Ashley Wright

Social Tale - TikTok Shop Agency

Turning Attention into Community, Transforming Community into ROI - Building Your TikTok Empire. We help your favorite brands scale on TikTok shop.

Founder

MentorPass

1:1 video mentoring sessions with the world’s most in-demand startup mentors.

Mentor

Smash Cactus Media

Captivate your audience with our meticulously crafted ad creatives that seamlessly blend creativity and strategy. Elevate your brand's message with content that leave a lasting impression and drive tangible results.

MediaCom

Paid Social Associate Director

Adidas Group / / /
Digital Strategy, Planning, Execution, Analysis, Client/ Team Management, Branding and eCommerce.

Paid Social Manager

Jellyfish

Paid Social Media Specialist

Chalk Global

Clients: UGG, Universal Music, Creed, French Connection, Swarovski

Digital Account Manager

Upbeat Agency

Facebook Ads Manager

Studiospares Ltd

Ecommerce Marketing Manager

Want to scale your brand to $100k+/mo with TikTok Shop?👋

TikTok Shop Partner scaling 7-9 figure brands on TikTok Shop

Over the past two years, I've generated over $80,000,000 on TikTok for some of your favorite brands.

A few of our current and past clients include:
- Divi
- SNOW
- Stars + Honey
- Surreal
- Style Edit
- Thread Beauty
- PLIX

This success isn't just luck—it's about understanding the platform, pushing boundaries, and being unafraid to test what works.

Brands used to doubt TikTok's ROI potential, but that's never been the case. With TikTok Shop, the ROI is clearer than ever.

If you're ready to create a whole new revenue channel with TikTok, here's how I can help:

1. Follow me on LinkedIn for daily TikTok Shop insights (scroll up and hit the bell to get notified).

2. Download my FREE TikTok Shop Workbook (DM me "Workbook").

3. Want my agency to manage your TikTok Shop? (DM me "Support" and I'll share the details).

Glad you dropped by. 
To your success!

Most brands think the UK and the US behave the same on TikTok Shop.

They don’t.

And that misunderstanding is killing their growth.

UK brands are slower to adopt, slower to approve, and slower to scale.

Not because the platform is worse, but because the mindset is.

If you follow UK rules in a US-level opportunity, you lose.

Here is what actually separates the 2 markets right now:

US creators take TikTok Shop seriously,
UK creators treat it like a side quest.

US brands send 800 samples in a month,
UK brands debate 150 for three weeks.

US sellers build creator communities early,
UK sellers wait until they are “ready”.

US teams adopt Discord with no friction,
UK teams still think it is “too complicated”.

US brands commit real ad spend,
UK brands want proof before they invest.

US moves with speed,
UK moves with permission.

The platform is not what makes the difference, the behavior does.

We grew brands in both regions, and the gap is wider than most founders realise.

If you want the full UK vs US breakdown, comment “breakdown” and I’ll send it.

Helping 8+ Figure Brands Win on TikTok Shop | CEO of Social Tale | Speaker | Social Commerce Growth Expert | DM for growth, audits, or collabs

"Charge low until you prove yourself."

Worst advice I've ever heard in the agency space.

When you charge too low for pitching to bigger brands, they don't see the full value.

Then it's nearly impossible to raise your prices later.

You've locked yourself into low margins for years.

Maybe that's fine as a solo freelancer.

But when you want to grow, you're stuck.

Instead, charge what you believe you're worth.

Break down the components.

Show them exactly what they're getting for the cost.

Then let your delivery prove you were right.

This approach does something else, too.

It allows you to hire A-players from day one, instead of scrambling to find those who can "just get the job done."

Your pricing dictates your quality.
Your quality dictates your clients.
Your clients dictate your business.

Don't trap yourself at the bottom.

$165K in 7 days.

That's what one of our clients did in the first week of BFCM.

Everyone thinks BFCM is won in November.

It's not.

It's won in September.

BFCM on TikTok Shop isn't a sprint.

It's the finish line of a 90-day marathon.

The brands crushing it right now didn't start prepping last week.

They started in September when everyone else was sleeping.

Momentum takes time to build.

But when it hits, it compounds fast.

If you want your brand ready for Q1 (yes, Q1), DM me "2026" and I'll walk you through what to start doing today.

I’m excited to announce...

I’ll be taking the stage at Affiliate World in Bangkok

📍 Dates: December 3–4, 2025

My session: The Brutal Truth About What Actually Works on TikTok Shop 🚀

What you’ll learn:

✅ The “Reboot Campaign”
✅ Hidden Costs That Wreck TikTok Shop
✅ Why most brands fail on TikTok Shop (and how to fix it)

🔥 Why Affiliate World Conferences is a MUST-ATTEND:

• The #1 Performance Marketing Conference in the world
• 7,000+ attendees from 110+ countries 
• 35+ expert speakers (I’ll be one of them 👋🏾)
• 300+ exhibitors with the latest tools and tech
• Endless networking, learning, and fun with top marketers in the game

If you’re serious about scaling and want to stay ahead of where the industry’s headed…

You should be in the room.

I’ve got a few ticket discount links if you still haven’t grabbed yours yet

If you’re going, let me know so we can connect.

See you in Bangkok!

