Vagabond Digital 

As the CEO of Vagabond Digital, a dynamic and fast-growing agency specialising in paid media and social strategies, I lead a highly ambitious team and collaborate with an extensive network of skilled freelancers. Together, we are dedicated to crafting innovative campaigns that seamlessly integrate direct response and brand building.

At Vagabond Digital, we excel in leveraging our expertise to create, develop, and optimise paid search and social initiatives for clients across diverse industries. Our primary goal is to generate tangible results by strategically positioning advertisements directly in front of our clients' desired audiences, driving sales and generating valuable leads for their businesses.

With a relentless focus on achieving exceptional outcomes, we combine data-driven insights with creative ingenuity to deliver compelling campaigns that captivate audiences, spark engagement, and ultimately drive conversions. Our unwavering commitment to staying at the forefront of industry trends and technologies ensures that our clients benefit from cutting-edge strategies that consistently exceed expectations.

If you're seeking a forward-thinking agency partner that possesses a deep understanding of paid media and social platforms, and a passion for driving business growth through innovative marketing techniques, please feel free to DM me.

CEO & Founder

PPC & Paid Social Freelancer

SQ Digital

After excelling in my previous role of PPC Consultant I was offered the role Head of PPC in which I was tasked with managing and growing the PPC department. I successfully hired, trained and grew the team to be one of the most effective within the company. By focusing on R&D combined with tried and tested methods we were able to exceed all targets and the hard work culminated in several industry awards. 

In tandem with managing the team I was integral to winning new business and nurturing the accounts once on board. I hosted several workshops with Google which garnered lots of positive feedback and led me to creating my very own PPC Agency.

Head of PPC

In this role I got to grips with the basics and advanced best practices in PPC marketing. Taking control of some key accounts I pushed myself to learn outside of work as much as I could about business and marketing so that I could look at problems from different angles in order to provide better solutions.

PPC Consultant 

In the past we used to advertise broad messages to broad audiences on billboards and newspaper spreads but now, thanks to the advent of PPC (pay-per-click) and social advertising, we’re able to advertise specific messages to specific audiences to achieve a much greater impact - which is where I come in. I put brands and businesses directly in front of their target audience with highly targeted paid advertising campaigns on platforms such as Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat in order to drive sales and leads.

About me:

I’m a super ambitious, motivated and dedicated business leader passionate about all things business and marketing. I get a kick out of problem solving, thinking outside the box, learning new things and creating value for businesses. I’m also an advocate for remote working, a healthier planet and a happy balance.

Whilst I have a knowledge and interest in all things marketing, I chose to specialise in PPC advertising because I see it as The Business End of Digital Marketing. So I founded Vagabond Digital to help businesses and brands put their products and services directly in front of their target audience. We use a combination of automation and brain power to successfully drive sales and leads into businesses of all sectors. We’re a little different in that we’re a remote business, which means we have neither office locations nor restrictions. This enables us to work with the most impressive talent around the globe, offer flexibility to our staff and improve communication channels - all the while delivering a premium service to our clients.

We offer flat rate fees, great value for money and a high level of expertise.

I’d love to hear from anyone interested in marketing, collaborating or growing their business. Drop me a message and we can arrange a virtual coffee chat - tj@vagabonddigital.co.uk

The books I recommend most often: 

Shoe Dog, Tools of Titans, Think and Grow Rich and for some fiction - East of Eden.

TJ Lee

I’m about to become a dad. And I’ll be honest - I’ve got no idea what happens to my head the day it happens.

Everyone keeps saying *“everything will change”*.

But they never say how.

Right now, I’m in this weird space between two lives:

→ Still working like a maniac.
→ Still chasing the next milestone.
→ Still focused on growing Vagabond.

But I know there’s something coming that will shake all of that. I just don’t know which way it will push me.

Will it give me perspective - make me slow down, enjoy life, realise none of this matters as much as I thought?

Or…

Will it light an even bigger fire, push me to build something bigger, stronger, so my kid never has to worry about anything?

Logistically, I’m already confused:

🕖 When do I work?
🏋🏼‍♂️ When do I train?
👶🏻 When do I switch off?

(Do founders even get to “switch off”?)

