Clients across the province were shocked last week to hear marketing agency Stealth was shutting down.

The agency created and hosted websites and ad campaigns for well-known companies across the province, including Affinity Insurance, Cherry Insurance and the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce.

Hundreds of businesses were sent an email last week out of the blue from CEO Ryan Yedersberger stating Stealth's Saskatoon office had closed permanently after operating for nine years.



"I failed and I'm sorry," said Yedersberger in the email. "We had an amazing brand, record breaking sales this year and, in the end, had one of the best marketing teams I could have ever dreamed of."

The CEO wrote he had been spending 80-hour weeks to save the firm, but wrote he needed to sacrifice the business to spend more time with his family.

After the abrupt notice, some businesses worried that data from their businesses' websites would be at risk. However, the company said it has talked to another web hosting company and is confident everything will be transferred.

"I wanted to make sure no one was affected and all the employees were paid," Yedersberger said in an interview. "It's not the best situation, but it's the best I can do with what I have."

He said the company's shutdown happened after a complicated months-long dispute with a former business partner. He said he plans on rebuilding a new agency and starting fresh soon.

"You've got to be careful with who you partner with in business," he said. "It's just like marriage. Things can go wrong."