Joris van Huët

Grow Your Boat

Still figuring out where your revenue comes from as a Fashion brand running on Shopify doing > 30K MRR? Read on 👇

We do this:

Connect your marketing data sources,
>>>
Ask questions,
>>>
Act upon clear and actionable insights.

We cure frustrated DTC brands of their inaccurate data analytics.

It's really that simple.

Founder & CEO

marketingupgrade.pro

People call me when their marketing broke or it's slowing down. We then have a fun call after which a usually equally fun follow-up meeting takes place. By then we've narrowed down what needs to be down and how much time will be needed to get there.

Owner - Performance marketeer - EN, FR & NL

Marketing Advisor - NL

Scaled DTC brands in the Netherlands doing 1Mio+ ARR.

- Paid Social performance marketing execution.
- Growth Manager of a performance marketing team (5).

Senior Growth Specialist - NL

Helped design, build and operate inbound - and outbound marketing systems.

Digital Marketeer - NL & EN

Helped validate and / or soft launch MVP's designed by R&D departments of AAA's in the F&B, GM/HBC and Financial Services industries.

Corporate Venture Marketeer - EN & FR

Helped with the definition, conception, implementation and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish Briqwise as a global brand.

Chief Marketing Officer - Briqwise - NL & EN

Your tournament starts here.

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Helped Tournify with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish Tournify as a global brand.

Chief Marketing Officer - Tournify - EN, FR & NL

I worked as a research assistant for Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch executive agency for public works and water management. My main task was to conduct a research project on how to scale the use of second hand furniture in the Netherlands to bolster sustainability in the industry.

The research project involved:

- Reviewing the literature on the environmental and social benefits of second hand furniture, as well as the barriers and drivers for its adoption by consumers and businesses.

- Conducting interviews and surveys with various stakeholders, such as furniture manufacturers, retailers, resellers, refurbishers, NGOs, and customers.

- Analyzing the data and identifying the best practices, opportunities, and challenges for scaling the use of second hand furniture in the Netherlands.

- Developing recommendations and strategies for Rijkswaterstaat and other relevant actors to promote and facilitate the circular economy of furniture.

The research project was a valuable learning experience for me, as I gained insights into the complex and dynamic system of furniture production and consumption, and the potential for circular solutions to reduce waste and emissions, while creating social and economic value. I also improved my skills in research design, data collection and analysis, report writing, and stakeholder engagement.

I enjoyed working with a diverse and motivated team of researchers, consultants, and experts from Rijkswaterstaat and other organizations. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this important and innovative project.

(a.i.) Marketing Advisor - Rijkswaterstaat

Whether it’s a card game for two players with battling animals, a tactics game for your PC or your favorite digital board game on mobile, Grumpy Owl Games wants to turn your game experience into something that puts a smile on your face.

Smiling is a lot easier if the game you’re playing is easy to understand, nice to look at and makes you come back for more. That is why we create beautiful, accessible and high-quality games for your screens and tabletop.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps Grumpy Owl Games with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish the Grumpy Owl Games brand worldwide.

(a.i.) Marketing - Grumpy Owl Games - EN, FR & NL

Huispedia aims to democratize the real estate industry and give the power back to whom it's all about: the homeowners.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps Huispedia further establish their brand among homeowners in the Netherlands.

(a.i.) Marketing Advisor - Huispedia - NL

INNOVATE is committed to finding and supporting the Most Innovative Student in the
Netherlands. The grand ideas of tomorrow should be given a stage today. That’s why
we are looking for students with either an idea or a functioning start-up, who aim
to solve social and environmental issues. Ideas that tackle macro problems and are
being worked on to produce a head-on solution. Social inequality, climate change, the
relationship between essential data and privacy: in order to face the societal challenges
of the future, we have a hunch you’re out there coming up with innovative solutions.