The only thing I *do* know:

I want to be present. I want to be a good dad.

And I still want to build something I’m proud of.

Figuring out how those two worlds collide…

That’s the part no one teaches you.

So, to the founders already in this phase - how did it change you?

Did you slow down?

Or did you double down?

I’m honestly curious.

Founder and Chief Vagabond at Vagabond Digital | Paid Media Expert | Growing the world’s best businesses inc. Allbeauty, Fragrance Direct and more

This has been one of the toughest years I’ve seen in agency life.

Not just for us - across the industry.

Budgets have tightened.
Decision-makers have slowed.
And more brands are pulling work in-house.

We felt it firsthand. Two of our biggest accounts moved their performance teams internally.

Great relationships. Strong results. Still gone.

And that’s the game nobody tells you about when you start an agency:

You can do a brilliant job… and still lose the client.

But here’s the truth I’ve made peace with:

Clients will come and go. Retention isn’t guaranteed.

But your resilience has to be.

Because while some doors close, new ones open - if you’re ready.

We’ve all lost clients before. We’ll lose them again.

But we’ll also win bigger ones.

That’s agency life.

Stay steady. Keep swinging.

Q4 is where it all turns.

As a founder, your job title changes every time your business does.

One year, you’re doing client work.
The next, you’re fixing finance issues.
Then suddenly - you’re the Head of Sales again.

Right now, that’s exactly where I am. After years of jumping between CEO tasks (partnerships, marketing, strategy)…

…I’ve gone all in on sales.

Why?

Because that’s what the business needs.

And here’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned from mentorship and experience:

Nobody will ever sell your business as well as you can. I even asked my board director recently whether I should hire a salesperson.

“Not yet. Clear everything *except sales off your plate.* Get a PA. Delegate ops. Let your team run delivery.”

“Your time is most valuable in front of prospects - not spreadsheets.”

He’s right.

A founder’s real superpower isn’t operations - it’s conviction.

You built the thing. You know the mission. You can sell the vision better than anyone.

So here’s where I’ve landed:

✅ Delegate admin
✅ Empower your senior team
✅ Step back from the ‘doing’

⚡ Double down on selling the business

Until you’ve hit serious scale - *you* are the best closer in your company.

The hardest part of running an agency? Not sales. Not clients. Hiring.

I’ve hired 30+ people, interviewed close to 100, and skimmed through thousands of CVs.

And still - it’s a gamble every time.

But over the years, I’ve boiled it down to four non-negotiables:

—

1️⃣ Work ethic

I don’t care how “talented” you are.

If you clock in mentally at 9:05 and check out at 4:55, it won’t work here. 

(Sorry, not sorry, if that’s not the right thing to say these days…)

—

2️⃣ Expertise (relative to level)

I don’t expect juniors to be experts. 

I do expect seniors to know their craft inside-out. Self-awareness matters.

—

3️⃣ Culture fit

No egos or passengers. 

You can be brilliant, but if you’re a nightmare to work with, you’re out.

—

4️⃣ Accountability

Mistakes aren’t the problem. Hiding them is. 

Own it, fix it, move forward.

—

Hiring isn’t about filling a seat.

It’s about betting on someone to move with you (not just work for you).

Founders: your criteria might differ, but if you’re not clear on what you value…

You’ll hire for speed, and pay for it later.

I studied scriptwriting. Delivered Chinese takeaways. Now I run a 30-person agency.

My career path wasn’t linear.

And that’s the point. 

Resilience isn’t about sticking to the plan, it’s about pushing forward *when the plan falls apart*.

Clients leave.
Cash gets tight.
Team dynamics change.

But you show up anyway.

The people who win are the ones who:

→ Keep moving
→ Stay focused
→ Block out the noise
→ Surround themselves with good people

Spielberg once said: Don’t blink.

That’s how I treat business.

Eyes forward. No panic. Keep building.

Don’t blink.

I’m not the best marketer at Vagabond.

And that’s exactly how it should be.

When I first started, clients bought into me.

My skills. My ideas. My ability to run ads and social. But if 5 years later, I was still the smartest marketer in the room?

We’d have a serious problem.

