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Scalability School

Scalability School

A Marketing , Business and Entrepreneurship podcast

#39 in Marketing · 🇵🇭 #118 in Marketing · 🇮🇳
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About the show

Scalability School is your cheat code for building a more profitable DTC brand or agency. We break down tactical strategies, real-time wins, and tough lessons from three powerful perspectives: operator, agency, and community. It's not theory—it's what's actually working in the wild. Skip the fluff, steal what works, and scale with confidence.

Newest episodes

Your Meta ROAS Will Look Worse This Black Friday

32 min

Question: How should you change your Meta ads plan for Black Friday 2026? Direct answer: Expect Black Friday Meta ads to report worse than last year even when sales hold, because Meta now counts only link clicks as click-through conversions and moved saves, shares, comments and video views into engage-through attribution. Set Black Friday targets against aMER (new customer revenue divided by ad spend) using this year's ratio to Meta-reported ROAS, make same-day decisions from aMER and your MTA rather than Ads Manager, and don't change attribution settings or debut new Meta tools during the sale. Assume the budget you set is not the budget that spends, keep new and returning customers in separate campaigns, and launch your real offer at least two weeks before Black Friday. Black Friday Meta ads are going to report worse this year than last, even ifyour sales hold, because Meta changed how it counts click-through conversionsin 2026. Andrew Foxwell and Brad Ploch break down everything that changed sincelast November: the new attribution rules, how to set Black Friday targets withaMER instead of Meta-reported ROAS, four Meta settings to handle carefully overthe weekend, and why the 2026 calendar will throw off your comps. We discuss: - The 2026 Black Friday calendar: a 21-day window and why Friday, Dec 11 matters- Why Cyber Monday back in November breaks month-by-month comps- Meta's click attribution change: link clicks only, engage-through for the rest- How to set Black Friday targets with aMER, not Meta-reported ROAS- Why Ads Manager can't steer your spend on Black Friday day- Meta's rolling budget option and the weekend overspend risk- The new customer acquisition setting vs separate new and returning campaigns- Flex ads, incrementality and why Black Friday isn't the time to test- Black Friday creative under Andromeda and GEM- Offers, VIP early access, agentic commerce and the Black Friday don'ts Get the Scalability School newsletter (free, short, no spam):https://ww...

We Accidentally Spent $100K Before 9 AM on Black Friday Weekend

41 min

Question: How should DTC brands plan their Black Friday ad spend and offers? Direct answer: Plan Black Friday around contribution margin, not a ROAS number. Run the exact offer weeks early so cart, checkout and discount-code problems surface before the big weekend, and set acquisition targets that account for the higher return rate after the promo ends. During the sale, use time-boxed incentives such as a one-hour free gift with purchase instead of a deeper percentage discount, track orders by channel by the hour against target, and put creative effort into founder-led storytelling ads rather than new landing pages. Zach Stuck's best customer cohort ever came from spending $100K before 9 AM on the Saturday after Black Friday, because the 12-month contribution margin on those customers still came out ahead. Last Black Friday weekend's ad strategy started with a mistake that paid off: Zach Stuckspent $100K before 9 AM on the Saturday after Black Friday, his team panicked,and those customers became his best cohort ever on 12-month contribution margin.Andrew Foxwell, Brad Ploch and Zach walk through how to plan BFCM spend andoffers: test the offer in October, set ROAS targets that account for returns,run a one-hour free gift with purchase, pace orders by the hour, and filmfounder ads instead of building new landing pages. We discuss: - Why your Black Friday ad won't save a weak business-as-usual setup- Testing your Black Friday offer in October to find what breaks- Setting ROAS targets that account for post-holiday returns- Whether discount customers are really worse (and how to measure them)- The one-hour gift with purchase that tripled hourly sales- Building an hourly pacing sheet by channel, with Claude- Why bonuses and gift cards beat a bigger percentage off- Why a lower AOV can scale better on Meta- Founder ads, yapper ads and the "source of the week" creative process- AI character ads and turning blackhat tactics white hat Get the Scalability School newsletter (fr...

Tactics to Help You Hit 6-Figure HOURS This BF/CM

39 min

What BFCM tactics actually work for DTC brands running Meta ads? Answer: The BFCM tactics that worked best last year were planned around specific hours, not just the weekend: a one-hour free gift with purchase flash sale sent by plain-text email and SMS, which roughly tripled hourly revenue, and a pacing plan built from last year's daily and hourly Shopify revenue and matched to the day of Black Friday rather than the calendar date. On Meta, run BFCM-specific creative alongside evergreen ads, build a dedicated BFCM campaign on min ROAS with a pre-built volume campaign as backup, and give lapsed customers their own one-day-click retention campaign with a ROAS target two to three times higher than acquisition. Then make sure shoppers can actually qualify for your best offer, because a threshold set too high prices them out. These BFCM tactics come straight from what worked last Black Friday Cyber Monday:a one-hour free gift with purchase flash sale that roughly tripled hourly revenue,a pacing plan built by the day and by the hour, and BFCM-specific creative runningalongside evergreen ads. Andrew Foxwell and Brad Ploch walk through seven tacticsto set up now, including campaign structure, a dedicated retention campaign,landing pages for new vs returning customers, and why lowering your offerthreshold can help you scale. We discuss: - How a one-hour free gift with purchase flash sale works, and when to rerun it- How to pace Black Friday Cyber Monday revenue by day and by hour- Why Cyber Monday landing on November 30 changes your December comps- Whether BFCM-specific ads beat evergreen on Meta (last year, they did)- Black Friday ad ideas: founder warehouse videos, gift guides, ugly ads, the  "We're sorry" ad, Christmas tree product shots and comment replies- BFCM campaign structure: min ROAS, cost caps, 1-day vs 7-day click- Why you should pre-build backup campaigns before the weekend- How to set up a Meta retention campaign for lapsed customers- Landing pages and pop-up...

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All episodes

Your Meta ROAS Will Look Worse This Black Friday

32 min

Question: How should you change your Meta ads plan for Black Friday 2026? Direct answer: Expect Black Friday Meta ads to report worse than last year even when sales hold, because Meta now counts only link clicks as click-through conversions and moved saves, shares, comments and video views into engage-through attribution. Set Black Friday targets against aMER (new customer revenue divided by ad spend) using this year's ratio to Meta-reported ROAS, make same-day decisions from aMER and your MTA rather than Ads Manager, and don't change attribution settings or debut new Meta tools during the sale. Assume the budget you set is not the budget that spends, keep new and returning customers in separate campaigns, and launch your real offer at least two weeks before Black Friday. Black Friday Meta ads are going to report worse this year than last, even ifyour sales hold, because Meta changed how it counts click-through conversionsin 2026. Andrew Foxwell and Brad Ploch break down everything that changed sincelast November: the new attribution rules, how to set Black Friday targets withaMER instead of Meta-reported ROAS, four Meta settings to handle carefully overthe weekend, and why the 2026 calendar will throw off your comps. We discuss: - The 2026 Black Friday calendar: a 21-day window and why Friday, Dec 11 matters- Why Cyber Monday back in November breaks month-by-month comps- Meta's click attribution change: link clicks only, engage-through for the rest- How to set Black Friday targets with aMER, not Meta-reported ROAS- Why Ads Manager can't steer your spend on Black Friday day- Meta's rolling budget option and the weekend overspend risk- The new customer acquisition setting vs separate new and returning campaigns- Flex ads, incrementality and why Black Friday isn't the time to test- Black Friday creative under Andromeda and GEM- Offers, VIP early access, agentic commerce and the Black Friday don'ts Get the Scalability School newsletter (free, short, no spam):https://ww...

We Accidentally Spent $100K Before 9 AM on Black Friday Weekend

41 min

Question: How should DTC brands plan their Black Friday ad spend and offers? Direct answer: Plan Black Friday around contribution margin, not a ROAS number. Run the exact offer weeks early so cart, checkout and discount-code problems surface before the big weekend, and set acquisition targets that account for the higher return rate after the promo ends. During the sale, use time-boxed incentives such as a one-hour free gift with purchase instead of a deeper percentage discount, track orders by channel by the hour against target, and put creative effort into founder-led storytelling ads rather than new landing pages. Zach Stuck's best customer cohort ever came from spending $100K before 9 AM on the Saturday after Black Friday, because the 12-month contribution margin on those customers still came out ahead. Last Black Friday weekend's ad strategy started with a mistake that paid off: Zach Stuckspent $100K before 9 AM on the Saturday after Black Friday, his team panicked,and those customers became his best cohort ever on 12-month contribution margin.Andrew Foxwell, Brad Ploch and Zach walk through how to plan BFCM spend andoffers: test the offer in October, set ROAS targets that account for returns,run a one-hour free gift with purchase, pace orders by the hour, and filmfounder ads instead of building new landing pages. We discuss: - Why your Black Friday ad won't save a weak business-as-usual setup- Testing your Black Friday offer in October to find what breaks- Setting ROAS targets that account for post-holiday returns- Whether discount customers are really worse (and how to measure them)- The one-hour gift with purchase that tripled hourly sales- Building an hourly pacing sheet by channel, with Claude- Why bonuses and gift cards beat a bigger percentage off- Why a lower AOV can scale better on Meta- Founder ads, yapper ads and the "source of the week" creative process- AI character ads and turning blackhat tactics white hat Get the Scalability School newsletter (fr...

