Lean
Lean is a full-service paid-media and conversion-rate-optimization agency serving B2B and B2C clients in SaaS, edtech, ecommerce, and healthcare, operating under a partner-led model with Google Premier, Meta, and Microsoft partner credentials.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersReno, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Lean does
Lean is a full-service digital marketing agency specializing in paid media and conversion optimization for B2B and B2C clients, with a stated focus on SaaS, edtech, ecommerce, telehealth, and consumer brands. The firm operates paid search, paid social, programmatic, ABM, email lifecycle, CRO, and influencer marketing programs under a single client mandate, and reports managing more than $0.5B in aggregate ad spend and driving over $1B in client revenue.
The agency's go-to-market is built on partner-channel credibility and referral economics. Lean holds Google Premier Partner status (top ~3%), Meta Business Partner and Microsoft Ads elite-tier credentials, and reports a 100% referral-driven client acquisition model with 100+ active clients and retention 300% longer than industry average. Its operating model is a co-founder/partner staffing structure in which senior practitioners own client engagements end-to-end, anchored by delivery teams in Skopje, North Macedonia and client-facing leadership now headquartered in Reno, Nevada following the 2024 transition from LeanSEM to Lean and the appointment of a new US-based CEO.
Service delivery combines human strategy with AI-assisted execution across ad copy, optimization, and analytics, marketed as 'AI + Human Creativity Fusion.' Distribution is reinforced through community assets including the PPC Addicts community and the Paid Media Magic podcast. The business model is retainer- and management-fee based, with revenue mechanics tied to managed ad spend and engagement scope rather than media pass-through alone.
Lean firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lean
- Legal name
- Друштво за маркетинг и информатички технологии ЛЕАН СЕМ ДООЕЛ Скопје (LEAN SEM DOOEL Skopje)
- Website
- https://lean.partners
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Lean is a full-service paid-media and conversion-rate-optimization agency serving B2B and B2C clients in SaaS, edtech, ecommerce, and healthcare, operating under a partner-led model with Google Premier, Meta, and Microsoft partner credentials.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lean industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Performance Marketing Agency Services
- NAICS
- Marketing Consulting Services (541613)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Customer Retention, Win-Back & Churn Reduction Programs (MPAAAIAH)
Keywords
Where Lean is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Reno
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Lean business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Digital Marketing Agency Services: Managed budget-based agency fees for paid search, paid social, programmatic, creative, CRO, ABM, email, and influencer marketing services. Revenue driven by client budget size and scope of services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Monthly | Full-service digital marketing retainer |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels8 records
Lean product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lean is a full-service performance marketing agency that plans, executes, and optimizes paid media campaigns across search, social, programmatic, email, and influencer channels for mid-market and enterprise clients. Each client is supported by a minimum three-person dedicated team—senior strategist, daily execution lead, and creative lead—combining AI-driven automation with human strategic thinking. Services span Search Engine Marketing, Paid Social, Creative Strategy, Conversion Rate Optimization, Account-Based Marketing, Programmatic, Email, and Influencer Marketing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Paid search marketing services covering Google Ads, Shopping ads, Display ads, YouTube ads, Microsoft/Bing ads, Brave ads, and Apple Search. Includes strategy, keyword research, competitive research, and ongoing campaign management. Backed by 100+ years of collective paid search experience.
- Paid Social Marketing Paid social advertising management across Meta (Facebook/Instagram), LinkedIn, TikTok, Reddit, Quora, X, and Pinterest. Combines data-driven creative with platform-specific audience strategies to drive awareness, lead generation, and conversions.
- Creative Strategy Strategic and data-driven creative development including ad copy, video production, visual storytelling, and rapid creative testing across formats. Designed for performance marketers needing high-velocity creative iteration.
- Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Landing page and funnel optimization based on continuous user behavior analysis, A/B testing, and data-driven iteration to convert more website visitors into qualified leads and customers.
- Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Targeted, personalized campaigns for high-value accounts, with alignment between marketing and sales teams to deliver highly relevant messaging to specific named accounts.
- Programmatic Advertising Automated, data-driven ad buying across digital channels using advanced targeting and real-time bidding to reach defined audience segments with personalized ads.