Because building an agency isn’t about clinging onto being “the best.” It’s about surrounding yourself with people who are better.

That means:
👉🏻 Creatives who think in ways I never could.
👉🏻 Paid media specialists who know the platforms inside out.
👉🏻 Social teams who are sharper, faster, and more up to date than I am.

My job now is not to be the best marketer. It’s to build the best team of marketers.

Scaling a business forces you to let go.

To stop trying to do it all.

To trade ego for growth.

If you want to grow, hire people better than you.

And get out of their way.

If you’re chasing euphoria every time you win in business… you’re setting yourself up to lose.

When I first started Vagabond, I used to get a huge buzz from every “win.”

A new client. A big campaign. A team hire.

But the problem is, if you get addicted to the highs… you’ll get crushed by the lows.

And business certainly has its lows.

Clients leave and cashflow gets tight. People quit. Results dry up.

If you’re defined by one side of the rollercoaster, you’ll get wrecked by the other.

That’s why I try to stay level.

I celebrate wins, of course. But I don’t let them define me.

And when the sh*t hits the fan, I don’t let that define me either.

Staying steady is how you stay resilient. It’s how you show up consistently.

It’s how you survive long enough to actually *build* something.

The highs and lows are just noise.

What matters is how you handle the middle.

Social content looks effortless. But behind every "casual" post is a machine most people never see.

Shot lists. 
Mood boards. 
Content calendars mapped weeks in advance. 
Last-minute pivots when something isn't working.
Coordination between creative teams, account managers, and clients. 
Multiple takes to get the "spontaneous" moment just right.
Countless revisions. 
More revisions. 

The brands that make it look easy have systems.

At Vagabond, we've built processes that handle the complexity so the final product feels natural.

Pre-production planning that accounts for every variable. Streamlined workflows that keep projects moving. Quality control that catches issues before they become problems.

The goal isn't to eliminate the work. It's to make the work invisible.

Because when social content truly connects, nobody should see the effort behind it.

The D2C playbook is broken.

For years, brands built entire businesses on cheap Facebook ads.

Those days are over.

CPMs have doubled on Meta and TikTok. Big brands flooded in, driving up competition and costs.
iOS 14 killed precise targeting. Lookalike audiences and retargeting became guesswork overnight.

Ad fatigue is real. Consumers scroll past, block ads, or just don't trust overly salesy content anymore.

This summer, we've worked with more D2C brands flipping the script entirely.

Instead of paid-first with organic as an afterthought, they're going organic-first with paid as support.

Authentic content that builds genuine connections. 
Community-led growth that creates actual brand loyalty.
User-generated content that doesn't feel like advertising. 

Of course, paid still works. But it's no longer the affordable growth lever it once was.

The brands getting ahead now treat organic social as essential infrastructure, not a nice extra.

They're building brand equity and long-term loyalty instead of chasing cheap clicks.

The D2C brands still betting everything on paid acquisition? 

Will get left behind.

Gil David

Run DMG Ltd

Helping brands scale and consulting accounts for businesses and agencies worldwide.

Since I founded Run DMG in 2017, we have worked with a range of clients from local businesses to health and beauty chains and e-commerce stores, some of the top real estate coaches in the world, nationwide fitness franchises, events companies, sports teams and more across the UK, US and Europe with budgets ranging from a few thousand pounds/dollars a month to 250k+. Brands we have worked with include Telefonica, Kaspersky, Benetton, TUI, Heidi Klein, Ford and many more as well as consulting advertising agencies worldwide and we currently handle over $1.5m of spend a month across Meta & Google.

In 2019, I became the first person in Ireland to be certified as an official Facebook Marketing Consultant by Facebook and only the 62nd person to achieve this accreditation worldwide.  I worked directly with Facebook for over a year to improve both the quality of data and performance for brands across Europe.

In early 2021, the agency was recognised as one of the UK & Ireland's few Premium Facebook Business Partner agencies and last year we generated over $40m in revenue for our clients.

