The former president of Engage Mobile Solutions is branching out with ZAG FIRST Digital Marketing, a new company serving small and midsize businesses.

Matthew Barksdale launched ZAG FIRST on Jan. 1 after selling his interest in Engage Mobile, a past winner of the 25 Under 25® Award from Thinking Bigger Business Media.

The new company will offer help with content and video creation, web development, email marketing search engine optimization, social media marketing and other services.

“I grew up in a family business and have spent my entire life working in, running and owning companies with less than $50 million in revenue,” Barksdale said. “I know how small and medium-sized business owners and executives think, I know what keeps them up at night, I know the pressure they are under — so I want ZAG FIRST to really be a digital marketing resource for small business leaders.”

The company’s name plays off the importance of doing something different, or as Barksdale puts it, “In marketing, when others are zigging, you need to zag first.

“The truth is that digital marketing can be very confusing to business leaders, and many companies just don’t have the time or resources to devote to effectively develop, execute and monitor effective digital marketing programs,” Barksdale said. “So we created ZAG FIRST to satisfy that need.”