Executive summary for George
00 · Why this brief existsRead this first
Dan Holmgren is a 25-year founder-CEO of a mid-size, award-winning digital experience / custom tech firm based in Wamego, with deep Kansas City entrepreneurial ties. He is not a junior marketing director — he is a peer operator: HEMP (Helzberg) network, ICOM global agency network, K-State advisory, Kansas creative economy boards.
For someone in your seat — relationship evangelist, biz-dev coach, creative-network connector — Holmgren is a high-trust node: he buys (and recommends) things that strengthen his firm, his peers, and his reputation. He will not respond to commodity “we build websites” pitches. He will respond to peer-caliber introductions, complementary capability, and practical growth leverage.
Frame any intro as peer-to-peer. Lead with specific homework (ICOM site, HEMP, a named vertical). Protect both reputations — his and yours. He moves in small rooms where reputation compounds.
Target snapshot
One-line opportunity
Intro paths that expand Imagemakers’ pipeline, peer status, talent, AI/ops edge, or Kansas/KC leadership surface — without competing with their craft.
Subject profile
01 · Dan HolmgrenCareer arc
- Started graphic design at age 16 at a Kansas City firm.
- Kansas State University; early role as Graphics Editor, KSU Collegian.
- Founded Imagemakers in 2001 — still founder-CEO 25 years later.
- Public positioning: simplifying complex digital experiences via UX research, design, and technology strategy.
- Claims leadership of thousands of projects across industries.
Personality signals (open source)
- Network-first — HEMP events, KC agency-owner dinners, ICOM summits.
- Collaborative peer — posts about lifting other agencies rather than competing into exhaustion.
- Mentorship arc — HEMP mentee class of 2018 → active fellow / board participant.
- Midwest HQ + global reach — Wamego base; ICOM work presented in Costa Rica; multi-country co-builds.
- Leadership development interest — Conscious Leaders Quest (Nosara).
- Tone: warm, low-hype, founder-to-founder. Not a personal-brand influencer CEO.
Boards & affiliations
- HEMP — Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program (Fellow / Board).
- ICOM Network — independent global agency network (70+ agencies, 50 countries).
- Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission — Strategic Planning Steering Committee.
- Kansas State University — Industry Advisory Board.
Access is reputation-gated. Warm paths through HEMP, ICOM, K-State, and KC agency principals outperform cold product outreach every time.
“Directions on Microsoft contracted with ImageMakers… beautiful new site with a great user experience… one-stop-shop… pleasant, easy-going, professional.”
— Barry Briggs, client recommendation (LinkedIn)
Account: Imagemakers
02 · The firmWhat they sell
Digital experience firm — UX + custom development + performance — not a pure ads shop. Emphasizes stability, compliance, and post-launch optimization.
Experience
- Observational research
- UX strategy & UI
- Engagement strategy
Technology
- Sites & platforms
- Business applications
- Integrations / AI tools
Performance
- Security & stability
- A11y & privacy
- Analytics / AI search
Operating model
- Remote / “virtually connected” team
- Process: Define → Design → Build → Optimize
- Sectors: education, healthcare, government, banking, manufacturing
- Privately held; founder still active in UX leadership structure
Mark O’Renick (CSO) · Michael Smith (CTO) · Ben York (UX) · Lisa Frey (Performance) · Laura Prater (Delivery). Dan is economic buyer; others validate fit.
Public client footprint
| Client / logo | Type | Intel note |
|---|---|---|
| Koch, Lockton, Goodyear | Enterprise / brand | High quality bar; sophisticated buyers. |
| FEMA, KS Commerce, FHLBank Topeka | Gov / institutional | Compliance, a11y, stability language lands. |
| K-State, Humanities Kansas | Education / culture | Mission-driven + statewide Kansas identity. |
| KC Current, Denver Summit FC | Sports / media | Modern brand + digital product sensibility. |
| CLC Lodging, FCS Financial, KRMC | Portals / apps | Custom systems, not brochure sites only. |
| Directions on Microsoft | B2B media | Documented full redesign + code + UX. |
| ICOM Network (global site) | Agency network | Trusted by 70+ peer agencies; flagship collab story. |
Buyer map
03 · How he decidesDecision role
- Economic buyer for tools, partnerships, memberships, sponsorships, strategic vendors.
- Still close to craft / UX quality — judges taste, not just ROI slides.
- Likely loops Mark (strategy) and Michael (tech) on material buys.
- Delivery (Laura) matters for anything that touches client work or ops load.
They already sell digital experience. Never pitch “we do websites.” Pitch what multiplies delivery, sales, brand, talent, or community position — or fills a gap they do not want in-house.
Buying motives
- Reputation in Kansas / KC founder + agency circles
- Global leverage via ICOM collaboration
- Talent & culture — remote UX/dev/PM hiring
- Practical AI — already lists AI decision tools + AI search visibility
- Client outcomes + compliance — a11y, privacy, security
- Growth levers — premium pipeline, better positioning vs. shops and offshore
Pain hypotheses — ask, don’t assert
- National work from a Wamego base
- Differentiation vs. KC creatives + offshore
- Converting HEMP/ICOM ties to pipeline
- Scaling custom builds without margin bleed
- AI that helps delivery, not rework
- Quality across remote multi-specialty teams
- Seen as strategy partner, not “web vendor”
- Kansas leadership visibility
- AI + experience story without gimmicks
Hooks that land
04 · Relevance leversFounder / HEMP language
Operator-to-operator. Mentorship, long-horizon building, KC entrepreneurial fabric. No startup-bro energy.
Quality of thinking & design
Firm built on UX simplification. Clear systems thinking and restrained design. Sloppy or AI-looking creatives will hurt trust.