Tactics to Help You Hit 6-Figure HOURS This BF/CM

39 min

What BFCM tactics actually work for DTC brands running Meta ads? Answer: The BFCM tactics that worked best last year were planned around specific hours, not just the weekend: a one-hour free gift with purchase flash sale sent by plain-text email and SMS, which roughly tripled hourly revenue, and a pacing plan built from last year's daily and hourly Shopify revenue and matched to the day of Black Friday rather than the calendar date. On Meta, run BFCM-specific creative alongside evergreen ads, build a dedicated BFCM campaign on min ROAS with a pre-built volume campaign as backup, and give lapsed customers their own one-day-click retention campaign with a ROAS target two to three times higher than acquisition. Then make sure shoppers can actually qualify for your best offer, because a threshold set too high prices them out. These BFCM tactics come straight from what worked last Black Friday Cyber Monday:a one-hour free gift with purchase flash sale that roughly tripled hourly revenue,a pacing plan built by the day and by the hour, and BFCM-specific creative runningalongside evergreen ads. Andrew Foxwell and Brad Ploch walk through seven tacticsto set up now, including campaign structure, a dedicated retention campaign,landing pages for new vs returning customers, and why lowering your offerthreshold can help you scale. We discuss: - How a one-hour free gift with purchase flash sale works, and when to rerun it- How to pace Black Friday Cyber Monday revenue by day and by hour- Why Cyber Monday landing on November 30 changes your December comps- Whether BFCM-specific ads beat evergreen on Meta (last year, they did)- Black Friday ad ideas: founder warehouse videos, gift guides, ugly ads, the  "We're sorry" ad, Christmas tree product shots and comment replies- BFCM campaign structure: min ROAS, cost caps, 1-day vs 7-day click- Why you should pre-build backup campaigns before the weekend- How to set up a Meta retention campaign for lapsed customers- Landing pages and pop-up...

How to Use Category Entry Points to Scale Your Meta Ads | Tyson Drake

55 min

Question: What are category entry points, and how do you use them in Meta ads? Direct answer: Category entry points are the buying situations that make someone think of a category, like standing front row at a concert or lying awake next to a snoring partner, and the more of them a brand is linked to, the larger its share of mind and its share of sales. To use them, map situations across the whole category with the 7 W's rather than relying on your own customer surveys, score each one on size, frequency and brand fit, then launch ads that call out and show the situation. Tyson Drake recommends that situation-led ads carry more than half of ad account spend, ideally 60 to 80 percent, with roughly 80 percent of creative effort going into proven entry points and 20 percent into new ones. Category entry points are the buying situations that make someone think of yourcategory, and the more of them your brand owns in a customer's head, the more ofthe category's sales you take. Brad Ploch sits down with Tyson Drake, former CMOof The Oodie and now a fractional CMO for eight and nine figure DTC brands, toturn the Ehrenberg-Bass research into a tactical playbook for Meta ads. You'lllearn how to find category entry points with the 7 W's, how to prioritize themby size, frequency and brand fit, and how to launch, tag and scale the creative. We discuss: - What a category entry point is, and why nobody wakes up thinking "I need  testosterone"- How mental availability works, and why brands thought of in more buying  situations sell more- Category entry point examples, from front row at a Metallica show to a  snoring partner- The difference between a persona and a category entry point- Why your own post-purchase surveys bias the research, and where to look  instead- The 7 W's framework for mapping buying situations- How to prioritize entry points with ICE scoring, search data and frequency- Why situation-led ads should carry more than half of your ad spend- Statics vs video, and the...

Ecommerce A/B Tests That Won (and the Best Practices That Lost) | EP 40

58 min

What should DTC brands A/B test to increase revenue per visitor? Test the variables that change how the offer is perceived before you test reassurance. In Brad Ploch's recent split tests, cutting a $279 product's sale price from $229 to $199 lifted revenue per visitor 44%, adding six problem-focused questions to a quiz doubled it, and swapping the post-purchase offer took upsell revenue per visitor from about $2 to $10. Trust signals went the other way: a bolder warranty line cut conversion 7.5%, full reviews lost 10% of profit per session to an AI summary, and USP blocks at checkout changed nothing. The ecommerce A/B tests that paid off this season all changed how the offer is framed: the price point, how long a quiz lets shoppers sit in their problem, how plainly a headline states the USP, and where Meta sends the traffic. The "trust signal" best practices most brands assume are safe (a louder warranty, more reviews, reassurance at checkout) lost or did nothing. Andrew Foxwell and Brad Ploch walk through more than a dozen real split tests from DTC brands, with the numbers behind the winners and the losers. We discuss: - Why dropping a $279 product from $229 to $199 lifted revenue per visitor 44% and more than covered the margin hit- The six extra quiz questions that doubled revenue per visitor, and the switcher review that cost 8%- Why these "trust" signals ultimately backfired- How a plain USP headline beat ALL of the clever ones during a collection page headline test on $2M in revenue- Why USP and review blocks at checkout changed nothing- One ad, five landing pages, one CBO: how weekly spend doubled & efficiency improved- The post-purchase offer swap that took upsell revenue per visitor from about $2 to $10- Longer product pages for premium products, and preorder vs. sold out Subscribe to never miss an episode. Get the newsletter: https://www.scalabilityschool.com/scalability-newsletter This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam an...

DTC Offer Strategy: Raising Your Price Without Losing Conversions | Brian Ng

36 min

How do you build a DTC offer that raises profit without hurting conversion rate? Simplify the offer so a shopper understands it in seconds, then raise MSRP so you can show a bigger discount at a higher final price. The offers scaling DTC brands run today are buy more save more, a discounted first subscription order, or tiered dollar-off bundles. Brian Ng of Digital Ride raised one brand's MSRP to $74.95 behind a 50% discount and saw conversion rate hold steady while the brand moved from a monthly loss to profit. In this episode, Andrew Foxwell, Brad Ploch and Zach Stuck talk DTC offer strategy with Brian Ng of Digital Ride, covering how to raise prices without losing conversions, the three offers scaling brands run right now, and how a $10M a month brand manages creative with outside agencies. You'll learn why raising MSRP behind a bigger discount can lift profit at the same conversion rate, how to test a new offer with a single URL parameter, and why more creative volume often makes performance worse. We discuss: What a bad DTC offer looks like, and why confusing offer pages lose the sale The three offer structures scaling DTC brands use: buy more save more, subscription-first, and tiered bundles How Brian raised MSRP to $74.95 behind a 50% discount and turned a monthly loss into profit How to test offers with Convert or Intelligems experiments versus sending ads to a new landing page How to forecast ecommerce revenue year over year and why you shouldn't scale before new customer ROAS is there Running a $10M a month brand's creative through three agencies with no in-house strategists Pricing psychology: why $39.99 beats $35.99, and a $30 price change that lifted profit per session 40% Get the newsletter: https://www.scalabilityschool.com/scalability-newsletter Learn more: https://www.scalabilityschool.com This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam and they just launched Northbeam Incrementality. Northbeam Incrementality gives you eas...

How to Scale a Subscription App to $25K/Day on Meta Ads

43 min

How do you scale a subscription app with Meta ads? Start with an offer whose value is obviously outsized for the price, then test the packaging rather than the product. Format Finder moved from a single $97 plan to $29, $59, and $97 tiers, and the single change that moved AOV the most was toggling annual billing on by default. Free trials failed outright because the cost to acquire a trial on Meta never backed out. Target customers with a need rather than a want, since need-driven buyers churn less and complain less, and turn your best users into your ad creators by paying them a percentage of the spend their ads carry. Scaling a subscription app with Meta ads comes down to the offer, the pricing packaging, and where the creative comes from. Brad Ploch and Zach Stuck sit down with Naveed, who went from affiliate marketing to a 45-person performance agency to an ecommerce brand to Format Finder, the app he built in three weeks and now runs at $20,000 to $25,000 a day in Meta ad spend. You'll learn how he builds an offer, the pricing tests that worked and the one that failed, the campaign structure behind the spend, and the creator flywheel that turns his own users into his best-performing ads. We discuss: - How to tell whether an offer is worth running before you spend a dollar - Why problem-solution fit matters more than unit economics at the start - The move from a single $97 plan to $29, $59, and $97 tiers, and why the free trial never backed out on Meta - The pricing change that moved AOV the most, and it was not the price - Why customers with a need churn less than customers with a want, and how a realtor funnel tested that theory - Why he runs one CBO split by geo, no ABO testing, and no interest targeting - The creator flywheel: users who hit a million views make his ads and take 5% of the spend those ads carry - What a one-click AI video editor actually costs to run, and how SaaS margins survive per-user API fees - How he runs the ad account, customer serv...

What You Should Pay a DTC Agency in 2026: Real Pricing Benchmarks | EP 37

53 min

How much should you pay a DTC agency in 2026? For Meta ads management on its own, the market has settled between $2,500 and $5,000 a month, and paying above $5,000 only makes sense when the brand spends six figures a month or the scope adds creative, forecasting, and CRO. Creative is the one line item worth paying at the top of the market, because a single breakout ad can add $20,000 to $50,000 a month in profitable spend. Percentage-of-spend deals are fair when they carry a hard cap and a CPA or ROAS target attached, and they should never be charged against branded search. DTC agency pricing is all over the map, so Andrew Foxwell, Brad Ploch, and Zach Stuck break down what you should actually pay in 2026 using a Foxwell Founders survey of 200+ agencies. You'll learn the real retainer ranges for Meta ads management, when percentage of spend is fair and when it is a red flag, what a media buyer should be doing to earn the fee, and what creative, email, SMS, landing pages, and CRO cost right now. We discuss: What 200+ agencies reported charging, and why 4 out of 5 quote a flat retainer or a retainer plus a percentage of spend Why $2,500 to $5,000 a month has become the market rate for Meta ads management with no creative attached When to keep an agency, bring it in-house, or pay up for one exceptional freelancer Why percentage of spend only works with a hard cap and a CPA or ROAS target At what monthly spend incrementality testing starts to matter Why nobody should charge a percentage of spend on branded search Why creative is the one agency worth paying the most for What to pay content creators directly, with and without whitelisting Email and SMS pricing, and the attribution model that gets brands fleeced Landing page and CRO pricing per page and per month, plus five fixes that work on almost every store Get the newsletter: https://www.scalabilityschool.com/scalability-newsletter Full Episode and transcript: https://www.scalabilityschool.com/scalability-school-podc...

