November, 2025.- In this exclusive Roastbrief interview, Tony Waissmann, founder of 52, reflects on his decision to create an agency rooted in joy, honesty, and action. After years of leading top creative networks and shaping award-winning campaigns across Latin America, Waissmann launched 52 as what he calls “A Dream Company” — a place where work feels meaningful, where people wake up excited to create, and where clients become true partners in the process.
For Waissmann, 52 is both a philosophy and a rebellion against complexity. “Everything became too serious and mechanical,” he explains. “We wanted to bring back the fun, the speed, and the human connection that make creativity thrive.” Built on teamwork and optimism, the agency operates like a sports team — agile, collaborative, and focused on moving forward together.
Beyond its playful spirit, 52 stands for a deeper conviction: that big ideas and happiness can coexist. In an era where technology and data dominate the conversation, Waissmann believes what truly differentiates agencies will always be the soul behind the ideas. “We embrace technology,” he says, “but we never lose the human spark that makes creativity real.”
1. “A Dream Company” is such a powerful motto. What does that phrase represent for you personally, and how does it shape the culture and vision behind 52?
We have dreamed our whole lives of creating a place like this, a place where we want to be, where we are happy every day being part of it, where people dream of joining our team, where we become a dream agency for those clients who want to join us. It seems difficult to achieve this, but we are confident that it is much easier than one might think. Everything has become serious and complex, troubled and sad. We dream of creating and being a cheerful, happy place, working with passionate people who are also doers. We are all creators and producers no matter what positions we hold; we will not compromise on that. Do you know how nice it is to wake up every day and go to work feeling happy? We want that to happen for our people, and we want our clients to feel that happiness, too. We want clients who trust us so they can tell us what keeps them up at night. And ultimately, we want 52 to be a place where we can develop ideas of all kinds, and where creativity can help solve problems.
2. You’ve described 52 as an agency built on honesty, joy, and teamwork. How do you plan to maintain those values while growing and managing clients across Miami and Buenos Aires?
I know that when we talk about honesty, the first person I have to be honest with is myself, and that is something I will always continue to do. A person also grows because they choose to, and you have to choose to grow or to not grow at all — everything is about choices. The truth is that at this point in my life, joy and happiness at work are fundamental factors, which is a philosophy I started with when I founded 52, and one I continue to uphold as we grow. Overall, I want our people and our clients to enjoy what we love not only through work, but also as a fundamental part of life.
3. Your creative philosophy has always emphasized simplicity and big ideas over endless decks. How do you see this approach redefining the traditional agency model?
I like simplicity, I love things without complications, I like things to happen. I try to break down the obstacles and barriers that stop us from doing things. I avoid the “it can’t be done” conversation by thinking that everything is possible, and finding ways to make it happen. Optimism is a characteristic that describes both me and the agency.
And in the question you talk about the traditional agency model — I actually like that word “traditional” in terms of traditions: going back to making this profession joyful, fun, and exciting. Not everything new is better. There are things that have to do with how you take your work, how you choose to enjoy it, and how you choose to face each project; we do have to go back to how it was before, but now, with today’s tools, which make it much easier to do, produce, and more.
4. After such a successful career leading major agencies and award-winning campaigns, what motivated you to start from scratch and build something entirely your own?
Well, I made a decision to make decisions. I felt that what was happening in many of the typical agencies had evolved into a place of seriousness and of complex processes where we worked more like machines than humans, where things didn’t happen, where things took too long, where the connection with the client was through an endless chain of people, and where the agility to jump into a conversation was zero. 52, instead, is about dynamism, resolution, direct closeness with the client, teamwork, passion and joy. How could you not want to be in a place full of talent, working with people who want things to happen, with people who want happiness to be part of work, and with people who love what they do? That’s what I want, and that’s what 52 is.
5. You’ve said 52 draws inspiration from sports — agility, collaboration, and energy. How do those principles translate into your leadership and the creative process at the agency?
Over the course of my career, I’ve seen way too many processes make it harder for ideas to become reality or move forward. Barriers and obstacles are exactly what we want to avoid — that’s why we talk about “Speed” and “Agility,” something you can see across different sports. We are doers. We don’t want our own process to be the thing that slows things down or prevents ideas from happening.
Additionally, team sports have a unique quality: they always move forward and towards the goal — and a good team does it together. This is true across many sports, including basketball, soccer, football, hockey, and baseball… No matter the sport, you always have to move forward, and you do it as a team, which is one of 52’s most important beliefs and philosophies.
Overall, sports are intrinsically dedicated to and are successful because of good teamwork — not only from those on the field, but also from everyone off the field. With a good team working together, you know you can count on the person next to you for everything. We strongly believe in the team mindset, and that what we’re trying to accomplish at 52 is so much bigger than in any one individual.
Lastly, the name and logo also represent the numbers you see on team jerseys, but in this case, only the numbers 5 and 2 together,— and no other combination — form a “T” in the middle, which is the first letter of my nickname.
6. Having shaped creativity across Latin America and now launching a global agency, how do you see the future of independent creativity — especially in a world increasingly driven by technology and data?
Technology and data are something almost anyone can access, but great ideas are not — few people can generate and produce great ideas. However, what will continue to differentiate products, brands, services, and agencies are the ideas that always come before a prompt. That’s why 52 has a phrase that says: We embrace technology but without losing the soul. What matters is not the data you have nor the technology you use, but instead, it’s what you do with those tools.
