Dynamic Duos: David squared
This week in Dynamic Duos, Orange Line's co-founders, David Klein and David Einstein, discuss their "brotherly" relationship and reflect on core memories including building a raft to float down the Amazon, expanding their US business, and landing some huge clients.
In Dynamic Duos, Mumbrella each week asks two colleagues with a professional and personal affiliation to share with readers the importance of workplace relationships in an increasingly hybridised world of work.
David Klein:
Over 16 years ago, David and I started our agency, Orange Line, mostly by accident. We met through mutual friends during our university days. But it wasn’t until I went on exchange to The Netherlands to finish off my law degree that we really spent any time together. David was traveling through the area and crashed at my place. He ended up staying for a few weeks, and by the end of it, we were the best of friends.
A few years later, I moved back to Sydney and we became flatmates in Balmain. David, previously a combat systems engineer, had set up a software development company and was completing a big project. I knew a few things about digital marketing so we decided to set up a custom portrait painting website together. We got quite busy, to the point that we moved to China for three months to fulfill orders. Over the couple of years of running that business, we created thousands of custom portraits for the US market.
During that time, around 2007/8, we caught the attention of many business owners and investors who wanted our help in getting them to the top of Google. We became the guys (and still are) that top private equity firms call when they want to identify and prioritise digital opportunities and, most importantly, hit their revenue targets. These days, we’re fortunate enough to be running global SEO programs for companies like Amazon, Atlassian and Expedia, and running some of the largest media budgets in the country.
David and I are brothers. We’ve shared many challenging lows and incredible highs. We have an implicit trust and almost identical values when it comes to integrity, diligence and respect for others. We make sure to surround ourselves with advisors and a team who share these same values. Our team at Orange Line would attest to the wonderful family that we’ve all created together.
David is a creative problem solver and passionate innovator. He has a healthy degree of skepticism, while being a strong lateral thinker who is excited by and supportive of new ideas. We’ve had a lot of fun from the very beginning, and both our friendship and working relationship have always flowed easily and effortlessly. I couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else!
David Einstein:
A mutual friend introduced us in our early 20s. Back then Dave had long hair and a wacky personality. The hair is now shorter!
Our friendship truly began when I was backpacking in Europe, and Dave was studying international law in the Netherlands. With no social media to document our questionable fashion or friendship choices, Dave, following the universal code of backpacking, let me stay with him as I cruised carefree through Holland.
A couple of weeks in scruffy young Klein was singled out by the professor and asked to comment on a chapter of the text. After a short pause Dave replied, ‘Actually I haven’t even bought the book!’. DK was instantly dismissed as a useless Aussie. At the end of the semester, when the exams were over, the lecturer summoned the top student. ‘Well this is awkward’ said Dave as he entered the professor’s office. That little story pretty much summarises DK.
Sometime later the same friend that introduced us made the astute observation that if DK and I combined our mutual disdain for doing things by the book we may in fact cancel each other out and there was an ever so slim chance that greatness could be achieved. Orange Line was born and now our list of clients including global engagements with Amazon, Atlassian, Sky Scanner, Berkshire Hathway, Expedia and the list goes on. We run a thriving digital marketing business and AI marketing practice. Who would have thought!
David K on David E:
Most memorable moment with David: Hard to choose! Calling him in shock the moment I found out I was having twins, high fiving in the Expedia offices as we landed a global SEO analytics deal, or getting our first product on the Microsoft Marketplace. So many memorable moments!
Best word to describe him: Adventurous. Whether it’s building a raft to float down the Amazon or expanding our US business, David is always up for an exciting adventure!
Most annoying habit or endearing behaviour he has: His love of great food (hint: our Xmas parties are epic!). Case in point – as I write this, he went for a walk to buy an iPhone charger and came back with a box of karaage chicken.
David E on David K:
Most memorable moment with David: One of my most memorable moments with DK was the late nights we spent preparing for an invitation to present to the global team at Expedia’s head office in Seattle. At that time, Expedia dominated the travel market.
A month later, feeling incredulous, nervous, and totally unprepared, DK and I crossed the world and walked into Expedia’s head office. We glanced at each other, wondering how we got there.
With our heads held high, we couldn’t believe it when we secured a global SEO deal across 30 countries. After that, we knew we had something special, and the sky was the limit. It was a huge moment for two low-key guys from Australia!
The last point I’d highlight underpinning both our friendship and professional success, is that integrity and results speak for themselves. This is a value DK and I absorbed from both our parents and our mentors. We’ve always put clients and our team first
Best word to describe him: I’m going to cheat here and hyphenate – ‘rock-solid’.
Most annoying habit or endearing behaviour he has: He’s too healthy.
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Lauren McNamara is the associate editor at Mumbrella, covering the agency beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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