by Scalability School
Scalability School is your cheat code for building a more profitable DTC brand or agency. We break down tactical strategies, real-time wins, and tough lessons from three powerful perspectives: operator, agency, and community. It's not theory—it's what's actually working in the wild. Skip the fluff, steal what works, and scale with confidence.
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5/15/2025
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September 9, 2026
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">How do you scale a subscription app with Meta ads?</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Start with an offer whose value is obviously outsized for the price, then test the packaging rather than the product. Format Finder moved from a single $97 plan to $29, $59, and $97 tiers, and the single change that moved AOV the most was toggling annual billing on by default. Free trials failed outright because the cost to acquire a trial on Meta never backed out. Target customers with a need rather than a want, since need-driven buyers churn less and complain less, and turn your best users into your ad creators by paying them a percentage of the spend their ads carry.<br /> <br /></span> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">Scaling a subscription app with Meta ads comes down to the offer, the pricing</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">packaging, and where the creative comes from. Brad Ploch and Zach Stuck sit down</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">with Naveed, who went from affiliate marketing to a 45-person performance agency</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">to an ecommerce brand to Format Finder, the app he built in three weeks and now</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">runs at $20,000 to $25,000 a day in Meta ad spend. You'll learn how he builds an</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">offer, the pricing tests that worked and the one that failed, the campaign</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">structure behind the spend, and the creator flywheel that turns his own users</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">into his best-performing ads.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">We discuss:</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">- How to tell whether an offer is worth running before you spend a dollar</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">- Why problem-solution fit matters more than unit economics at the start</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">- The move from a single $97 plan to $29, $59, and $97 tiers, and why the free</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"> trial never backed out on Meta</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">- The pricing change that moved AOV the most, and it was not the price</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">- Why customers with a need churn less than customers with a want, and how a</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"> realtor funnel tested that theory</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">- Why he runs one CBO split by geo, no ABO testing, and no interest targeting</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">- The creator flywheel: users who hit a million views make his ads and take 5%</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"> of the spend those ads carry</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">- What a one-click AI video editor actually costs to run, and how SaaS margins</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"> survive per-user API fees</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">- How he runs the ad account, customer service, and product development through</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"> AI agents in Telegram and Slack</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">- Why the harness around the model matters more than the model</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Subscribe for a new episode every week.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Get the newsletter: https://www.scalabilityschool.com/scalability-newsletter</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">Learn more: <a href= "https://www.scalabilityschool.com">https://www.scalabilityschool.com</a><br /> <br /> Connect with Naveed <a href= "https://x.com/navuud">https://x.com/navuud</a><br /> To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email <a href= "mailto:Andrew@foxwelldigital.com">Andrew@foxwelldigital.com</a><br /> To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at <a href= "https://x.com/brad_ploch">https://x.com/brad_ploch</a><br /> To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at <a href= "https://x.com/zachmstuck">https://x.com/zachmstuck</a><br /> Learn more about the Foxwell Founders Community at <a href= "https://foxwellfounders.com">https://foxwellfounders.com</a><br /> Learn more about the The Hive Haus Creators Community at <a href= "http://HiveHausUGC.com">http://HiveHausUGC.com</a><br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Scalability School is a weekly show from Andrew Foxwell, Brad Ploch, and Zach</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">Stuck about what is actually working right now in DTC growth. No theory, no</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">recycled LinkedIn takes, just the numbers and decisions behind real brands and</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">real ad accounts.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Chapters</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">00:00 How to scale a subscription app with Meta ads</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">00:29 Meet Naveed: Switch Research to Format Finder</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">02:45 From affiliate marketing to a 45-person performance agency</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">04:06 Getting banned by Meta and what it exposed</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">05:45 Why the ecommerce inventory cycle burned him out</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">08:10 How One Peak turned viral videos into a course business</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">10:10 Building Format Finder in three weeks with AI</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">11:50 What the app does, from format quiz to finished cut</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">13:15 Why the offer is the biggest lever nobody talks about</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">16:18 How to price a subscription without killing conversion</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">19:15 The pricing change that moved AOV the most</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">19:55 Why customers with a need beat customers with a want</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">22:05 A word from Northbeam</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">23:20 Why your ad does the targeting, not your audience settings</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">24:45 Ad account structure: one CBO, no ABO testing</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">25:31 The creator flywheel: paying users 5% of ad spend</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">28:35 How the video editor cut churn and unlocked scale</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">29:35 SaaS margins when every user burns API tokens</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">32:50 Why the TAM for creator tools is enormous</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">37:50 Running ads, support, and dev through AI agents</span><br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">42:00 Where to find Naveed</span></p>
