• by Larissa Faw , January 10, 2017

Mcgarrybowen is taking a page from Silicon Valley by launching its own start-up division, mb Forge.

The division -- currently in soft-launch mode -- will partner with promising companies in their second or third rounds of funding that are ready to take the national/global stage and are funded for large-scale consumer marketing.

The first start-up within the new operation is Drizly, an app-based delivery service for alcoholic beverages available in 24 markets across the U.S. and Canada.

Several additional projects are expected to be named in the coming weeks. 

The idea came from Reade Maier of the agency's new business team; he had an idea and pitched the concept internally. That idea evolved into a business initiative supported by chief integration officer Phil Gaughran, who had a similar idea after attending a meeting where the host said: “90% of these companies here today will be out of business in a year. The other 10% will become the next Facebook or Google.” 

That clicked with Gaughran and underscored an untapped market in the start-up world, where everyone is focused on the next thing, but not necessarily on the next best thing. 

The initiative's name was a no-brainer, says Gaughran. "Much like a forge heats and molds metals to help them take shape, mbForge hones raw companies into dynamic brands that can grow and strengthen over time."

Gaughran and Maier serve as project leaders, joined by several mcgarrybowen staffers. The shop will add other employees as the effort progresses.

Mcgarrybowen parent Dentsu has a separate venture fund it uses to invest in start-up firms that show potential to develop innovative applications within the marketing sector. Its latest investment, made last month, was in Culver City, CA-based VR entertainment content developer Survios, Inc.