(a.i.) Marketing Manager @ Innovatiefste Student van Nederland - INNOVATE

INNOVATE has the power to inspire people, and to show that innovation is something you should do, especially when things go wrong. That is why INNOVATE was there in 2020. This time we mainly manifested ourselves digitally, and not in the form of all kinds of large physical events. We developed into an online platform where others can present themselves, and organized no fewer than 5 online (live) INNOVATE Meetups with dozens of innovative parties from the Arnhem, Nijmegen and Wageningen region. This formula provided connection, inspiration and activation. In 2021, we will continue to work from that online vision for the time being. There will also be a number of offline activities, where regulations allow.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps INNOVATE with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Communication strategies. Together we aim to further establish the INNOVATE brand, mainly in the Netherlands.

(a.i.) Marketing Manager - INNOVATE

It is only logical to use existing materials and to produce locally with fair conditions and transparent payments while designing products that last. We see waste materials as a mountain full of potential, and by simply maximizing the lifespan of materials we aim to reduce the waste pile, one bag at a time.

Introducing our bag made out of banners, car seatbelts and inner tubes from bicycles. For every occasion, we got your bag!

Co-Founder - Het Nieuwe Logisch - EN & NL

The Bin creates products from waste. With us, any company in any industry can become part of the new economy. Simluator of the circular economy.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps The Bin with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish the The Bin brand, mainly in the Netherlands.

(.a.i.) Marketing Lead - The Bin

Health organizations and insitutes come to Amulet for custom eHealth platforms, (web)apps, portal and websites. Thanks to a broad range of clients we are familiair with a number of technologies and innovations, which we can apply in each industry. Our belief is that tech is a tool the bring joy to hard-working individuals.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps Amulet with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish the Amulet brand, mainly in the Netherlands.

(a.i.) Marketing Lead - Amulet

Start-up minded companies come to IGNE for platforms, (web)apps, portal and websites. Thanks to a broad range of clients we are familiair with a number of technologies and innovations, which we can apply in each industry. Our belief is that tech is a part of your team. When your tech starts to show it's limitations, it is like a team that is not performing well. How do you start optimising your tech? IGNE guides you towards the answer.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps IGNE with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish the IGNE brand, mainly in the Netherlands.

(a.i.) Marketing Lead - IGNE

An organization commited to helping children regain inner peace and calmness in an age of information overload.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps Stichting Glimlach in je Hoofd with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish the brand among Dutch schools.

(a.i.) Marketing Specialist - Stichting Glimlach In Je Hoofd

Scanfie lets your guests order quickly and easily.

Did you know that the biggest annoyance among visiting guests the long wait for service? Sometimes guests visiting a (dining) café even have to wait half an hour before they can place their first order.

Would you stcik around around after having your patience tested like this?

This summer there were even several beach tents, cafes and other catering companies that had to close off part of the terrace or drastically shorten their opening hours due to staff shortages. An unnecessarily big disappointment for your guests and an unnecessarily large impact on your turnover.

Avoidable, with Scanfie.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps Scanfie with the researching and realization of (new) strategic partnerships for Scanfie. Together we aim to further establish the Scanfie brand in the Netherlands.

(.a.i.) Business Development Manager - Scanfie - NL

Searious Business creates business solutions aimed at increasing sustainability and limiting plastic waste. To that end, Searious Business collaborates with companies to solve plastic waste.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps Searious Business with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing, PR and Sales strategies. Together we aim to further establish the Searious Business brand in Europe.

(a.i.) Chief Marketing Officer - Searious Business - EN, FR & NL

Positive change starts from education. The BD School believes that everyone deserves a chance to build the future of their dream. The mission is simple: to enable individuals and ambitious founders to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to leave their mark in society.

Anima Cloud Efflux helps The BD School with the definition, conception and execution of Marketing strategies. Together we aim to further establish the BD School brand around the globe.

(a.i.) Chief Marketing Officer -  The BD School - EN

Stichting Oogfonds Nederland

Het aantal mensen met een oogprobleem stijgt. De oplossing ligt in voorlichting, preventie en meer oogonderzoek. Het Oogfonds financiert wetenschappelijk oogonderzoek naar het voorkomen en behandelen van oogproblemen. En steunt patiëntenverenigingen in het verbeteren van de kwaliteit van leven voor mensen met een visuele beperking.

