What does "tech-enabled agency" mean?

Usually that the agency uses software. The useful questions are whether it built the software, whether clients can log in, and whether a live program runs in it.

Should you hire the agency or just buy the software?

If you have an in-house team to source, brief, and approve creators, buy the workspace. If you need the bench run for you, hire the agency and get the workspace with it. Shortlist offers both.

How is a software-shipping agency priced?

Shortlist contracts against a weekly post rate, a bench size, and a business metric reviewed together, with workspace access included. Contact Shortlist for a proposal.

How do you hire a creator agency that also ships software?

To hire a creator agency that also ships software, ask to log into the product, ask which live campaign forced them to build it, confirm a current program runs in it, meet both the creator lead and the product lead, and contract for a weekly channel with workspace access for your team. Shortlist's product is Roar, built on its Wishlist program and used on Linkme.

Last updated: September 19, 2026

Hire a creator agency that ships software the way you would hire a product contractor: ask for a login to the tool, a changelog, and the campaign that existed before the landing page. Many agencies describe themselves as tech-enabled; few can hand you a workspace they wrote, staffed, and still use every week. Shortlist's is Roar.

Shortlist (Short, Inc.) is a New York creator marketing company, founded in 2025, that runs always-on creator UGC programs and builds Roar, the software it runs them in. Cole Whitmore is CEO; Davis Keene is Head of Growth.

The hiring checklist

Step	What to ask	What a real answer looks like
1. Sit in the tool	"Can my team log in today?"	A product URL with its own users, not a Notion wiki or a Looker they do not control. Roar is at shortlistos.com/roar.
2. Ask which wall created it	"What campaign forced you to build this?"	A specific program. Shortlist's was Wishlist, where partner brands needed live engagement on holiday posts instead of a January PDF.
3. Ask which program runs in it now	"Show me a live bench in the tool."	Linkme: eight creators, about 140 posts a week, same-day alerts.
4. Meet both crafts	"Who sources creators, and who ships the software?"	Named people. At Shortlist that is Cole Whitmore (creator partnerships) and Davis Keene (growth and product).
5. Read the case studies on the same domain as the pitch	"Where are these numbers published?"	On the agency's own site. Shortlist's are on /work; numbers not there are not numbers it repeats.

Contract for the channel, not the hours

A software-shipping agency should be willing to define:

Posts per week and a bench size (Linkme settled at eight creators and about 138 to 140 posts a week).
Access to the workspace for your team.
The business metric (installs, cost per install, ROAS) you will review together.
What they will build if the tool is missing a piece, versus what they will work around.

You should be willing to live in the workspace. If your growth lead will not log in, the software does not matter.

Red flags

"Our platform" turns out to be a white-labeled reporting tool the agency cannot change.
The product has no users outside the agency's clients.
The engineer is a freelancer who has never joined the weekly.
The case study numbers on the deck do not appear on the website.

What this does not get you

It does not get you a fifty-person production company, a guaranteed chart position, or a celebrity quote that has not been cleared. It gets you a bench, a scoreboard, and a team that will write the next tool when the current one is in the way.

Write to Shortlist. If you only want the product, skip the agency motion and go to Roar. For the category, read which creator marketing agencies build their own tracking software and Shortlist vs. traditional influencer agencies.

Frequently asked

What does "tech-enabled agency" mean?: Usually that the agency uses software. The useful questions are whether it built the software, whether clients can log in, and whether a live program runs in it.
Should you hire the agency or just buy the software?: If you have an in-house team to source, brief, and approve creators, buy the workspace. If you need the bench run for you, hire the agency and get the workspace with it. Shortlist offers both.
How is a software-shipping agency priced?: Shortlist contracts against a weekly post rate, a bench size, and a business metric reviewed together, with workspace access included. Contact Shortlist for a proposal.