Our Foundation
The Vision and Mission Behind Everything We Do.
Our Vision
Outlaunching America's best brands past their competition.
We don't look in the rearview. We don't follow the industry. We make decisions based on our vision and our principles, and we let others chase the companies we work with.
Our Mission
We launch motivated, customer-obsessed businesses into the growth, profitability, and recognition they've earned.
We serve US-based service businesses. B2B, home service, personal service, and professional service. It's not a niche we picked. It's the world we come from.
Our Story
Built From Construction Sites and Creative Instinct.
CJ and John Kortes grew up in the construction industry. Their father built highway bridges, real work, demanding standards, and zero tolerance for anything that doesn't hold. That background gave them an understanding of the contractor and service business world that no marketing course could teach: what it means to run a project, manage a crew, deliver a result, and stand behind it.
They also both had an artist's eye, a drive to create things that looked and felt different from everything else. When they started Outlaunch in 2011, they combined those two instincts: construction-world accountability and artistic attention to detail. The result was a web design company that built sites unlike anything else in the market on a brand new platform called Wix, when it was still primarily built for artists and designers.
Wix grew. Outlaunch stayed on it. While other agencies chased WordPress and proprietary platforms, we kept building on Wix because we watched it evolve into one of the most powerful, secure, and SEO-capable platforms available, and because we knew it better than anyone. Fifteen years in, that's still where we build.
By 2016 we had rebranded to The SEO Contractor because search had become the primary need and we'd become obsessively good at it. By 2022 we expanded into paid advertising and attribution. And in 2026 we came back to Outlaunch, rebuilt forward as a full marketing leadership firm, with a formal methodology, the Clarity Stack™, and a service model designed to outlaunch service businesses past their competition.
We serve US-based service companies exclusively: B2B, home service, personal service, and professional service businesses. It's not a niche we picked arbitrarily. It's the world we come from.
2011-2016
Outlaunch — Founded in DFW. Custom web design on Wix from day one. Built for service businesses and contractors. Client relationships formed here that still exist today.
2016-2022
The SEO Contractor — Rebranded to lead with search. Deep SEO expertise across local and national service markets. Obsessive about rankings, visibility, and what actually drives organic growth.
2022-2025
Expansion — Added paid advertising, multi-platform management, and attribution infrastructure. The real leadership gap emerged: someone needed to own the whole picture, not just a channel.
2026-Today
Outlaunch — Rebuild Forward — Full rebrand. Command Doctrine, Clarity Stack™, AI Search Visibility™, Leadership Team™. Marketing leadership firm. US service businesses. Nationwide.
What Separates Us
Everyone Is Chasing the Shiny AI. We're Still Leading With Humans.
The marketing industry has moved fast toward AI tools, automation dashboards, and content generation at scale. And every week, another platform promises that their software will fix what's broken in your marketing. Most business owners are drowning in the output. AI-generated reports, recycled content recommendations, automated audits that contradict each other.
We've watched clients demand changes driven by AI analysis that we knew would hurt their visibility, and had to advise against them. In some cases we've had to reverse course after clients pushed forward anyway. The tools are wrong more often than their outputs suggest, and nobody gets penalized for the bad advice because nobody is accountable for it.
At Outlaunch we use AI. We use every tool available, and we're building our own internal systems. But we never let a tool make a strategy decision. Every recommendation we make is grounded in 15 years of real search and marketing experience, tested against what actually moves the needle for service businesses. We lead with humans, relevance, and clarity. The tools serve the leader.
That distinction matters more now than it ever has. Because when everyone else is publishing AI-recycled content and following AI-generated recommendations, the businesses that win are the ones with a real team making real decisions and owning real results.
Human Leadership First
Every strategy decision is made by a person who understands your business. AI amplifies our work, it doesn't replace our judgment. We take responsibility for what we recommend. Always.
Relevance Over Volume
AI makes it easy to produce content at scale. We make it meaningful. We don't optimize for traffic or impressions, we optimize for what's relevant to your customer and your revenue.
Clarity as a Standard
We communicate proactively. We report in plain language. When something isn't working we say so directly — we don't hide behind dashboards or delay the conversation. Clients always understand their marketing with Outlaunch.
Our Identity
A Marketing Leadership Firm. Built Differently From the Ground Up.
The marketing industry is full of agencies, vendors, consultants, and freelancers who each own a piece of your marketing and answer to no one for the whole picture. Outlaunch was built to be the opposite, an installed leadership team that owns the strategy, the channels, the budget, and the results.
