How This Founder Went From Side Hustle to Scaling a Marketing Powerhouse

Ally Quilty always knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur. She just didn’t know what kind of business she’d build—or that it would all start in her parents’ backyard.

“When I was 11, I pitched my parents on running a summer camp. My dad made me put together a flip chart presentation,” she laughs. “They said yes because they didn’t think I’d actually do it.”

She proved them wrong. That first year, 16 kids showed up. By the fourth summer, she had a team of six employees, 55 kids, and even a local business sponsor. It was the first taste of entrepreneurship, but it wouldn’t be the last.

Despite her early start, Ally took the traditional path—studying marketing at St. Joseph’s University, then working at agencies and in-house marketing teams. Each role gave her a piece of the puzzle: content marketing, paid media, data analytics. But something was missing.

“I always knew I wanted to run my own thing,” she says. “I just didn’t know what it was going to look like.”

Enter Nick—her former boss-turned-business partner. “We were grabbing drinks one night, and he says, ‘We should start a marketing agency.’ I was like, ‘What?!’ He already had the logo made.”

That was the push she needed. They launched Well-Oiled Marketing in 2020, running it as a side hustle while still working full-time jobs. The timing? Perfect. With everyone working remotely and social calendars wiped clean, they had the space to build something real.

For Ally, taking Well-Oiled full-time wasn’t an impulsive leap—it was a calculated move.

“I’m not the ‘jump and figure it out’ type. I needed to make sure we had something sustainable,” she says. “But by early 2023, I was working 50 hours a week at my job and another 30 on Well-Oiled. I hit a wall.”

She gave the team an ultimatum: “Either we go all in, or we scale back.” The decision was clear. By March 2023, she left her job and became the first full-time employee at Well-Oiled.

The business took off—doubling revenue in just a year. But now, Ally and Nick are shifting their focus from saying “yes” to everything to honing in on what they do best.

“When we started, we took any project that came our way. Now, we’re getting more intentional,” she explains. “We do paid media, organic social, email marketing, and data analytics. That’s where we deliver the most value.”

2025 is all about smart scaling—bringing on full-time hires, refining their client roster, and making sure growth is sustainable. “We’ve hit an inflection point. It’s not just about getting bigger—it’s about building something long-term.”

Ally’s story isn’t about taking wild risks. It’s about knowing yourself, building strategically, and betting on the right people.

“My partner Nick is the gas, and I’m the brakes. We balance each other out,” she says. “That’s why it works.”

Now, with Well-Oiled positioned for long-term success, Ally’s focus is clear: keep growing—but do it on her terms.

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