Adam Landrum

About Adam Landrum

I work with founders who want to build businesses that can run without them. For 22 years I was the founder and CEO of Up & Up, a nationally recognized purpose-driven marketing agency serving higher education institutions across the country. In 2023, I sold the firm, closing one chapter and opening another.Along the way I ran leadership teams, coached executives, led strategy with clients across the country, and logged more than hours coaching entrepreneurs and leaders.These days I spend a lot of time coaching and advising founders on their journey to freedom. Like many founders, I started a business for freedom-> Freedom to build something of my own-> Freedom to shape the work I did-> Freedom to create the kind of life I wanted.At a certain point in the life of a company, the business begins to depend on the founder for everything.Sales run through them. Decisions route through them. Delivery leans on them.From the outside the company can look successful. Inside, the founder often feels like the center of gravity holding it all together.Over time I began noticing a pattern.There’s a moment in the life of a company where the founder makes an important shift. The business begins to run through a system instead of through the founder.I’ve come to think of that moment as the Founder Threshold™.Some founders cross it. Many don’t.When founders cross that threshold, something changes. The founder learns how to move the business out of a few patterns that keep it stuck: dependence on the founder, ambiguity in the model, and constant survival pressure. The business starts functioning as a company instead of a job the founder owns. The team grows. Decisions move faster. And the founder finally has room to think about the future again.These days I spend a lot of time helping founders navigate that moment in their journey, back to freedom.I live in Greenville, South Carolina with my wife of 28 years and our four kids.

Experience

1. Founder & Executive Coach

   Made To Matter

   Jan 2025 — Present · Greenville, SC, US

   Made to Matter helps entrepreneurs build what matters—in business and in life. If you feel overwhelmed and stuck in the weeds, you don’t have to choose between growth and a life you love. Through executive coaching, I help you gain clarity and control, build a business that runs with systems, and create a life fueled by purpose and freedom.

Education

• Clemson University

  BS, Accounting

Skills

• Logo Design
• Digital Branding
• Advertising
• Website Development
• Web Applications
• Online Advertising
• Information Architecture
• Cms
• Web Design
• Sem
• Social Media Marketing
• Google Analytics
• Web Development
• SEO
• Online Marketing
• Google Adwords
• Marketing Communications
• Marketing
• Strategic Planning
• Brand Awareness
• User Experience
• Marketing Strategy
• Wordpress
• Web Marketing
• Mobile Marketing
• Mobile Application Design
• Mysql
• Mobile Applications
• Interactive Marketing
• Graphic Design
• Account Management
• Digital Marketing
• User Interface Design
• Leadership
• Ppc
• Social Media
• E-Commerce
• Digital Strategy
• Brand Development
• Email Marketing