A gap year inspired a Twin Cities marketing exec to start her own agency

After 25 demanding years as a Twin Cities marketing executive, Margaret Murphy needed a break.

Her solution: A gap year. Young people take them. So why couldn’t Murphy, after increasing revenue and building workplace cultures in independent, private equity and publicly held companies?

“It had been an incredible journey, but I was tired,” Murphy said. “I just knew that I needed to give myself time. I needed to give myself time for my soul to catch up with my body.”

She traveled. Ran her “first and only” half-marathon. Moved into an office in Minneapolis’ International Market Square. Networked, meeting with some 150 people.

“It was a very enjoyable time,” said Murphy, noting she gained a “renewed sense of life” and better physical and mental health. “I highly recommend it.”

She also used the break to develop her next venture: Bold Orange Co., a Minneapolis-based customer experience agency with an end-to-end focus on helping brands acquire, grow and retain customers.

Launched quietly in late 2017, Bold Orange now has more than 150 employees and topped $30 million in revenue last year, said Murphy, its CEO. The agency has appeared on Inc. magazine’s list of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies in the country in each of the past three years. Murphy was an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist for the Heartland Region in 2023 and 2024.

“We’re growing because we’re relevant and because our employees deliver an incredible service experience,” Murphy said.

Bold Orange builds on Murphy’s extensive background in strategy, creative, technology and analytics. Services include experience strategy and design; performance marketing and media; marketing automation and technology; and Salesforce Marketing Cloud implementation. Polaris, Great Clips, eBay, Red Wing Shoes and Great River Energy are among its customers.

The agency operates independently, but Murphy has multiple investors. Mountaingate Capital, a private equity firm based in Denver, has partnered with Bold Orange on three acquisitions, including that of Three Deep Marketing.

The agency’s name speaks to its purpose, Murphy said. Being bold feels good. Orange — in no shortage throughout the agency’s offices — is a blend of red and yellow in the spectrum of light.

“We believe authentic human connection is the single most important driver of business and societal progress,” Murphy said. “If we’re going to drive that progress, it means we’re going to bring things together: people and purpose, marketing and strategy, brands and communities. And if we bring those things together, and we’re bold, we’re going to make progress. So just like blending red and yellow and being bold, that’s how it all ties together.”

As an example of societal progress, Murphy cited sister company RaiseRight, an online gift card fundraising platform she said supports more than 15,000 schools, sports teams, bands and other community organizations nationally. Last year, Bold Orange employees partnered with Second Harvest Heartland to pack more than 44,000 meals through the agency’s volunteer time-off program.

Murphy’s gap year came after a career that began at Carlson Marketing Group, where she was senior vice president of client services. After 16 years, she left to co-found and serve as president of Denali Marketing. She led that firm through its sale to Olson, where, as president, she oversaw three acquisitions before that agency sold to ICF International. Murphy left in late 2016.

About six months into her gap year, Murphy — after spending four days by herself in Palm Springs — returned with a 10-page document that spelled out her thoughts on where she saw opportunity in the market. She spent several more months developing those ideas into what would become Bold Orange, the launch of which she announced publicly in January 2018.

“I looked at the agency landscape, and in 2017, it just felt [like] agencies were mainly vertical,” Murphy said. “I’m a creative agency. I’m a media agency. I’m a digital agency.”

She said that model overlooks the customer, but Bold Orange focuses on customer experience, which gives it relevance and has helped drive its growth.

“We’re an agency that looks holistically at your brand’s full experience and then how do we help you continue to evolve it and strengthen it,” Murphy said. “I think that’s what sets us apart.”

So, she said, does the agency’s “and-then-some” approach.

“That’s kind of our cultural pillar,” Murphy said. “When I launched Bold Orange, I was very focused on that service experience. I thought clients deserved a higher level of service, which is really the ‘and then some.’ And I thought the employees deserved a strong culture, which ties into the ‘and then some’ as well.”

To stay relevant, Murphy has positioned Bold Orange as a thought leader in customer experience circles. The agency recently posted its “25 Bold Predictions” for 2025. In May, it will host its third CX Midwest conference. Last year’s drew 70 brands. Past speakers have come from Nike, Reddit, Walgreens, Andersen and Polaris. While Bold Orange has national clients, Murphy wants to continue to build its brand nationally.

The words on the wall above Murphy’s office read, “We inspire, we develop, and we empower.”

“That was my commitment when we launched the company,” Murphy said. “That’s what people did for me throughout my career, and I want to pay it forward.”

Todd Nelson is a freelance writer in Lake Elmo. His email is todd_nelson@mac.com.