25 video hooks that drive TikTok Shop sales:

(Your next 7-figure month starts with the right hook)

1. POV: you just discovered a product that solves [daily problem]
2. Unboxing my [product category] haul from TikTok Shop
3. 5 must-haves under $50 that actually work
4. De-influencing [expensive product] (and what to buy instead)
5. POV: you're a [target customer persona] and this changed everything
6. My everyday essentials that are worth the hype
7. POV: this product just made your life 10x easier
8. You saw the [trending product] and now your cart is full
9. Things I didn't know I needed until TikTok showed me
10. This solves a problem you didn't know you had
11. [Product name] vs [cheaper alternative] - honest comparison
12. Watch me use this for a week straight (results)
13. POV: you finally bought the thing everyone's talking about
14. I tested viral products so you don't have to
15. This one thing replaced 5 products I used to buy
16. Before and after using [product] for 30 days
17. The [product] your FYP has been hiding from you
18. I was skeptical until I tried it myself
19. This is what [price point] gets you on TikTok Shop
20. POV: you stopped scrolling because this actually works
21. Showing my [partner/friend/mom] this viral product
22. I bought the dupe and here's what happened
23. The only [product category] you'll ever need
24. This did what [expensive brand] couldn't
25. POV: you're about to save this and forget to buy it

Bookmark this 🔖

I almost didn't post my first piece of content on LinkedIn.

I was worried about what people would think.

Friends from school. 
People I used to work with. 
Anyone who knew me before I started the agency.

I kept thinking:

“What are they going to think about this?”

In those first few posts, I was genuinely worried.

Rewrote it, then didn’t post it.

I was scared of the judgment.

But then I just said screw it and hit post.

And you know what happened?

I got over it really quickly.

Because I realized something important:

It doesn't really matter what they think.

The people who matter don't mind.

And the people who mind don't matter.

Once I understood that, everything changed.

I stopped worrying about old school friends scrolling past my posts.

I stopped caring if someone thought I was "too much" or "showing off."

I just focused on sharing what I know about TikTok Shop and helping brands 
scale.

And that's when things actually started moving.

If you're holding back from posting because you're worried about what people 
will think:

Just start.

You'll get over it faster than you think.

And the people who actually matter will support you.

Your first 3 seconds on TikTok Shop can break or make your product.

A high-converting video shows:

- The frustration (make them feel it)
- The product solving it (demo in action)
- A real person using it (not scripted)
- The transformation (satisfying result)

Brands that nail this formula are doing 6-7 figures on TikTok Shop.

Most brands think creating content that sells is a straight line.

Set a goal, create content, and make sales.

But here's what actually happens when you're building TikTok Shop content:

You set a goal to hit $100K on TikTok Shop.

1) You start reaching out to creators.

Half don't respond. The ones that do want samples.

2) You're learning what hooks actually work.

What you thought would convert doesn't.

3) You start doubting if TikTok Shop is even worth it.

Your first 20 videos get decent views but zero sales.

4) You're failing to get traction.

Competitors are posting similar products and crushing it.

5) You're practicing what works.

Different angles, Flash Sales.

6) You feel lost because nothing's consistent yet.

One video does $5K, the next 10 do nothing.

7) You're getting it.

You find 3 creators who actually move product.

They are not the easiest to work with, but when you find that 1% it’s all worth it.

8) Then you're struggling with a new problem.

Fulfillment can't keep up.

You're out of stock on your best SKU.

9) Finally, you achieve it.

Consistent daily sales.

A creator network that posts weekly.

Momentum that compounds.

The brands that win aren't the ones who avoid the mess.

They're the ones who push through it while everyone else quits.

And set the assigned budget for TikTok Shop for 12 months, not 3.

----

♻️ Repost, bookmark, or share with your network if you found this post helpful.

Follow me, Ashley Wright, for practical insights on TikTok Shop and eCom growth.

What content to create on TikTok Shop at each stage (to maximize sales):

TOFU (scrolling, not buying yet):

- product demos solving a specific problem
- “day in the life" content showing real use
- zero sales pitch in first 3 seconds
- hook focuses on the problem, not your brand
- soft CTAs like "wait for it" or "watch till the end"

These people aren't ready to buy today. 

Stop forcing the sale.

MOFU (considering it):

- comparison content (you vs alternatives)
- creator testimonials showing real results
- before/after transformations
- address objections directly (price, shipping, does it actually work)
- CTAs focus on "see it in action" or "check the reviews"

BOFU (ready to convert):

- product page tours showing exactly how to buy
- bundle breakdowns with clear pricing
- scarcity hooks ("only X left" or "sale ends tonight")
- creator codes and exclusive discounts
- Lives showing checkout process in real-time

Run cold traffic TOFU content. Retarget scrollers with MOFU. Convert warm audience with BOFU Lives and urgency posts.

Most brands push product links to cold traffic and wonder why their GMV is flat.

Everyone tells you to "take your time and don't rush."

Then you wonder why you're outperformed by your competitors and why they're taking your market share.

I've never agreed with this because I've always believed in the "just do it" approach like Nike.

You can fix things along the way.

But you can't fix momentum you never built.

When you're planning 3, 5, 10-year goals, ask yourself:

Why can't you condense that into one year?

The buffer you think you're creating is actually killing your business.

You want to be ahead of the herd.

Whether you're doing it right or wrong, you'll figure it out faster by moving.

Stop waiting for perfect.

Start building now.

