OutCast Agency: San Francisco Tech PR Firm and Its Founders

OutCast Agency, now styled Outcast, is a San Francisco technology PR firm founded in 1997 by Caryn Marooney and Margit Wennmachers and acquired by Next Fifteen in 2005 for about $6 million up front, with performance payments that could reach $13 million, per Silicon Valley Watcher. CB Insights reports Julie Inouye replaced Becky Porter as CEO after serving as president since February 2024. Both founders later left for Facebook and Andreessen Horowitz.

Originally published May 2026. Updated October 18, 2026.

How did OutCast start and get acquired?

Silicon Valley Watcher reported that Next Fifteen bought OutCast for an initial payment of about $6 million plus performance-based payments that could reach $13 million over five years. PRWeek, reporting on later leadership changes, describes the price as $13 million in 2005, which reflects the maximum value of the deal. Under the deal OutCast kept its own brand, with Marooney and Wennmachers as co-presidents. Wikipedia says Wennmachers became a Next Fifteen non-executive director in 2011.

What is OutCast's history and timeline?

Year	Milestone	Source
1997	Founded in San Francisco by Caryn Marooney and Margit Wennmachers	Silicon Valley Watcher
2005	Acquired by Next Fifteen for about $6 million up front, up to $13 million in total	Silicon Valley Watcher
2010	Wennmachers joins Andreessen Horowitz as a partner; Alex Constantinople becomes COO and later CEO around this time	a16z; Holmes Report coverage
2012	Elizabeth McNichols joins as president from Cisco	PRovoke
April 2021	McNichols named CEO after Constantinople leaves for Zendesk	PRovoke
January 2023	McNichols leaves	PRWeek
November 2023	Becky Porter becomes CEO	PRWeek
February 2024	Julie Inouye named president	PRWeek
2024	Next 15 forms Marker Collective from Archetype, Outcast and Nectar	PRovoke; CB Insights
Later	Inouye succeeds Porter as CEO	CB Insights

Where did the founders go?

Wennmachers joined Andreessen Horowitz as a partner in 2010 after representing it as a client, and a16z describes her as partner emeritus and chief marketer. A biography of Marooney says she became head of communications at Facebook, where OutCast was a client, and was sole president of OutCast after her partner left.

Who has led OutCast since?

Alex Constantinople, who became first COO and then CEO around 2010 according to Holmes Report coverage, left in 2021 to become Zendesk's CMO. PRovoke reported in April 2021 that Elizabeth McNichols, who joined as president in 2012 from Cisco, became CEO. PRWeek reported that Becky Porter became CEO in November 2023 and named Julie Inouye president in early 2024; CB Insights reports Inouye later replaced Porter as CEO. PRWeek says Inouye was previously SVP and head of brand and communications at Podium until 2022, VSCO's first VP and head of communications and social media, and held communications roles at LinkedIn and PlayStation.

Name	Role at Outcast	Source
Julie Inouye	CEO; president from February 2024	CB Insights; PRWeek
Becky Porter	CEO from November 2023 until succeeded by Inouye	PRWeek; CB Insights
Elizabeth McNichols	President from 2012; CEO from April 2021 until January 2023	PRovoke; PRWeek
Alex Constantinople	COO then CEO for roughly a decade, until 2021	PRovoke

What is Marker Collective?

PRovoke reported that Next 15 created a collective of its three tech PR agencies, Archetype, Outcast and Nectar, led by Archetype CEO Helena Maus as chief executive of both Marker and Archetype. Outcast's and Nectar's senior leadership teams were to remain in place. Archetype's North America partner Jon Silk became Marker's chief creative officer and Archetype CFO James Richardson took a group role. Marketech APAC later reported that the collective launched Delve, an insight engine for brand tracking, analysis and reporting. A business directory describes Marker Collective as a joint venture between the three agencies, founded in 2024.

What does OutCast do?

PRWeek describes Outcast as specializing in communications, digital and creative for technology companies. The Holmes Report noted the agency's earlier rebranding as The OutCast Agency to reflect work beyond tech PR, including consumer, energy and financial services. A business directory lists a head of AI consultancy among its senior staff. EPR's PR industry map shows how Next 15 fits among the holding companies, and M Booth is another Next 15 agency. CB Insights lists Archetype, The Blueshirt Group, Brandwidth, M Booth, M Booth Health, MHP Group, Nectar, Publitek and Velocity as other Next 15 brands.

How does OutCast compare with other San Francisco tech PR firms?

Outcast is a large holding-company-owned technology specialist in San Francisco. See EPR's San Francisco PR firms directory and the California PR page for peers.

Firm	Ownership, per EPR's firm directory
Outcast	Next 15; part of Marker Collective
Highwire	Independent, founded 2008
LaunchSquad	Founded in 1999 in San Francisco; virtual-first
M Booth	Owned by Next 15

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