In what represents a critical inflection point for a digital agency that has been an innovator in the product, design, and brand-building space for over 15 years, Brooklyn-based, bicoastal digital agency Fictive Kin has restructured its leadership, deepened its industry footprint, and turned the page onto the next chapter of its solutions-driven evolution.
Founded by product leader, investor, and event organizer Cameron Koczon, Fictive Kin has quietly—and subversively—been its own disruptive force in the industry, working with brands and agencies alike to develop websites, products, and digital overhauls with a nimble, agile team that, as Koczon describes, is “large enough to be dangerous, and small enough to be interesting.” Among the notable companies and projects that Fictive Kin has been involved with include building an all-new digital experience for health food chain sweetgreen, joining forces with software analytics pioneer Palantir, real estate platform Opendoor, and AI research startup Anthropic, while also bringing the iconic, historic National Geographic Society to the digital age.
Describing how Fictive Kin works internally and what makes it unique, Koczon says, “We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to structure the company so that we can consistently deliver excellent work. For us, that comes down to five key things. First, a team of exclusively senior experts. Second, team members work on one project at a time so they can stay focused on the specific client and their client needs. Third, we’re employee owned. The entire team can take part in the upside of the company. Fourth, we’re completely independent. We don’t have to follow a set of arcane rules from above. We do what is best for our clients. Finally, we are completely focused on ROI. This means seeing our work as a means to an end. Our primary deliverable is a business outcome. It just so happens that we do that through brand, design, and product.”
To further amplify Fictive Kin’s presence, Koczon has, in essence, restructured the leadership, turning his focus to become the Chief Creative Officer of the brand, while welcoming Gillian Rode as CEO and effectively becoming the business-facing senior leader of the agency. Rode previously served as Global Managing Director of ueno, the full-service creative and design shop that was acquired by Twitter in 2021. For Rode, Fictive Kin drew her attention and interest largely because of its unique talent—comprising 30-plus senior-level engineers, creatives, and designers—and culture. “[It’s] a small but mighty team with a relentless drive to be the best,” she says. “Throughout the interview process, we laughed a lot, which felt refreshing and made it clear this is a place where people genuinely enjoy working together. That sense of fun and collaboration was important to me, and it showed that I could bring my full self to work. Joining now felt right because Fictive Kin is at an exciting point where strategic growth and innovation can elevate the team’s talents and our clients’ success. We share values around excellence, adaptability, and a love for what we do, making this an ideal environment to push creative boundaries together.”
In her day-to-day role as Fictive Kin CEO, Rode will lead growth strategy, develop client relationships, and oversee the business development process. “I’m hands-on with key client interactions, actively supporting projects to maintain strong client service standards,” she explains. “On the operational side, I focus on strategic planning, budgeting, and aligning our portfolio with our company vision. This includes evolving our services and exploring new opportunities, especially as we integrate advancements like AI into our offerings.”
Koczon believes that Rode’s leadership on the business side and the ideal team split of designers and engineers will steer the ship and push Fictive Kin into the upper echelon of sought-after digital agencies. In regards to its model and ethos, he says, “It’s this nice balance of design and engineering. So we’re about half design, half engineers, so the things that we can design, we can execute on it, and that plays nicely across things like motion and stuff like that. Lastly, I think we’re very good at a specific type of product work, which is zero-to-one.”
Koczon adds, “Safely midwifing a product from the minds of our clients into the world is a true specialty of ours. As always, we focus on outcomes, which for founders means not just designing and building a great product, but achieving product-market fit. We’ve developed a detailed playbook for how to do this in a way that helps our founders solve big problems, create desired customer behavior, and raise their next rounds of funding. When it comes to product, the journey to product fit is always changing, so it requires a low ego, a devotion to craft, a customer-centricity, and a process of continuous improvement throughout the company.”
For Rode, meanwhile, her vaunted tenure at ueno and other firms including fuseproject has given her plenty of insights that she can translate to her new CEO role at Fictive Kin, which she says is focused on three core competencies: branding, web systems, and product design. “My experience gave me invaluable insights that I’m excited to bring to Fictive Kin. I learned the importance of pacing an agency—knowing where to introduce structure and when to keep things agile. I developed a sense for which fires to let burn and which need immediate attention, especially in a creative environment. Working closely with a founder-figurehead taught me how to balance vision with operational needs, a skill that’s key. I also gained a strong foundation in scaling processes and managing large accounts, both of which will be critical as we aim to expand our impact. These experiences have equipped me to support Fictive Kin’s growth while preserving its creative essence.”