One of our US beauty clients just cracked $100K in a single month.

$107K in GMV to be exact.

Up 15% from September.

1,828 orders.
2,515 items sold.
1,768 customers.

Most beauty brands think you need to go viral to hit six figures on TikTok Shop.

You don't.

You need consistent creator output and offers that convert.

This brand didn't have a single mega-viral moment in October.

Just steady volume.
Multiple creators posting daily.
Products that actually solve problems.

The algorithm rewards consistency.

If you're a brand stuck under $50K/month and want to break through to six figures, DM me "Scale" and I'll show you the exact framework we used here.

From award-winner to the top-selling body-care brand on TikTok Shop in 2024.

In late 2023, Maëlys, a premium body-care brand, entered a platform many assumed was built for cheap impulse buys.

By the end of 2024, they became the top-selling body-care brand on TikTok Shop, took home the 2025 Glossy Pop Award for Best Use of TikTok Shop, and ranked as a top-five earning Shop in the personal care category in Q1 2025.

During one campaign, they drove an 800 percent increase in total orders, with 87 percent of customers being first-time buyers.

Here’s how they pulled it off:

1. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

Most brands pay influencers for polished reviews.

Maëlys built a system around real women sharing their journeys.

They spotlighted creators documenting visible changes in stretch marks, loose skin, and other body-targeting concerns.

This wasn’t about curated aesthetics.

It was about proof, and proof converts.

2. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆

Instead of relying on standard affiliate commissions, they rolled out an incentive program with prizes valued at up to $275,000.

Top creators weren’t just earning revenue.

They were competing for a Ritz-Carlton yacht experience and luxury handbags.

This turned creators into true partners and unlocked high-quality content at scale.

3. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲

Maëlys built a three-part system documented in TikTok’s official case study:

• Organic content for trust
• Paid media to scale winning creatives
• Creator partnerships for social proof

Organic content de-risked ad spend.

Ad spend amplified creator performance.

Together, they created a growth flywheel.

4. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺

Even while dominating TikTok, Maëlys expanded the moment offline.

They went live with a digital billboard in Times Square and ran a TikTok Shop-exclusive 30 percent discount to create urgency.

This wasn’t just a Shop strategy.

It was a full-funnel brand play.

---

Maëlys proved that premium, considered-purchase brands can win on TikTok Shop.

They understood that TikTok isn’t only a sales channel. It’s a community.

They didn’t sell body cream. They sold confidence.

And they built the system to scale it.

She went live on TikTok & made $2,000,000 in 1 day.

Meet Stormi Steele, founder of Canvas Beauty.

The woman who broke TikTok Shop’s Black Friday record.

Here’s how she did it (and how you can steal the playbook):

During Black Friday 2024, Stormi hosted a single TikTok LIVE that changed everything.

$2M+ in total sales. $1M in the first 2 hours.

TikTok's biggest LIVE shopping event ever, all from one stream.

Just her, the product, and people ready to buy.

The formula was simple:

Show, don't tell.

1. She demonstrated results live.
2. Answered questions as they came in.
3. Offered bundles you could only get right then.

Shopping stopped feeling like a chore and started feeling like an event.

But here's what most people miss:

Canvas Beauty didn't get lucky.
They built a creator ecosystem.

Beauty creators earned commissions promoting Canvas on their own LIVEs.

Exclusive bundles only existed inside the TikTok Shop.

Every stream felt like a show, not a sales pitch.

This tapped into what TikTok actually wants.

People don't want ads.

They want authentic experiences that feel personal and fun.

Canvas mastered selling without feeling like they were selling.

When Black Friday hit, the system was already running:

• Creators promoting.
• LIVEs scheduled.
• Bundles ready.

One viral LIVE turned into millions.

From 2022 to now, Canvas has gone from a small, self-funded brand to one of TikTok Shop's top sellers.

TikTok Shop isn't about hoping something goes viral.

It’s about:

• Building trust.
• Going live consistently.
• Making every stream an event.
• Leveraging creators who move product.

It works if you know how to apply it.

Stormi didn't wait for ads to work.

She made TikTok Shop her storefront, and crushed it.

One of our UK clients in the beauty niche affiliate sales did over £50K in GMV in October.

Up 29% from September.

We doubled down this month:

• 927 videos posted.
• 539 LIVE streams.

The brands winning right now are the ones that went all in on creator volume.

If you want to see this kind of MoM growth for your brand, DM me "TikTok Shop" and I'll walk you through the exact process we used here.

3 weeks until BFCM — and if your ad strategy isn’t ready, this is your 
MakeUGC V.2 crash plan.

======

Week 1 (Nov 1–7): Build Creative Momentum

Forget new shoots — focus on what you can control.

Use MakeUGC V.2 (Sora2 Pro, Veo3.1, Kling) to generate UGC ads fast.

Post 3–5 videos per day on your brand account.

AI ads take time to train the algorithm, so what you post now will peak right before BFCM.

Test everything:

→ Different hooks
→ Product angles
→ Emotional storylines

Let the AI agents analyze performance and identify your early winners automatically.

======

Week 2 (Nov 8–14): Double Down on Winners

By now, you’ll know what’s driving clicks and conversions.

Feed that data into the AI agents — they’ll brief MakeUGC automatically.

Veo3.1 will refine pacing, Kling adds realism, and Sora2 Pro builds cinematic versions of your best ads.