Senior Online Marketeer

internationovel

This projected was terminated. 

- Concept was successfully validated.
- Follow-through to expand operations was more arduous than expected.
- Will be repeated in the future!

The world is changing. The way we consume literature is changing. But our mission remains the same: to bring you the best stories, from the finest writers, every single day. Sign up now and receive our novel one page a day in your inbox for free.

The Writers

Our young writers were carefully selected to form an international team composed of vastly various backgrounds. Each playing an instrumental part in this project.By signing up, you'll get access to the novel for free! You'll receive one page a day directly in your inbox.In our messages, we'll give you opportunities to support our writers (should you become a fan of their work).

The Story

Each writer narrated the story of their own protagonist. Making it that they all come from different worlds (like in real life!)In this epic fantasy tale, five unlikely heroes are brought together by a shared touch of fate.Be it so remedy their own misery or to fight for something much bigger than themselves: their convergence was no coincidence.

Founder

Infi

Infi believes in the strength of long-term and balanced collaborations. Together with our customers, we seek out the most effective and efficient road to success. Their dreams become ours, as do their problems. "Growing together" defines us best. My mission within Infi takes form with the following tasks;

- Marketing strategy
- B2B community management
- Business development
- Developer community management
- Content & social media marketing
- Brand management
- Storytelling 
- Partnership management
- Event management

In a nutshell: Infi takes pride in building loved products with our awesome clients, by writing beautiful code with their team of amazing developers. Both in Utrecht, as in Amsterdam.

#infinl

Chief Marketing Officer - EN & NL

Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences

Topics within Online Marketing; 

- Consumer Behavior 
- Content Marketing
- Influencer Marketing
- Programmatic Marketing
- Social Media Marketing (B2C / B2B)
- Storytelling in Marketing

Guest Speaker - EN & NL

United Wardrobe

Tasked with the cultivation and and nurturing of United Wardrobe's presence in France.

- Business Development
- Campaign Data Processing & Analysis
- Content Production Management
- Imagineering
- Influencer Campaign Conception
- Influencer Campaign Management
- Influencer Partnership Management
- Multichannel Storytelling Strategy

Influencer Marketeer - BE & FR (directly contributed to EXIT)

Omnicom Media Group

Tasked with with the trafficking, set-up, optimalisation and evaluation of programmatic media trading campaigns. 

- Contribution to Content Marketing
- Contribution to Copywriting
- Contribution to Translations

Account(s): Bacardi, EasyJet, Levi's, Monsterboard, PepsiCo and Renault.

Programmatic Media Planner / - Buyer & AdOps Specalist (OMD NL) - BeNeLux

Publicis Groupe

Tasked with with the trafficking, set-up, optimalisation and evaluation of programmatic media trading campaigns. 

Account(s): L'Oréal & Film1.

Digital Executive (Zenith NL) - Programmatic Media Planner / - Buyer & AdOps Trainee - BeNeLux

WeTransfer

Tasked with the acquisition of new potential advertisers in designated regions, as well as the negotiations and management of branding campaigns.

- Account Management
- "Artvertising"
- Business Development
- Channel Management
- International Sales
- Key Account Management
- Media Trading
- Sales Process Optimization (Eastern Europe, APAC, GCC)

Sales Manager - APAC, EEU, FR & GCC

We cure frustrated DTC brands of their inaccurate marketing analytics. || Founder Grow Your Boat. || Freelance End-to-End DTC & SaaS Growth Strategist.

Let's be honest, most marketing tools are stuck in the past. 

You just want that helping hand to do your thing, but tools nowadays...

They give all the credit to the 'last click' like some kind of participation trophy. 

Who cares about the last pat on the back?

You need to see the whole customer journey, 
from the wide-eyed browsing to the 'buy now!' moment.

But those old-school tools? 

Blind to all that juicy data.

This means:

→ Hidden growth opportunities waving goodbye.

→ You waste money on ineffective marketing.

→ Your competitors get ahead with better data insights! 

We clearly don't want that, 
right?

Enough is enough, 
my friend. 

We get it. 

You deserve better.

That's where we come in. 

