Custom software for agencies - we built it for ours first
We run Fame, a podcast agency. A couple of years in, we noticed our best people - producers, strategists, account leads - spending a shocking share of the week on the work between the work: copy-pasting status updates to clients, chasing guests and clients for assets, rekeying episode data from one tool into another, rebuilding the weekly report.
So we built our own tools. Client status pages. A client portal. A team homebase. Intake forms. An asset review tool. Ten in a few months. Nothing dramatic happened to the team; something better did - the same people spent their hours on clients and craft, and the "any update?" emails stopped.
Forge is how we do that for your agency, without you doing any of the technical work we did.
We built our first tools for the Fame team - a 6-year-old people business with 100+ clients. They now give those hours back every week.
Read the Fame story →What we build for agencies
Client status pages
Each client sees progress, milestones and next steps live; the update emails stop
Client portals
A branded place for deliverables, files, approvals, invoices and messages
Client onboarding
One link collects brand assets, access, contacts and preferences; everything lands where the team works
Asset collection and review
Clients upload once; reviews and approvals happen in one place instead of email threads
Reports that draft themselves
Weekly and monthly client reports pulled from your data, reviewed by an account lead, sent in minutes
Team homebase
Who's on what, deadlines, SOPs, announcements
Time tracking that fits
Hours by client and project, with margin visible before the retainer renews
App-to-app sync
Your CRM, project tool, time tracking and invoicing finally agreeing
What this looks like for your people
An account lead who sent fifteen status emails a week now sends none - clients check the page. A producer who chased guests for headshots now watches the chasers go out and steps in for the stubborn ones. A founder who rebuilt the client report every month now reviews a draft. The creative work, the strategy, the relationships - that's where the hours go now. That's the entire reason we started.
Why agencies pick us over a stack of SaaS
Your stack already has ten tools, and they don't fit how you work, so your team keeps a spreadsheet and a lot of patience on the side. We don't sell you an eleventh tool. We build the specific pieces that make your agency run - shaped to your clients, your stages, your brand - and we run them so nobody on your team becomes the accidental IT person.
How it works
- 01
Scope
2 weeksAn ops audit: we interview your team, map your tools and find where the hours go. Then we choose what to build - a roadmap with the three builds that recover the most, scoped and priced. The fee ($2,500 / £2,000) is credited to your first month.
- 02
Build
2-6 weeksThe first tool, built and tested, branded to you, connected to your apps. You approve it before it counts.
- 03
Roll out
We train your producers and account leads and manage the change so people actually use it.
- 04
Improve
MonthlyWe watch usage, fix and keep improving it. Every tool tracks usage, so you can show clients the value - "here's how your portal was used this month" - and we keep improving what people actually use.
What it costs
| Ops audit | $2,500 / £2,000 · two weeks · credited to your first month |
| Run · starter / growth / embedded | $2,000 / $3,500 / $7,500 a month (£1,600 / £2,800 / £6,000) · first build included |
3-month minimum on run plans · it runs on your own accounts, so you own it - you pay those tool costs directly · your brand on every tool, ours nowhere
Tools we built and run for our own team
Client portal
One login where every client sees their show: episodes, guests, approvals and results.
See the build →02Asset review and approval tool
Clients watch, comment on and approve every episode and asset in one place, with automatic quality checks first.
See the build →03Episode QA guardrails
Watches raw recordings arrive, checks every published episode against what was approved, and alerts the team when something doesn't match.
See the build →Questions, answered plainly
What internal tools does an agency need?
Almost every agency ends up needing a client portal or status page, a client onboarding flow, a way to collect and review assets, client reporting, a team homebase and time tracking. We've built all of them - for our own agency first.
Can the tools be white-labelled with our brand?
Yes. Your logo, colours and domain. Clients only ever see your agency.
We're a small agency - is this for us?
It works best for agencies of roughly 10-40 people with a client roster and an ops lead. Smaller agencies usually start with one tool on the starter plan.
How much does it cost for an agency?
A two-week audit is $2,500 (£2,000), credited to your first month; run plans $2,000-7,500 a month, first build included. All published.
Will this replace account managers or producers?
No - it's built to give them their hours back. The copy-pasting and chasing goes; the client relationships and the creative work stay with your people, with more time for both.