How to Build a 9-Figure Performance Creative Team | Joanna Wallace

56 min

How do you build a performance creative team for a DTC brand? Start with the most experienced hire you can afford, a director-level player-coach for nine-figure brands, a senior agency-trained strategist for smaller ones, and let them build the team top-down, using freelancers to fill gaps while full-time roles get approved. Match output goals to headcount, because ad volume is determined by team size, and vet every candidate with a paid assessment that tests both craft and how they use AI. Building a performance creative team starts with hiring the most experienced brain you can afford, a director-level player-coach, then filling in strategists, editors, designers, and a creator manager around them. In this episode, Andrew Foxwell and Brad Ploch sit down with Joanna Wallace, who founded the creative department at HexClad and served as VP of Creative Strategy at Birddogs, to map out exactly who to hire, in what order, what they cost, and how to test them before you commit millions in ad spend to their strategy. We discuss: Why going cheap on your first creative hire is the most expensive mistake in DTC What a creative strategy director actually costs in 2026 (It's not what you think) and why Why your ad volume is determined by your team size, full stop Why agency experience beats brand-side experience for strategist hires How to run paid assessments that expose AI-generated word salad The coordinator role: the smartest entry point into creative strategy Join The Scalability School Newsletter: https://www.scalabilityschool.com/scalability-newsletter Connect with Joanna Wallace: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannasloamewallace/ Joanna's creative strategist evaluation template: To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn more about the Foxwell Founders Community at https://foxwellfounders.com Learn...

Why AI Is Making Creative Strategists Lazy (And How to Fix It) | Hannah Houg & Matthew Gattozzi

59 min

In this episode, Andrew Foxwell and Brad Ploch sit down with Hannah Houg and Matthew Gattozzi to answer the question every team is quietly avoiding: how do you use AI for creative strategy without losing the judgment that makes ads work? The short answer is that you bring AI a hypothesis instead of asking it for one. You'll learn which four parts of the process to protect from AI entirely, why the briefing stage is where ad quality actually degrades, and how to give your strategists room to think without torching your output. Hannah has built ads and campaigns for 300+ DTC brands. Matthew's studio has driven $100M+ in client revenue. Both use AI daily. Both have watched it quietly weaken the same muscle they get paid for. We discuss: Why every creative brief in the space suddenly looks the same The difference between AI helping your research and AI writing your hypothesis Why AI is good at following rules and bad at breaking them, and why that matters for scale How Hannah lost the ability to write a script after a few months of AI-first drafting What a genuinely good AI input looks like (and why it's built before you open the tool) The one-sentence goal every brief needs before anyone writes a word Why building 7 personas on a $10k/month budget is a math problem, not a strategy What "deep context" actually means, and why most teams don't have it Why the efficiency-vs-quality fight is a leadership conversation, not a tools conversation Join The Scalability School Newsletter: https://www.scalabilityschool.com/scalability-newsletter This episode is sponsored by Proppel, the hiring agency that has placed more than 75 employees for Foxwell Founders members. Get 10% off your first hire when you mention the Scalability School Podcast: https://www.weareproppel.com/foxwell-founders-proppel This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam and they just launched Northbeam Incrementality. Northbeam Incrementality gives you easy, automated, self-serv...

Meta Is Reading Your Landing Page (Most Media Buyers Have No Idea)

46 min

Brad and Zach go deep on the single biggest scaling lever most media buyers are ignoring: the landing page. The spine of the episode is a mindset shift, meaning you can scale spend without new creative, new offers, or more discounting. You scale with pages. They open with creative-to-lander congruency: the ad makes a promise and the page has to keep it. Zach shares how MarsMen now runs 33 active landing pages organized by roughly 10 messaging pillars (aging, cortisol, energy, weight loss, GLP-1, TRT vs. natural), and the company has a hard rule that no ad launches without a congruent page behind it. The reason goes beyond conversion rate: Meta's Andromeda algorithm is reading the landing page itself. Page copy is a targeting signal, not just a destination. Brad backs this with a case study: a client sending all traffic to a PDP ($41K in spend) duplicated the exact same creative to a "5 Reasons Why" page. Same spend level, substantially better ROAS, lower CPMR, and the age breakdown showed 45+ ripping harder than ever. Same ad, new audience, unlocked entirely by the page. From there they cover the format progression (listicle → advertorial → dynamic hybrid page → quiz), the specific page elements that matter (comparison charts, clear single CTA, social proof, FAQ, shoppable PDP sections injected below listicles), how to structure tests inside the ad account, kill criteria (48 hours at MarsMen's spend level, plus a "graveyard campaign" with cost controls to separate creative problems from page problems), what "winning" actually means (net new spend volume added to the account, not just beating the PDP head-to-head), and reporting (spend velocity as the success metric, heat maps, and session recordings, including one recording session that led to a single button change worth +20% revenue per session). The episode closes with the getting-started playbook: don't reinvent the template. Go pull the landers from the biggest spenders in Motion or any ad-tracking tool and...

We Tested Meta's Incremental Attribution on $200K/Month: Here's Why We Turned It Off.

51 min

This episode is a tactical deep dive into two of the biggest measurement questions in DTC right now, capped off with Zach Stuck joining to break down how MarsMen sets ad budgets off forecasted recurring revenue. The first half is a real client case study on Meta's Incremental Attribution (IA). Brad walks us through an apparel brand, with an AOV just over $100, strong organic and influencer traffic, and $150-200K per month in spend. A conversion lift study at the start of the year showed their one-day click ROAS almost perfectly matched their true incremental number, so 1DC became the account's benchmark. When they tested IA head-to-head against one-day click (each with its own holdout), IA looked terrible in week one, then dramatically better in weeks two and three, and the lift study combined with Triple Whale MTA data validated the win. Then Meta changed its click attribution definition in March (only outbound clicks now count as clicks, with profile clicks and comments moved to "engaged"), and IA performance deviated hard from one-day click, Triple Whale, and product-level MER. IA also stopped responding to bid adjustments. The takeaway: they reverted to one-day click, with a plan to retest IA in three to six months as Meta feeds the model more conversion lift data. The second segment covers creative cohort spend analysis: breaking down each month's spend by the month the ads were launched. If most of May's spend is running through ads launched last year, your new creative isn't earning spend and something is broken in the pipeline. If nearly all spend is from ads launched in the last 30 days, you are over-reliant on a few recent outliers. Splitting the view by evergreen versus promo ads shows whether new creative is compounding month over month, which is what actually earns the right to scale spend. Zach adds Homestead's layer on top: tracking "breakthrough" ads ($2K spend in 7 days at target) versus scaled ads every month. The final segment is Zach on how Ma...

Stop Making More Ads — Fix THIS Instead

50 min

In the words of Andrew Foxwell, "It's just the guys" and they framed this episode around one big shift: 2025 was the year of creative diversity and raw ad volume, and 2026 is the year that questions, "what is all this volume actually pointing at?" Call it a return to intentionality, and the part of the funnel many brands have been ignoring while chasing creative volume: the landing page. Brad opens by reacting to a Twitter conversation where operators sounded burnt out on the volume game, then reframes the discussion around what you can improve outside of ad creative. The crew works through Cherene's "marketing tornado" idea: If the same person sees your brand 15+ different ways, and the job is consistency of message across all of them, then it's important to arm Meta with creative, landing pages, and offers so its AI (Andromeda) can deliver the right message to the right person at the right time. The heart of the episode is landing page strategy. Zach speed-runs the page-type hierarchy, then both hosts hammer funnel congruency, the ad-to-lander-to-PDP message match they admit was a big driver of their Feb/March scaling. Brad shares a beauty-brand example where simply turning a winning founder video's transcript into a congruent listicle scaled spend 60% month-over-month (twice) with zero new ads. The short: stop hunting for the one winning page, run many congruent pages live at once, and let Meta allocate spend across them. Key Takeaways Why ad-to-landing-page-to-PDP "funnel congruency" is the piece most operators are still leaving on the table in 2026. How one brand scaled spend 60% month-over-month (twice) with zero new ads. Why you need to stop hunting for the single "winning" landing page and instead run many congruent pages live at once. What it actually means to "sell one product 50 different ways," and why your angle TAM is more important than your category TAM. Why the volume game is finally dead, and what the 2026 shift from "make more" to "what is thi...

How To Make Ads That Spend 10K Day With Harry Delmege

52 min

Harry Delmege, co-founder of Roly Poly Digital, joins Scalability School for a tactical conversation about what actually separates an ad spending $500 a day from one spending $10K a day. Harry's agency, named by Andrew's daughter Nora, has rapidly become one of the most respected creative shops in DTC by pushing back on a lot of what the industry is currently selling: high-volume AI-generated workflows, format obsession, and the relentless push to do more without slowing down to do it well. The conversation digs into Harry's creative philosophy, which he distills into three things he checks every ad against: promise, proof, and (workshopped live on the episode) puzzling (big thanks to Brad). They cover his preference for long-form "yapper" ads, why he insists on manual research over AI-assisted research, how he hires creative strategists from non-media-buying backgrounds, and why he thinks the closest thing to a real "hack" in the current environment is just relentlessly studying organic content and ripping off what's already working. Harry also shares his real take on the volume-versus-quality debate, including a pointed observation that brand-side complaints about agency performance have spiked at exactly the same time the industry adopted AI and started preaching volume. Key Takeaways What actually separates an ad that spends $500 a day from one that spends $10k a day How AI-assisted creative research is actually hurting your hit rate What is a "yapper ad" and why are most agencies/ brands not running them? Why Harry believes a U-turn on creative volume is on the horizon Where true creative innovation actually comes from and is it what you actually need for success. Why "open loops" is the most misunderstood term in creative strategy This 1 thing is the entire secret of high-performing creative. This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam and they just launched Northbeam Incrementality. Northbeam Incrementality gives you easy, auto...

