welcome to from steel.
six years ago, sweb started with a questionable pitch deck, a gut feeling, and a Google doc. and now? we’re launching a series about the founders who came before us. the ones who built the city we’re proud to grow in.
before we keep telling their stories—it felt right to tell ours.
you’ll learn that with every Pittsburgh business, I usually ask the questions.
but for this one, I handed the mic 🎤 to my team.
and they didn’t hold back.
– S
how did sweb come to be? 📖
Sarah: it was kind of a happy accident. I left agency life because I was tired of selling frozen pizzas and protein bars. I’d worked in corporate healthcare, then at a B2B agency, then at a CPG one—big brands, big meetings, but it all started to feel pretty empty.
so I left to travel for a few months and figure out what was next. one week in, a former client called and said, “can I come with you?” and I was like… “come with me where?”
suddenly I was consulting. then another project popped up. and another. I didn’t plan to start a business—but it turns out people were already treating me like I had.
how did working in Pittsburgh influence the way you approach business?
Sarah: Pittsburgh’s the kind of place where if you’re stuck, someone will pick up the phone. I’ve called people with questions about payroll, creative direction, P&Ls—whatever—and they’ve shown up every time. there’s just this unspoken agreement that we help each other out.
what was one unexpected “Pittsburgh moment” that made you think 🤔, “this city has my back”?
Sarah: during our last platform conference, one of our biggest sponsors pulled out late in the game. we suddenly had 150 people to feed, and no plan B.
I made a few stories on The Pittsburgh Web and within 24 hours—The Brinery had donated breakfast and 2C Premium provided all of the coffee. they didn’t do it for credit. they did it because they’d seen me talk about their businesses before and felt the impact. that kind of full-circle moment? only happens in a city like this.
what was your hardest ‘no’? the rejection, the doubt, or the roadblock that pushed you to prove everyone wrong?
Sarah: I’ve walked into a lot of rooms as a young woman leading a company and been underestimated instantly. I used to take it personally—but now? now I kind of love it. because within 20 minutes I can shift that energy completely. I want my team to feel that same power as they grow into their roles: you don’t have to prove it to everyone—but you can if you want to. and will.
if there was one thing you wish this community knew or better understood about sweb, what would it be?
Sarah: I think a lot of people still don’t really know what sweb does. they assume The Pittsburgh Web is my job—or that we just run social media. in reality, we’re a strategy-first agency with a business brain. I went to business school. I’ve sat in C-suite meetings. I’m a fellow business owner that doesn’t want to write checks without seeing impact. and our team isn’t a girl gang that posts on Instagram—we’re building brands that grow companies.
we help businesses figure out what they’re really trying to say. we align your identity with how you show up in the world—from your website to your pitch deck to the way your sales and marketing teams talk to each other. yes, we make things look good. but what we’re really here to do is make things make sense.
be honest—do you think billboards work anymore? 👀
Sarah: so many Pittsburgh brands are spending more money on old fashioned billboards and likely seeing a diminishing return—if you even track that. but what’s really driving marketing today is an alternative—where brand recognition skyrockets with a comparable investment, but a way higher return.
that’s why we built the cohort, our influencer marketing division. it’s a completely different arm of sweb, and it’s built to scale digital word-of-mouth—for everyone from national brands to small law firms.
we’ve created a live database of 400+ vetted creators across industries, platforms, and cities. and we don’t just match brands with influencers—we help them create campaigns that actually connect, convert, and stick. it’s smarter. it’s measurable. and if you’re still spending your entire budget on a billboard, it might be time to rethink the strategy.and while we’re at it—metrics like reach and impressions are wildly overrated too. we’re not chasing vanity numbers. we care about measuring actual business results.
Julia: if sweb was a celebrity, who would it be and why? 💅🏻
Sarah: wow okay, never thought about this. [long, long silence]
Rihanna is the first name coming to mind. I think she might be everything we try to be as an agency?
she moves in silence, but when she drops something, it lands. like, we’re not the loudest in the room, but we’re the ones people remember after the work hits.
she’s a multi-hyphenate. music, fashion, skincare, etc. and somehow every move still feels like her. that’s us. whether it’s strategy, Pittsburgh Web of Good, or influencer marketing, it’s all coming from one clear, consistent point of view.
she’s all confidence without the ego in a way too. she doesn’t have to talk a big game—she just plays it.
and she balances design and strategy. she knows how to make it look good, but it always has a bigger purpose. and that’s exactly how we are trying to build. aspirational RiRi.
Brin: if it wasn’t marketing, where would you be instead?
Sarah: probably doing something that helps people find the right things. because even now, I don’t think of marketing as just ads or social posts—I think of it as making the right businesses discoverable.
I love helping people connect with brands that actually make sense for their lives. that’s the part I never want to give up.
Mackenzie: what’s your “absolutely not” ❌ when it comes to client work?
Sarah: clients who want transformation without participation. we don’t do surface-level. and we don’t do “just make it pretty.” we’re here to solve real business problems—but we can’t do that without your input, your context, your time. we’ll do the heavy lifting, but if you’re not willing to show up alongside us, the work won’t land the way it should. and we’ll say that, early and clearly.
Mackenzie: is there a “business myth” you wish more people would stop believing?
Sarah: that marketing is just advertising. just social posts. just the thing you cut when the budget gets tight. the right marketing partner can literally change your business. they can shift who you’re connecting with, how you’re priced, how much you’re making, how fast you’re growing.
but the problem is that so many CEOs come from finance or ops—and they don’t really know how to judge marketing. so they post a “wear-all-the-hats” marketing director role, don’t set clear goals, and then wonder why it doesn’t move the business needle. the myth is that marketing lives in its own silo. that it doesn’t support finance and ops. but when it’s done right? it majorly fuels them.
Maddie: what is your biggest pet peeve in the marketing + creator industries?
Sarah: you’ve got brands throwing money at creators without a plan, creators taking deals that make no sense for their audience, and agencies treating influencer work like a side project instead of a core channel.
it’s supposed to be human. word-of-mouth, just at scale. if you wouldn’t send it to your group chat or repost it yourself—why are we making it?
Maddie: what’s your key to staying relevant in an industry that never stops changing? ✍🏼
Sarah: stay curious. don’t chase every trend. pay attention, talk to real people, and know when to make it make sense for your brand. relevance isn’t always about speed—it’s about timing and entering the right conversations.
so that’s the story. the real one. not the pitch deck. not the Instagram version. just the one that’s been building quietly for six years—out of questions, clarity, and a whole lot of trust.
huge thanks to team sweb for flipping the script on me, and for helping bring this whole series to life.
now, we’re turning the mic back around. up next: the founders who helped build this city. the ones who prove—every time—that the best brands don’t just launch. they’re built.
from steel.
