Founder and CEO Greg Brock jokes about “going broke” as he gets ready to sample the lunchtime options in downtown Roanoke – but that’s where his digital strategy boutique firm is now located as of August 1. Firefli moved from the Grandin CoLab building on Grandin Avenue (they were not a CoLab tenant however) to 215 Market Street after outgrowing that space. The new office is in the same building as Downtown Roanoke Inc.
Firefli now has 8 employees said Brock; now with room to expand and a growing customer base that includes its first Fortune 500 company. He sees several new hires needed soon and perhaps a doubling or even tripling in size over the next few years. “We elevate businesses ready to engage in comprehensive digital strategies,” says Brock about what Firefli does for clients. That entails website design, social media strategies, mobile app creation, e-mail marketing and all of the creative services that goes along with that. “It has to be about how users [employ] the web,” says Brock, adding that Firefli “is ready to grow out of this market.”
Growing the business is a good problem “but also the stuff that builds character,” Brock chuckles. Moving downtown to Market Street and the business center of Roanoke had a lot to do with the synergy taking place: “we saw that downtown could offer us new experiences. I think we’re all very excited about the energy that’s down there.” It’s like moving from the neighborhood street where you grew up and “felt a kinship,” says Brock to a higher visibility stage. “We’re very excited about the move downtown.”
Gene Marrano
