Joel Mathew has an impressive resume. He’s the founder and CEO of Fortress Consulting, a digital marketing and branding agency headquartered in downtown Chicago that has worked with the likes of Nike, Jordan, Acura, and many celebrity clients. He is also the founder of a children’s publishing company called Ashland Wells Publishing, and, most recently, of Beyond Academics, a higher education consultancy dedicated to helping colleges and universities navigate the ever-changing landscape in this post-COVID world.

“Nike and Jordan and Kevin Hart are big names that people get excited about,” Joel admits. “But what I’m most proud of is the culture and the team that we have at Fortress where we treat everybody with respect and listen and everybody’s ideas are valued.”

After graduating from Timothy Christian High School in 2000, Joel attended Northern Illinois University and earned a BA in operations management and information systems. From there, he entered corporate America working in both the television and radio industries. He worked on accounts with CBS, the Chicago Bears, and the Chicago White Sox, to name a few. What he discovered though was the corporate culture was political, micromanaged, and worst of all, it stifled his creativity. 

“I always felt like the right culture of an organization should just be similar to a sports team where it’s competitive, but you know you’re working as a team for the greater good,” he explains. “It’s not about me, it’s about what we can do as a team together and just creating that competitive team and family type of vibe.” 

Joel always had an entrepreneurial spirit. In 2010 he saw a need in the market for an agency that combined the creativity of an ad agency and the technical ability of a web developer and was determined to make a go of it. “I really don’t think there’s a bigger leap of faith than walking away from a good job with a steady paycheck and starting a company on your own,” Joel says. “I don’t know how people do it without the perspective that God is still above us and we’re working hard for Him and His people.” 

Joel wanted his faith to set the tone for his company—even the name. Fortress, Joel explains, is a nod to one of his favorite verses, Psalm 62:6. “Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.”

Little did Joel know at the time the relevance this verse would have in the COVID era of business. But in those early days, Fortress was a one-man shop in Joel’s downtown Chicago condo. He holed up in coffee shops and took meetings in his clients’ offices. Over the years, he grew the company and eventually hired 15 people. 

Fortress was beginning to thrive, quickly becoming an industry leader in brand marketing. And then, just like the rest of the world, COVID-19 brought business to a screeching halt. 

“It was tough,” Joel admits. “In the beginning we lost a bunch of retainer cancellations in the first three weeks of COVID—we lost more business than we do in a typical year. And so that was painful and you know there was definitely some uncertainty there.” 

Joel and his team began working from home and leaned into the values that the company was built on. Fortress, after all, means strength, stability, and not being shaken, values that Joel had long ascribed to. The team began to reimagine ways to become relevant in a pandemic.  

“We saw this as an opportunity,” Joel says.

Their goal: To help their clients grow, adapt and pivot in the new business landscape and to remain relevant and crucial to their customers. Joel explains: “We help our clients reach customers who were normally coming to their stores who are now online.”  

And their clients responded. “For every one client that was fearful and timid, holding tight to their budgets, we had three or four clients who came to us and said, ‘let’s get after it right now,’” he explains.

Joel’s perspective on life and his work is indeed deeply rooted in his faith. Leaning into God—especially during difficult situations—has helped him to realize some truly beautiful moments. Before COVID, Joel, like just about any other small business owner, never seemed to have enough time. There were never enough hours in the day to be the businessman, husband, and father that he wanted to be. 

“My desire was to be able to excel as a business owner, Christian, husband and father,” Joel explains. “But there’s only so much time in the day. I prayed for more time with my family, and a better balanced life. That prayer was answered during COVID. I got unlimited time.” 

The Fortress office is open again on a hybrid schedule and business is humming. Joel has aggressive growth targets over the next five years, with goals of expanding into multiple markets and developing a cybersecurity division. 

Like any business owner, and Joel currently runs three, time will always be an issue. “You have to just make time for what’s important and you have to take it one task at a time, one day at a time,” Joel says. “ I think a lot of people would get overwhelmed with it. But for me, I do have that Christian perspective that God’s grace is sufficient.”