[EO Orange County] Making Marketing Agencies More Profitable With Brandon Kordower & Daniel Simon

Brandon Kordower is the Founder and CEO of AURA Accounting Solutions, a firm that provides fractional CFO and controller services to help marketing agencies scale profitably. With deep expertise in financial strategy, Brandon has guided clients through transformative growth journeys resulting in multiple eight-figure exits. His data-driven approach empowers agencies to make confident, strategic decisions that boost margins and scalability. Through AURA, he continues to help agencies gain clarity, control, and consistent profitability.

Daniel Simon is the Executive VP at AURA. He has over 25 years of agency experience and 30 years in executive leadership, with a background spanning investment banking, music and fine arts, marketing communications, and restaurant ownership. Daniel's broad experience allows him to bridge creative and financial strategy, helping agencies align vision with profitability. At AURA, he plays a key role in guiding teams toward high growth and operational excellence.

In this episode…

Most agency owners are great at creative work. But when it comes to the financial side, things can get messy. Tracking revenue, profitability, and utilization often takes a back seat to client work and growth. The result? Revenue might rise, but profits stay flat or even shrink. So, what does it actually take to make a marketing agency sustainably profitable?

According to Brandon Kordower, a financial strategist for marketing agencies, profitability begins with clarity — specifically, understanding your numbers and how they connect to performance. He highlights that most agencies chase revenue without analyzing margins or capacity, creating hidden inefficiencies that erode profits. Daniel Simon adds that since people are an agency's most significant cost and asset, leaders must measure utilization and time to make wiser staffing and pricing decisions.

In this episode of the Rising Entrepreneurs Podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz sits down with Brandon Kordower, Founder and CEO, and Daniel Simon, Executive VP, at AURA Accounting Solutions, to discuss how marketing agencies can improve profitability through better financial practices. They explain the benefits of accrual accounting, the metrics every agency should monitor, and how minor adjustments can drastically impact margins. They also share lessons from helping clients achieve multimillion-dollar exits.