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- Established businesses with a defined marketing budget
- Businesses prepared to grow and scale
60-Minute Strategy SessionA deep dive with a top expert to uncover gaps and map a smarter path forward.
- Includes a $250 digital audit covering your website, SEO, local presence, and online performance—yours to keep.
- Get smart, actionable ideas you can apply to your business right away.
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CLIENT SUCCESS STORY
THE FIRM CPA INDUSTRY INSIDERS CALL “PROBABLY THE BEST WEBSITE IN THE INDUSTRY” — AND THE BRAND EVERY FIRM OWNER KNOWS BY NAME
From $1.5M in San Diego to $21M Across 50+ U.S. Markets
In 5 years, WISE helped Dark Horse CPAs go from a single-location firm to one of the most recognized CPA brands in America — and build three distinct brands along the way.
A Disruptive Vision. No Digital Infrastructure to Match It.
Chase Birky and Max Fritz had already built something different. Dark Horse wasn’t a typical CPA firm — no billable hours, flat-fee pricing, fully remote, deeply relational. The model was disruptive. By late 2020, the firm was doing $1.5M out of San Diego with a handful of satellite locations and a clear ambition to expand nationally.
Chase had been through multiple agencies before WISE and kept hitting the same wall. No one could understand his vision, let alone execute it. Dark Horse’s model was too unconventional, too technology-forward, too ambitious for vendors who were used to building standard CPA firm websites. He needed a partner who could think at his level — and build digital infrastructure that could actually keep pace with where he was taking the firm.
$1.5M
Annual revenue, single primary market
- San Diego base with a few select satellite markets
- Disruptive model: remote, flat-fee, relational — but not yet national
- Strong brand identity and culture — no digital expansion toolkit
- Principal Accelerator model developed but not yet at scale
- Website (v2), custom built, with room to grow
National
Build a platform for nationwide expansion
- Award-winning website that could serve dozens of markets
- SEO and digital strategy to dominate local search in every new city
- Digital presence that attracted both clients and entrepreneurial CPAs
- Brand architecture to support multiple sub-brands
- Marketing infrastructure that could scale with the Principal model
Not Just Marketing. A Growth Platform.
The engagement wasn’t limited to SEO and ads. WISE became the digital infrastructure layer that made national expansion possible — building systems and brand assets that compounded in value as each new market launched.
An Award-Winning Website
A completely reimagined digital presence built on WISE NEXT™ — multi-market architecture, location pages for every city, pricing code, and a brand experience that immediately communicated Dark Horse’s differentiation. Chase himself called it “probably the best in the industry.”
A Nationwide SEO & PPC Engine
As each new Principal Accelerator launched in a new market, WISE activated local SEO location pages and targeted paid campaigns to capture high-intent searches from day one. Every city got its own digital presence — structured, optimized, and ready to attract clients and CPAs alike.
A Multi-Brand Architecture
As Dark Horse expanded beyond core CPA services, WISE helped design and launch the digital presence for Dark Horse Private Wealth and Cannabis CPAs — each within a coherent brand family.
Five Years of Momentum
Three Brands. One Vision. All Built with WISE.
As Dark Horse’s ambitions expanded beyond core CPA services, WISE helped architect, design, and launch each new brand — creating a cohesive ecosystem that amplified the Dark Horse name across multiple markets and audiences.
Dark Horse CPAs
The flagship — a fully remote, flat-fee CPA firm serving small businesses and individuals across 50+ U.S. markets. The award-winning website and SEO system WISE built powers client and CPA acquisition in every city.
Dark Horse Private Wealth
Financial and tax advisors working together to grow client wealth. Built as a premium extension of the Dark Horse brand for high-net-worth individuals and families seeking integrated tax and wealth planning.
Cannabis CPAs
A dedicated CPA practice for cannabis businesses — a high-complexity niche that requires specialized tax knowledge. WISE built the brand, positioning, and SEO strategy to make Dark Horse the go-to firm for this industry.