Grow Your Boat isn't your old-school marketing tool. 

We go beyond the limitations of those old school tools and help you to see the complete customer journey, 
identify hidden growth opportunities, 
and optimize your marketing spend.

All you need to do is connect your data, 
talk to it, 
get insights,  
act upon them and generate profitable growth. 

The result? 

We've seen our clients scale their marketing from 30k MRR to 500k MRR. 

Typical problems we solve entail questions such as;

"What are the consequences if I turn off Pinterest ads? The ROAS on other channels is much better, but is Pinterest perhaps contributing to those somehow?"

+7% renvenue growth in Q1 2024.

"My return rates are eating my margins, what customer segments should I be targeting per channel to reduce the liklihood of returns?"

+3% margin increase in Q1 2024.

See where I'm going with this?

You can throw any problem at Grow Your Boat and work it out together.

That's a clear advantage you can't afford to ignore.

Until then, ask yourself:

What are your customers REALLY telling you? 

Do you know what you DON'T know?

Book a free demo to find out. 

It's a no-brainer (probably the best decision of your week).

((yes, we truly think so.))

(((jump on a call with us and you'll hear our irresistible offer.)))

((((man, even I want to get on a call with us now.))))

The world is changing. The way we consume literature is changing. But our mission remains the same: to bring you the best stories, from the finest writers, every single day. Sign up now and receive our novel one page a day in your inbox for free.

The Writers

Our young writers were carefully selected to form an international team composed of vastly various backgrounds. Each playing an instrumental part in this project.By signing up, you'll get access to the novel for free! You'll receive one page a day directly in your inbox.In our messages, we'll give you opportunities to support our writers (should you become a fan of their work).

The Story

Each writer narrated the story of their own protagonist. Making it that they all come from different worlds (like in real life!)In this epic fantasy tale, five unlikely heroes are brought together by a shared touch of fate.Be it so remedy their own misery or to fight for something much bigger than themselves: their convergence was no coincidence.

Ciaran Finn

Your Glow Up

Managing Director at Your Glow Up, an award-winning DTC performance creative agency.

Lowering acquisition costs and scaling 8-9 figure DTC brands through performance ad creative.

Find out more at www.yourglowup.io.

Managing Director

Blue Finn Media

Founder & CEO of an award-winning performance marketing agency for eCommerce brands.

We partner with growth-focussed eCommerce brands, taking a CMO-based approach to hitting revenue goals through paid advertising, performance creative and growth consulting.

Learn more here: bluefinnmedia.com

scale & send

The DTC eCommerce events company that your agency tells you not to worry about.

Co-Founder

Kensington Media House

👉 Strategic Director at leading Retention Marketing Agency, Kensington Media House
👉 Regularly achieving 35%+ revenue driven through Email & SMS with no additional ad spend 
👉 Over $60 million generated with Email & SMS for clients across the US, UK, EU, & Asia

Strategic Director

Whilst at university, I founded and ran a lead generation business under the "Rank & Rent" model.

I created highly converting funnels for a specific business niche, focussing on the core pain points of their ideal customers. I'd then use SEO to begin driving traffic to my funnels and generating leads. 

From here I optimized in two ways:
1. Improved my SEO marketing to drive more traffic at a faster rate.
2. I increased the conversion rate of the funnels through landing page optimization and split-testing offers, angles, landers.

These leads were then tracked using call softwares and CRMs, and to monetize:
1. I sold leads on a cost-per-lead basis
2. Or I rented the entire funnel for a flat fee, allowing businesses to receive exclusivity on all leads that the funnels generated.

Despite having fun and learning a lot during this period, I realised I preferred the faster impact of paid advertising vs organic SEO. This led me to a career as a performance marketing consultant, and ultimately founding my next business, a performance marketing agency called Blue Finn Media.

Funnel Builder & SEO Expert

LeadX Ltd

After 2+ years working as an Account Manager part-time whilst at school, I'd finished school and was ready for a full-time role.
 
Within a few days of switching full-time as an Account Manager, I was offered to join the group's head office as a Talent Acquisition Executive, and within the first month I was promoted to the role of Talent Acquisition Consultant.

