Creativity and capitalism aren’t mortal enemies. That’s what we learned as hungry writers and designers during our time in the agency trenches, before we founded BatesMeron Sweet Design in 2005.

Working as a team to pull ideas out of the ether and meet deadlines—whether that meant over breakfast or in the wee hours of the night—we discovered that the most creative branding and marketing ideas were the ones that gave the client’s business a serious jolt. Goals and tactics became just as dear to us as layouts and headlines. Our collaborative spirit brought us together, and our competitive drive allowed us to pole jump over expectations.

So what did we learn from our many a brainstorming session? That the agency of tomorrow is run by business–savvy creatives who can listen to your goals, explain their own work and adapt on the fly.