What We Are
✓ A marketing leadership firm — the installed leadership layer behind your growth
✓ Executive-level strategy from a team with 15+ years of evidence
✓ Obsessive lead attribution — you always know where your leads come from
✓ Radical clarity — clients always understand their marketing
✓ Accountability for outcomes, not just activity
✓ One installed team for all of it — no silos, no finger-pointing
What We Are Not
✘ A commodity marketing agency competing on price
✘ Disconnected freelancers managing separate channels
✘ Strategy-only consultants who deliver a document and disappear
✘ A one-size-fits-all solution for every business at every stage
✘ Vendors who report activity and let you figure out the results
✘ Another layer that makes your marketing more complicated
"We are the only marketing leadership firm that combines executive-level strategy, obsessive lead attribution, and radical clarity into one installed team — without the cost of building in-house."
Operating Principles
These Are Not Values on a Wall. They Are Operational Commitments.
Every decision, every deliverable, and every client interaction at Outlaunch is judged against five operational commitments. Not aspirations, standards. The standard by which we hold ourselves accountable to every client, every month.
C
Communication
We communicate proactively, clearly, and professionally at every stage. Clients never wonder what is happening, why it is happening, or what comes next. We explain marketing in plain language and make the complex simple.
A
Accountability
We own outcomes, not just tasks. If something is not working, we say so and fix it. We do not wait to be asked. We are accountable for measurable results, not activity reports.
A
Attention to Detail
Precision in branding, reporting, implementation, and strategy. The difference between good and great is found in the details. We do not cut corners and we do not rush quality.
R
Resolution
We solve problems fast and directly. When something breaks, we fix it. When a client has a concern, we address it. Resolution is not optional. It is part of the job.
E
Execution
Strategy without execution is noise. We take decisive action aligned with measurable growth objectives. Plans are only as good as what gets done.
No Customer Left Behind
Every client gets full attention, not just the largest ones. No one slips through the cracks.
Slow Is Smooth, Smooth Is Fast
We do it right the first time. Rushing creates rework. Precision beats speed.
Love Thy Neighbor
We treat clients and teammates the way we would want to be treated. This is the foundation of every relationship we build.
What We Represent
Outlaunch Is a Word That Means Something.
MOMENTUM
AUTHORITY
CLARITY
EXECUTION
LEADERSHIP
ACCELERATION
The name came from something simple: every time we finished a website, we launched it. Launch was the moment everything went live, all the strategy, the design, and the content hitting the world at once. We started telling clients we were going to outlaunch their competition. Not just build them a better site. Put them in front and keep them there.
That idea expanded into everything we do. We outlaunch your ads, your search visibility, and your marketing system. We don't help you grow. We launch your business past the competition with enough force and clarity that they're the ones chasing you.
We don't look in the rearview. We don't make decisions based on what other agencies are doing or what's trending in the marketing industry. We make decisions based on our vision, our principles, and what's right for the businesses we serve. Others follow the market. Our clients outlaunch it.
"These people know exactly where we're going and how to get us there."
Who We Work With
✓ $1M–$50M+ annual revenue with ambition to lead their industry
✓ Motivated, customer-obsessed owners who reinvest profits into quality
✓ Actively investing in marketing but frustrated by stagnation or lack of clarity
✓ Willing to follow direction, commit to process, and rebuild systems
✓ Committed to long-term growth — not quick wins or staying small
✓ Delivering a genuinely great product or service their customers love
The right entry question: Can you clearly measure your MER, CAC, ROAS, and CPL? If not — you don't have a marketing activity problem. You have a marketing leadership problem. That's exactly who we serve.
Some Companies Stay Grounded. Others Outlaunch.
We launch motivated, customer-obsessed businesses into the growth, profitability, and recognition they've earned. If that sounds like where you're headed — let's talk.
COMPANY / OUTLAUNCH
Meet the Firm Behind the Marketing.
Outlaunch is a marketing leadership firm. Not an agency, not a vendor, not a consultant. Founded in Dallas–Fort Worth in 2011 and built over 15 years into the methodology, team, and systems that outlaunch service businesses past their competition. Below is the team that runs this firm and works inside the companies we serve.
CJ Kortes
CEO / CRO
John Kortes
Chief Strategy Officer
Bella Kortes
Chief Marketing Officer
Katie Worden
Marketing Director
Amanda Ruley
Marketing Manager, Accounts
Taylor Haney
Marketing Manager, Delivery