Our Story
"We're grateful to be doing what we love each day and contributing to the success of other small businesses."
Who We Are
A Maine-based brand and marketing agency that believes good things come in small packages.
Our Mission
To help small businesses that improve the lives of others build authentic brands and attract their ideal customers.
Who We Work With
We love small businesses.
As one ourselves, we understand the challenges of building something from the ground up with a whole lot of passion, endless hours, and bootstrapped resources.
While we work with a variety of customers, they are all committed in some way to improving the lives of others.
From health and wellness-based businesses to insurance firms, from tech startups to purpose-driven companies and non-profits, they all share a common passion: making a positive impact.
Specialties include:
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Technology Startups (B2B and B2C)
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Healthy Lifestyle Products (Organic, Gluten-Free)
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Wellness Providers (Holistic & Alternative Modalities)
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Insurance (B2B and B2C)
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Non-profits
Our Team
Julie Spugnardi
Co-Owner\Marketing Lead
Julie has been obsessed with storytelling for as long as she can remember.
She penned countless stories and plays growing up and wrote for her high school, college, and local newspapers, with a dream of someday becoming a journalist. After college, she set out into the world with a Communications degree and landed in marketing for B2B conferences and tradeshows.
She made the move to the reinsurance industry in 2006 where she spent over a decade managing numerous client and industry events and overseeing strategic marketing and brand initiatives for life and health businesses.
Julie felt the pull to entrepreneurship after more than 20 years in the corporate world, finally taking the plunge in 2022 when she launched her independent marketing agency, Bootstrap Marketing.
When she isn't working she is busy with her two boys and husband, enjoying time by a firepit or traveling.
Kate Clark
Co-Owner\Design Lead
Kate gravitated to the world of graphic design early on,
feeling compelled to leverage her creativity and love for art which began when she was just a teenager. Earning her BFA in Graphic Design in 2001, she started her career as a graphic designer for an trade show and publishing company based in Portland, Maine.
She learned a lot from her early mentors but quickly realized she craved more variety and independence in her work life. She started her freelance design business in 2004 which she successfully operated for nearly 20 years.
Kate has a passion for small business branding and a strong drive to support them in navigating changing business conditions. She has extensive experience in small business branding, with a special focus on search engine optimization (SEO).
When she’s not working, you’ll find her spending time with family, painting, or hiking a nearby mountain.
How We Work
We help small businesses grow through authentic branding and creative marketing to connect you with your dream customers.
We like to start at the beginning with our customers so we can get the fundamentals right and position you for long-term marketing success.
We learn
what makes your business unique and add research about your market, competition, and customers.
From visuals to messaging,
we build you everything a strong brand needs.
You get a comprehensive plan that provides direction and outlines ways to achieving key objectives
We analyze results across a variety of tools to get the best view of your marketing's performance
