Rachel Ballatori (Photo by Scott Merrill)
Rachel Ballatori knew the rat race well having worked in multiple advertising agencies for six years before deciding to walk away from a six-figure salary to start her own marketing firm. Ballatori says she was frustrated with the traditional agency model and how it limited the client’s ability to achieve high quality advertising services without astronomical prices, bloated agency teams, and 12-month locked-in retainer fees.
She launched Mill + Co as a woman-owned advertising and marketing agency focused on a personal approach to storytelling. Ballatori, CEO of Mill + Co, is now growing her business by bringing people in NH’s business community together through experiential events aimed at forging long-lasting friendships.
Mill + Co, which began in 2018 in Manhattan after Ballatori quit her agency job to invest in herself, helps clients understand the “why” in order to effectively brand and market themselves. She built her firm on a cooperative model, tapping into freelance professionals across the country. She, her three employees and that network provide creative development, from advertising campaigns to social media content, digital marketing, visual design and public relations.
Mill + Co initially struggled until the pandemic hit. “I had almost shut my doors,” Ballatori says. “It’s awkward to say this but when people needed to be digital and they weren’t, we really took off.” Ballatori moved to NH and first found the networking she was doing not as engaging as she would like it to be. Ballatori describes an encounter she had recently at an event that illustrates the lack of humanity she noticed. “I was literally walking through the parking lot to the event, and someone just handed me their business card without even introducing themselves,” she says. “They just said, ‘If you know anyone looking for commercial real estate property, I’ve got you,’ and they handed me their card. I walked in and I went to the bathroom and threw the card away.”
“I asked myself in that moment, ‘What are we here for?’ It felt that everyone was simply jockeying to get in touch with the speakers. I just didn’t want to do that.” When Ballatori reflected on how clients were coming to Mill + Co, she realized it was through word of mouth, other clients, or from friendships forged at events, Ballatori says.
In 2023 she started Table Talk, a networking series that brings people together to raise money for women- and minority-owned businesses. Participants engage in unique activities such as pasta making and whiskey pairings to spark camaraderie and collaboration.
In August, Mill + Co, in partnership with the NH Tech Alliance, held a Table Talk dubbed “Build Your Board” where attendees learned to create charcuterie boards while making connections. All money raised from the event’s community partners and corporate sponsors are funding the Table Talk Grant that will go to a minority or female business founder in 2025. For more information, visit millandco.net.