Solving the Marketing Gap Agencies Don’t Serve
For Kate Radcliffe-Reid, the problem was obvious long before the solution existed.
Working inside a digital agency, she saw what great marketing could do when it was properly resourced - expert teams, deep data, and carefully managed media spend delivering real results. But outside that world, the picture looked very different.
“I had friends with businesses who desperately needed help finding customers,” Kate says. “But I couldn’t send them to an agency. They simply couldn’t afford the retainers.”
At the same time, she kept seeing the same pattern repeat. Too many small business owners closing their doors. Others poured time and money into marketing that wasn’t working - not because they lacked drive, but because they didn’t know where to start or who they were really trying to reach.
That gap between complex, expensive marketing solutions and the everyday reality of small service businesses became the spark for Backkr.
Turning frustration into focus
Backkr helps businesses understand who their customers actually are and how to find more of them without needing a marketing team or a five-figure budget. At its core, it turns complex data into clear, usable personas that guide real marketing decisions.
Kate’s motivation is deeply personal. “I’d had the same problem myself when I owned businesses,” she says. “You’re not supposed to be your own customer, but I related so strongly to the frustration. I just wanted to help people make money without spending heaps of money to start.”
Through conversations with entrepreneurs, agency colleagues, and business communities, the pattern became undeniable. Many service businesses — accountants, consultants, HR firms — were relying on a single overwhelmed marketer or owner-operator expected to do everything.
“I got really sick of seeing job ads for unicorn marketers,” Kate says. “One person expected to do absolutely everything for $70k. Marketing moves too fast for that.”
Backkr set out to become the support those people didn’t have.
Validating the need
Backkr’s early traction didn’t come from polished launches or big marketing pushes. It came from conversations — and from watching how people actually used the product.
“We noticed the people who signed up and continued using Backkr were service businesses with small teams,” Kate says. “Usually under five people. They told us the same thing again and again: they didn’t know where to start, and they couldn’t afford an agency.”
Within weeks, clear usage patterns emerged. Users weren’t logging in every day — they were returning weekly, using Backkr to guide specific decisions, and building confidence in their marketing over time. That behaviour was a strong signal that the product was delivering ongoing value, not just initial curiosity.
What became even clearer was why service businesses were responding so strongly. Unlike e-commerce, where customers can feel anonymous and transactional, service businesses stay closely connected to the people they serve.
“An accountant isn’t trying to reach ‘everyone,’” Kate explains. “They’re trying to reach a very specific person — maybe a small business owner approaching the end of the financial year, feeling stressed, unsure what they need, and looking for someone they can trust.”
That insight shaped Backkr’s early focus: solve the problem deeply for service businesses first, then expand from a position of confidence.
Making marketing usable
Backkr is designed to work without hand-holding. Users sign up, connect their website analytics, and are immediately shown three customer personas based on real behaviour. From there, they can dig into motivations, pain points, conversion drivers, and even when those customers are online.
“It’s like Tinder for marketing,” Kate laughs. “You swipe through simple, jargon-free tasks that help fix your website and messaging.”
The platform pairs customer insights with practical actions — guiding users through SEO improvements, copy updates, and technical fixes tailored to their CMS and skill level.
Behind the scenes, Backkr is intentionally data-first. “It’s about 80% data and 20% AI,” Kate says. “We’re obsessed with that balance.”
When seasoned marketers questioned how personas could be generated so quickly, the team stress-tested the product against traditional analysis. The results spoke for themselves — an average of 16 hours of manual work reduced to minutes, without losing accuracy.
Building with the right people
Despite being just 4 months into the journey, Backkr has grown a surprisingly large team. Engineers, marketers, interns, and customer support all play a role — with a strong emphasis on learning and opportunity.
“I care way too much” Kate admits. “That’s probably my biggest risk as a founder. But empathy makes a really good product.”
Kate Radcliffe-Reid
Damon Ross
A key turning point was meeting Damon Ross, now Backkr’s technical co-founder, through Ministry of Awesome’s Founder Catalyst programme. Their skills complemented each other instantly — Kate driving momentum and sales, Damon grounding decisions in discovery and validation.
“He won’t build anything until people really want it,” she says. “That’s taught me patience — and trust in the process.”
Equally crucial was Kate’s relationship with Marie-Claire Andrews (MC), a Ministry of Awesome Entrepreneur-in-residence. “MC wasn’t just cheering us on — she pushed us, held us accountable, and helped us break down problems into actionable steps,” Kate explains.
“I never left a session without a checklist of things to move forward. That guidance kept us focused and moving fast, even when the challenges felt overwhelming.”
Marie-Claire Andrews (MC) Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Ministry of Awesome
Looking ahead
Backkr is bootstrapped, priced simply, and built for scale — $99 per month, the same price as one hour with a freelance marketer, or a fraction of the cost of an agency. For now, the focus is clear: deeply serve service businesses, ensuring they know their customer before investing money in ad spend.
“I want to be able to confidently say to an accountant, tradie or lawyer — this will help you find more customers and grow your business,” Kate says.
The long-term mission? Help one million businesses find more customers and make more money — so they can build sustainable businesses, support their people, and create impact on their own terms.
For Kate, it all comes back to backing the people who need it most.
“I’ve always wanted to help people,” she says. “Backkr is how I finally figured out how to scale that.”
Backkr is still early in its journey, but its mission is clear: make good marketing accessible to the businesses that need it most — without the complexity or cost of an agency.
Curious to see how Backkr works?
Visit backkr.com to explore the platform or connect with Kate Radcliffe-Reid to learn how Backkr is helping service businesses find and reach the customers who matter most.