- Have featured on the Socialbakers blog, Search Engine Land, Digital DNA, Marketing Land, The Weekly Marketer Podcast and regularly speak at events, on panels and deliver bespoke Facebook Ads training

- BSc Hons in Marketing

- Google Ads Certified

- Advanced Diploma in Digital Marketing

- 20+ years' in sales, marketing and business management and 9+ years running Facebook Ads

Founder

AdLeaks

Invited by one of the world's top authorities on Facebook Ads, Tim Burd, to be a part-time, paid contributor in his new subscription AdLeaks group - the number one online advertising community.

In this role, I regularly advise other FB advertisers in the group and contribute one knowledge video a week on various intermediate-to-advanced topics related to Facebook Ads.

You can check AdLeaks out here with a $1 14-day trial: http://bit.ly/Ad_leaks

As part of this, I am also an admin in the Facebook Ad Buyers group, the largest free FB ads group in the world with over 74,000 members

Admin/Contributor

Energie Fitness Franchise

- In this challenging role I was given full responsibility for turning around a newly-acquired distressed health club, facing increased local competition in addition to a negative perception due to mismanagement and a demoralised staff team
- Overall responsibility for all operations, sales & marketing, P&L, customer service, cost control, social media, recruitment, health and safety, HR and training
- Set up social media presence and wrote all content for the club on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, increasing customer engagement and delivering ROAS from Facebook and Instagram ads of over 1600% in 2016
- Ran Google AdWords campaigns from 2016-2017 generating a 700% ROI
- In my three-and-a-half years at the club I grew the membership base by just under 50% and overall club revenue by 45%
- Due to improvements I drove in customer service, speedy resolution of issues, proactive management and being very much front of house myself, retention improved significantly with attrition falling by 75% from 11.5% in July 2013 to a low of 3.19% in May 2015 leading all 13 energie clubs in Ireland at the time; and 2.18% in Jan 2017
- By introducing new product lines, changing pricing structures and implementing more creative marketing strategies, secondary spend per month more than doubled to average over £6.5k in 2016 which was number one in Ireland
- My efforts were recognised in September 2014 when the club won ‘Best Mid-market health club in Northern Ireland’ in the Health Club Awards
- The club was audited for health and safety, marketing, brand standards and compliance by energie Head Office in April 2016 and achieved a score of 93%; again leading all clubs in Ireland
- Summer 2016 I project-managed a £250,000 refurbishment of the club; co-ordinating seven different suppliers/contractors and custom-designing the first ZIVA Infinity Rig of its type in the world, transforming Coleraine into one of the most modern training facilities in Northern Ireland

General Manager

Allstate Northern Ireland

- After relocating to Northern Ireland I took the opportunity to learn new skills in an IT role as well as refining my call handling and customer service techniques
- This role was based in a busy call centre and involved dealing with technical support queries from agents for one of the largest insurance providers in the US 
- Strict adherence to KPI’s and SLA’s in terms of customer service, time management and quality both in terms of calls as well as reporting
- Excellent multi-tasking, problem solving and communication skills were essential as issues had to be investigated and reported whilst on the phone 
- Achieved a 91% productivity score in my first full month (team average was 80%)
- Given responsibility for analysing and reporting KPI’s for my team

ATSC Analyst

Asquith Nurseries

- After over six years in the Health & Fitness industry, I left to seek a new challenge and develop my skills further in a new environment
- In this role I was responsible for sales at the UK’s largest premium childcare provider, with 81 nurseries across the UK
- A sales team was completely new to the business so I had to build it from scratch - recruited an entire team of Sales Executives and was given greater responsibility when the Customer Care Manager left in May and I took over the customer service side of the business too
- Main duties of this role involved motivating and driving my sales team of four (who dealt with all incoming enquiries to the business via phone, website and email as well as making follow up calls to all prospects), reporting sales figures to Directors on a daily basis, and liaising with the Marketing and Operations departments on campaigns
- My marketing background helped in driving effective campaigns, particularly after the Head of Marketing left in July and I had an increased input into offers and marketing strategy
- Once I took over responsibility for the Customer Care team I introduced a completely new call process, management/reporting system and feedback system to log any issues and ensure they were dealt with swiftly, as well as tasking this team with retention calls to minimise lost revenue
- Completely re-wrote the existing sales training package for Nursery Managers and this was successfully rolled out to all 81 nurseries in April '12 
- Improved year-on-year productivity in the department by over 30% by introducing daily KPI’s, spot incentives and managing my team to a minimum expectation
- Assisted with implementation of a completely new bonus scheme and four month sales campaign - Achieved 137% of first set monthly sales target in June (sales worth £1.2m per year in revenue)
- Achieved 130% of second target in July (£1.1m in revenue)
- Delivered total sales through my department from March-August worth over £5m per year