Start running paid campaigns behind your top creatives ($100–200/day each).

Bundle products and tease BFCM drops with suspense-driven videos.

======

Week 3 (Nov 15–21): Full Send Mode

Post 3–5 videos daily minimum.

Scale spend on the top 10% of creatives.

Run daily countdown lives or short urgency clips.

AI agents will handle trend adaptation, fresh hooks, and real-time testing — so you can focus on fulfillment and scaling.


You won’t build a 7-figure funnel in three weeks.

But you CAN build a profitable one — if you start executing now.

RT + comment “V2” and I’ll send you the full BFCM ad playbook.

(follow for dm)

Most brands build TikTok Shop bundles wrong.

They throw products together and hope it works.

Here's the bundle structure that actually converts:

𝟭) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗕𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲

Pick your best-selling product.

Add 2-3 complementary items that make sense together.

Not your entire catalog.

Example:

• Skincare brand: Serum + moisturizer + face roller
• Supplement brand: Main product + travel size + shaker bottle

People buy bundles when they see clear value, not when you're dumping random products together.

𝟮) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

Your bundle needs to feel like a deal without killing margins.

Here's what works:

• Individual products: $100 total
• Bundle price: $70-75
• 25-30% off is the sweet spot.
• Anything less feels weak.

Anything more kills your profit after TikTok fees and creator commissions.

𝟯) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝗼𝗸

This is what most brands miss.

Your bundle commission needs to be aggressive enough that creators want to push it.

30-40% minimum for BFCM bundles.

But would you rather do $10K at 40% margin or $100K at 20% margin?

𝟰) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲

Make it TikTok Shop exclusive.

Not available on your site.
Not available on Amazon.
Only inside TikTok Shop.

This gives creators something unique to talk about.

"You can only get this bundle here."

That's the angle that moves people from scrolling to buying.

𝟱) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿

Limited quantity or limited time.

Pick one.

"Only 500 bundles available for BFCM." or "This bundle disappears November 30th."

Scarcity drives action.

Without it, people save your video and forget about it.

What NOT to do:

• Build 10 different bundles.
• Pick 1-2 hero bundles max.
• Include products nobody wants just to clear inventory.
• Set the commission too low.

If your bundles aren't built yet, build them now.

---

♻️ Repost, bookmark, and share with your network if you found this helpful.

Follow me, Ashley Wright, for practical insights on TikTok Shop and eCom growth.

If I could talk to myself five years ago, I'd say one thing:

Just keep going.

It's going to happen eventually.

I followed Gary Vee from the early days.

"Keep going. Keep putting in the work."

My mentality was simple:

If I keep trying, I'll eventually get there.

Years later, Hormozi said the same thing:

"Just don't stop. If you don't stop, you'll find a way."

You might have to shift directions.
You might have to pivot.

But if you don't quit, you'll figure it out.

You're not out of the game until you decide you are.

The content you post this week will make or break your Black Friday.

Most brands think they can drop content on November 20th and watch the sales roll in.

They can't.

TikTok needs at least 30 days to build algorithm traction.

Content posted 30 days before a sale performs better than content dropped at the last minute.

The platform needs time to learn what converts.

By Black Friday, the algorithm already knows:

• Which videos drive purchases.
• Which creators move the product.
• Which hooks convert browsers into buyers.

This is what winning brands are doing right now:

• They're posting 1-2 times daily.
• Testing hooks.
• Testing offers.
• Testing creators.
• Building momentum.

When BFCM arrives, the algorithm knows exactly what to push.

If your content doesn't have 2-3 weeks of momentum behind it, you're invisible.

So start posting today.

By November 22nd, you'll have 3 weeks of data telling you exactly what works.

"I'm probably getting fired for this."

This hook works insanely well for Black Friday.

People love feeling like they're in on a secret.

When a creator posts your BFCM deal early with a "leaked codes" or "you didn't see this from me" angle, it doesn't feel like marketing.

It feels exclusive, like they're getting access to something they shouldn't have yet.

How to use this:

Give your top 3-5 creators early access to your BFCM bundles.

Tell them to post it with angles like:

• "I'm not supposed to show this yet, but..."
• "Black Friday deal leaked early."
• "Delete this before my brand partner sees it."
• "You didn't get this from me."

Try these and see your Black Friday sales explode.

I used to spend 70+ hours a month building decks and proposals.

Between client meetings, audits, and speaking gigs, I was drowning in slide design.

Then I started using Gamma's consultant prompts, and it's been a game-changer.

Now I'm delivering better work in a fraction of the time.

What makes it different from other tools?

Gamma studied 3.5 million presentations and built a library of 100+ optimized prompts specifically for consultants (plus sales, marketing, education, and more).

They follow a proven 30-word formula for clarity and visual storytelling, so every deck looks polished and professional without the manual work.

Now, I'm creating presentations in under an hour that used to take me a full day.

That's 85-90% time savings.

With 70 million users and 700K decks created daily, there's a reason Gamma works.

They've cracked the code on what makes presentations actually effective.

If you're still building slides from scratch, check this out: 

https://lnkd.in/emggCMRZ

#gammapartner

secret prompts

Jordan Ross

You didn’t build your agency to spend your days buried in project management tools, stuck on Slack, or cleaning up your team’s mistakes.