Heroes, Sidekicks, Villains & Zombies: Collin Slattery on Google Shopping

52 min

Collin Slattery (Taikun Digital) joins Brad and Andrew for a no-fluff breakdown of why Google Ads breaks the brain of most DTC operators who cut their teeth on Meta. The core argument lands early and lands hard: your relationship with Google is structurally adversarial in a way your relationship with Meta isn't, because Google can't manufacture more search inventory the way Meta manufactures more feed inventory. The only lever they have to grow revenue is extracting more from advertisers, which means every default setting, every recommendation, and every "AI enhancement" is built to serve them first. From that foundation, Collin walks through the operational stack that actually works: ruthlessly segmenting brand from non-brand across both search and shopping, building a real product feed instead of plugging Shopify into Merchant Center and calling it done, structuring shopping into heroes, sidekicks, villains, and zombies, and treating YouTube Shorts as the only YouTube placement worth touching unless you're running holdout tests. Along the way he drops a study Tyken ran across roughly $20M in spend showing that hidden search terms cost advertisers about $0.85 of efficiency per dollar spent, the case for YouTube being the single most incremental channel in digital (87% net-new traffic for one of his nine-figure clients, plus 34 million Americans reachable nowhere else), and a hard truth that Google scaling is brick-by-brick, never one banger creative away. If you've ever wondered why your Google account "kind of works but never really scales," this is the episode that explains exactly why and exactly what to do about it. Key Takeaways How your "5x Google ROAS" is actually just brand search dragging a broken non-brand campaign across the finish line. How much of your Google spend is being skimmed by search terms Google won't let you see. Why your relationship with Google is fundamentally adversarial. How to reach 34 million potential customers that literally canno...

How Marin Scales Brands to 9 Figures

43 min

Marin Istvanic joins Scalability School for a deep tactical session on what it actually takes to scale e-commerce brands to nine figures with paid media on Meta. Marin is one of the most hands-on media buyers in the DTC space, managing upwards of 5 to 7 million dollars a month in ad spend across his agency clients and his own internal brand (and this episode reflects that). The conversation launches right into the hard hitting questions with the debate around ABO versus CBO and when each actually makes sense. Marin's full whitelisting flywheel (300+ influencer profiles, authority pages, dark posts running through multiple handles in the same session), cost cap weekend scaling and what he calls the "gladiators arena" ad set, how he uses different attribution settings as a signal to Meta that a campaign is structurally different, and why he still manually picks every thumbnail across all his accounts. He also shares how he used AI to synthesize his full YouTube library into a 50-page media buying philosophy document and then how he fed his top-spending ads into a landing page template that outperformed the control by 10%. Key Takeaways ABO vs. CBO - is the debate actually settled, or does the right answer depend on something most people never measure? Is whitelisting dead - or are you just running it wrong? What does a "cost cap weekend scaling" actually look like in practice — and how to spend $25K on a Saturday without blowing up your CPA? How changing this window actually tells Meta this is a different campaign. Why Marin still manually picks every thumbnail - If the "hacks" everyone is chasing are mostly noise, this is what actually moves the needle at scale. This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam and they just launched Northbeam Incrementality. Northbeam Incrementality gives you easy, automated, self-service incrementality tests, while protecting you from the major mistakes so many people make while running incrementality test...

The M&A Episode With Zach Stuck

55 min

The Zach Stuck returns to Scalability School for one of the most packed episodes to date. Coming off a massive run of activity: selling his agency, Homestead to Verndale, co-founding MarsMen and closing a $27.5M Series A with L Catterton (ofcourse lets not forget becoming a new dad, too). Zach walks through what actually happened, what it took, and what he'd do differently. The conversation covers three major arcs. First, the sale of Homestead: how it grew from Zach posting case studies on Twitter to an 85-person agency specializing in paid acquisition and email/SMS retention, why they decided to go to market when they did, and what the M&A process actually feels like when you're in the middle of it for the first time. Second, MarsMen: the origin story of the brand, the subscription-first bet that changed everything, and what it means to go from six figures a month to a nine-figure run rate by obsessing over every detail, from landing page, CRO tests, to cohort metrics. Third, the bigger picture: where agencies are headed as AI compresses margins, why surrounding yourself with people ahead of where you want to be is non-negotiable, and what it means to finally be doing the thing you always actually wanted to do. Key Takeaways What it actually feels like to sell your agency and what they never tell you before the deal closes Why media buying-only Agencies likely only have 18 months left to survive How Mars Men went from six figures to a $100M run rate in under 18 months (without raising a single dollar until it was already printing money) Knowing when the right time to raise money is for your brand (Hint: It's not when you need it the most) The one thing most agency owners never do that would make their business 10x more sellable Why Zach went from agency life to brand building and how it actually feels to be on the other side What happens when you hire for vibes and smarts over credentials This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam an...

Inside The Ad Account: How To Do Creative Testing In 2026

35 min

Host Brad flies solo to walk through exactly how his team structures Meta creative testing across eight figures a year in ad spend. The episode is a tactical follow-up to a previous episode with Phil, prompted by a viral Twitter thread Brad posted on the same topic. The core philosophy: stop trying to outthink Meta's algorithm on budget allocation. Instead, run a single CBO campaign per product or offer, treat ad sets as simple folders (not audience segments), and let Meta decide where the money goes. Brad backs this up with real ad account screenshots, shows why a higher-spending campaign with a lower ROAS can actually be healthier than it looks, and closes out with answers to the most common follow-up questions he received from the community. Key Takeaways Why Meta's algorithm is smarter than you at deciding which of your ads deserves more budget and what that means for how you should structure your campaigns. The single reason you need to stop creating more ad sets and start stacking all your ads in one. Your top-spending ad set has a lower ROAS than the one barely getting any spend, does that mean you're burning money, or is Meta showing you something you're missing? The truth behind what actually happens when you pull it into an ABO to force-test it. How do you build a creative testing system that generates consistent weekly output without needing a huge production budget or team. What "spend is a signal" actually means for your creatives and how you should decide when to turn an ad off (You might actually be turning them off too early) Is splitting your account into a testing campaign and a scaling campaign helping you, or just adding complexity that slows down Meta's learning? How new visitor percentage and frequency metrics should change the way you interpret your campaign's ROAS. The actual risk of running ads to two completely different customer personas inside the same ad set on broad targeting. How to tell when it's time to question your creative qual...

The Evolution of Creative Strategy With Sarah Levinger

55 min

In this episode of Scalability School, Andrew Foxwell is joined by Sarah Levenger and special guest host Will Sartoris for a deep conversation on what separates average creative strategy from high-performing creative strategy in 2026. The core theme is that winning creative is not just about producing more ads or testing more formats. It is about understanding people better. Sarah breaks down how the best creative strategists build repeatable systems for ideation, stay close to the customer experience, and work backward from business goals instead of defaulting to ad format first. From there, the episode gets tactical with a breakdown of behavioral-science principles like loss aversion, anchoring, framing effects, social proof, bandwagon effect, and System 1 vs. System 2 thinking. The big takeaway is that most brands are still overusing urgency, surface-level psychology, and creative trend chasing. The better path is sharper positioning, better message framing, more respect for the customer, and creative diversity rooted in psychology, not just format. Key takeaways Are the best creative strategists winning because they make better ads, or because they build better systems for ideas? Are you still choosing ad format first over business objective and customer type? Have you already burned through your early adopters without realizing your message needs to evolve? Are your ads accidentally disrespecting your potential customers? Should your brand be using supportive or guilt-based messaging to convert? Is plain old social proof losing power? Does your internal team believe the same thing about the brand that your customers do? Is AI helping your team think more clearly, or just helping you make more of the same content faster? This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam and they just launched Northbeam Incrementality. Northbeam Incrementality gives you easy, automated, self-service incrementality tests, while protecting you from the maj...

Uncovering Agency Trends From The Foxwell Founders 2026 Agency Report with Andrew Faris

52 min

Andrew Foxwell (Foxwell Founders / Scalability School) sits down with Andrew Faris (AJF Growth / The Andrew Faris Podcast) for a joint co-release episode to break down the findings from the Foxwell Founders x Motion 2026 State of Agencies Report. A data-rich survey of hundreds of agency owners and in-house operators across 30 countries. The conversation covers AI's dual role as the #1 growth opportunity and the #1 threat for agencies, why only 11% of agencies have produced clear top-performing AI-generated ad winners, the reality behind agency margins (42% running net margins above 30% while many founders still struggle), why in-housing is the #1 reason agencies lose clients — and why it usually backfires — and the uncomfortable truth that many agency founders grow for ego rather than strategy. Along the way, Faris offers a sharp framework on how brands should think about paying their agencies, and Foxwell shares candid coaching insights on what separates agencies that thrive from those that stall out. Key Takeaways: Why 26% of agencies say AI-powered services are their biggest growth opportunity — yet privately admit they're terrified of it? Is AI actually working for creatives or is just generating slop? (Only 11% of agencies have produced a clear top-performing AI-generated ad winner.) 42% of agencies report net margins above 30%. So why are so many agency founders telling Andrew Foxwell they're broke? Is in-housing the worst move most brands make? The gross margin range your agency should be sitting between. Are agency founders growing because they have a strategy or because they want to sit at the big [kid] agency table? When the average tenure of an in-house growth director might only be ~18 months, is there a fundamental misalignment between founders and the people they hire? If AI amplifies slop just as well as it amplifies great ideas, why do so many agencies think volume is the play? Should more brands be firing their CRO agency and building more with C...

