Interview with David Roberts – CEO & Founder at ReVerb

Who you are

1. Tell us who you are and what you do.

I’m David Roberts, the CEO and Founder of ReVerb, HighFlyers, and Fast Onward Tickets. I create companies, and through my marketing agency, help other companies grow.  Basically, I like to invest in new technology and interesting companies while also creating my own. Previously, I served in the United States Peace Corps in Kazakhstan. I’ve lived in Kazakhstan, Austria, Turkey, Estonia, the United States, and currently make my home in Costa Rica.  I’m married with 5 kids.

2. What does your company do, and who does it serve? 

Highflyers and ReVerb help other companies to grow via the use of innovative marketing techniques and old-school hustle. Fast Onward Tickets provides documents for travel. 

3. How big is the operation today — team size, markets, scope?

We have about 15 people who work for us. Previously, we had as many as 40 people working with ReVerb regularly, but with AI, the demand for editing and copywriting is much lower, which led us to target other services. used to target tech companies, but have since expanded out to more markets.

How you got here 

4. What were you doing before this, and what made you make the leap? 

Previously, I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kazakhstan, the Marketing Director for Costa Rica Outward Bound, and ran an animation company in Estonia. 

5. What’s the hardest thing you had to figure out in the first year?

Managing the right teams to provide the right services to our clients, and always listening to the marketing for feedback on what it needs.

6. Was there a moment where the whole thing nearly fell apart? What happened?

Absolutely. I expanded the team too aggressively in 2024, and some of our people weren’t doing their jobs, so they had to be let go. I genuinely like the people I work with, so cutting them loose was hard for me on a personal level, but if people aren’t doing their jobs as a business owner you have to decide if you value their friendship or providing for your family, and for the employees that actually do their jobs..Some learning was involved. Sad but true.

What makes you different 

7. Why does your company win deals — what do clients come to you for that they can’t easily find elsewhere? 

Clients have come to rely on us for results in a timely manner and at a good cost. Some of our clients have been working with us for 12 years.

8. Who do you consider your real competition, and how do you stay ahead of them?

My real competition is AI. Both as a tool and as a market disruption. I’m constantly reading and listening to clients about new developments as both threats and opportunities.

9. What’s a decision you made that most people in your position wouldn’t have?

I sold everything and relocated my business and family from Minnesota to Costa Rica in 2023.

Where you’re going 

10. What’s the biggest bet you’re making right now?

Using a combination of developers and AI to create new tools for the market, while realizing we still need human developers to get things right.

11. What does success look like for you in the next three years — concretely?

Happy family and happy employees.

12. What’s a shift happening in your industry that most people aren’t taking seriously enough yet?

Obviously, AI is the big disruptor, in that it can be both a tool and destroy your livelihood. We’ve been on this for a while, though. Sometimes it can feel like you’re on a melting iceberg as AI eats into a market, and you have to look for the next service or niche to target.

The person behind the title 

13. What drives you — beyond building a successful business?

I have 5 kids. Keeping them happy and well-fed is what makes me get up at 5 AM to start my day.

14. What’s the hardest part of the job that never shows up in press releases?

Those times you have to haggle with companies with low budgets. You just have to tell them “no”. Half of the time, they come up with the budget after you walk away, but it’s a challenge nevertheless.

15. What’s one thing you’d tell someone who wants to be where you are?

Long walks in nature are when the good ideas come in.