Tampa agency founder says four-day week helped Brick Media grow

Brick Media founder Jake Kurtz says his Tampa social media agency has spent nearly four years on a four-day workweek without sacrificing client service or growth. The company says the experiment helped sharpen systems, and revenue and staffing have both expanded since the change.

Why it matters: - The Brick Media case gives business leaders a real-world example as debate returns over a possible 32-hour workweek in Washington. - Kurtz argues the bigger lesson is not fewer hours by itself, but questioning whether traditional workplace habits still make sense. - The Tampa agency says the model has supported growth, which matters for companies worried that flexibility will hurt performance.

What happened: - Jake Kurtz, founder and CEO of Tampa-based social media agency Brick Media, moved the company to a four-day workweek in 2023. - Brick Media employees work four nine-hour days, Monday through Thursday, for a 36-hour scheduled workweek while keeping full salaries. - The company started with a 90-day test from January through March 2023, then made the schedule permanent. - Kurtz says the model has remained in place for nearly four years and is still working for the agency.

The details: - Brick Media says productivity and client service did not decline during the pilot. - The agency has grown to more than 20 employees under the four-day schedule. - Brick Media says revenue rose 73% from 2022 to 2023, its first year on the four-day workweek. - Brick Media says revenue is up 287% compared with 2022. - The company worked with 56 social media clients in 2022. - The agency worked with 85 clients in the first half of 2026 alone. - Meetings are more structured under the new model and rarely exceed 30 minutes. - Team members are expected to come prepared. - Brick Media says expectations are communicated clearly with both staff and clients. - The company says it continually evaluates systems and processes to cut waste and work more intentionally.

Between the lines: - Kurtz is not pitching the four-day week as a universal fix. - His broader point is that leaders should test assumptions about meetings, PTO, flexibility, communication and productivity. - The company’s growth gives the experiment more credibility than a simple lifestyle perk. - The model also suggests the change may work best when paired with tighter management and clearer accountability, not just fewer hours.

What's next: - Kurtz says he will keep using experimentation as a management approach at Brick Media. - He encourages other business owners to run their own tests instead of copying Brick Media’s schedule outright. - For some companies, the next move could be a shorter week; for others, it could be a reset on systems, meetings or performance expectations.

The bottom line: - Brick Media’s message is that work design is a choice, and the right answer may be less about tradition than about what a company can prove actually works.