How AI Is Rebuilding Every DTC Creative Team

55 min

In this episode of the Scalability School podcast, hosts Andrew Foxwell and Brad Ploch sit down with Reza, co-founder of Motion, for a deep dive into how AI is fundamentally reshaping the way DTC creative teams operate. Reza shares his perspective on the widening gap between data-driven media buyers and creative producers, and why the most valuable professionals in the space are the ones who can bridge both worlds. The conversation covers the evolution of the creative strategist role from simple brief-writing to a full-stack function that blends paid social performance analysis, creative concepting, and now AI-powered agent workflows. Reza introduces a powerful mental model: every knowledge worker should think of themselves as an allocator of AI tokens, and the goal is to push agents to work for longer and longer stretches autonomously. The episode also explores practical use cases for AI agents in creative strategy, including analyzing thousands of agent conversations using swarms of AI workers, iterating on top-performing ads using existing footage, and how Motion's AI agent (Runneth) is processing and categorizing every ad creative to surface actionable insights. Reza drops a provocative prediction: in the near future, the only job left will be allocating AI tokens, and if you're not building that muscle now, you're falling behind. Our new "After Hours" segment dives into hooks as the DNA of creative performance, why brand teams are increasingly disconnected from the direct response engine that actually drives revenue, and how creative strategists are becoming the real mini-CMOs of DTC companies. KEY TAKEAWAYS: What if your only job is being an allocator of AI tokens? Are you still thinking of AI as a chatbot instead of a workforce? Is your creative strategist actually a mini-CMO? Why hooks are the DNA of your entire creative system. Is your brand team holding back your direct response engine? What would you do if you had to spend $2,000 in AI credits this...

How To Test Creative On Meta In 2026

56 min

In this episode of Scalability School, host Andrew Foxwell is joined by Phil Kiel of Taikun Digital and co-host Brad Ploch to tackle the single most-asked question in the Foxwell Founders community: how do you actually test creative on Meta in 2026? The question was asked over 160 times in just 45 days, making it the undisputed #1 topic among media buyers and brand operators in the community. The conversation digs into two distinct camps of creative testing, forced spend (ABO) versus letting ads earn spend (CBO) and unpacks the real-world pros, cons, and trade-offs of each. Phil, who runs accounts at significant scale, makes a compelling case for the CBO-first, content-centric approach, arguing that the role of Meta's algorithm is to allocate spend to the best creative, not for buyers to manually dictate it. The episode also confronts the volume trap: the pressure media buyers feel to launch massive quantities of ads every month. Phil's take is refreshing and practical, 8 to 10 solid concepts per month (roughly 40–50 assets) is a solid starting point for most brands, built around strong creative briefs rather than raw volume. The hosts challenge the Twitter/X culture of flex-posting ad launch numbers, arguing the real metric that matters is creative quality and concept diversity. Key Takeaways: Are you forcing spend into creative tests and accidentally funding your worst ads? Is the ad set structure in your Meta account actually doing anything, or is it just an expensive folder? How many new creative concepts should you be launching per month? CBO vs. ABO for creative testing: which one is actually right for your account right now? Why launching too many ads may be training your account to spend on losers. What does it actually mean to 'let ads earn spend' and how to know when a creative concept has really failed versus just not getting a fair shot. Why creative volume is the wrong metric to optimize and what you should be tracking instead. What's the difference...

Rolling Reach And Other Metrics For Scaling

48 min

This episode is like a Meta scaling "early warning system" masterclass. Andrew, Brad, and guest Kurt Bullock break down why so many media buyers hit a plateau (even when ROAS looks "fine") and how to diagnose it before performance rolls over. The core idea: Understanding CPMR to give you a clearer view of whether you're actually expanding into new pockets of the market or just recycling the same people harder and harder. They walk through how Meta's rolling reach report works, a sliding-window version that's more useful for ongoing decision-making, how to interpret overlap, and what to do when the numbers signal saturation (creative diversity, different angles/personas, bidding/exclusions tests, quiz-style funnels, etc.).Kurt also shares on the tool he's developed with the Foxwell Founders Community that automates these reports. Key takeaways - What's actually happing if your scaling spend while your rolling reach is flat. What comes next when ROAS looks stable… but your net new reach % is dropping The difference between rolling reach vs net new reach… and which one will predict your ad fatigue. How tracking this metric will help you spot when delivery is getting expensive due to audience fatigue. Are your "winning" campaigns winning because they're good… or because they're overlapping like crazy with what's already working? The overlap % is the "uh oh" zone of death for reaching Net New Customers How you might be leaning too hard on one motivator/angle and keeping Meta from finding new pockets even when launching fresh ads. Why whitelisting is known for lowering CPMR and unlocking different ad distribution. - Why testing with exclusions is still a good practice for your campaigns. If you had one report to tell you "you're fine today, but cooked next month," would you be running it weekly? To Get the Net New Reach Reporting Tool, head to https://tools.producedept.co/ This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam and they just launched...

The One About Meta's Andromeda

49 min

In this episode of Scalability School, Andrew and Brad are joined by Daniel Okon, CEO of ACTIV, a growing digital first agency that has also moved to incubating/growing multiple 7 figure brands in the health & wellness space, to decode Meta's "Andromeda" update. Andromeda has created a huge shift in the ad ecosystem where the algorithm (via systems like GEM and Lattice) now aggressively favor true creative diversity over simple iterations. Daniel breaks down why old scaling methods like duplicating winners or making minor tweaks are yielding diminishing returns. Instead, he introduces a research heavy framework focused on identifying "sub-avatars" (specific customer behaviors or pain points, like "bloating after pizza") rather than broad demographics. The conversation covers the tactical "pull forward" method for extending winning angles into new formats, how to conduct manual research that AI can't replicate, and why your creator briefs should focus on trust and niche authority over brand aesthetics. If you've been stumped by Andromeda, Daniel and the Scalability team do a great job sucinctly explaining the changes and what advertisers need to do to be successful on the platform once again. Key Takeaways: Is your ad account suffering because you're confusing "creative volume" with actual "creative diversity"? Why Meta's new "GEM" system penalizes ads that look different but mean the same thing. How most advertisers are capping their own scale by targeting broad demographics over specific "sub-avatars". How the "Spray and Pray" testing method has all but ran out of ink and the "Exploration vs. Expansion" framework that is replacing it? How a simple "Q&A" static image can easily outperform a high-production video ad in the new world of Andromeda. This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam and they just launched Northbeam Incrementality. Northbeam Incrementality gives you easy, automated, self-service incrementality tests, while p...

Building a Bulletproof Plan for Growth in 2026

50 min

This episode is a practical walk-through of forecasting for e-commerce growth, specifically how media buyers and operators should think about revenue targets, paid spend, CAC/ROAS degradation, contribution margin, fixed costs, and cash flow without building a fantasy plan that assumes everything stays perfectly flat. Abir (outsourced CMO/operator for multiple e-comm brands) and owner of UpCounting.com breaks down a simple-but-real framework: start with the story in the historical data to build a forecast that's honest about constraints (marketing efficiency, supply/inventory, staffing, cash conversion cycle). Then, turn the forecast into an ongoing operating rhythm where you review monthly performance vs plan, diagnose why you landed where you did, and update assumptions instead of "hoping next month works." A big theme: most brands hit a "terminal velocity" with their current offer/creative/channel mix. From there you either (1) increase the value you get from customers (LTV/retention, bundles, new products, adjacent audiences) or (2) improve business efficiency so you can reinvest profit to raise your ad spend ceiling—aka the "two machines" model: ads machine + ops/profit machine. Key Takeaways: Using more than just "vibes" to justify perfomance when CAC stays flat while spend goes up. How to forecast using your actual "terminal velocity" instead of your dream scenario. The difference of forecasting from a revenue goal → spend/CAC → contribution margin, Vs. just backfilling numbers to match a target. Knowing where your business actually breaks first (marketing efficiency, inventory, cash conversion cycle, headcount, or fixed costs)? The fastest way to spot whether growth is coming from new customers vs returning customers and why this changes the whole model. How to properly plan for CAC degradation when you begin to SCALE. Why tracking this one metric can confirm if extra spend is actively hurting your brand. Moving away from just looking at ROAS and m...

New Year New Ad Platform: A Look At AppLovin

49 min

This episode is a tactical breakdown of AppLovin as a scaled acquisition channel—what's actually different vs Meta, what you should change in creative + campaign structure, and how to think about incrementality + reporting so you don't judge it with the wrong yardstick. Miranda Pettinger, Performance Marketing Manager at 365 Holdings explains how they onboarded to the platform when Meta was underperforming and AppLovin started popping off in buyer circles. They used a Triple Whale onboarding credit to test with low risk, and at the time it wasn't even self-serve (you had to Slack the rep for changes). The short on "why AppLovin works" is AppLovin's rewarded inventory creates an opt-in attention trade ("watch this 30s ad, get coins"), which changes the psychology from "I'm annoyed by ads" to "I'm choosing to watch this." That makes the creative game feel closer to a 30-second TV spot: you've got time to explain, objection-handle, and sell in one sitting. From there it turns into a playbook with these Keytakeaways: 18:30 Bidding / structure: ROAS vs cost-per-purchase, why value doesn't work for some catalogs and how to structure campaigns 19:40 DPAs + catalog control: Why DPAs can help if you've got lots of variants and the importance of controlling what products show up. 25:50 Measurement reality: AppLovin tends to under-report purchases, especially at scale, so you want to validate with post-purchase survey, MER/traffic lift and/or a 3rd party data tool. 29:30 Incrementality / overlap: The Meta+AppLovin overlap and how Meta+Google overlap is likely way bigger. 33:55 Creative testing: unlike Meta where "testing vs scaling" can feel walled off, AppLovin can allow new winners to climb fast inside the same campaign, without dumping spend on junk. 38:30 End cards: offers matter a lot. How animation helps, and showing variants (colors/metal types) can lift clicks To connect with Miranda, you can follow her on x at https://x.com/mirandpettinger To connect wit...

