Ako Stark, an author, entrepreneur, investor, and the visionary founder of the full-service marketing agency Marketing 180, has carved a niche for himself in the digital marketing world. Born in Georgia, Stark immigrated to the United States in 2008 at the tender age of 12. His academic journey saw him attending Ormond Beach Middle School and later graduating from Seabreeze High School, where the seeds of entrepreneurship were already sprouting.
From an early age, Stark exhibited a keen entrepreneurial spirit, a trait evident from his days in Georgia, selling sandwiches to his peers rather than relying on the cafeteria's offerings. This spirit of enterprise followed him to high school in the United States, where he embarked on a lucrative venture of fishing and selling his catch over the weekends, significantly outearning his peers engaged in typical high school jobs.
Stark's prowess wasn't limited to entrepreneurial ventures alone. During his 10th and 11th grades, he honed his skills in video gaming, particularly in Call of Duty MW2, aligning himself with the best gamers online. His foray into YouTube to share his gaming exploits not only garnered him respect within the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 community but also catapulted his channel to millions of views. By the 11th grade, Stark had amassed over 125k YouTube subscribers and over 80 million views, marking his first significant financial success.
Beyond the digital realm, Stark demonstrated leadership and discipline as the wrestling team captain in high school, traits that would later define his business ventures. Despite being accepted by several prestigious universities in Florida, Stark chose to stay closer to home, enrolling at Daytona State College. However, he soon realized that the academic path was not aligned with his entrepreneurial ambitions, leading him to drop out of college in pursuit of more challenging and fulfilling endeavors.
Stark ventured into the online marketplace, buying and selling websites. Despite initial setbacks due to a lack of knowledge, he dedicated himself to mastering online marketing, eventually developing a successful blueprint for scaling websites through targeted keywords and increased revenue. His innovative approach involved purchasing keyword domains for location-based services, such as CPAmiami.com, and optimizing them for local businesses, a strategy that yielded significant success.
His achievements caught the attention of Web Daytona, a local marketing agency. Stark's partnership with the agency led to its remarkable growth, expanding from 3 to 18 full-time employees under his leadership. After two years, Stark founded Marketing 180, focusing on the eCommerce niche and achieving unprecedented success, including scaling an outdoor niche eCommerce client from $300k to $1 million a month in revenue.
Stark's reputation in the industry grew, leading to collaborations with major brands such as Bodybuilding.com, Pier1 Imports, Dress Barn, Modells Sporting Goods, Linens 'n Things, and Stein Mart. Under his guidance, Marketing 180 delivered over $1 billion in eCommerce revenue. Stark also authored "20 Laws of Success," sharing his insights and experiences to inspire other entrepreneurs.
Today, Ako Stark is dedicated to delivering exceptional results for Marketing 180 clients, scaling and selling businesses in the private equity space, and educating his marketing community on SEO, ads, influencer marketing, and other valuable marketing channels. His commitment to quality has also made Marketing 180 a preferred agency for white-label services. Stark's journey from a young entrepreneur selling sandwiches to a respected figure in the digital marketing space is a testament to his relentless pursuit of success and innovation.