But if you’re like most 7-figure founders, you’re trapped in what I call Agency Prison:

You’re still involved in client fulfillment

Team members lean on you to solve problems

Growth stalls every time you try to scale

You know what’s broken—but never have the time to fix it

You’re not underperforming—your infrastructure is.
And it’s costing you time, freedom, and compounding revenue.

Here’s how we help:
At 8 Figure Agency, we serve as your Done-For-You COO—
installing the operational infrastructure that removes you from day-to-day execution.

✅ Document your systems
We map every step of how your business runs—from onboarding to fulfillment—so your team knows exactly what to do, when, and how.

✅ Turn training into a conveyor belt
We don’t just write SOPs—we build a repeatable, scalable training engine.
Video walkthroughs. Benchmarks. Decision trees. Structured onboarding.
New hires move through like a conveyor belt—trained the same way, every time.
So your team performs consistently without needing hand-holding or shadowing.

✅ Clarify roles & ownership
No more overlapping responsibilities. Everyone on your team will know what they’re responsible for, how they’re measured, and what success looks like.

✅ Create performance visibility
You’ll get a dashboard that shows how every client and team member is doing—so nothing slips through the cracks.

✅ Build a high-accountability culture
We install weekly meetings where your team comes prepared—ready to report wins, challenges, and next steps. No more status updates. Just action.

We’ve helped over 1,000 agencies install systems that actually scale—without chaining the founder to daily execution.

If you’re:

The only one who can fix client issues

Stuck in strategy, delivery, and managing the team

Turning down growth because your backend can’t handle more

Sick of feeling like your business owns you

Then DM me “8FOS.”

Let’s build a business that runs without you.

Build the dream.
Not a prison.

Member

Getting your business financials should not be hard. We are putting an end to poor communication and poor service in the bookkeeping and financial world. 
We are the financial partner you deserve.

Fully agentic agency. Built on N8N. Seven figures in profit. 90 days.

I've seen it with my own eyes.

SEO + content + GEO services. $15K/month retainers. 95% margins.

They're not a unicorn.

They're the beginning of a trend.

And they're building in silence because they don't want competition.

They're going upstream first - selling 6-7 figure retainers to enterprise clients.

Eventually, they'll come downstream.

To your market.

With better margins. Better delivery. Better results.

If you're still manually delivering services, you won't compete.

The race is on.

Helping 7-Figure Agency Founders Escape “Agency Prison” | Scale from $100k/mo → $1M/mo | DFY Operating Systems | 1K + Agencies

One automation I'm shocked every agency doesn't have already:

Taking call notes and automatically turning them into action items.

Here's the flow:
📞 Fathom records and transcribes your client calls
⚡ Zapier analyzes the transcript for action items like "Send proposal" or "Follow up in 3 days"
🎯 GoHighLevel automatically creates tasks with proper owner and due date

What this eliminates:
❌ Manual transcription of meeting notes
❌ Manual task creation and distribution
❌ Delays between calls and follow-up actions
❌ Inconsistencies across teams on who does what
❌ Forgotten commitments that kill client relationships

✅ The result: Improved team response time and accountability with clear ownership straight from the call.

The founders who are disorganized but very creative in the moment can now speak on calls as if they're assigning a human action. 

And it will get done.

Works with any PM tool (ClickUp, Notion, Asana).

Very simple automation, high leverage.

How many hours per week does your team spend manually creating tasks from meeting notes?

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Jordan Ross | LinkedIn

A company came to us wanting AI development with 500+ clients but had zero centralized data infrastructure.

🛑 We had to stop the project immediately.

Here's what 3,000+ hours of building AI into agencies taught us ...

AI doesn't replace clean operations, it makes them absolutely critical.

AI only works on clean, structured, predictable data. Without that foundation, your models will hallucinate, guess, and create more problems than they solve.

Why we always build the stack first:
✅ Source of truth - CRMs, data warehouses, and standardized workspaces ensure every field is consistent across systems.
✅ Predictable workflows - Structured processes tell AI agents exactly what to do next, eliminating edge cases that break automations.
✅ Data validation - Every agent has clear goals with built-in checks that improve output quality over time.

When the stack is missing 📉
❌ Hallucinated records and mismatched customer entities
❌ Prompts become massive and expensive as you try to handle every edge case
❌ Impossible to track bugs or measure AI performance

Bottom line: AI amplifies whatever system it runs on. Clean data compounds into better results. Messy data compounds into bigger disasters.

Build the foundation first, then add the intelligence. 🏗️

How clean is your current data infrastructure on a scale of 1-10?

"Just drop everything in a vector database and it'll be magical."

🚫 Wrong.

If your AI engineer told you this, they don't know what they're doing.

Proper AI infrastructure requires FOUR types of databases:
⚡ Vector Database - For semantic search and sentiment analysis
⚡ Data Warehouse - For structured numerical data and analytics
⚡ Knowledge Graph - For building relationships between data points
⚡ Relational Database - For transactional data

Each serves a specific purpose.

When you ask a complex question like "What's the average LTV of my clients in the last 6 months and what's their sentiment on renewing?" - the system needs to:

→ Pull numbers from the data warehouse 
→ Grab sentiment from the vector database
→ Connect relationships via the knowledge graph 
→ Query transactions from relational DB

Then synthesize everything into one answer.

This isn't simple. But it's necessary for production-level AI.