How to Use AI to Win in Marketing

58 min

This episode is basically a tactical hands-on walkthrough for using AI in creative, without turning your ad account into generic "AI slop." Will Sartourious, owner of Selfmade.co, an agency that focuses on AI personas and AI performance creatives, joins us to lead us through his AI creative process and the importance of AI adoption in the social creative space. He primarily lumps current AI creative usage into two buckets: Type 1: "Clone this ad for me." Fast volume, but you drift into sameness. Type 2: Use AI to do the thinking work (research, synthesis, structure), then let humans do the "mushy middle" that differentiates. He's big on building PAM clusters (Persona–Angle–Motivation) so strategists aren't winging it and you can see where your creative gaps are before you ship more ads. From here we get into the nitty gritty of his current workflows: Static → GIF/video: why GIFs often beat statics in clean A/Bs, and how to generate animated variants fast. Tool split: Will uses Claude for more "creative" thinking, but uses ChatGPT specifically because it reads on-ad copy more reliably critical when your prompt needs to include every word that appears on the creative. Prompt iteration loop: generate → inspect output → feed output back in → ask for prompt correction (ex: "the copy disappears—fix it so it stays on screen"). Midjourney reality check: great for vibes/backdrops and motion experiments, but "sucks at product rendering," so you generate the scene and then swap in the real product using other tools. We also dive into these Key takeaways How to find the missing creative angles in your account before spending another dollar. Cut out the Middle man: How you can stop using stock photos entirely with AI, without the brand even noticing. The fastest way to turn a winning static into a GIF without opening any editing software. Why including every word of on-ad copy in the prompt matters more than being a "prompt genius". Why this AI tool is a secret w...

BFCM Recap & Tactics To Pull Forward

45 min

*]:pointer-events-auto [content-visibility:auto] supports-[content-visibility:auto]:[contain-intrinsic-size:auto_100lvh] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" tabindex="-1" data-turn-id= "039e736c-4eb5-4502-a0c0-eae8ef56dab4" data-testid= "conversation-turn-4" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant"> This bonus BFCM episode is a full debrief on what actually worked over Black Friday/Cyber Monday with real numbers, not theory. Zach Stuck comes out of paternity leave to break down his most recent Twitter "Beef" on why most Google agencies have their incentives completely misaligned (especially when they're charging % of spend on branded search). He also goes over how his team engineered a BFCM weekend that drove huge revenue without torching margin. We walk through this offer that took hourly revenue from ~$50k to $142k and then again to $172k while still holding around 9x MER. We cover the exact structure of the offer, how it affected AOV, and why time-boxing the offer beat running a gift-with-purchase the entire weekend. You'll also hear how they built daily and hourly pacing models out of Shopify and ad platform data so they knew by midday whether they were ahead, behind, or needed to push harder. From there, we get into the channel and creative side: how much budget actually went into BFCM-specific ads vs evergreen, the retention structure that printed 10x+ ROAS and the specific ad concepts that spent over Black Friday and held strong through Cyber Monday. We even talk about total amount of emails and sms messages that went out on Black Friday alone, and why the list didn't revolt. If you're a media buyer or e-com operator looking to turn BFCM from "hope and vibes" into a repeatable system, this episode is basically the playbook you'd normally only get inside a private Slack group (like the Foxwell Founders Community). Key Takeaways: What actually happens when you time-box an offer to a single hour on Black Fr...

UGC WTF? - With Courtney Fritts

54 min

This episode is basically a masterclass in how media buyers and UGC creators should actually work together, not just pretend to. Courtney walks through her unique vantage point as both a media buyer and a creator: she runs strategy and ad buying for brands from that spend from $3k/month all the way up to $1MM/month in spend, leads the Foxwell Founders "small spenders" cohort, and also produces UGC herself. This dual role lets her see where brands and creators constantly miss each other. Key Takeaways: They creative types that are currently working without overcomplicating things. Why your best-performing ad doesn't have a great hook rate, but is still printing money. Are you over paying creators for "usage rights" you don't actually need? What Courtney believes you should be paying creators for a piece of content. The 1 thing media buyers wished UGC creators understood about spend and why some creatives never leave the learning phase. How your creative brief might be the #1 thing killing authenticity and performance. How performance results could change by evaluating your creators on these two criteria over their logos and case studies. Why you shouldn't be asking creators to "go viral" and instead be building a system for consistent, high-quality, testable content. The amount of performance you are likely leaving on the table by chasing trends, and other no-nos when working with creators. Are you quietly over-indexing on marketing Twitter and case studies—and under-indexing on the nuance inside your own accounts? This episode is sponsored by Northbeam, the marketing attribution platform that we love here at Scalability School. If you're ready to cut through the noise, stop guessing, and actually see which ads are driving your business, book a demo at northbeam.io/demo, and tell them Scalability School sent you. Join the club. To connect with Courtney Fritts, you can email her at Courtney@axiommarketing.co or in one of the Foxwell Digital Communities: www.hivehau...

Pixel Perfect: Is Your Tracking Lying to You?

1 hr 6 min

This episode dives deep into how much your tracking setup actually controls your Meta performance, and why most brands only pay attention to the pixel when things break. Brett walks through his journey from old-school media buying into early Facebook ads and how that evolved into Tag Hero, a specialist shop focused purely on technical conversion tracking across Meta, Google, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, etc. He explains why data quality is the real throttle on performance and how you can have the best creative in the account, but if Meta isn't getting clean signals, the algorithm just can't do its job. Key Takeaways: How you can tell if your Shopify → Meta tracking setup is actually "good enough"… or silently leaking conversions. If Meta says you're getting 8–13% more events with CAPI, are you actually set up to capture that lift—or just assuming you are. The easiest way to verify your pixel and CAPI events are deduplicating correctly instead of double-counting purchases. The Event Match Quality scores you should care about, and when a score is good vs a legit red flag Why this one tracking perameter is arguably more valuable than email for optimization. Why optimizing around a specific EMQ score might just be gaming a number that doesn't move revenue. When Shopify's default Facebook Sales Channel App is the right call and when it might be time to graduate to Elevar/Blotout/EdgeTag-style stacks. The incremental tracking upgrades that actually pay for themselves after you start spending 6 figures or more a month in ads. The truth of what exactly happens when Meta flags you as 'Health & Wellness' brand and depricates your lower funnel. How you can still win in health & wellness categories on Meta The key steps to confidently rule out tracking as the culprit when your ads stop working so you're not re-building creative for a data problem? This episode is sponsored by Northbeam, the marketing attribution platform that we love here at Scalability School. If y...

The Dashboards That Make Us Millions

51 min

This episode of the Scalability School podcast tackles why traditional e-commerce dashboards often fail and outlines the precise financial and operational metrics required for driving profitable growth in 7- and 8-figure D2C brands. The Andrew, Zach and Brad argue that dashboard failure stems from unclear metric definitions along with a failure to capture the full scope of business expenses. They advocate for moving beyond simple platform ROAS to focus on holistic metrics like Contribution Margin (CM) and/or Estimated Net Profit (by subtracting an estimate of OpEx). A major theme that arose during this conversation was the critical need to separate New Customer (NC) metrics (like AMER and CAC) from blended metrics, as high blended performance can mask a dying new customer acquisition engine. They also stress that for non-subscription brands, LTV can sometimes be a misleading vanity metric that offers poor cash flow guidance. The episode concludes with a deep dive into using operational metrics like product sales breakdown and day-of-week sales efficiency to inform daily media buying decisions, introducing the key creative signal: Spend Velocity. Key Takeaways How your blended MER target might actually be masking a New Customer Acquisition (NCA) disaster Why dashboards can help ensure your entire team is looking at the same "Revenue" number How to tell if you are wasting budget on the wrong days How to accurately calculat true profitability before the month closes Why this should be your key metric for predicting creative winners within 3 days Why this 1 metric might be hurting your cash flow if you are a non-subscription businesses This episode is sponsored by Northbeam, the marketing attribution platform that we love here at Scalability School. If you're ready to cut through the noise, stop guessing, and actually see which ads are driving your business, book a demo at northbeam.io/demo, and tell them Scalability School sent you. Join the club. To connect...

BFCM: Your Questions Answered

53 min

This week's Scalability School is a tactical one answering ALL of your BFCM (Black Friday/Cyber Monday) questions. Andrew, Zach & Brad cover how to pace and budget through the holiday surge, build offers that protect margin while lifting AOV, and line up Meta/Google + Email/SMS into a single MER-driven plan. You'll hear pragmatic guidance on creative angles, inventory-aware campaigns (and what to do when you're light or heavy on stock), discount frameworks that don't nuke LTV, and practical measurement (MER, CPA, and "sanity check" rules). The guys wrap it up with channel sequencing (what runs when) and a concrete weekly timeline to execute without panic. Key Takeaways: How smart brands set BFCM budget and pacing so they don't blow spend too early. The offer types that actually move volume without wrecking margin. - How to properly adjust bids, caps, and campaign structure on Meta when auctions heat up. - The "MER guardrails" to keep things stable during BFCM (and when it's okay to see a dip). - Planning inventory-aware promos (overstock vs. thin stock) without confusing the customer. - The creative themes and formats that typically win BIG during BFCM - When to lean into Google (Shopping/Brand Search) vs. Meta for incremental volume. - How to measure success when attribution goes sideways. - What your backup plan should be if your first offer underperforms on Friday morning. This episode is sponsored by Northbeam, the marketing attribution platform that we love here at Scalability School. If you're ready to cut through the noise, stop guessing, and actually see which ads are driving your business, book a demo at northbeam.io/demo, and tell them Scalability School sent you. Join the club. To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at https://foxwell...

