus on how we can support those who have supported and trusted us. And we thank all those that we’ve been fortunate enough to work with as part of this journey.
We’ve come a long way these past fifteen years, and we can’t wait to see what the next fifteen will hold.