National Sales and Marketing Manager

Virgin Active

- After Virgin Active took over Esporta was moved into a SSM role to assist with integration process
- Helped each business understand the other and how existing sales and marketing processes could be merged
- Assisted implementation of new ways of working to existing Sales Managers in the region
- Helped roll out new commission scheme and procedures

Senior Sales Manager

Esporta

- After just under 3 successful years as a Sales Manager I was promoted to a role overseeing sales at 14 of the busiest sites across the Esporta estate
- Recruitment and training of new sales managers as well as club visits to address performance and review marketing activity
- Analysing KPI reports, interpreting sales data and compiling a daily KPI report to distribute
- Responsible for implementing new sales procedures, offers and incentives as well as paperwork auditing across the region
- Held sales manager meetings and weekly conference calls
- Drove an improvement in paperwork from 34% completion across the region in March to 72% by September through a training focus and greater accountability of individual sales teams
- East Region achieved YOY revenue growth (+£19k) in June for the first time in 2011
- Increased average joining fee per sale by 21% from £16.98 to £20.50 over first three months
- Improved overall closing ratio across the region from 80.9% in March to a high of 89.4% in June
- In March 0 of 14 clubs in the region hit revenue target and only 5 were over 80% - by the end of June 3 clubs exceeded target and 8 clubs finished over 80%

Regional Sales Manager

- Promoted to a Sales Manager role at an underperforming, smaller site
- Responsible for all aspects of new membership, sales and marketing at a premium health club
- Devised monthly marketing plans/rotas and managed marketing spend to strict budgets
- Organised promotional events (both general and corporate)
- Managed Health & Safety within the department
- Responsible for paperwork administration and commission vouching
- Duty Manager shifts involving cashing up, opening and closing and dealing with complaints
- Rebuilt team from scratch -  in charge of recruiting, training and developing sales team
- Improved lead to sale ratio from 10% to 20%
- Ended 2009 as top performing SM on % to target in the Eastern Region and top 5 in company
- After 18 months was promoted to the bottom club out of all 55 sites, rebuilt the sales team and processes and four months later hit a sales target for the first time at the club in 2 years
- Increased corporate sales by 12% and developed 3 of my Sales Consultants into Sales Manager roles

Sales and Marketing Manager

- Progressed into a Senior Sales role at a premium health club with the highest sales targets in the company
- Was responsible for the sales team in the Sales Manager’s absence as well as having greater input into marketing, rotas and training new MC’s
- Exceeded my individual sales target 13 months out of 15 and regularly won incentives for my performance

Senior Sales Consultant

Holmes Place

- Dealt with all aspects of new membership sales at a high volume club with over 7000 members; consistently exceeded sales targets and KPI’s and was recognised for my attitude, professionalism and customer service
- Maximised referrals by building genuine relationships with members and always striving to ensure they were satisfied
- Optimised the efficiency of outreach/lead generation by specifically targeting demographics 
- Assisted with training of new sales staff, also occasionally running the team 
- Chaired a focus group aimed at improving staff relationships/retention and addressing issues

Membership Sales Consultant

We Run Ads @Run DMG | Performance Agency Owner | Scaling eCommerce brands worldwide to 7 and 8-figures

I'm the Founder of Run DMG, a performance marketing agency helping ambitious eCommerce brands and coaches across the world scale to 7 and 8-figures.

Our main specialism is Facebook/Meta ads but we can also help with:
✅Google Ads
✅Email Marketing
✅TikTok Ads
✅Facebook Ads Training
✅Consulting
✅Shopify Landing Pages

I am proud to have been Ireland's first officially-recognised Facebook Marketing Consultant and for Run DMG to be one of the only registered Premium Facebook Business Partner agencies in Ireland, trusted with over $1.5m of adspend every month and generating $40m+ a year in revenue for clients across the US, UK and Europe.