What 5 Years of Compounding Looks Like
Some companies are vendors, others are partners to your business. WISE is definitely the latter. They have partnered with us strategically on all things digital, created an incredible website (probably the best in the industry to be honest), built the underlying SEO, optimized our Google AdWords, helped us tremendously on the creative side…the list goes on and on. All aspects of your digital presence and marketing are taken into account when you work with them and you get great insights into your performance and improvements. Incredible ROI. Incredible people.
— Chase Birky, CEO + Co-Founder — Dark Horse CPAsRevenue growth in 5 years — 69.5% avg annual CAGR
Average annual Client Return On Investment
Acquisitions (Dark Horse's success was pure organic growth)
Distinct brands built — CPAs, Private Wealth, Cannabis CPAs
One of the most recognized CPA firm brands among accounting industry insiders
Still growing — new markets, new principals, new press every month
Since partnering with WISE Digital Partners, we’ve increased our overall monthly traffic and engagement from 3,800 to 11,220. We’ve closed over $1.5 million in revenue from new and recurring clients, and just this past quarter, we’ve closed over $371,000 in sales that came directly from the website. What we have with them is completely transformative, innovative, and worth the investment.
— Justin Kurn, VP of Principal Development — Dark Horse CPAsOne of the Most Recognized — and Fastest Organically Grown — CPA Firms in America
When WISE meets a new CPA firm prospect, they already know who Dark Horse is.
That’s the most powerful proof of what was built. Dark Horse CPAs grew at an average annual CAGR of 69.5% over 5 years — no CPA firm has proven that feat without acquisitions. They went from a scrappy San Diego firm to the firm that accounting industry insiders talk about — what the future of the profession looks like. The website is cited in national outlets, the Principal Accelerator model is being studied and copied. That didn’t happen by accident — it happened because the digital infrastructure WISE built gave the Dark Horse story a stage to be told from, in every market, every month, at scale.
100+ Reviews
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Trevor Myres
Founder, Myres CPS
Working with WISE has been great. They have been thorough, professional, knowledgeable, and have really taken our brand image and brought it to life. We couldn't be happier and more excited for things ahead.
Chase Birky
CEO + Co-Founder; Dark Horse CPA
Some companies are vendors, others are partners to your business. WISE is definitely the latter. They have partnered with us strategically on all things digital, created an incredible website (probably the best in the industry to be honest), built the underlying SEO, optimized our Google AdWords, helped us tremendously on the creative side…the list goes on and on. All aspects of your digital presence and marketing are taken into account when you work with them and you get great insights into your performance and improvements. Incredible ROI. Incredible people.
Chris DeBlanc
Managing Principal, DeBlanc, Murphy & Murphy, LLC
They are great people to work with. Great track record of success. WISE Digital built us a complete and functional website, and delivers us a consistent stream of leads with a high conversion rate.
Four Things That Had to Be True
A True Partnership
WISE didn’t just run one campaign — we helped map the expansion strategy. When Dark Horse decided to go national, WISE had the infrastructure to support it immediately.
A Brand Worth Building On
Dark Horse’s disruptive positioning — and Chase’s personal story worth amplifying — gave WISE Digital something genuinely remarkable to amplify. This is how Dark Horse built a story worth telling.
Infrastructure Built to Scale
The NEXT™-powered website infrastructure connects the dots — built to support dozens of markets. Every new city could be launched with a crafted page, local SEO, and paid campaigns in days, not months.
Commitment to the Long Game
Dark Horse and WISE have been partners for 5+ years. The compounding returns — in rankings, brand recall, and market position — are the result of course-correcting over time when other firms would have changed direction.
Ready to Build the Next Dark Horse?
Whether you’re a single-location firm with national ambitions or a growing practice ready to accelerate — the WISE Growth System™ was built for firms that refuse to stay ordinary.
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