Here I was responsible for headhunting specific executive positions and strategic recruiting for team members across all departments, including organising 60+ person recruitment events and achieving company-wide recruitment and talent acquisition KPIs.

This was for all consumer brands under the LeadX Holding group, including digital marketing agencies such as Ropto, with 1000+ employees across the group.

This was a performance based role and my bonuses were tied to my team's performance, meaning I was regularly assisting and leading other team members to ensure we hit our bonuses as a team every month.

Talent Acquisition Consultant

Aged 16, I began working as an Outbound Sales Representative at LeadX.

Despite being part-time and still at school, I was quickly top of the team and was promoted to Account Manager.

My role was heavily commission based and involved lead management and sales on behalf of the company.

Account Manager

Helping DTC Brands Scale 5+ New Ad Creatives Every Week // $150M+ In Trackable eCom Sales // DM me CREATIVE and let’s chat

DTC Brands: Click the button in my featured section below 👇

Founder & CEO of an award-winning growth consulting and performance marketing agency for eCommerce brands.

We partner with growth-focussed eCommerce brands, taking a CMO-based approach to hitting revenue goals through paid advertising, performance creative and growth consulting.

Learn more here: bluefinnmedia.com

We've whitelisted 1500+ Meta ads in the past 6 months.
But 95% of brands have no idea how to do it properly.

I'm giving away our internal Whitelisting Cheatsheet that we use with every client - completely FREE.

This is the exact step-by-step system we follow to launch whitelisted ads for 7 and 8-figure DTC brands, which has helped us reduce CPAs by an average of 35% across our client portfolio.

This cheatsheet includes everything:

✅ The 3 types of whitelisting (and when to use each one)
✅ Pros and cons of each whitelisting method
✅ Real examples from brands like Dr. Squatch and Mirror
✅ The 8-step process to launch whitelisted ads
✅ Step-by-step Facebook Business Manager setup guide

We've spent the last 2 years perfecting this process across hundreds of creator partnerships.

This training is worth thousands to brands that implement it correctly.

Today, you can have it for 100% free.

To get access, all you need to do is:
1. Connect with me Ciaran Finn
2. Comment 'WHITELIST' below
   
And I'll send the Whitelisting Cheatsheet straight over.

DTC Growth Expert // $700M+ In Trackable DTC Sales // Scaling 7-9 Figure DTC Brands

Ads that look organic and native to the platform are the best performing creatives in 2025.
 
But most brands only run ads from their own brand page.
 
Thats where whitelisting can be a complete game changer.
 
Whitelisting lets you run ads through creator profiles, third-party pages, or publisher accounts instead.
 
The result? Your ad shows up in someone's feed looking organic.
 
It bypasses ad blindness completely.
 
We've seen this single strategy reduce CPA by 30-40% for brands spending $100k+/month on Meta.
 
There are three main whitelisting strategies:
 
→ Influencer whitelisting — running ads through creator profiles. Most effective but requires partnerships.
 
→ Third-party page whitelisting — creating pages like "DTC Growth Hub" to run ads from. Easiest to set up.
 
→ Publisher whitelisting — building editorial-style pages with listicle landing pages. Most scalable long-term.
 
Each one works differently depending on your brand, offer, and creative style.
 
Hundreds of 8-figure DTC brands use influencer whitelisting to scale past seven figures.
 
The strategy isn't complex. But the setup process is where most brands get stuck.
 
That’s why we’ve put together our internal Whitelisting Cheatsheet that breaks down all 3 strategies, includes real brand examples, and shows the exact step-by-step process we use to launch whitelisted campaigns for our clients.
 
I’m giving it away for completely free today, so f you want it:
 
• connect with me (Ciaran Finn)
• comment 'WHITELIST' below.
 
I'll send it over to you in the DM’s

I audited 8 accounts spending $100k/month in October.
Here's the one mistake I saw in most of them:

They were scaling winners too aggressively.

Let me explain:

A brand hits a winner — 2.8x ROAS at $8k/day spend.

They get excited.

Double the budget overnight.

Two days later?

