Posted by Kevin Lofgren.

I founded Farstar in 2002 with two basic beliefs. One, that most marketing and advertising firms didn't produce enough tangible results to justify their fees. And two, that those same firms are too slow to embrace the power of technology and its role in marketing.

Farstar, I believe, is a different kind of marketing agency - one where technology and creativity combine to reach consumers in unique, personal ways. And, in the process, produce greater, measurable results than traditional methods ever could. How do we do it? By not playing fair.

Farstar operates with some unique guiding principles that would be considered downright heretical - or, "unfair" - at traditional agencies:

• The customer is not always right. If they were, why would they need a marketing partner?

• Failure is just a chance to learn. Constant adjustment is the quickest path to success and Farstar's technology makes such marketing agility possible.

• Technology is our friend. Once upon a time, television and radio were high-tech ad vehicles. The new technology of interactivity, customization and profiling can and must be used if companies want to reach consumers in today's cacophonous world.

By playing with this new set of rules, we've grown Farstar into a multi-million dollar company boasting a client list that makes many traditional agencies green with envy. We've also snagged a smattering of nice awards; some for our own success and some for achieving success for our clients. In 2008 alone we somehow managed to: be named to the Comerica Bank Collin 60 for the second year in a row, win a Collin County Celebration of Enterprise award, win Most Effective Local Campaign from the DFW Interactive Marketing Association and win a bronze award at the Direct Marketing Association International ECHO Awards. We finished off the year in style by being named Small Business of the Year by the Frisco Chamber of Commerce.

But enough about Farstar (I think you'll agree there's plenty about it in other posts), let's talk about me. I learned about effective marketing the old-fashioned way - selling books door-to-door for five summers in college. After earning a degree in film from Baylor University, I spent the following decade with assorted new media and internet firms, with an emphasis on user interface design and information architecture. In 2005, just three years after founding Farstar, I was named one of "Forty Under 40" business people to watch by The Dallas Business Journal. Since then I've become very paranoid that everyone's looking at me. ;-)

In 2008 I received two very special honors, first winning the Metroplex Technology Business Council's Tech Titans Community Hero Award, and then being named one of 2008’s “21 for the 21st Century” by the Collin County Business Press.

Today, I live in Frisco, Texas, with my wife, daughter and newborn son. An avid photographer, I can often be found documenting my kids' escapades, as well as the ongoing renovations to Farstar's offices inside a 1913 Prairie-style home in historic downtown Frisco.

kl