BFCM Bonus Tactics - The Pacing + Holiday Roadmap

26 min

In this conversation, Brad discusses strategies for maximizing revenue during Black Friday and the holiday season. He emphasizes the importance of understanding revenue peaks, analyzing advertising costs, and planning effective promotions. The discussion also covers the significance of timing in marketing efforts, particularly around key shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and how to leverage gifting opportunities leading up to Christmas. Finally, Brad highlights the need for brands to adapt their messaging and strategies as they transition into the new year. Key Takeaways Understanding when to expect revenue peaks through BFCM How analyzing historical data helps in planning marketing strategies. Why your CPM and conversion rates will fluctuate significantly during Q4 When its best to start promotions to capture initial demand effectively. Why gifting messaging should ramp up as Christmas approaches. How to ensure your brand is correctly adjusting ad spend through the holidays How utilizing this free tool can maximize sales opportunities. The Post-Christmas strategies you should focus on to gain new year momentum. To grab the Q4 Calendar head here This episode is sponsored by Northbeam, the marketing attribution platform that we love here at Scalability School. If you're ready to cut through the noise, stop guessing, and actually see which ads are driving your business, book a demo at northbeam.io/demo, and tell them Scalability sent you. Join the club. To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at https://foxwellfounders.com/

The BFCM Prep Guide

50 min

We break down ABO vs CBO, budget pacing, offer architectures (sitewide %, tiers, gifts, bundles), landing-page quick wins, and the email/SMS cadence that stacks revenue—plus day-of MER guardrails and intra-day pacing. #BFCM #Ecommerce #MediaBuying Key Takeaways ABO or CBO: When each campaign structure can win and why The simples offer architectures that won't wreck margins Pacing budgets so you don't blow learnings (or spend) before the big days The landing-page tweaks that move the most revenue during BFCM Can a small site-wide + stacked gift be smarter than a deeper discount? How shipping cutoffs should be shaping your promo calendar and messaging The day-of MER guardrails and hourly checks that will keep you on target This episode is sponsored by Northbeam, the marketing attribution platform that we love here at Scalability School. If you're ready to cut through the noise, stop guessing, and actually see which ads are driving your business, book a demo at northbeam.io/demo, and tell them Scalability sent you. Join the club. To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at https://foxwellfounders.com/

Your Burning Listener Questions Answered

50 min

The WI crew dives straight into answering you, our tens of listeners burning questions (Or just the ones folks replied to Zach's tweet with), we look at when (and if) agency folks should spin up their own DTC brand, the hidden costs (time, cash flow, ops, P&L) most marketers underestimate, and a very practical rundown of how to go 0→1 and then scale. We chat through how to avoid the classic trap of riding one "hero" ad too long and you'll hear real budgets, campaign counts, inventory constraints around a holiday push, how to pick lower AOV vs higher AOV for faster learnings and better cash flow. We also get candid on the financial reality for founders (who are often "broke until an exit") and how to think long-term. Key takeaways: Should an agency owner actually become a DTC brand owner or is that just shiny-object syndrome? What's the true time/capital tax of switching from retainers to inventory + P&L risk? How different is cash flow in an agency vs. e-com brand? What a clean 0→1 playbook looks like for paid. What "real" scale looks like in a Meta account on a holiday week. Why you can't we scale past a certain daily spend even when a video "works". How many winning ads you actually need to push beyond $1–3k/day (hint: more than one) The AOV you should launch with if you need fast learning + sustainable cash flow. How category passion + founder advantage will impact messaging and LTV over 1–2 years. The uncomfortable founder realities no one says out loud. This episode is sponsored by Wayflyer, a smarter way to use debt for growth. To learn more about them and how they may be able to help your brand grow head here This episode is sponsored by ROKU. Did you know Roku integrates with Shopify, allowing you to see marketing spend and performance of your ad campaigns in Shopify? Oh and you can LITERALLY HAVE SOMEONE SHOP ON THEIR TV using Roku. Action ads let Roku viewers purchase products from your online store directly from their TV. To give them a try head here....

Un-locking Creative Scaling With Statiq

47 min

This episode dives deep into creative strategy as the growth lever for DTC brands, highlighting why under-$10M founders should still lead creative, how one ad can truly unlock growth, and why fresh sourcing of ideas (outside Meta's ad library) is critical. Simon Robert, CEO of Statiq, walks through practical frameworks: for sourcing creative ideas, balancing "on-brand" vs "sales-driving" content, creative testing cadences, and the importance of one winning ad over scaling 100 mediocre ones. He also touches on creative team structures, founder involvement, and the risks of outsourcing strategy too early. This conversation is especially valuable for media buyers and operators who want to understand: When creative becomes the bottleneck. How to build a process for consistent winning ads. What channels and frameworks to use to source inspiration. How to balance branding vs performance in creative. We also dive into these key takeaways: How often should teams be testing new creatives to find the next winner The risk of outsourcing creative too early instead of founders leading. Why this is the best way to structure internal vs external creative teams for scale Why it's better to find one killer ad rather than running 100 average ones This episode is Sponsored by Statiq. The ad creative agency used by Hollow Socks, Jones Road, Hearth & Soil and many more. Book a call within the next 7 days to get €500 OFF your first month: https://bit.ly/ScalabilitySchoolStatiq To connect with Simon Robert from Statiq send him a DM at https://x.com/Simon__Rob To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at https://foxwellfounders.com/

The DTC Founders guide to Using Debt as a Growth Tool

40 min

This episode of Scalability School explores how DTC founders can leverage debt as a strategic growth tool rather than a dangerous crutch. Zach, Brad, and Andrew walk through the math every media buyer should understand before scaling (EPCs, conversion rates, AOVs, margins), highlight why inventory-backed debt can be the smartest use of capital, and break down how to model financials in a way that impresses lenders. The episode blends media buying fundamentals (math, margins, bundling strategy) with financial strategy (when and how to use debt, what lenders look for, and how to avoid financial "fuckups"). Key Takeaways: The math (CPCs, CVRs, AOVs) you need to know before spending a single dollar on Facebook ads Understanding the hidden costs that will erode your true margins and must be worked into your modeling The importance of negotiating everything to improve margins before raising prices? How building out this team offshore can be one of the highest-ROI scaling moves for your brand The one thing that convinced Hollow's founders that debt was a better option than raising equity How to you convince lenders to fund a young, $1M brand (and the data they really want to see). The big reason robust financial models essential even for early-stage brands Are you using debt this way? 3 of the most dangerous ways brands misuse debt The #1 rule when working with lenders This episode is sponsored by Wayflyer, a smarter way to use debt for growth. To learn more about them and how they may be able to help your brand grow head here to learn more. To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM. To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community head here to learn more.

How A Single Pop-up Change Increased Opt-ins and Doubled Orders

39 min

Episode 9 speed-runs the biggest retention levers brands can pull to increase revenue growth and improve order volume. They debunk deliverability myths (image–text ratios, why adding real text helps), along with comparing the differences of plain-text vs image-heavy emails. Jacob Sappington also clarifies Klaviyo vs GA vs ad platform attribution and how Klaviyo's new active-profile enforcement curbs old billing "hacks." Key Takeaways: The single change to a pop-up that can spike opt-ins and orders immediately Why you should change the pop-up and not your flows first Offer vs build vs creative: how should you weight each for mobile pop-ups Why this one thing is likely killing your Landing Page's performance to convert. How your traffic source may be affecting your conversion rate The easy setup mistakes that are likely throttling the performance of your email flows The magic number of how often 7- and 8-figure brands should email and text without burning the list Are third-party identity tools worth the risk and which safer paths exist To learn more about the Scalability School Podcast or listen to other episodes head to https://scalabilityschool.com To Connect with Jacob Sappington send him a DM at https://x.com/jsappington To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at https://foxwellfounders.com/

The 0 to 8 Figure Playbook

47 min

This episode breaks down actionable strategies and growth frameworks used by successful e-commerce brands to scale from zero to eight figures in revenue. It dives into high-impact marketing tactics, team building for growth, and the mindset shifts required to operate at scale. The conversation highlights key levers for media buyers, including creative testing, audience segmentation, and ROI optimization, alongside operational insights for e-commerce operators on process, culture, and technology that support scaling effectively. Key Takeaways How media buyers optimize creative testing to scale faster. Why audience segmentation strategies hve proven to deliver the highest ROI at scale. The KPIs that are critical for measuring success beyond just ROAS during rapid growth. How organizational culture plays into sustaining e-commerce scale and growth. They key ways operators balance automation with personalization in customer experience. The number 1 pitfall brands face when scaling paid media, and how it can be avoided How team structure evolves as an e-commerce brand grows from startup to multi-million dollar revenue. Learn more about the Scalability School Podcast or listen to other episodes head to https://scalabilityschool.com To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at https://foxwellfounders.com/