Building with just one database type is like trying to build a house with only a hammer.

We're building a pyramid from the bottom up.

Foundation - Worker agents 👷
- Slack agent (reads messages)
- Asana agent (pulls tasks)
- CRM agent (grabs deals)

Middle: Workflow agents 🏄
- Account manager workflow (combines Slack + Asana + CRM)
- Training workflow (combines different data sources)
- Reporting workflow (aggregates performance)

Top: Role agents 🤖
- Full account manager role (delegates to workflows)
- Full project manager role (orchestrates multiple workflows)

Peak: Manager agents 👨‍💼 
- Oversees all roles
- Monitors performance
- Makes strategic decisions

You can't skip levels.

You can't jump straight to manager agents.

You build from the bottom.

One layer at a time.

Most agencies are trying to start at the top.

That's why they fail.

Which level are you actually ready to build, or are you still trying to skip straight to the top?

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❌  The biggest mistake I see agency owners make:

Trying to build competitive advantages on public AI tools.

Zapier, Make, ChatGPT... these are commodities. Everyone has access to them. 

You can't build a moat with tools your competitors are using.

Custom development on N8N? That's different. 

You're encoding your specific processes, your client knowledge, your service methodology into proprietary systems.

When a prospect asks, "What makes you different?" You can show them systems that literally don't exist anywhere else.

Public tools are for efficiency. Custom development is for competitive advantage.

Which one are you investing in?

Agency owners… You are not engineers.

You don't know how to interview engineers. You don't know how to manage them. You don't know how to QA their work.

This isn't a criticism. It's reality.

You're experts at scaling service delivery, managing client relationships, and building profitable operations.

Technical architecture and AI development? That's a completely different skill set.

Just like you have senior media buyers managing junior media buyers, you need senior engineers managing your technical talent.

We're offering to source, interview, and manage full-time engineers for our clients at cost in 2025. 

Why? Because we see too many agencies hiring the wrong people and building systems that break.

The overhead on our consulting and engineering team is pushing $750K annually. 

We're doing this to prove the model for 2026.

Would you rather focus on running your agency or debugging N8N workflows?

Most agency owners overlook an unforeseen leverage point in AI development…

💡 Use AI profits to afford elite talent.

Most agencies build AI to cut costs. The smart ones use AI savings to hire the strategists that elite agencies pay $180k-$200k+ for.

Within 3-6 months, this approach lets you compete directly with the best agencies in the world.

Here's why talent matters:

The top agencies win because they pay for world-class people.

💰 What different agencies pay their strategists:
- Average agencies: $60k-$120k/year
- Top 1% agencies: $120k-$160k
- Elite agencies: $180k-$200k+

When these elite agencies lose clients, many eventually come back. The insights, creative direction, and results at that level are just that good.

Now how do you compete head-on with them?

🔧 Profit Optimization

The first iteration of AI development = Removing inefficiencies and constraints

That translated into $15k–$25k/month in additional profit—pure bottom-line gain.

With that new margin, the next move was simple:

Reinvest in better talent.

With ~$300k/year in newfound profit per pod, they went from mid-tier strategist salaries to hiring top-tier strategists at $180k+ annually.

These elite hires bring higher capacity, better strategy, and greater LTV through improved client outcomes and retention.

⚙️ Build Tech-Enabled Pods

The next evolution of agencies will be tech-enabled service models
⚡They’ll pair elite strategists with AI systems that amplify their efficiency and expand their capacity.

The goal:
	•	Surround high-performing humans with automation.
	•	Systematize workflows.
	•	Scale insight and execution without adding headcount.

Over time, each pod becomes a self-sustaining profit center…
⚡Lead by one of the best strategists in the world, backed by AI, and generating 10–20x the revenue they cost.

Now imagine this across multiple pods. Each lean, automated, and led by elite operators. 

You’re reinvesting profits into marketing, brand, tech, and new proprietary tools.

That’s the next wave of agency growth.

✅Better talent. Smarter systems. 20x insights. 20x testing velocity. 100x results.

Are you using AI to cut costs or to afford the talent that will make you unbeatable?

Most agencies see the tip of the AI iceberg.

They build a few automations in N8N. They connect some tools. They think they're done.

Then they try to scale.

And everything breaks.

Here's what's hidden below the surface:
→ Production-ready architecture 
→ Proper database schemas 
→ Mass data ingestion pipelines 
→ Error handling and monitoring 
→ Context window management 
→ Hallucination prevention layers 
→ Model-agnostic infrastructure 
→ Security and access controls

The tip of the iceberg gets you to level one.

But if you need deep company knowledge, meaningful insights, and reliable outputs at scale...you need to build below the waterline.

Most agencies won't tell you this.

Because they're still at the tip.

Remember the Amazon agency boom?

Agencies were selling for 10x EBITDA at peak.

It's happening again.

Fully agentic agencies will command valuations between: 
→ Traditional agency multiples (2-5x revenue) 
→ SaaS multiples (10x+ revenue)

Somewhere in the middle.

I predict peak M&A activity: 2026-2029.

Incumbent 8-9 figure agencies who didn't build AI infrastructure will survive through acquisition.

They'll buy the agentic agencies that figured it out.

This is the Hawk Media model.

But here's the problem for incumbents:

It's actually HARDER for them to build AI infrastructure because: 
→ They have massive teams 
→ Complex existing processes
→ Legacy systems 
→ Organizational resistance

Meanwhile, lean agencies building from scratch have huge advantages.