In my spare time, I'm usually chasing after my 2 young kids, in the gym, watching my beloved Liverpool or Miami Dolphins or, sad as it sounds, keeping up with the latest Meta Ads and marketing news.

For more information on how we at Run DMG can help you grow your business send me a message or email me at: gil@run-dmg.com

Running Facebook ads and consulting accounts for businesses and agencies worldwide.

Since I founded Run DMG in 2017, we have worked with a range of clients from local businesses to health and beauty chains and e-commerce stores, some of the top real estate coaches in the world, nationwide fitness franchises, events companies, sports teams and more across the UK, US and Europe with budgets ranging from a few thousand pounds/dollars a month to 250k+. Brands we have worked with include Telefonica, Kaspersky, Benetton, TUI, Heidi Klein, Ford and many more as well as consulting advertising agencies worldwide and we currently handle over $1.2m of spend a month.

In 2019, I became the first person in Ireland to be certified as an official Facebook Marketing Consultant (now renamed Facebook Marketing Partners for Technical Services) by Facebook and only the 62nd person to achieve this accreditation worldwide. Our Lead Developer was the second person to become certified in Ireland and we now work directly with Facebook to improve both the quality of data and ad performance for clients across Europe.

In early 2021, the agency was recognised as one of the UK & Ireland's few Premium Facebook Business Partner agencies and last year we generated over $30m in revenue for our clients.

- Have featured on the Socialbakers blog, Search Engine Land, Digital DNA, Marketing Land, The Weekly Marketer Podcast and regularly speak at events, on panels and deliver bespoke Facebook Ads training

- Write the (semi!) regular 'Run Blog' at https://www.run-dmg.com/blog-run-dmg-digital-marketing

- Officially Licensed Facebook Business Partner for Technical Service and a Premium Business Partner Agency

- BSc Hons in Marketing

- Google Ads Certified

- Advanced Diploma in Digital Marketing

- 20 years' in sales, marketing and business management and 7+ years running Facebook Ads

Should we run this version that Meta created? 🤔

We Run Ads @Run DMG | Performance Agency Owner | Scaling eCommerce brands and coaches worldwide to 7 and 8-figures

Meta's new Andromeda algorithm blah blah blah, 'it's changed the game', 'no it hasn't there's no difference...'

Well, here's ACTUAL evidence of it at work in a real ad account. 

Old pre-2025 Meta: '9 ads?! Disgusting. How dare this idiot give me more than 4 ads to run in an adset. I'm choosing 1-2 favourites to whack all the budget on and spending $0.25 on each of the rest, they don't even deserve my time.'

New Meta: '9 ads? Ok let's give these a go, I like one more than the rest but I'll still spend a chunk on the others to see how they match with the audience'

I said it a few weeks ago but if you're still running ads like it's 2020 and sticking your head in the sand over the A-word and thinking it's ok to only test 1 creative a week... 2026 is about to give you a rude awakening.

Half the Internet is down again today.

Cloudflare better sort themselves out, I heard next week is a pretty important one...

One of my favourite BFCM hacks on Facebook used to be running ads to a Lookalike of 3d purchasers (or even 1d if there was enough volume).

This used to be an absolute cook in bigger spend accounts because Meta was learning at warp speed exactly who was buying specifically for BF offers and it was able to throw your ads at these people til they bought.

Who else did this?

Times have sadly moved on and as well as audience testing being largely irrelevant these days, Meta is now a lot more advanced and as long as you are running ads that strongly feature BF in creative and copy, it will match them with these BF hunting audiences anyway. 

This Black Friday I will pour one out for all these hacks we lost along the way.

Am I going mad or is this really terrible advice from a Meta pro to one of our clients?

I'm no Hubspot expert but it makes zero sense to me creating a second pixel specifically for Hubspot conversions API and splitting all our data in half... 

Or is there something I'm missing here?

taplio

The Battle

TJ Lee

Gil David

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreTJ Lee's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreGil David's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

TJ Lee

Gil David

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}TJ Lee's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreGil David's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreTJ Lee's LinkedIn Performance