The Kohler Bonus Episode: What's Working In Accounts Right Now

37 min

This bonus episode dives deep into creative performance, offer testing, team structure, landing page iteration, and mental health as a founder/operator. Andrew, Brad and Zach share actionable insights from their experiences scaling brands past $40M, along with real-world examples of what's currently working in ad accounts — and what's not. Key Takeaways: Why you might be relying too much on video from your influencer whitelisting The most underrated ad creative that's dominating accounts right now How founder videos can act as multi-hook powerhouses Why increasing your prices may be your biggest conversion unlock How to tell if your landing pages are stagnating How do you avoid the "hero content" trap that can tank performance long-term The best mindset to have when hiring team members (Especially early on) How mental clarity can become your unfair advantage as a founder Learn more about the Scalability School Podcast or listen to other episodes head to https://scalabilityschool.com To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at http://foxwelldigital.com/membership

Stop Over-designing Your Landing Pages: CRO Secrets With Ryan Doney

55 min

According to Ryan Doney, Founder of Page Deck, landing-page CRO doesn't have to be a design marathon. In this episode Ryan lays out a "template ‣ angle ‣ offer" testing framework and explains how media buyers can mine Reddit for real-customer language. He also talks through the value of spinning up lightweight landers built in Page Deck so you can more quickly push winners straight into paid campaigns without waiting on design tickets. Key Takeaways: Why your very first test should be a dead-simple "5-reasons-why" listicle built around your best-performing ad headline. How adding a second offer page after a listicle—making the funnel longer—actually increases conversion and AOV. Why raw Facebook-comment screenshots beat polished testimonial carousels How this 1 KPI stack actually tells a fuller story than ROAS. Why strict URL naming conventions keep you from "landing-page spaghetti" and what you can learn from them. The post-purchase upsell that is grabbing a 20 % take-rate. Learn more about the Scalability School Podcast or listen to other episodes head to https://scalabilityschool.com To connect with Ryan Doney send him a DM at https://x.com/theryandoney To learn more about Page Deck visit them here: https://www.pagedeck.com/ To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at http://foxwelldigital.com/membership

Whitelisting: Turning Non-brand Pages Into Your ROAS Engine

35 min

This week Brad, Zach & Andrew tear into whitelisting, the practice of running Meta ads from a page that isn't your brand's page. They walk through the wins of how well they work and dissect what is actually moving the needle: the creative or the non-branded page. They cover the different page types brands should be testing along with creating a scalable process to gaining new whitelisted creatives. And lets not forget the one Meta Ads Library hack that lets you spy on any competitor's whitelisted ads. Key Takeaways: How duplicating an existing ad but changing only the Facebook page unlocked a 5X return. Why "celebrities" creatives tend to only spike CTR yet tank conversions, and how to spot this trap early. The page type (brand page, creator page, or unaffiliated "meme-itorial") that outperforms for each demo How to budget creator fees using a flat rate plus a %-of-spend bonus, so everyone roots for scale The page type that is the cheapest, no-brainer starting point for first-time whitelisters Why a 60-day contract is your go-to to de-risk your first whitelisting test Leadsie Is Your Shortcut to Scalable Whitelisting Stop chasing screenshots. Skip the "how do I give access?" DMs. With Leadsie, one link lets creators whitelist your brand - no confusion, no delays. Learn more about Leadsie and and exclusive offer just for Scalability School listeners https://www.leadsie.com/partner/scalability-school Learn more about the Scalability School Podcast or listen to other episodes head to https://scalabilityschool.com To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at http://foxwelldigital.com/membership

Building Offers That Actually Move The Needle

39 min

The trio break down the levers that can turn plain-vanilla promos into a revenue generating machine. Using real-world tests from snack bars, socks, and pet-supplement brands, they show how smart bundling, "buy-more-save-more" ladders, and subscription sweeteners can: 📈 lift AOV 40 %+ without tanking CAC, 📈 push new-customer revenue up 250 % YoY, and 📈 shorten payback windows to 45 days even in CPM spikes. They walk through the math that compares in-house offers and reveal the exact wording that beat a 20 % off code. They even share their guardrails for knowing when to raise the discount versus stacking perks (free shipping, VIP access, etc.). Key Takeaways: ✅ What's the fastest way to add $10 to $20 of AOV without touching product cost. ✅ How many SKUs belong in a variety bundle before choice-paralysis kills conversion. ✅ Which buy-more-save-more ladder (10 / 15 / 20 %) balances margin and CPA best. ✅ The CAC-to-AOV ratio a subscription starter kit should be at to beat a one-time discount ✅ When to rip the Band-Aid and raise prices before launching an offer. ✅ The One KPI signal that a loss-leader welcome deal is actually profitable by day 45. ✅ How to name your bundle so it feels premium—not like a clearance kit. ✅ The "value-stack" checklist Brad uses before any promo goes live. 🔔 Subscribe for more tactical growth tips every week. Learn more about the Scalability School Podcast at https://scalabilityschool.com To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email: Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at http://foxwelldigital.com/membership

Why Most DTC Brands Overhire (And How to Stay Lean)

45 min

In this episode of Scalability School, Andrew Foxwell, Brad Ploch, and Zach Stuck break down the exact framework they use to run lean, profitable ecommerce brands. Whether you're a DTC founder, media buyer, or agency operator, this episode reveals how to: Build a lean team without sacrificing performance Decide when to hire vs. outsource Avoid common OPEX mistakes that kill margins Hit $5M+ in revenue per full-time employee Create systems so your team runs without bottlenecks They also share behind-the-scenes data from their own brands and the Foxwell Founders Community. If you're scaling a DTC business and tired of bloated team structures, this is your playbook. Learn more about the Scalability School Podcast at https://scalabilityschool.com To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email: Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders Community at http://foxwelldigital.com/membership

Building Systems To Make Banger Ads

41 min

In this episode of Scalability School, Andrew Foxwell, Zach Stuck, and Brad Ploch share a battle-tested blueprint for breaking out of creative fatigue and scaling spend without watching your CPA creep upward. Their central thesis is that "creative diversity" is more than pumping out dozens of ads as it's the deliberate intersection of personas, messaging pillars, angles, and formats that lets Meta's delivery system find pockets of incremental performance you would never hit with volume alone. Key Takeaways: Are strict constraints the secret sauce that actually unlocks creativity and cheaper CPAs? How does a simple 'pillar vs. angle' grid expose the real gaps in your ad account? Which matters more for performance: the hook, the message, or the visual format? What's the minimum viable number of concepts you must launch each month to stay ahead of fatigue? When should you double-down on a winning persona and when is it time to pivot? In-house editor vs. agency retainer, where does the math break in 2025? Could spending just one extra afternoon a week on creative planning move you past that $250 k/mo plateau? Motion is the creative strategy command center. With Motion, creative strategists get help at every step of their workflow including visual analysis of top-performing ads, competitor tracking, research tools, and automated recommendations to help prioritize what to ship next. Motion's customers include some of the most prominent advertisers in paid social. Brands like HexClad, Vuori, True Classic, Jones Road Beauty, and Ridge use Motion to analyze over $11B in media spend every year. Learn more about Motion at https://motionapp.com/ Learn more about the Scalability School Podcast at https://scalabilityschool.com To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email: Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck Learn More about the Foxwell Founders...

Creative Velocity And Systems With David Herman

1 hr 1 min

In this episode of Scalability School (Episode 2), hosts Andrew Foxwell, Zach Stuck, and Brad Ploch welcome special guest David Herrmann to unpack how rapidly‐growing DTC brands build and scale their creative operations. They cover the decision points between hiring in-house talent versus partnering with agencies, the playbook for staffing roles as spend climbs, and the simple yet powerful "report card" framework David uses for measuring agency performance. Along the way, they dive into low-cost, high-impact content strategies, like leveraging TikTok Shop purely for authentic UGC and share battle-tested approaches for launching and managing creative tests at scale. Listeners finish armed with practical benchmarks, tools, and team structures to level up their creative machine. Key Takeaways: Who you should hire first when building your creative team The ad-spend or revenue thresholds that make sense to move creative production in-house What a simple "report card" for your agency can look like and how does it keep them honest How you can tap TikTok Shop as a content source, even if it doesn't drive direct sales One of the most efficient ways to launch dozens of ad creative tests without getting overwhelmed The specialized tools the guys use that can help you organize, track, and report on hundreds of ad variations Motion is the creative strategy command center. With Motion, creative strategists get help at every step of their workflow including visual analysis of top-performing ads, competitor tracking, research tools, and automated recommendations to help prioritize what to ship next. Motion's customers include some of the most prominent advertisers in paid social. Brands like HexClad, Vuori, True Classic, Jones Road Beauty, and Ridge use Motion to analyze over $11B in media spend every year. Learn more about Motion at https://motionapp.com/ Learn more about the Scalability School Podcast at https://scalabilityschool.com/subscribe To connect with Andrew Foxwell, s...

PDP Landers and Meta Creative - What We Wish We Tested Sooner

38 min

In this inaugural episode of the Scalability School Podcast, hosts Andrew Foxwell, Zach Stuck and Brad Ploch walk through six high‑impact tests they wish they'd tried much sooner—each backed by real‑world data and actionable takeaways. What if the secret to a 20% conversion lift isn't new ad creative, but turning your PDP's most‑clicked images into a swipe-able carousel? Can swapping polished ads for raw, unedited customer review screenshots unlock ten‑times more ad spend and engagement? How much more trust could you build by embedding real Facebook comment screenshots—complete with their native UI—right on your landing pages? How you can lean on Meta to re‑activate lapsed buyers with a one‑day click window and aggressive MinROAS targets, When email and SMS campaigns stall. Uncovering new audiences by running cost‑cap and value‑based bidding side by side, then scaling winners into large ASC budgets. Is cranking out over 1,000 ad assets in a month be the safety net your performance needs? Learn more about the Scalability School Podcast at https://scalabilityschool.com/subscribe To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email: Andrew@foxwelldigital.com To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at https://x.com/brad_ploch To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at https://x.com/zachmstuck

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