First-mover advantage is real.

The window is closing.

🙅 Don't quit your agency because "AI's taking over."

Quit this instead…

❌ Quit pretending you can compete with other agencies without your own AI system.

Every new AI tool coming to market requires MCP connections. 

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is your private data hub that lets AI tools actually understand your agency's context, history, and processes. 

Think of it as the new Zapier for the AI era. But instead of just moving data between tools, it makes your data intelligently accessible to AI.

Even platforms like Klaviyo are rolling out features to let you integrate your own MCP. This means your campaigns can tap into your entire agency's knowledge base to get smarter results.

I've been helping clients build AI so they can leverage these technologies as they become standard.

Meanwhile, agencies without AI are at a severe disadvantage.

Traditional agencies are getting undersold at 1-2x EBITDA. 

If you're betting your agency's future on publicly available tools, you're already behind.

Here's what building your AI system gives you:
- Every client interaction becomes training data
- Your campaigns get smarter with each iteration
- Premium buyers pay 10-20x EBITDA instead of 1-2x

MCP is essentially the next evolution of how we move and use data. 

It's the streamlined way to utilize your data across tools. 

Without it, you're locked out of the next generation of AI features.

You don't need to abandon your agency or pivot your model.

But you do need to build an AI backbone for your agency.

DM me “OPS” and I’ll show you where to begin.

After working with 1,000+ agency owners and helping them collectively scale by hundreds of millions in ARR, here's what I know:

Every agency that scales to 8 figures and beyond masters these 13 systems.

Every agency that stalls has 3 or more of these systems completely broken.

The 13 Systems:
- Financial Health
- Time & Stress Management
- Marketing & Positioning
- Predictable Lead Generation
- Sales Operations
- Cohesive, Documented Processes
- Delegation & Accountability
- Metrics That Drive Performance
- Client Retention & Expansion
- Hiring & Training Excellence
- Strategic Planning Mastery
- Technology & AI Integration
- Culture & Standards Leadership

If you have more than 3 of these systems broken, you should talk to us.

This is the only thing we focus on: building businesses that can operate without their founders.

Which of these 13 systems is the biggest bottleneck in your agency right now?

APIs are old news.

The future is MCPs (Model Context Protocol).

Here's why this matters:

Traditional APIs connect data between tools. Your CRM talks to your project management system.

MCPs connect your entire data ecosystem to AI models.

When you build a proper "Brain" with MCP servers, you can: → Plug into Claude instantly 
→ Switch between AI models seamlessly 
→ Upload entire client contexts in seconds 
→ Never get locked into one platform

You OWN your data.

If you want to change CRMs? Fine. Your data stays in the 
Brain.

New AI model launches? Plug it in.

Better transcription tool? Switch with zero friction.

This is how you future-proof your agency.

MCPs are the infrastructure layer that makes AI actually useful.

Analysis tasks that could be automated. 📊
- Manual report generation
- Data reconciliation across systems 

These data processing delays don't feel like your biggest problem. They're not dramatic. They don't create visible crises.

But they're quietly consuming massive amounts of high-skill time.

Here's what we typically find:
❌  Senior team members spend 4-6 hours per week generating reports that could be automated. That's 250+ hours per year of strategic thinking capacity being used for manual data manipulation.
❌ Analysts spend 10-15 hours per month reconciling data across multiple systems because there's no integration. That's time that could be spent on actual analysis and insights.
❌ Decision-makers wait days for data they need because it requires manual compilation. That delay slows the entire business. 

These tasks follow predictable patterns. They use the same data sources. They produce standardized outputs. They're perfect candidates for automation.

But they're also "good enough" as manual processes, so they never feel urgent enough to fix.

This is the classic capacity drain trap.

The task takes 2-3 hours. Not enough to scream for automation. 

But multiply that by weekly frequency, multiple team members, and compounding delays...

Suddenly, you've got 20-30 hours per week of collective capacity locked up in data processing that could be automated.

Here’s a real example: 

A client's finance team spent 6 hours every Monday morning compiling data for the weekly leadership meeting. Data from 5 different systems, manually copied into a spreadsheet, formatted, validated, and distributed.

6 hours x 52 weeks = 312 hours annually

We built an automated pipeline that pulls, validates, and distributes the same report in 15 minutes, requiring only a quick human review.

Result: 300 hours saved every year. 60 hours to build. ROI in 3 months. ✅

Once you see the hours saved, you start spotting the same patterns everywhere. 

Where to look:
- What reports do you generate regularly?
- What data do you manually move between systems?
- What analysis tasks follow the same pattern each time?
- Where are you "good enough" with manual processes?

That last one is key. "Good enough" manual processes are where the biggest opportunities hide.

What could your senior team accomplish with 300+ additional hours per year of strategic capacity?

That’s the real ROI: turning lost time into strategic output.

What data processing task is consuming more time than it should?

"AI development is too expensive."

I hear this from agency owners sitting on 20%+ profit margins.

Let me reframe this:
⚡ Cut one $8K/month admin role
⚡ Invest that into AI development
⚡ Increase capacity by 50% without new hires
⚡ Upsell existing clients with enhanced service delivery
⚡ Add AI operations to your exit story

That's not an expense. That's the highest ROI investment you can make.

