Two men. Two cats. One unique company name.
The Baal & Spots origin story is one of finding inspiration in the strangest of places and building something better.
Ryan Mathis and Maher El Aridi formed a partnership with a common goal in mind: to change the way employees and clients alike would view digital marketing agencies. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s uncover the story of how Ryan and Maher joined forces to create Baal & Spots: an agency with a weird name that delivers great work.
The Prologue
Before we dive into the story, let’s meet the protagonists: Maher El Aridi and Ryan Mathis.
Maher’s Story
After designing layouts and other collateral for TV sports and game broadcasts in his home country of Lebanon, Maher began to strive for change. The passion he had for design and technology was strong … but he knew deep down he wanted something more.
He left Lebanon to start a new life in Houston, TX where he honed his graphic design skills through formal training at The University of Houston and Houston Community College expanding his abilities to include coding and web development. Not long after, Maher began creating website designs, trying to find a home for his ambition and ever-growing toolkit.
Ryan’s Story
After serving in the Army for two years, Ryan turned to pursue a passion for web development dating back to middle school. While doing development and design for a few marketing agencies and startups in Houston, his entrepreneurial spirit took hold. He began to consider making his own rules and setting his own goals to showcase his leadership and development skills.
Act I: Agency Life
No strangers to agency life — Ryan and Maher had become quite good at their crafts, dubbing themselves “hybrids”: someone who specializes in both development and design. However, they soon realized that the agency life didn’t align with their collective vision. The rose-colored glasses came off.
Ryan: “Agencies have a reputation for being extremely fast-paced environments that tend to over-promise and under-deliver to their clients.”
Maher: “I call it the ‘churn and burn.’ In my experience, agencies want their employees to crank out as much work as possible in as little time as possible to make a profit. It creates a very stressful environment for everyone involved, and at the end of the day, the work felt mediocre. The creatives weren’t happy, the clients weren’t happy, and that just didn’t sit right with me.”
Ryan: “We wanted to create a digital marketing agency that would deliver real results to clients, do great work, and foster an environment to let employees learn and grow. We wanted to inspire people to do better.”
Act II: A partnership forms
The two met at a digital startup in Houston. When they parted ways, Ryan knew this wasn’t the end.
Ryan: “I said to him [Maher], ‘We’ll work together again.’”
It wasn’t the end. They maintained their friendship knowing things could be better. The work could be great. The environment could be positive. Something had to change, so they decided to do something about it.
In July of 2016, Baal & Spots was born.
Maher: “Because we already knew each other and had worked together, there was a level of trust there with an extra layer of professionalism. I liked his thought process about how to run a business. We had the same priorities in terms of client and employee happiness and creating balance and harmony. We both wanted to create a different type of agency.”
Ryan: “This wasn’t a side hustle, this was real. We were putting in full-time, 100%, regardless if it worked out or not. We were dedicated. In the beginning, we wore every hat there was: Project Manager, Web Developer, Graphic Designer, Social Media Manager, Copywriter…we did it all.”
Maher: “We had to rely on each other to get things done. I’d say our success boiled down to a combination of luck and hard work.”
Act III: What’s in a name?
So, how did the name Baal & Spots come to be?
Ryan: “Do you want the long story or the short story?”
Maher: “The restaurant that I used to work at, during college, had a bunch of cats that always roamed around, and there were two cats that were my favorite: Baal and Spots. I made a joke once that if I were to ever have a company, I would name it after those cats…it was just a joke at the time, but I kept my word.”
You really named your company after two cats?
Maher: “Sure did! I started filing for an LLC when I got to the blank line where the company’s name was supposed to be. I knew that the name needed to be something unique…something memorable. And then I had a great idea — well, two great ideas. I typed it out: Baal & Spots. That joke I made years ago became my reality. I have no regrets.”
Ryan: “Any time we meet new clients for the first time, the name is a very good icebreaker. They always say, ‘I gotta ask, what’s up with the name Baal & Spots?’ The name inspires curiosity and makes them want to know more about what we can do.”
Maher: “We reel ‘em in with the funky name, but once clients can see what we can deliver and how well we deliver it, they’re sold.”
The story is far from over. Come and be a part of it.
Nearly six years later, a lot has changed. The two-man balancing act has grown into a full-fledged creative team built on varied perspectives, deep expertise, and an ever-growing portfolio of incredible projects.
But through it all, two things have stayed the same: the weird name and the commitment to great work. We’re not telling this story just to answer questions clients and new employees always ask about the name — this is an invitation to take a deeper look at what isn’t working for you and your brand and do something about it.
At Baal & Spots, we make better happen every day. Whether the solution to your challenge involves a complex journey or a simple burst of inspiration, we’re here to help you act on big ideas and take your project to the next level.
Ready to take your organization to the next level? Let’s do something about it.
Ryan Mathis
Ryan brings to the agency over 18 years of experience in front-end and back-end development, software development, mobile app creation, digital marketing, accessibility, and user experience design. Ryan has co-founded two companies, including Baal & Spots in 2016. His leadership, enthusiasm, and empathetic nature have inspired companies to adopt strategies and ideas that produce meaningful results.
Maher El Aridi
Maher is a designer who works at the intersection of design, development, and technology. He has over 17 years of experience encompassing art principles, brand identity, graphic and web design, web development, accessibility and marketing strategies. Maher co-founded Baal & Spots in 2016. He serves on the Houston Community College’s Digital Communication Advisory Committee, where he helps promote digital media studies.