- Email Marketing Email campaign strategy, copywriting, audience segmentation, and optimization focused on high open rates and conversions.
- Influencer Marketing Influencer identification, partnership management, and campaign execution with select creators for authentic storytelling and audience engagement beyond traditional advertising.
Quantifiable outcome
- 30x SEM growth in 4 years for telehealth client with 40% efficiency improvement
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Lean
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Lean technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability7 records
Feature3 records
Lean partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and notable.
- GooglecoreTop 3% Google Premier Partner agency with extensive Google Ads expertise including Performance Max, Search, Display, YouTube. Manages significant Google advertising budget for clients. Official Premier Partner badge displayed.
- Meta (Facebook/Instagram)coreOfficial Meta Business Partner merging creativity and data for Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, Reddit, Quora, X, Pinterest ad campaigns. Meta Partner Badge displayed on website.
- Microsoft Advertising (Bing)coreCertified Bing Partner managing Microsoft/Bing ad campaigns alongside Google campaigns for cross-platform reach.
- Dialpadnotable25x growth achieved in 2 years. Lean managed Performance Max campaigns that delivered 18% additional revenue, 17% more conversions, 26% increase in trial signups. Featured in Google official case study.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Lean competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Power Digital Marketing: Mid-market performance marketing agency with paid media, SEO, creative, and CRO services, comparable in client profile and Google Premier Partner positioning.
- Acceleration Partners: Performance marketing agency with a partner-led, retention-focused model; comparable in boutique size, ownership structure, and emphasis on measurable client outcomes.
- Disruptive Advertising: Performance-focused digital marketing agency offering paid search, paid social, and CRO services to mid-market and enterprise clients, with a similar cross-channel, test-driven methodology as Lean.
- Wpromote: Larger independent performance marketing agency managing significant ad spend across Google, Meta, and programmatic, with comparable cross-channel orchestration and a Google Premier Partner designation similar to Lean's.
- WebFX: Full-service digital marketing agency offering SEM, SEO, social, and CRO with a focus on ROI-driven campaigns for mid-market clients; direct overlap with Lean's service mix.
- Adtaxi: Data-driven digital marketing agency offering paid media, programmatic, and analytics with cross-channel capabilities analogous to Lean; targets mid-market and enterprise clients.
- Tinuiti: Full-service digital marketing agency specializing in paid media, Amazon, and lifecycle marketing for enterprise brands; directly comparable offering and target customer overlap with Lean.
Broad incumbents
- iProspect: Global performance marketing agency within Dentsu offering paid search, social, and programmatic at enterprise scale; broader portfolio but overlaps directly in the paid-media orchestration category.
- GroupM / Mindshare: WPP-owned media agency group with massive scale on cross-channel paid media buying; competes with Lean on enterprise RFPs but as a much broader incumbent.
- Merkle: Data-driven performance marketing agency under Dentsu combining paid media, analytics, and CRM; broad incumbent competing for the same enterprise data-driven marketing budgets as Lean.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Lean social profiles
Digital presenceLean compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Lean financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lean leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Lean funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lean M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lean
What does Lean do?
Lean is a full-service performance marketing agency that plans, executes, and optimizes paid media campaigns across search, social, programmatic, email, and influencer channels for mid-market and enterprise clients. Each client is supported by a minimum three-person dedicated team—senior strategist, daily execution lead, and creative lead—combining AI-driven automation with human strategic thinking. Services span Search Engine Marketing, Paid Social, Creative Strategy, Conversion Rate Optimization, Account-Based Marketing, Programmatic, Email, and Influencer Marketing.
Is Lean a public or private company?
Lean is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Lean founded?
Lean was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Lean based?
Lean is headquartered in Reno, United States, in the North America region.
How does Lean make money?
One revenue line is on record: digital Marketing Agency Services.
Who are Lean's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Power Digital Marketing, Acceleration Partners, Disruptive Advertising, Wpromote, WebFX, Adtaxi and Tinuiti. Broad incumbents are iProspect, GroupM / Mindshare and Merkle.
Does Lean have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lean.
What industry is Lean in?
Lean's product category is Performance Marketing Agency Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAIAH, Customer Retention, Win-Back & Churn Reduction Programs. Its NAICS code is 541613 and its SIC code is 7311.