What’s inside the guide?
A framework and scorecard to chart your agency’s growth.
This eBook combines the full Vibe Agency Maturity Model with a practical self-assessment Scorecard, giving you both the big picture and a benchmark for today.
The Five Stages of Maturity
Clear explanations of Hustle, Repeat, Systemize, Scale, and Optimize—what each stage looks like, and the common challenges at every level.
Self-Assessment Scorecard
A 10-question framework to evaluate your agency’s maturity across operations, team empowerment, client experience, and profitability.
Scoring Guide
Use your Scorecard results to identify which stage your agency sits in today.
Next Steps for Growth
Practical guidance on how to move from one stage to the next—and how Stage 5 agencies achieve faster builds, higher margins, and happier clients.
Adjust Your Pitches
Revamp your sales approach with positioning insights, messaging tips, and bonus advice on using low-code to win more pitches.
Scaling & Productization
Go beyond project work with proven strategies for scaling services, productizing deliverables, and growing profit margins.
Why VAMM Matters
A framework to understand your agency’s growth path.
Too many agencies get stuck in the middle—working harder but not scaling smarter. The Vibe Agency Maturity Model shows you the five stages of growth, the common pitfalls at each, and what it takes to reach Stage 5. Use this guide with the Low-Code Adoption Playbook to turn the vision into practice.
Get the Low-Code Playbook
Clarity
Understand where your agency stands today and what’s holding you back.
Confidence
See how leading agencies are adapting to market changes and scaling sustainably.
Direction
A clear roadmap for how to advance from one stage to the next.
Focus
Prioritize the changes that matter most for profit, delivery, and client satisfaction.
The Five Stages
Every agency follows a path of growth.
The Vibe Agency Maturity Model outlines five distinct stages. From Hustle to Optimize, knowing your stage will help you identify challenges and chart a path forward.
Hustle
Early-stage agencies rely heavily on founders, scrappy work, and word-of-mouth sales. Projects feel inconsistent, systems are minimal, and burnout risk is high.
Repeat
The agency develops recurring revenue and repeatable project processes. Teams start growing, but efficiency gaps and inconsistent delivery still limit profitability and scale.
Systemize
Processes become standardized across strategy, delivery, and operations. Bottlenecks begin to shrink, margins stabilize, and leadership gains more bandwidth for sales and vision.
Scale
With reliable systems in place, agencies accelerate growth. Delivery becomes predictable, clients are empowered, and teams expand capacity without increasing stress or chaos.
Optimize
Agencies achieve Stage 5 maturity when systems, strategy, and operations align. Builds are faster, margins stronger, and teams focus on innovation, not firefighting.
The Scorecard
Benchmark your agency with a quick self-assessment.
The VAMM Scorecard helps you evaluate your agency across strategy, delivery, and operations. In just 10 questions, you’ll see which stage you’re in today—and what it takes to move forward.
Fast & Practical
Complete 10 focused questions in minutes to capture a clear snapshot of your agency’s maturity.
Clear Results
See which stage you’re in today, plus the strengths and gaps shaping your current performance.
Actionable Next Steps
Get practical guidance on where to focus effort to move closer to Stage 5 maturity.
Proof of Impact
Agencies that systemize see measurable results.
Stage 5 agencies aren’t guessing—they’re operating with clear systems, scalable workflows, and sustainable margins. The results speak for themselves.
70%
Faster builds
Reduce developer backlogs and launch projects faster.
25%
More Annual Launches
Scale delivery without increasing headcount.
30%
Faster Project Completions
Streamline QA and remove production slowdowns.
20%
Higher Profitability
Reclaim margin by eliminating repetitive work.
Agency efficiency drove a $300K annual profit increase.
Forge and Smith faced developer bottlenecks, QA delays, and growing client demands. By systemizing with Refoundry, they cut build times by up to 90% and launched 25% more sites two years in a row. The result? streamlined workflows, happier clients, and over $300K in additional annual profit.
Read the Full Story
Expert-Driven
Built from real agency experience.
The Vibe Agency Maturity Model was developed by Shawn Johnston, founder of Forge and Smith and Refoundry. With 25+ years in digital strategy and 14+ years leading an agency, he lived the inefficiencies, margin pressures, and client demands that shape every stage of growth.
This framework distills those lessons into a practical roadmap—showing how agencies move from founder-led hustle to scalable, optimized businesses. Refoundry was built to solve the challenges that stalled progress, and the VAMM helps agencies see the bigger picture of where they stand today.
Take the Next Step
Map your path to Stage 5.
The Vibe Agency Maturity Model and Scorecard give you clarity on where your agency stands today—and how to evolve toward faster builds, stronger margins, and scalable success.
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