Dan Cummins is the first to admit that he’s been unkind to his website and app development company in the past two years.

“The pandemic has hit us hard,” says the famous Ottawa entrepreneur of the havoc the COVID-19 crisis wreaked on Atomic Motion, which he founded more than 20 years ago.

At its peak, Atomic Motion was a thriving company with 20 employees and a client list that included global giants such as Toyota and Google.

But the pandemic has taken its toll. Cummins said a “major airline contract” was cut in half as air travel halted, and another client canceled his $400,000-plus deal.

Cummins added that there was “a lot of uncertainty” surrounding the future of the web development industry, which had already been overturned by the emergence of software like Squarespace and Wix that allowed virtually anyone to build their own site. I’m here.

But things seem to be looking for Atomic Motion.

Enterprise level customer

Earlier this month, the company was acquired by WebMarketers, one of Ottawa’s fastest growing digital marketing agencies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Cummins, who was the sole shareholder of Atomic Motion, will retain ownership of the combined organization. Atomic Motion, which had seven employees at the time of the deal, will remain a separate entity under the WebMarketers umbrella, serving enterprise-level and public sector clients including Canadian Blood Services, Global Affairs Canada, NASA and NAV Canada. We will continue to provide services to

“The timing seemed just right,” said Cummins, who will take over as chief strategy officer.

Founded in 2013 by Kyle Smendziuk and Dave Kachaniwsky, WebMarketers has grown to nearly 30 employees and primarily serves small and medium-sized clients. Continuing to expand during the pandemic, he acquired social media agency Media Launch and launched Phantom Productions, a division dedicated to photo, video and animation services, to bolster its offerings.

The company recently started acquiring large customers to steepen its growth trajectory. Smendziuk said acquiring Atomic Motion could accelerate that process by adding a blue-chip enterprise client of his level to its roster.

“We are thrilled to be joining forces with Atomic Motion,” he said in a statement. “They are one of the oldest webshops in the region and have some of the world’s most famous brands on their client list.”

Cummins, who met Smendziuk several years ago, said he was impressed with the Carleton University aerospace engineering graduate’s “energy and ambition” and his ability to provide customers with a tangible return on investment.

“There are so many agencies that it’s all about branding and social media for social media,” he says. “But all these guys were like, ‘Okay – you spent $1000. Here’s how you made 3000.’

“[Acquiring Atomic Motion]is an opportunity to absorb a lot of experience and know-how and insight into the areas they really want to pursue.”

With 35 employees, WebMarketers is currently one of the largest players in Ottawa’s digital marketing space. In anticipation of more enterprise-level clients, the company plans to continue hiring and is currently expanding its World Exchange Plaza office to accommodate more staff, Cummins said.

Additionally, WebMarketers has already set its sights on other acquisition targets, including one south of the border, with the aim of expanding its footprint across the country and beyond.

The imminent threat of a recession may scare some companies into suspending such ambitious plans, but Cummins believes the industry is poised for a new wave of growth. I believe there is.

“I definitely feel the economy is going into recession,” he says. “But at the same time, we certainly feel that spending from small business clients will actually increase. increase.”