Sambou Makalou's Linkedin Analytics

I’m Sam, the Co-Founder & CEO of Ready Set—a full-funnel performance creative agency providing compliant and performance-focused video ad creative integrated with media buying. My story: → I was born in Mali, West Africa, and moved to Washington, D.C. when I was 4. → I was an avid basketball and soccer player till my knees gave out, and then picked up golf in my late 20s. → I’ve been lucky enough to travel and develop relationships with people from all walks of life. I attended MIT for my undergraduate degree and Stanford for business school. From riding the dot-com boom to starting the first call center in Ghana, being a bond trader in 2008, and working at Nanigans for 6 years, I’ve seen the ups and downs of it all—and it never scared me away. Nanigans was the turning point for me. I noticed video ads were taking off—yet no one was producing them. Marketers struggled to keep up with demand, and video continued to outperform. I needed to fill this gap between traditional brand marketing and performance-driven digital advertising. So I left in 2019—and have been building Ready Set with my Co-Founder, John since. Ready Set has fueled over $500 million in spend for compliance-conscious innovators like Hims, Doordash, Robinhood, and Nurx.  I write about: → My journey as a 6-time founder → Performance marketing best practices → How to produce compliant and creative ads that perform → The importance of having a unified platform for video creative and media buying If any of this sounds interesting to you, let's connect.