The story behind Bolt-On

How it started

Bolt-On started with two guys, an idea, and a question.

Surely there’s a better way?

We’re Will and Dan, and we founded Bolt-On after working together at a digital marketing agency back in 2015, Will on the tech side and Dan on the design.

We loved the work and got the chance to create for some brilliant brands. But it bugged us that our help was priced out of reach for smaller business owners.

And while we’re sure the bigger brands were founded by lovely people, we never got to meet any of them because the work was always done from a distance.

We were sure there had to be a better way to support small businesses.

Finding another way

A few years into working together, we realised we both felt the same. So, we started doing bits and pieces on the side. We helped out friends and family who’d gone into business for themselves. A website here, some branding there.

But even with our help, it seemed the only alternative to expensive agencies was business owners spending endless hours piecing something together themselves using six different platforms that didn't talk to each other.

Why were there only two unworkable options? Did it really need to be this complicated?

We didn’t think so.

So, when we couldn’t find a third option, we built one.

Building Bolt-On

We called it Bolt-On because it does exactly what it says on the tin. A complete digital setup, built for you, and bolted onto your business.

When friends and family started seeing results, word spread. We never really marketed what we were doing. People just asked, and we kept saying yes.

Until eventually, our side hustle outgrew our expectations, and in 2024, Bolt-On became a proper business.

Since then, we’ve been helping small businesses show up online, capture leads and turn them into customers, without having to turn the digital side of their business into a second job (or get a degree in tech).

What matters to us

And we love that we get to work directly with founders. We were mates first, see, and we’ve carried this through into Bolt-On. We absolutely believe that you’ve got to start with relationships and solid communication.

This also means we can do our best work, and nobody gets passed around a faceless accounts team. Our clients get to know us, and we get to know them. One or two of our clients have even borrowed Dan’s campervan!

And we’re just getting started.

There’s no one-size-fits-all, and there’s always a better way to get the job done if you look hard enough. So we keep looking, turning things over, and questioning the status quo.

Because that’s what Bolt-On is about. Doing something because it works, instead of settling for That’s just how it’s always been done.