Polymath is a fancy name for the consulting partnership between two problem-solvers named Shelby Perkins and Aaron Bartholomew.
Our clients consider us partners in solving their website’s technical challenges, from site architecture, migration, security, and SEO to CMS creation and custom tool engineering.
We specialize in SEO (the really boring, highly effective kind), technical consulting (AKA what tech you should use), building custom tools, and automating processes so they’re faster, more accurate, and less soul-killing.
Through a mix of smart strategy and automation, we solve the technical problems that are holding your business back.
What we are
Your partners in finding or building long-lasting solutions to the tech challenges that are hurting your bottom line. We become a trusted part of your technical team, working to get you the results you want from your website. (Bonus: you don’t even have to issue us W2s. We do our taxes ourselves, like big boys.)
What we’re not
A sleek, shiny agency that’ll pressure you into a nebulous yearlong contract, then fob off the work to a panicked junior employee. Those guys suck.
WE'RE NOT YOUR AVERAGE AGENCY
Stuck in a rut with your big agency?
We know how frustrating the agency experience can be. We're not them.
| Your challenge | What An Agency Would Do | What We Do |
|---|---|---|
| Need to collect a ton of content OR parse a mountain of data | Throw interns at it until the project is done and/or someone breaks and goes home in tears, then bill you for time & tissues | Write a few quick automation scripts to do the same thing faster, more accurately, and with fewer spirits crushed |
| Need a custom web tool built | Get your money now, and figure out how to do what you want later (hint: it’ll probably involve Upwork) | Understand what you’re trying to accomplish, plan *with* you, and build your killer new tool |
| Need to change CMSes because your current one is no longer serving you | Switch you to WordPress if they haven’t already — even if WordPress makes zero sense for you | Figure out what CMS will work best for your business, then migrate your site ourselves |
| Need to rank higher for valuable search queries | Send you a cookie-cutter SEO audit with zero actionable steps, then stop answering your emails | Ask for access to your back end (no, not that back end), go in, and tell you what we think will help and how much we’ll charge to help you |
We’re honest, thorough, curious, and good listeners.
Not only does this make us good trivia team partners, it also means that our client relationships are by default deep and direct. You trust us with your website’s success, and we trust you not to tell anyone that Shelby still wears Spider-Man-print tighty-whities. Shit, did we say that out loud?
Get In Contact! trending_flatMeet Shelby and Aaron
The year? 2000.
The location? Sunny, not-yet-overpriced San Diego.
The suspects? 10-year-old Shelby Perkins and Aaron Bartholomew.
The stakes? Honestly pretty low, considering we were in 5th grade.
When you spend a lot of time in detention with someone, you form a… special bond. That’s what happened to us — Shelby Perkins and Aaron Bartholomew. We were seated next to each other in 5th grade, and in between our hilarious disruptions (sorry, Mr. Lindgren), we somehow became friends. Ahh, the good old days.
Unfortunately, over the next decade or so, school changes, social pressures, and puberty conspired to keep us apart — and by 2012, we hadn’t caught up in a while.
That’s when Shelby, who was teaching himself a new technical tool, put out a call for help learning… and who should respond but Aaron? The dream team was back together. And this time, we had driver’s licenses and fully developed frontal lobes. NOTHING COULD STOP US. That’s how Polymath got our start.
Shelby Perkins
Formerly: Power Digital Marketing, Seer Interactive
Technical SEO nerd. Dog rescuer (5 and counting). Probably more excited to hear about your vacation than you were when you were actually taking it.
Shelby reads the SEO industry’s dry-ass publications cover to cover so you don’t have to. He’s the dude who will explain the results of your free technical website audit, and recommend the best next steps for your business — even if those steps aren’t “work with Polymath”. Smell that? That’s the sultry perfume of integrity.
Aaron Bartholomew
Formerly: Sony, Daybreak Games
Like most expert developers, Aaron prefers not to be in the limelight. Actually, you’ll probably find him in the dark, since it’s easier to code that way.
Aaron is an expert in solving tricky technical problems with elegant, lightweight solutions. With a clean code base and a dirty mouth, he’s been called a “unicorn” by past teammates (which he finds simultaneously flattering and humiliating).
Frequently Asked Questions.
Feast your eyes. We’ve heard ‘em all.
You’re smaller than most shops. Why should we trust you over a big agency?
It’s not the size of the agency that matters, Glenn. 😉
For real: while we’re “just” two people, the quality and breadth of our experience means we can take on big projects in smart, strategic ways. Using programmatic automation, we’re often able to do things in a matter of days or weeks that would take bigger agencies months or years. We’ve handled multiple large and complex site migrations, built sites and tools with tons of moving parts, and done it all with WAY less overhead than a traditional agency.
If you’re worried your project is too big for us to handle, just ask. We’ll always be honest about who and what projects are the right fit.
How do you charge to work together?
We charge per engagement, so you’ll always know what you’re signing up for, what it will include, and when it’ll be ready to launch. Our project fees are transparent. Luckily, our clothes are not.
How do I know I need your services?
Great question. Because we work with a lot of different types of clients and industries, there’s not a one-size-fits-all answer here (but you didn’t expect that, did you)? Here are some signs that Polymath could be a great partner for you:
- Your business growth is being hamstrung by website challenges like poor site security, slow page load time, or lack of search visibility
- You’ve got a wishlist of tools or functionality that you want to offer, but not the time or expertise to build them
- You value clarity over buzzwords, and candor over bullshit
Where are you based?
Our corpuscular forms live in San Diego, California, and we work remotely with clients around the world. Get in touch here for your free audit to see how we can help.