Who this is
David Rost moved to Munich at 18, did a traineeship at a media agency and in 2010, aged 22 and without a degree, registered his own business. His digital agency grew to around 60 employees and built, among other things, robo-advice for a Swiss private bank and mobility services for Volkswagen. In 2019 he sold it to the Swiss private equity firm Ufenau Capital Partners and contributed it as the platform for MYTY Group. Since then he has bought 17 agencies, including Strichpunkt, Sir Mary, norisk and Moongency; the group counts around 800 people across Germany, Switzerland and Croatia and generates roughly 130 million euros in revenue. With his best friend André Schürrle he also founded the electrolyte brand DRYLL, without a funding round. David is a hunter, father of a son and, by his own account, the worst beach holiday companion imaginable.
Episodes
Numbers from the episode
FAQ
What is MYTY Group?
MYTY Group is an agency group that David Rost has been building since 2019 through buy-and-build with the Swiss private equity investor Ufenau Capital Partners. His own digital agency was the platform; since then he has bought 17 agencies, including Strichpunkt, Sir Mary, Monami, norisk, 404, Shape, SESAMY and Moongency. The group has around 800 people in Germany, Switzerland and Croatia, generates 130 million euros in revenue and roughly a 20 percent EBIT margin on agency fees. The agencies keep their own brands, and the founders hold a stake in the group. To the episode →
How did David Rost sell his agency?
David founded a digital agency in 2010 at age 22 without a degree and grew it to around 60 employees. Because advertising holdings and consultancies felt too corporate as buyers, he mandated an M&A advisor, spoke to five or six small-cap private equity funds and sold to Ufenau Capital Partners from Zurich in November 2019. According to David, such a platform needs 3 to 5 million euros of EBITDA. To the episode →
What does David Rost look for when buying an agency?
Three KPIs: growth in gross profit (ideally double-digit), EBITDA margin and headcount churn. Client concentration is the biggest red flag: anything above 10 percent needs close scrutiny, above 20 percent it gets dark. He also wants to see proven second-line management beside the founders. And he takes time to get to know the people, because to him an acquisition is like a marriage. To the episode →
What is DRYLL?
DRYLL is a hydration brand David Rost founded with his best friend, footballer André Schürrle. The electrolyte drink is high in salt with sodium, potassium and magnesium and contains no sugar, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, colourings or preservatives. It was developed with a leading German food manufacturer. The two invested a solid six-figure sum and raised no funding round. Sales are mainly direct-to-consumer, plus gyms such as Barry's and Fitness First and, recently, the drugstore chain dm. To the episode →
Quotes
„Ich sage immer, ich ziehe Energie aus Aktivität, nicht aus Resting.““I always say I draw energy from activity, not from resting.”
„Ich sag immer, eine Agentur zu betreiben ist ein bisschen wie Drogenverkaufen. Du bist wahnsinnig schnell in einem profitablen, organischen Wachstum. … Machst dann aber nie diesen exponentiellen Sprung, wie dann letztendlich ein Tech-Founder macht.““I always say running an agency is a bit like selling drugs. You get into profitable, organic growth incredibly fast. But you never make the exponential leap a tech founder ultimately makes.”
„Wir haben diesen ganzen politischen Nonsens nicht, den du aus Netzwerkmodellen sonst kennst, weil alle sagen, hey, what's in for me?““We don't have all that political nonsense you know from network models, where everyone asks, hey, what's in it for me?”
„Eine, die per se nur Zeit verkaufen kann. Egal was. Wenn du nicht in der Lage bist, Pakete zu bilden oder in so ein Value-based Pricing-Modell oder Outcome-based Pricing-Modell reinzukommen, sondern du wirklich nur Stunden schreibst, hast du echt ein Problem.““One that can only sell time. No matter what. If you can't build packages or get into a value-based or outcome-based pricing model and all you do is bill hours, you have a real problem.”