CPA jumps 60%. ROAS tanks to 1.4x.

What happened?

They exceeded the ad's saturation point.

Every winning ad has a ceiling — a maximum efficient spend threshold before performance collapses. 

Most brands don't know where that ceiling is.

So they scale blindly and burn through budget watching their "winner" turn into a loser.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝗶𝘁:

→ Increase budget by 20-30% every 48 hours (not overnight)
→ Monitor CPM and frequency daily during scale
→ When performance starts declining, pause the increase
→ Duplicate the creative with new hooks instead of pushing the original further

Smart brands scale horizontally (more winning ads) not vertically (forcing one ad to do everything).

We took one fashion brand from $300k/month to $800k/month in four months using this exact approach.

Controlled budget increases. Creative iteration. No aggressive scaling.

Most brands think scaling = more budget.

It doesn't.

Scaling = more winning ads at sustainable spend levels.

We kill 80% of our ads within 72 hours. The other 20%?

They become winning concepts that scale.

Here's the exact 4-stage framework we use to separate winners from losers in under a week:

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟭: 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗽

ABO campaign structure (not CBO).

One concept per ad set. 4-5 variations of each concept.

Broad targeting only.

Why ABO? Because we need clean data on each concept.

CBO pushes budget toward early winners before you have clean data.

ABO forces equal spend across all concepts so you can actually see what performs.

Budget per ad set: 3x your AOV minimum.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟮: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟳𝟮-𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄

Launch all concepts simultaneously.

Monitor two metrics only: CPA and ROAS.

Ignore soft metrics like hook rate and CTR at this stage.

They don't pay your bills.

After 72 hours (or when each ad spends 3x AOV), categorize:

→ Winner: CPA below target
→ Loser: CPA above target

Kill losers immediately.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟯: 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗱 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴

Duplicate winners into your scaling campaign.

But here's what most brands get wrong: they turn off the winning ad in the testing campaign.

Don't do this. That ad is making you money.

Instead, let it run in both campaigns.

Increase budget by 20-30% every 48 hours in the testing campaign.

Watch for saturation signals.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝟰: 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Most brands move on to the next batch of creative without understanding why ads won or lost.

We analyze every element:

→ The creator
→ The angle
→ The format (video vs static vs GIF)
→ The hook
→ The messaging

We document hypotheses on why each ad performed the way it did.

These learnings become the foundation for the next testing round.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁:

Every test produces data.

Every winner becomes a template.

Most brands treat testing like throwing spaghetti at a wall.

We treat it like a science experiment.

That's how you scale creative profitably.

2 years ago, I used worked 14-hour days and only hit 80% of my tasks.

Today, I work 8-9 hours and move faster than ever.

Here’s what changed:

I used to wake up and just react.

→ Emails at 7AM
→ Client call at 8AM
→ Deep work at 9AM
→ More emails at 10AM

By noon, I was mentally cooked.

By 5pm, I was a zombie.

I thought I was just "busy."

Turns out I was burning energy in the wrong order.

Here's what I do differently now:

I divide my day into 3 work blocks.

Each block has one purpose - and I never mix them.

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝟭: 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 (𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝟭-𝟯)

This work block starts right after I wake up when my brain is sharpest.

No meetings. No Slack. No emails.

Just coffee and the most important work that moves the business forward.

Anything related to: Strategy, Growth, Big decisions gets put into this bucket.

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝟮: 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 & 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 (𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝟰-𝟳)

This is when I'm with my team.

Client calls. Internal strategy sessions. Problem-solving.

All the collaboration that requires my attention gets stacked here.

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝟯: 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 & 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 (𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝟴-𝟵)

This is when I close the loop.

→ Review what got done today.
→ Identify what didn't get done and why.
→ Have a 1-on-1 with my business partner.
→ Plan tomorrow's priorities.

I never start a day without knowing exactly what needs to happen.

And I never end a day without knowing where we stand.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀:

Energy isn't constant throughout the day.

Your best thinking happens when you're fresh.

Your best collaboration happens when your mind is primed.

Your best planning happens when you can reflect.

Most people try to do all three at once, all day long.

That's why they're exhausted and unproductive.

Structure your day around your energy, not your to-do list.

