How Agency Owners Can Make AI a Team Sport with Rob Harr Artwork

Creative Agency Success Show

Has your business scaled beyond $1 million in annual revenue? Do you employ a staff of 20 or more people? If so, you've likely experienced a whirlwind of highs and lows that come with growth. You're not alone in your journey. Since 2002, Summit CPA Group, now Summit Virtual CFO Services by Anders, has helped businesses and creative agencies across America and the globe by providing Virtual CFO Services, cash flow management, business tax planning, financial forecasting, and much more. We've also performed hundreds of 401(k) audits and provided CPA firms with accounting outsourcing services and Virtual CFO consulting. This podcast seeks to help service-based business owners dive deep into the financial side of their business to achieve growth and financial success. Tune in bi-weekly as our hosts—Jamie Nau, Director + Virtual CFO, and Jody Grunden, Partner at Anders CPAs + Advisors—interview special guests to share knowledge in the digital and creative agency industry, as well as Jody’s experience as a service-based business owner and entrepreneur.

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Creative Agency Success Show

How Agency Owners Can Make AI a Team Sport with Rob Harr

June 02, 2026 • Summit Virtual CFO by Anders

0:00 | 31:25

AI adoption gets risky when agency owners move faster than their teams can follow.

In this episode, Rob Harr, co-founder and President of Sparkbox, joins Jamie Nau and Tom Wadelton to talk about AI, agency operations, leadership, team adoption, innovation, and business model change. You will hear why AI cannot stay trapped with the owner, how internal communities help teams experiment safely, and why agency leaders need to separate messy exploration from operational execution.

You will also learn how Rob thinks about the three main ways agencies use AI, why teams need permission to share failures, and how agency owners can avoid selling AI-driven work before their teams are ready to deliver it.

Key takeaways:

AI adoption needs team momentum. When the owner gets too far ahead, the agency creates a delivery gap that can become risky.
Community helps teams keep up. Internal communities give people a place to experiment, share wins, and learn together.
Start with existing problems. Rob recommends using tomorrow’s tech to solve yesterday’s problems before chasing new service lines.
Failure has to be safe. Teams need permission to share what did not work if they are going to innovate consistently.
Exploration needs a different space. Sparkbox uses expedition-style thinking for open experimentation, then operationalizes ideas with business value.

If your agency is trying to turn AI excitement into real adoption, listen to this episode of ▶️ How Agency Owners Can Make AI a Team Sport with Rob Harr

Find more podcast episodes on our website: anderscpa.com/learn/podcasts/

Episode resources:

● Anders Virtual CFO website: anderscpa.com

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● Check out the Virtual CFO Playbook Course:

https://anderscpa.com/virtual-cfo-services/vcfo-playbook/

Quotes

- Rob Harr: "Step one is using tomorrow’s tech to solve yesterday’s problems."

- Rob Harr: "Innovation can’t happen without failure."

- Rob Harr: "Stop trying to guess where this is going to end up in three years because you’re wrong."

Rob Harr is a developer, software consultant, co-founder, and President of Sparkbox, a web design and development studio focused on long-term client partnerships and creating a better Web through education. Rob has deep experience in agency operations, pricing, leadership, finance, software development, and helping agency teams build stronger businesses.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/robert.harr/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertharr/

Sparkbox

Website: https://sparkbox.com/

The Creative Agency Success Show helps service-based business owners master the financial side of growth. Hosted by Jamie Nau, Director of Virtual CFO Services/ Virtual CFO, and Jody Grunden, Partner and Virtual CFO Practice Leader at Anders, the podcast dives into essential financial strategies for scaling creative agencies.

Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2458889

FB: https://www.facebook.com/vcfobyanders

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vcfobyanders/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/vcfobyanders

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@vcfobyanders

Jamie Nau, CPA, Director of Virtual CFO Services/ Virtual CFO, is a seasoned financial expert with a deep understanding of business growth stages. Jamie has worked extensively with middle-market and large companies, providing key financial insights.

Website: https://anderscpa.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/vcfobyanders

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamienau/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/vcfobyanders/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/vcfobyanders/

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@vcfobyanders

Tom Wadelton is a Partner and Virtual CFO at Anders, bringing over 20 years of financial expertise from his tenure at a Fortune 500 company. He has extensive experience spanning financial management, accounting operations, and information technology integration. Tom specializes in delivering strategic Virtual CFO services, helping businesses optimize their financial performance through advanced accounting solutions.

Website: https://anderscpa.com/about/your-anders-team/#thomas-d-wadelton

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomwadelton/