Ammunition, an Atlanta-based creative agency, is launching a venture studio to help both emerging brands and creative agencies scale, it shared exclusively with ADWEEK.

Ammunition Ventures will offer both capital investment and agency services to early-stage startups across industries, as well as creative agencies looking for growth. The agency plans to make two to three strategic investments over the next 12 months, investing $500,000 in combined capital and agency services per startup.

“We’ve always been an agency with an entrepreneurial spirit, and now we’re taking that to the next level by providing both capital and creative services to help early-stage companies grow,” Jeremy Heilpern, founder and CEO of Ammunition, told ADWEEK.

Ammunition Ventures will service two types of companies. The first are consumer product companies, to which Ammunition will provide capital and agency services such as branding, digital strategy, and creative production, in exchange for equity.

The second is for emerging creative agencies, which Ammunition will support with guidance, infrastructure, and a network of connections to help them grow.

“We’ve seen how challenging it is for early-stage companies to hire agencies due to financial constraints,” Heilpern explained. “This model allows us to partner with them in a way that benefits both sides—we bring in capital and expertise to help them grow, and in return, we get equity in their business.”

According to Heilpern, Ammunition’s team of 40 employees will lead both creative and operational efforts for portfolio companies under the ventures arm, providing infrastructure and support with digital strategy, creative production, and operations.

Heilpern emphasized the importance of senior leadership’s involvement in the venture studio.

“We understand the challenges of running a bootstrapped business, and we’ve been there before,” he said. “The founder-to-founder guidance we provide allows us to meet entrepreneurs on their level, offering advice, support, and the infrastructure they need to grow.”

Founded in 2017, Ammunition initially specialized in providing creative services to companies in the home goods, construction, and building products sectors. Over time, it has expanded to other verticals such as insurance, healthcare, and financial services.

In 2023, Ammunition grew its video production capabilities with the acquisition of Mad Hat Creative, an Emmy-winning production studio.