Complement, don’t compete
Anything that makes Imagemakers stronger with clients — distribution, community, AI ops, research, BD, events, specialized stack.
State & KC identity
Clients and boards are Kansas-heavy. Local relevance (K-State, commerce, civic, creative economy) is a credibility shortcut.
ICOM-scale collaboration
They co-built a site for 70+ agencies worldwide. Multi-party, multi-timezone fluency is something he already brags about.
Practical AI for agencies
He engages peer AI discussions. Pitch durable workflow advantage — not “chatbot for your homepage.”
Pitch paths by offer type
05 · Match the service| If the offer is… | Angle | Proof required | Who else |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community / membership / network | Peer-caliber room for agency founders & Kansas leaders — pipeline + reputation, not “content.” | Who’s in the room; selectivity; outcomes for similar CEOs. | Dan primary; Mark for strategy fit. |
| AI tools for agencies | Delivery leverage + client-facing AI capability without brand risk. | Security, data handling, time saved on real project types. | Michael, Lisa, then Dan. |
| Lead gen / BD for agencies | Help them win more of the work they already do well (gov, healthcare, banking portals). | Similar B2B/custom-dev agency cases; no spam tactics. | Dan + Mark; Dusty Thomas historically listed new biz/press. |
| Brand / positioning / PR | Elevate above “custom website firm” toward strategy/experience leadership in KC + ICOM. | Taste level; agency brand fluency; restraint. | Dan; Ben/UX as taste validators. |
| Talent / recruiting | Remote UX, full-stack, PM roles they hire often. | Candidate quality; Kansas + remote reality. | Dan + Laura + HR admin. |
| Specialized tech (a11y, security, data) | Plug into Performance & Optimization as overflow or premium tier. | Certs, institutional refs, white-label comfort. | Lisa, Michael, then Dan. |
| Events / sponsorship / speaking | HEMP-adjacent, Kansas creative economy, independent agency leadership. | Audience quality; time ROI; brand adjacency. | Dan (visibility). |
| Subcontract / white-label | Capacity when full; specialized modules they don’t staff permanently. | Reliability, code quality, seamless client experience. | Laura, Michael, Dan for terms. |
Approach protocol
06 · Access & etiquetteChannels ranked
- Warm intro — HEMP, KC agency owners, ICOM peers, K-State ties. Highest conversion.
- LinkedIn — active; reference a specific post, ICOM project, or HEMP moment. Short peer tone.
- Company email / form — info@imagemakers-inc.com for formal partnership proposals.
- Events — HEMP moments, KC agency gatherings, ICOM-adjacent presence.
- Phone — (888) 865-8511 after context is set; not first cold blast.
Do / Don’t
- ✓Do treat as a peer founder with 25 years of scar tissue.
- ✓Do show homework on a specific project or affiliation.
- ✓Do lead with outcome for his clients or team.
- ✓Do keep design/comms tight — his eye is trained.
- ✗Don’t pitch generic web design or a rebuild of their site.
- ✗Don’t use aggressive SDR sequences or gimmicky AI copy.
- ✗Don’t ignore service adjacency — clarify complement explicitly.
- ✗Don’t name-drop clients falsely; soft-reference public logos only.
Warm-path map
Ideal intro line for a connector: “Dan — want you to meet [Name]; they help [peer agencies / Kansas operators] with [one sentence outcome]. Worth 20 minutes.”
Talk tracks
07 · Language that fitsSuggested intro blurb (for George or any connector)
Connecting you with [Name]. They help [agency founders / Kansas growth companies] with [outcome]. Given Imagemakers’ work across UX + custom platforms — and Dan’s HEMP/ICOM world — I thought the conversation would be high-signal both ways.
Peer LinkedIn opener (if direct)
Dan — watched Imagemakers ship the ICOM network site with partners across Estonia, Malta, and Canada. That kind of multi-agency build is rare. I work with [who] on [specific outcome]. Not pitching a website — thinking about [one complementary problem]. Open to a short call if useful?
Discovery questions
- Where is demand strongest — custom platforms, brand/UX, or optimization/compliance retainers?
- What do you wish clients understood earlier about working with a firm like yours?
- How are you evaluating AI inside delivery vs. client-facing offerings?
- What does good growth look like over 24 months — capacity, reputation, geography, or margin?
- Where do partnerships actually help vs. create client confusion?
- How do decisions move between you, strategy, and tech leadership?
Language that matches his brand
Contacts & sources
08 · Reach packageDirect
| linkedin.com/in/dholmgren | |
| Company | imagemakers-inc.com |
| info@imagemakers-inc.com | |
| Phone | (888) 865-8511 |
| Address | 514 Lincoln Ave · PO Box 368 · Wamego, KS 66547 |
| @holmgren_dan · @imagemakersinc | |
| ICOM bio | icomagencies.com/leaders/… |
Secondary stakeholders
- Mark O’Renick — CSO (partnerships, commercial strategy)
- Michael Smith — CTO (tech vendors, architecture)
- Ben York — Director of UX Design (craft)
- Lisa Frey — Performance & Optimization
- Laura Prater — Client Delivery
- Dusty Thomas — historically listed new business / press
Field cheat sheet
Sell on
- Peer status & trust
- Client leverage
- Team leverage
- Kansas + global reach
- Practical AI / ops edge
Never sell on
- Commodity web design
- Hype AI
- Spray-and-pray lead gen
- Undercutting his craft
- Wasting founder time
Close conditions
- Clear complement
- Respect for his network
- Proof from peer operators
- Low implementation drama
- Mutual reputation upside