Today’s guest is Marcel Petitpas, CEO of Parakeeto – the agency profitability specialists. He brings a clear and often counterintuitive perspective on how agencies actually make money.

Marcel challenges one of the industry’s most deeply held assumptions, arguing that most agencies don’t have a revenue problem, they have an operational one. Through the lens of what he calls “indigestion, not starvation”, he explains why growth alone rarely fixes profitability, and how flawed frameworks around utilisation, margin and pricing continue to hold agencies back.

The conversation explores the shift away from time-based billing, unpacking how abstraction, risk and value shape modern pricing models. Marcel also demystifies value-based pricing, highlighting why Finance shouldn’t be leading and what it really takes to command a premium with sophisticated buyers.

Grounded, practical and refreshingly direct, this episode offers a sharper way to think about sustainable profitability. 

HIGHLIGHTS:

[03:53] The cycle of insolvency

[07:12] Solving the profitability puzzle

[13:38] Pricing starts with margin

[19:47] Forecast before measurement

[23:32] Shifting the client dynamic

[26:40] Deliverables versus real value

[30:21] Risk adjusted decisions

[36:00] Outcomes over everything

[40:29] What drives pricing power