Intention.ly, the growth engine for financial services and fintech firms, is celebrating its fifth anniversary, marking a milestone that reflects transformation as well as longevity. What started as a two-person response to a fragmented marketing landscape is now a 35-person firm that has worked with more than 100 of the industry’s fastest-growing wealth management, fintech, banking, and asset management organizations.
The firm was founded on a straightforward premise: sustainable growth requires strategy and execution to operate as a single system, not separate functions. The premise has shaped how some of the industry’s most ambitious firms approach pipeline, brand, and revenue. Five years ago, CEOs, advisors, and other C-suite leaders claimed to possess the expertise and instincts to own the marketing function. With the rise of AEO, AI search, marketing automation, Martech integration, an expanding solutions landscape, and ever-evolving consumer preferences, the technical expertise of a marketer now requires a more nuanced approach and is increasingly responsible for generating positive business growth outcomes.
“Five years ago, we saw firms with valuable products and differentiated service models falling wildly short of their growth goals because growth strategy and execution operated independently of one another,” said Kelly Waltrich, CEO and co-founder. “We built Intention.ly to bring them together and haven’t stopped working to make that connection tighter, faster, and more seamless.”
Since 2021, Intention.ly has grown to a 35-person team of specialists with backgrounds spanning wealth management, fintech, financial media, SaaS demand generation, client acquisition, and brand strategy, hailing from industry-leading firms including Orion, Carson Group, eMoney, VettaFi, Wealth Enhancement Group, Envestnet, and Hightower. The depth of industry knowledge and understanding separates Intention.ly from generalist marketing firms and enables the team to embed quickly into complex client environments.
From Marketing Agency to Growth Engine
Over the past five years, Intention.ly has expanded well beyond traditional marketing services. Today, the firm blends strategic advisory, go-to-market execution, proprietary technology, demand generation tactics, and data-driven insights into a fully integrated growth engine.
Key developments include:
- Launching and evolving Advisor Brand Builder (ABB), the firm’s proprietary AI-powered platform that generates personalized brand identities, websites, and content libraries for financial advisors at a fraction of traditional time and cost. Over the past two years, ABB has served more than 25 advisory firms.
- Expanding advisor support models to help enterprises accelerate recruitment efforts by offering valuable growth partnerships
- Deepening strategic relationships across the fintech ecosystem, positioning clients at the center of industry conversations and innovation
- Building a modern, fully integrated event and content engine designed to maximize conference ROI and extend firm impact far beyond the stage or booth
- Helping clients operationalize relevant AI capabilities through a rigorous vetting and testing process and tech stack integration services
- Earning recognition as a multiple Gramercy Institute award winner and the 2026 Generative AI Platform of the Year, alongside WBENC certification as a women-owned business.
Building What’s Next
As the firm looks ahead, Intention.ly is setting the pace for the next era of growth with a defined set of priorities: deeper AI integration across client strategy and execution workflows, scalable content and distribution models that generate a consistent pipeline, and platform development that connects brand equity directly to revenue outcomes.
“We’re not interested in incremental progress,” Waltrich added. “The next five years are about building systems that make growth more predictable, client acquisition more measurable, and demand generation more aligned with how modern firms operate.”
A Moment to Reflect and Accelerate
While the anniversary marks a moment of reflection, Intention.ly sees it more as a launchpad than a finish line. With a growing client base, expanding platform capabilities, and a clear point of view about where the industry is headed, the firm is entering its next chapter with momentum and intention.
About Intention.ly
Intention.ly is the go-to growth consultancy and marketing agency for financial services. Bringing together a team of cross-functional growth specialists, Intention.ly partners with fintechs, RIAs, broker-dealers, custodians, and asset managers to design and execute integrated strategies that drive pipeline, revenue, and profitability. Services span marketing, branding, communications, AI enablement, advisor recruitment, talent acquisition, HubSpot optimization, and events, all built around the specific demands of the financial services industry. Advisor Brand Builder, the firm’s proprietary AI-powered platform, generates personalized brand identities, websites, and content libraries for financial advisors at a fraction of the traditional time and cost. Intention.ly is a WBENC-certified women-owned business, a multiple Gramercy Institute award winner, and the 2026 Generative AI Platform of the Year.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260520657309/en/
Media gallery
