ABOUT BLACK BOX
One Team Built Around Your Revenue, Since 2010
Black Box Social Media started as a Meta advertising agency and grew into a full-stack growth consultancy: ads, funnels, follow-up and sales, run by one senior team.
Who is Black Box Social Media?
Black Box Social Media is a growth consultancy founded in 2010 by Curt Maly and Nick Bridges. Known for Meta advertising, with over $250M in ad spend managed, the team now builds and runs complete growth systems: ads, funnels, follow-up and sales, with traditional media on the same plan when it fits.
From Competitors to Co-Founders
$250M+in ad spend managed
Curt Maly and Nick Bridges met as competitors. Both were real estate investors in Austin, Texas, and both used online advertising to win more deals than the market around them. For three years they competed for the same buyers and sellers online.
In 2010 they joined forces and founded Black Box Social Media to do for other businesses what they had done for their own: use paid social to generate leads and sales that could be measured.
Since then the agency has worked with pro sports teams, bestselling authors, international speakers and founder-led businesses, and has managed over $250M in ad spend.
Over time, clients asked for more than ads. The work grew into what we do today: the funnel, the follow-up, the sales process and the reporting that ties them together.
Results Disclaimer: The results shown are selected examples from individual client engagements and are not typical or guaranteed. Actual performance varies based on factors including advertising budget, offer, market conditions, and execution. Advertising campaigns can result in financial losses. The $250M figure refers to advertising spend, not client revenue or profit. Read our full Earnings & Results Disclaimer.
One Team. Digital and Traditional Media.
Black Box Social Media has run digital growth campaigns since 2010. With Steve Maly on the team, clients can also plan TV, radio, billboards, print and direct mail alongside their Meta ads, funnels and follow-up, on one plan with one accountable team.
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Curt Maly
Co-FounderCurt has been selling since his first job at 15, on the phones at a call center in Yutan, Nebraska. In corporate consulting he worked with clients including Apple, Microsoft and the U.S. Postal Service. As a real estate investor in Austin, he used online advertising to out-market the competition. In 2010 he co-founded Black Box Social Media with Nick Bridges. He has been featured in the Boston Globe and What’s Working Now, and is a contributing author to Mark Victor Hansen’s Writings From the Heart.
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Nick Bridges
Co-FounderNick has worked in sales and marketing since 2001, when he graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in International Business and Marketing. In 2007 he started a real estate investing company, and he spent the next three years competing with Curt in Austin’s online real estate marketing. In 2010 they joined forces to found Black Box Social Media, where Nick leads technology and the systems behind client growth.
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Steve Maly
Traditional Media & Brand StrategySteve leads traditional media and brand strategy for BBSM clients. He also leads Maly Marketing (malymarketing.com), the full-service agency he founded in Lincoln, Nebraska, which plans and produces branding, TV, radio, billboard, print and direct-mail campaigns. That lets BBSM coordinate traditional and digital media for clients on one plan. Steve speaks at marketing conferences across the Midwest and serves as President of the Nebraska Travel Association.
How We Work
- 01
Revenue first
We judge every campaign, page and email by what it does for sales, not by likes or clicks.
- 02
Senior people on your account
You work with the people who built the system.
- 03
You own everything
Ad accounts, pixels, data, funnels and CRM stay in your business’s name.
- 04
Straight answers
If we’re not the right fit, or a channel won’t work, we’ll say so.
Milestones
- 2001
Nick Bridges graduates from Texas A&M and starts in sales and marketing.
- 2007
Nick starts a real estate investing company; he and Curt compete online in Austin.
- 2010
Curt and Nick found Black Box Social Media.
- May 2012
Black Box presents the Austin Toros case study at the NBA Owners Meetings in Chicago.
- 2015
Curt featured in the April issue of What’s Working Now.
- 2026
Growth-to-Exit partnerships open by application.
- Today
Over $250M in ad spend managed.
Brands and Leaders We’ve Worked With
Black Box has worked with hundreds of brands and helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs through digital marketing education.
About Us
Who founded Black Box Social Media?
Curt Maly and Nick Bridges founded Black Box Social Media in 2010. Both were real estate investors in Austin who used online advertising to compete before joining forces.
Where is Black Box Social Media based?
Our mailing address is 200 University Blvd STE 225 #319, Round Rock, TX 78665. We work with clients remotely across the United States, so meetings are by phone or video.
Do you handle traditional media as well as digital?
Yes. Steve Maly leads traditional media and brand strategy, so TV, radio, billboards, print and direct mail can be planned alongside your Meta ads, funnels and follow-up.
Work with the people who built the system.
Book a complimentary strategy call with the team.