You'll get more done and feel better doing it.

At 16, I trained twice a day chasing a career as a professional kickboxer.

Six days a week. For years.

I never made it pro.

But those years taught me everything I needed to build a 7-figure agency:

𝟭. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻

Punches hurt. Rejection hurts more.

But you can't become a great fighter if you flinch.

And you can't build a great business if you avoid rejection.

You’re going to get hit. You’re going to get rejected.

The best fighters & entrepreneurs know how to keep moving forward.

𝟮. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁.

In the ring, your cardio either holds or it doesn't.

No amount of talent saves you when your body can’t keep up.

Business works the same way.

If you're not sleeping well, eating right, or moving your body—you'll burnout.

Treat yourself like a professional athlete - that’s how you outlast competitors.

𝟯. 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻

The best fighters don't just train. They study.

They watch their own fights.
Their competitors.
The legends.

Business is the same.

You can outwork people.

But if you're not constantly learning, someone smarter will outmaneuver you.

𝟰. 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝘀

Every fighter has a style.

They have strengths, and they have weaknesses.

The worst thing you can do is try to be good at everything.

Find what you're naturally better at. Then make it undeniable.

In business, I stopped trying to be everything to everyone.

I doubled down on what I did best and hired people better than me to fill the gaps.

That's when things scaled.

Looking back, I can confidently say fighting has taught me more than any business book ever could.

PS. Anyone else feel the same about their sport?

The best creative strategists in 2026 won't just make pretty ads.

They’ll think like CMOs.

Here's what that actually means:

Six years ago, creative strategists wrote briefs and came up with concepts.

That was the job.

Today, that same person will get outperformed by someone who understands unit economics.

The role evolved. But most people haven't adapted.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗠𝗢𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁:

They don't care if your hook is clever.

They care if it drives down CPA.

They don't care about your aesthetic.

They care if it moves MER.

They don't optimize for views or engagement.

They optimize for profit.

If you're making creative decisions based on what "looks good" instead of what the data says works, you're operating like it's 2019.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆:

They start every brief by analyzing the last 30 days of performance data.

→ Which angles drove the lowest CPA?
→ Which hooks had the highest conversion rate?
→ Which formats scaled past $10k/day spend?

They understand the brand's unit economics before pitching a single idea.

Most importantly, they translate customer research into creative strategy.

There’s a strategic “Why” behind every concept they plan.

They read through post-purchase surveys, customer reviews, competitor reviews, comments, and testimonials — extracting the exact pain points, objections, and language their customers use.

They know soft metrics inform iteration, but hard metrics determine winners.

Hook rate tells them where to improve. CPA tells them if it's worth improving.

𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲:

You don't need to become a media buyer.

You need to understand what makes creative profitable.

Ask your media buyer these three questions weekly:

→ Which ad angles are hitting target CPA?
→ What's the average CPA by creative format this month?
→ Which concepts are scaling past $5k/day?

Use those answers to inform your next creative brief.

And lead your creative strategy with performance insights baked in.

That's how you stay valuable in 2025.

This one lifestyle change has made me more money than anything else.
(It’s probably not what you think.)

I grew up believing that hard work meant long hours.

That's why I prioritized working hours over everything else.

I needed to work a minimum of 12 hours a day to feel like I was giving it my all.

There was only one issue - I was averaging 5-6 hours of sleep per night.

I convinced myself it was necessary.

But I was just putting in more time doing less quality work.

Here's what changed:

Instead of prioritizing work - I started to prioritize sleep.

The more your business grows
The bigger your organization gets
The more your decisions count.

Your job as a CEO is to make good decisions consistently.

And you can't do that if you’re not getting the sleep you need.

That's why sleep is now the cornerstone of my daily routine.

Here's what it looks like:

→ I go to bed at the same time every single night
→ I have my last meal of the day 4 hours prior to bed
→ Blue-light glasses go on 4 hours before I sleep
→ Phone goes away 2 hours before bed
→ I read a paperback book to wind down - no screens
→ Bedroom stays at 19°C

To make sure I’m getting high quality sleep on a nightly basis, I track everything with an Oura Ring.

