Some businesses are built from big ambitions and bold business plans. Tim Priebe’s was built from something simpler: a genuine love for building websites that started as a hobby in 1996. That hobby quietly grew into Backslash Creative, a digital agency rooted in strategy, trust, and long-term thinking.
Backslash Creative continues working with many of the same clients it served years ago. In an industry where short engagements are the norm, that kind of loyalty is rare and worth paying attention to.
In a crowded industry full of agencies chasing trends and quick wins, Backslash Creative has taken a different path. Tim Priebe built his agency on clarity, honest relationships, and disciplined execution. This is the story of how he did it.
From Hobby to Business
Tim Priebe did not set out to build an agency. He just loved building websites.
– Tim Priebe, CEO & Owner (Source: Backslash Creative)
What started as a hobby in 1996 quietly grew into something more. He began maintaining a website for someone else on the side. Then, in 2003, he took the leap and started his own company. Tim Priebe recalls, “What began as a hobby in 1996 turned into a part-time job maintaining a single website for someone else. I then started my own company in 2003. Over time, that side business grew into something sustainable enough to become my full-time focus.”
That company became Backslash Creative. Tim and his team have not followed trends or chased hot markets. They grew the company the way most lasting things grow — slowly, steadily, and with purpose.
Finding the Right Clients
Backslash Creative did not pick its niche from a list. The niche found them.
Over time, the agency kept returning to the same kinds of clients — small and mid-sized service businesses, nonprofits, and churches. Tim Priebe says, “That focus developed over time based on the types of organizations we consistently worked with and where we saw strong long-term alignment.”
– The six core values that shape how Backslash Creative works with clients, partners, and each other every day. (Source: Backslash Creative)
These organizations share something important. They run on trust. Their reputation is everything. That made them a natural fit for an agency built around strategy, web development, and digital marketing. As Tim Priebe explains, “Service organizations rely heavily on trust, credibility, and reputation, which fits well with our emphasis on strategic positioning, website development, and digital marketing.”
He is clear that this was never a calculated move. Tim Priebe says, “We did not choose a niche based on trends. It evolved based on experience and alignment.”
Knowing who to work with matters just as much as knowing how to do the work. That truth was reinforced for Tim Priebe during a recent project to create a Brand Messaging Guide for No Boundaries International. The session was a three-hour kickoff meeting, and none of the parties involved were referring to it as a brand messaging project at the time. Tim Priebe recalls, “It was not until I was driving home afterward that I recognized what we had created.”
What made it work was the client. Tim Priebe says, “No Boundaries was willing to slow down, think deeply, and stay in the hard questions. Not every organization is willing to do that. Knowing who is a good fit and who is not matters just as much as the work itself.”
Built on Staying Power
In an industry where short engagements are common, Backslash Creative measures success differently.
Tim Priebe points to longevity as his agency’s biggest achievement. Not a single campaign. Not one viral moment. Just years of consistent, trusted work. He says, “Backslash Creative has been in business since 2003. We have worked with many clients for multiple years, and in some cases over a decade.”
– Tim Priebe collaborates with his team, where long-term relationships with both staff and clients are a defining part of how the agency works. (Source: Backslash Creative)
That staying power does not happen by accident. Tim Priebe believes it comes down to three core principles. The first is leading with strategy. He says, “If you don’t know who you’re trying to reach and how you’re different, marketing becomes expensive noise. We don’t start with platforms. We start with strategy.”
The second is thinking long-term. Tim Priebe says, “We’ve never built this company around trends. I’m far more interested in sustainable growth for ourselves and our clients than short-term wins.”
The third is how Tim and his team show up in client relationships. He calls it equal business stature. Tim Priebe explains, “We don’t operate as vendors. We operate as peers. That means we can push back when needed and have honest conversations. It leads to better decisions and better results.”
He sums it up simply. Tim Priebe says, “That approach isn’t flashy, but it’s consistent. And consistency wins over time.”
That philosophy carries through to how the agency attracts and keeps clients. Tim Priebe says, “We attract and retain clients by being clear about how we work. We approach relationships as partners, not vendors.” He adds, “Not every organization is a fit for that approach, and that is okay. The right clients value clarity, direct communication, and disciplined execution.”
Growing Without Breaking
Growth brought its own challenges for Tim and his team at Backslash.
As Backslash Creative expanded, he had to make a difficult shift. He could no longer be the person doing everything. The business needed him to lead, not just execute. Tim Priebe says, “As the company grew, I needed to shift from being heavily involved in day-to-day operations to focusing more on leadership, strategy, and business development.”
– Backslash Creative has grown into a full team serving small businesses, nonprofits, and churches across the country. (Source: Backslash Creative)
The team handled that transition with intentionality and a touch of humor. Tim Priebe recalls, “We approached that transition intentionally and even gave it a fun name internally: Operation Fire Tim.”
Looking ahead, the goals are grounded and specific. Tim Priebe says the plan is to keep expanding in east Dallas, grow the team, and eventually move from their rented office in downtown Edmond into a space they can call their own.
The right tools have played a role in making that growth possible. Backslash Creative relies on three core platforms. HubSpot handles CRM and marketing automation, keeping sales and communication aligned. GA4 and Looker Studio provide performance data so decisions are grounded in real behavior, not guesswork. Tim Priebe says, “Data matters. These tools give us visibility into performance so decisions are based on real behavior, not assumptions.”
The Infrastructure Behind It
Running a web agency means managing a lot of sites. That requires hosting that can keep up.
Backslash Creative found that in Cloudways. The recommendation came through their tech partner, Graybill Codeworks. Tim Priebe says, “They were already using it and recommended we take a look. We trust their judgment. After reviewing it and seeing how it fits with how we manage client sites, we made the switch as well.”
– Backslash Creative relies on Cloudways for fast, reliable WordPress hosting that scales with their growing client base.
Over 23 years, the agency has worked with roughly half a dozen hosting providers. Cloudways stood apart. Tim Priebe says, “The biggest difference with Cloudways has been their WordPress-specific tools. The integration, cloning capabilities, and server management options are more aligned with how we actually build and maintain sites.”
The ability to clone and deploy sites quickly has had a direct impact on how the team works. Tim Priebe explains, “The ability to clone an existing site and deploy it quickly and easily saves us significant time. It makes staging, development, and new builds more efficient.” He adds, “Being able to launch new servers quickly and easily allows us to scale without overcomplicating our infrastructure. That efficiency compounds over time.”
For anyone thinking about starting an agency, Tim Priebe offers one clear piece of advice. He says, “Get clear on who you are for and who you are not for. It is tempting to say yes to everything when you are starting. Over time, you realize that fit matters. The right clients allow you to do your best work. The wrong fit creates unnecessary headaches.”
He closes with the words that have guided Backslash Creative from the beginning. Tim Priebe says, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Interested in working with Backslash Creative? You can connect with Tim Priebe on LinkedIn or through their website. We recently interviewed him as part of our Agency Spotlight series.
Mansoor Ahmed Khan
Been in content marketing since 2014, and I still get a kick out of creating stories that resonate with the target audience and drive results. At Cloudways by DigitalOcean (a leading cloud hosting company, btw!), I lead a dream team of content creators. Together, we brainstorm, write, and churn out awesome content across all the channels: blogs, social media, emails, you name it! You can reach out to me at [email protected].
