How A Brisbane Underdog Beat the
Big Agencies At Their Own Game

His Brisbane-based e-commerce agency, Andzen, was competing against powerhouse agencies in Sydney, Melbourne, New York, and San Francisco for the same clients. The big-city agencies had something Andzen didn’t: access to massive talent pools and the budgets to match.

Brisbane? Great for lifestyle. Terrible for hiring specialized Klaviyo strategists, Shopify developers, and email marketing automation experts.

“We had world-class expertise and were delivering exceptional results for clients,” Brenden explains. “But we were understaffed and geographically limited. Brisbane’s talent pool was a fraction of what Sydney agencies had access to – let alone what US agencies could tap into.”

The math was brutal:

1. Sydney agencies:
   Access to 5+ million people
2. New York agencies:
   Access to 20+ million people
3. Brisbane agencies:
   Access to 2.5 million people (and most were already employed)

Andzen was winning clients despite the disadvantage, but they couldn’t scale. Every new client meant Brenden and his partners working longer hours, taking on work that should be delegated, and turning away opportunities.

By 2018, Andzen had proven itself as a Klaviyo and Shopify Plus expert. They’d achieved Klaviyo Master Platinum Partner status – the first agency in Australia to earn the elite designation. They were driving 200%+ revenue growth for e-commerce clients.

But success created impossible choices:

The Catch-22:

• Hire locally:
  Pay Sydney/Melbourne salaries ($80K-$120K+) without Sydney/Melbourne access to talent
• Stay lean:
  Keep turning away clients and capping growth
• Burn out:
  Work 60-80 hour weeks indefinitely

The specific pain points:

Geographic constraints:
Brisbane’s smaller talent pool meant longer hiring timelines

Cost barriers:
Australian salaries were pricing them out of competitive bids

Capacity crisis:
Partners were still doing individual contributor work instead of leading


Market perception:
“Just a Brisbane agency” vs. global competitors


US expansion:
Growing US client base but no bandwidth to service properly

The offshore exploration:

Like many agencies, Andzen started researching offshore solutions. But the horror stories were everywhere:

But the horror stories were everywhere:

• Poor communication
• Quality control nightmares
• Time zone disasters
• Compliance headaches
• “You get what you pay for” warnings

“We knew we needed to offshore, but we were terrified of making expensive mistakes,” Brenden admits. “We didn’t have experience building offshore teams, and our lean management structure meant we couldn’t afford to spend six months learning the hard way.”

Then a trusted connection in the Shopify ecosystem mentioned Filta.

“They told us Filta wasn’t just an outsourcing provider – they were a strategic HR partner who actually understood e-commerce. That changed everything.”

Andzen didn’t just hire a few contractors. They partnered with Filta to build a complete multi-country HR strategy that would become their competitive advantage.

Phase 1: Philippines Foundation (2018-2019)

Filta started by challenging Andzen’s assumptions.

“Most agencies think offshore = administrative assistants,” explains Filta’s team. “We showed Brenden that the Philippines has exceptional talent in graphic design, project management, email production, and technical implementation.”

Andzen’s Philippine team through Filta:

• Graphic Designers
  High-end email and campaign creative
• Project Managers
  Client coordination and workflow management
• Digital Producers
  Klaviyo flow builds and technical implementation
• Email Marketing Specialists
  Campaign execution and A/B testing

“The floodgates opened,” Brenden recalls. “Once we saw the quality of talent Filta could find in the Philippines, we completely rethought our hiring strategy. Now when a role emerges, we ask: “Should this be Brisbane, remote, Philippines, or US?”

Phase 2: Australian Expansion (2019)

As Filta became embedded in Andzen’s operations, the relationship deepened.

The turning point: Andzen needed to hire in Sydney and Melbourne to expand their Australian presence, but they didn’t have HR bandwidth.

Filta became Andzen’s complete Australian HR partner:

• Sourcing talent in Sydney, Melbourne, and beyond
• Managing the entire recruitment process
• Ensuring cultural and technical fit
• Handling compliance and onboarding

Phase 3: US Market Domination (2019-2025)

By 2019, Andzen was ready for its biggest move: conquering the US market.

The opportunity was massive. American e-commerce brands were desperate for world-class Klaviyo and Shopify expertise. But competing against established US agencies required local presence, American team members, and flawless execution.

Andzen turned to Filta to make it happen.

Filta’s US recruitment delivered:

• Strategic hires in key US markets
• Customer Success Managers with American e-commerce experience
• Account Directors who understood US client expectations
• Sales development representatives for US time zones

The result? Andzen went from “Brisbane agency trying to break into the US” to “Global agency with strategic presence across APAC and North America.”

What started as “offshore hiring” became something far more valuable.

“Filta is less of an offshore company, less of a recruitment company, and more of a HR partner,” Brenden explains. “They challenge us when structuring a team or formulating a resource strategy. That only comes from knowing and understanding how we work.”

How Filta became strategic to Andzen:

Beyond recruitment:

• Advising on role definitions and team structures
• Challenging assumptions about where roles should be located
• Providing market intelligence on talent availability and costs
• Managing all HR, payroll, and compliance across three countries

Cultural integration:

• Finding talent that fits Andzen’s collaborative, results-driven culture
• Ensuring communication styles match across countries
• Managing onboarding to embed Filta teams into Andzen operations

Long-term partnership:

• Regular check-ins on team performance and satisfaction
• Proactive solutions for retention and engagement
• Strategic planning for future growth and expansion

“Filta knows how to find talent that will fit in with the Andzen culture and way of working,” Brenden says. “We’re grateful for that.”

Andzen’s partnership with Filta didn’t just help one agency succeed – it proved that geography doesn’t have to be destiny.

For Agencies Outside Major Markets

The Andzen playbook shows:

• You CAN compete with Sydney/NYC/SF agencies from anywhere
• Strategic outsourcing creates cost advantages AND operational excellence
• Multi-country teams are competitive advantages, not compromises
• The right HR partner eliminates geographic constraints

For E-commerce Agencies Specifically

Key lessons:

• Klaviyo/Shopify talent exists globally – Filta knows where to find it
• Philippine teams excel at email production, design, and technical implementation
• Multi-country operations enable true 24/7 client service
• Cost savings fund market expansion and competitive advantages

The strategic framework:

1. Identify your geographic constraint

   (Brisbane’s small talent pool)
2. Partner strategically
   (Filta as HR partner, not just recruiter)
3. Build multi-country capabilities
   (Philippines → Australia → US)
4. Reinvest savings into growth
   (US market expansion)
5. Convert weakness to strength
   (from “Brisbane-based” to “global operations”)

• Are you losing bids because of higher labor costs?
• Could you 2-3x capacity if you had the right team?
• Are your founders still doing individual contributor work?
• Is your location limiting your talent access?
• Could multi-country teams give you operational advantages?

This award – Klaviyo’s highest honor – goes to agencies that deliver exceptional client results, maintain world-class service standards, and drive innovation in the e-commerce ecosystem.

Andzen won it while:

• Based in Brisbane (not Sydney, Melbourne, or a US market)
• Operating teams across three countries via Filta
• Competing against agencies 5-10x their size
• Maintaining the multi-country team structure they built with Filta

The award validates everything: You can build a world-class agency from anywhere – IF you have the right strategic partners.