The agencies treating AI as a "nice to have" are going to wake up in 18 months wondering how their competitors got so far ahead.

How are you calculating the true cost of NOT investing in AI?

We’re going to add $504k in annual profit to a client of ours in the next 90 days with a simple AI solution, something every agency needs. 

Here’s how. 

One of our clients is running an ad agency doing 250k/mo. He currently has 80 clients with an avg retainer of $3000. 

His company has 7 pods. The average pod can sustain 12 clients. 

We easily identified how to add 3 new clients per pod with 1 solution. 

Each of his strategists spends, on average, 1 hour a week pulling data and analyzing data to improve their campaigns. 

When I told him we had just removed this process for another agency client. We instantly dove into the mathematical implications for his agency. 

To be conservative, rolling this solution out to him will save his strategists 10 hours a week. 

This will give them 25% of their time back per week. 

If we are modest with our forecast, this will allow each pod to add 2 new clients per pod in new client capacity. 

This guy's a sales genius and their ads crush. He can easily sell these 2 new slots per pod (14 clients) within 2 months easy. 

2 new clients per pod 
7 pods active in total 
$3000/mo (avg) per client 
= 45,000/mo in net new profit (no cost added, thus all goes to bottom line). 

Now picture this. We unlock over half a million in added profit with one series of workflows. 

Imagine what we unlock in capacity after a year with this agency. 

5 new clients per pod = 1.26M in added annual profit 
7 new clients per pod = 1.76M in added annual profit 

This is what phase 1 is for AI development. 

Build optimizations, increase the current team's capacity, sell the capacity & scale profit immensely. 

Then, take this profit and reinvest it. 
Build a bigger moat. 

Invest more into brand and marketing. 
Invest into better talent. 
Invest into better IP to increase LTV. 

Every which way we spin this, the added profit turns into a crazy compounding flywheel for the agency. 

This is phase 1 of the AI revolution. 

Don’t sleep on it.

Most 7-figure agency owners celebrate when they hit a new revenue goal.
They're celebrating the wrong thing.

Revenue doesn't matter. What you KEEP matters.

One of the biggest mistakes I see founders making is focusing on revenue. 

It does not matter how much your business makes. It really just matters how much you keep.

Signs your financial foundation is broken:
❌  Margins below 20% 
❌ No visibility into profit this month, last month, or rolling 3 months ahead 
❌ No tracking of revenue, COGS, and team attribution 
❌ Bookkeeping doesn't assign contractors to specific buckets 
❌ You're paying yourself irregularly 
❌ Taking projects outside your wheelhouse just to make a buck

What good financial health looks like:
✅ Net margins at 35%+ 
✅ Monthly P&L accurate within 2-10 business days of month close 
✅ Clear tracking of CAC and LTV 
✅ Predictable 90-day cash forecast 
✅ Compensation is planned, consistent, and consistently growing

The big theme?

Visibility.

Most agency owners struggle because they don't have correct books and correct forecasts. Without them, you don't know the scoreboard of your business.

Stop celebrating revenue goals.

Start celebrating goals for 7- and 8-figure cash flow instead.

5 days to research one blog post. That's insane.

A content agency came to us with this bottleneck.

They were producing 1 blog per week for clients. Their entry-level content 
admin was taking 3-5 days per blog just for research and administrative tasks.

The constraint was obvious. The solution wasn't.

We built a custom workflow that automated the entire research and admin 
process. Deployment took 2 months.

Result  ➡️  They can now offer 2X the content without hiring additional staff.

Better yet? They went back to clients and upsold. Instead of 4 blogs per month, they now deliver 8 blogs for 1.5X the price.

Same client investment, 2X capacity, 1.5X revenue per client.

That's not just automation. That's strategic leverage.

What's the biggest bottleneck in your service delivery right now?

Simple agents do one thing. Department agents do everything.

Here's the evolution:

🤖 Level 0 - No AI 
🤖 Level 1 - Individual agents (pull ad data, flag issues, send alerts) 
🤖 Level 2 - Connected workflows (media buying associate who audits + flags + recommends) 
🤖 Level 3 - Department agents (complete strategic oversight across all company data)

A true department agent can: 
→ Analyze overall company LTV 
→ Review page view trends 
→ Identify sentiment from client communications 
→ Recommend strategic pivots

"Our page views are declining. We should create more content on X topic based on client feedback and performance data."

This level of insight is impossible without centralized data.

You can't build department agents when data is siloed across tools.

The Brain makes this possible.

⏰ We saved an agency 5-9 hours per week with one conversation.

After months of exploring ways to add value, we finally uncovered their real problem.

⏳ They were spending 30 minutes per client per week creating Google Ads reports. That's 5-9 hours every single week just on reporting.

We showed the owner our 5-agent flow that handles:
✅ Google Ads metric reports
✅ Performance analysis
✅ Optimization suggestions

His reaction? "This is the dream."

The transformation:
❌ Before - 30 minutes per client per week
🙌 After - 5 minutes per client (just review and send)

What struck me was how long this took to uncover. For months, we'd been asking the owner what he needed. He shared ideas, but nothing came close to the impact of this solution.

It reminded me of Henry Ford's line: "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."

Sometimes the most valuable solutions address problems your clients didn't even know they had.

What "reporting burden" is eating hours of your team's week that could be automated down to minutes?

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