My target: 9 hours in bed, minimum 8 hours of actual sleep.

The result:

→ Clearer thinking in strategy sessions
→ More patience with my team
→ Better decisions under pressure
→ No burnout by Thursday

Sleep isn't a luxury. It's the foundation everything else is built on.

If you're grinding on 5 hours and wondering why you feel stuck - start here.

Black Friday is in 3 days.

But many brands are unsure about their ads…

I consult several DTC brands on their Meta strategy, and every year I see the same mistake.

BFCM is the most competitive window of the year.

CPMs spike, attention is scattered, and generic creative gets buried.

The brands that win Black Friday aren't spending more.

They're running creative specifically designed for BFCM buying psychology.

It's not too late to fix this.

That's why I'm giving away our Q4 Creative Strategy Cheatsheet today.

This is the exact playbook we use internally at Linear to prepare our clients for BFCM.

It includes everything:

✅ The 4 types of creative that outperform during BFCM
✅ Real examples of each creative type
✅ BFCM-specific hooks that convert holiday shoppers
✅ Offer stacking strategies for Black Friday
✅ Last-minute creative pivots you can make this week

Last BFCM, our clients generated multi-7 figures using this exact cheat sheet.

To get access, all you need to do is:

1. Connect with me
2. Comment 'Q4' below

And I'll send the Q4 Creative Strategy Cheatsheet straight over.
—
Feel free to repost if you find it valuable, to help someone else crush it this BFCM ♻️

If you run ads on Meta

You need these 9 copywriting frameworks.
 
Most brands start from scratch every time they script a new ad.
 
No system. No frameworks. Just guesswork.
 
That's why scaling becomes impossible.
 
I'm giving away our Master DTC Copywriting Bundle that we use internally to produce thousands of winning ads every month.
 
It includes:
 
✅ 9 proven copywriting frameworks for Meta ads
✅ Breakdown and examples for each framework
✅ Our exact ChatGPT prompts for ad ideation and scriptwriting
 
These are the same frameworks we used to help generate $200m+ in trackable revenue for our clients last year.
 
Every winning ad we produce starts with one of these 9 frameworks.
 
To get access, all you need to do is:
 
1. Connect with me Ciaran Finn
2. Comment 'COPY' below
 
And I'll send the Master Copywriting Bundle straight over.

Ps. The ChatGPT prompts alone will save you hours every week on ad scripting 🎁
 
Feel free to repost if you find it valuable, to help someone in your network with their Facebook ads ♻️

Had 6 back-to-back BFCM calls with 8-figure brands 
 
Here's what I told all of them:
 
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗦 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱.
 
With 20-30% discounts and spiking CPMs, your margins aren't what they were last week.
 
If you haven't re-run your unit economics with BFCM margins, you're about to scale into a loss without realizing it.
 
𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗘𝗥 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆.
 
During BFCM, your returning customers flood back.

They were buying anyway - your email list did the work.
 
Blended MER will look incredible, but it's not reliable data.
 
The metric that actually matters is aMER - new customer acquisition efficiency.

That tells you if your ads are actually working, or just capturing demand that already existed.
 
𝗔𝗢𝗩 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗣𝗠𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗸𝗲.
 
CPMs will jump 40-60% by Friday morning. You can't control that.
 
What you can control: how much each customer spends.
 
Brands with strong AOV strategies (bundles, free shipping thresholds, post-purchase upsells) stay profitable at high CPMs.
 
𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸-𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗖𝗣𝗔 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀.
 
Calculate this now: What's the maximum CPA you can afford at your BFCM margins and still make first-order profit?
 
Write it down - when your CPA crosses that line, you scale back.
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿.
 
The week after BFCM, CPMs crash 30-40%.

But buyer intent stays high - gift card redemptions, returns turning into exchanges, people spending holiday cash.
 
Smart brands hold 15-20% of their BFCM budget for this window.
 
We're now 48 hours out from BFCM - the prep is over.

Now it's just about staying disciplined.
 
Make sure to protect your margins.

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Joris van Huët

Ciaran Finn

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The Battle

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Ciaran Finn

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