August 27, 2026
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>How much should you pay a DTC agency in 2026?</strong></span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">For Meta ads management on its own, the market has settled between $2,500 and $5,000 a month, and paying above $5,000 only makes sense when the brand spends six figures a month or the scope adds creative, forecasting, and CRO. Creative is the one line item worth paying at the top of the market, because a single breakout ad can add $20,000 to $50,000 a month in profitable spend. Percentage-of-spend deals are fair when they carry a hard cap and a CPA or ROAS target attached, and they should never be charged against branded search.</span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">DTC agency pricing is all over the map, so Andrew Foxwell, Brad Ploch, and Zach Stuck break down what you should actually pay in 2026 using a Foxwell Founders survey of 200+ agencies. You'll learn the real retainer ranges for Meta ads management, when percentage of spend is fair and when it is a red flag, what a media buyer should be doing to earn the fee, and what creative, email, SMS, landing pages, and CRO cost right now.</span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">We discuss:</span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What 200+ agencies reported charging, and why 4 out of 5 quote a flat retainer or a retainer plus a percentage of spend</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Why $2,500 to $5,000 a month has become the market rate for Meta ads management with no creative attached</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When to keep an agency, bring it in-house, or pay up for one exceptional freelancer</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Why percentage of spend only works with a hard cap and a CPA or ROAS target</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14pt;">At what monthly spend incrementality testing starts to matter</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Why nobody should charge a percentage of spend on branded search</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Why creative is the one agency worth paying the most for</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What to pay content creators directly, with and without whitelisting</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Email and SMS pricing, and the attribution model that gets brands fleeced</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Landing page and CRO pricing per page and per month, plus five fixes that work on almost every store<br /></span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Get the newsletter: <a href= "https://www.scalabilityschool.com/scalability-newsletter">https://www.scalabilityschool.com/scalability-newsletter</a><br /> Full Episode and transcript: <a href= "https://www.scalabilityschool.com/scalability-school-podcast/what-you-should-pay-a-dtc-agency-in-2026"> https://www.scalabilityschool.com/scalability-school-podcast/what-you-should-pay-a-dtc-agency-in-2026</a></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Learn more: <a href= "https://www.scalabilityschool.com">https://www.scalabilityschool.com</a><br /> </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam and they just launched Northbeam Incrementality. Northbeam Incrementality gives you easy, automated, self-service incrementality tests, while protecting you from the major mistakes so many people make while running incrementality tests. Your MTA handles the daily tactics, your MMM guides the long-term planning, and Incrementality provides the causal truth. It's a closed loop that allows you to scale what works and cut what doesn't. Right now when you head over to <a href="https://www.northbeam.io/incrementality">www.northbeam.io/incrementality</a>, they're offering Scalability School listeners 50% off unlimited tests for a year when you join. Just tell them we sent you!</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /> <span class="ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto">To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email <a href= "mailto:Andrew@foxwelldigital.com">Andrew@foxwelldigital.com</a><br /> To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at</span> <span class= "ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto"><a href= "https://x.com/brad_ploch">https://x.com/brad_ploch</a></span> <span class="ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto"><br /> To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at</span> <span class= "ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto"><a href= "https://x.com/zachmstuck">https://x.com/zachmstuck</a></span> <span class="ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto"><br /> Learn more about the Foxwell Founders Community at</span> <span class="ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir= "auto"><a href="https://foxwellfounders.com">https://foxwellfounders.com</a><br /> </span> <span class="ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir= "auto">Learn more about the The Hive Haus Creators Community at </span><span class="ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto"><a class= "ytAttributedStringLink ytAttributedStringLinkCallToActionColor" tabindex="0" href= "https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUM4Zm9rUzVuamdpZFdIRWVHNkRTb182OGl0ZnxBR3JiS2FuZG9seks5RmJQbWdEb3RneWlESk1IMHdaZnVmSU1rOW50eU9YYzBxRDRjUEZ3d3U0amw1Y0RNWVMtZDc0MFl1dkpPbzdlTVg3VktGX1FQS2J0NTdTekJRQndzSDRR&q=http%3A%2F%2FHiveHausUGC.com%2F&v=iBNgKtoNiS8" target="_blank" rel= "nofollow noopener">http://HiveHausUGC.com</a></span> <br /> <br /> Scalability School is a weekly show from Andrew Foxwell, Brad Ploch, and Zach Stuck about what is actually working right now in DTC growth. No theory, no recycled LinkedIn takes, just the numbers and decisions behind real brands and real ad accounts.<br /> <br /> <strong>Chapters</strong><br /> 00:00 What you should pay a DTC agency in 2026<br /> 01:58 What 200+ agencies told us about how they price<br /> 02:45 Meta ads management pricing: the floor, the market rate, the ceiling<br /> 04:42 Should the fee be flat, or tied to performance?<br /> 05:13 Why $3K to $5K became the market rate for ad management<br /> 07:36 When to use an agency, go in-house, or hire a freelancer<br /> 10:20 Why percentage of spend works when you cap it<br /> 11:01 What a media buyer should actually do to earn the fee<br /> 16:52 The gap between pressing buttons and real media buying<br /> 19:17 At what monthly spend does incrementality actually matter?<br /> 22:42 Google Ads agency pricing and the branded search problem<br /> 28:45 Creative agency pricing and why it is worth paying the most for<br /> 31:45 What to pay content creators directly<br /> 35:58 Email and SMS agency pricing without getting fleeced<br /> 39:42 Onshore vs offshore teams and what actually changes<br /> 43:20 Landing page and CRO pricing, per page and per month<br /> 48:15 How fast a landing page should go from idea to live<br /> 50:03 Five CRO fixes that work on almost every store</span></p>
August 13, 2026
<p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="49:1-49:533;2670-3202">How do you build a performance creative team for a DTC brand?<br /> <br /> Start with the most experienced hire you can afford, a director-level player-coach for nine-figure brands, a senior agency-trained strategist for smaller ones, and let them build the team top-down, using freelancers to fill gaps while full-time roles get approved. Match output goals to headcount, because ad volume is determined by team size, and vet every candidate with a paid assessment that tests both craft and how they use AI. Building a performance creative team starts with hiring the most experienced brain you can afford, a director-level player-coach, then filling in strategists, editors, designers, and a creator manager around them.<br /> <br /> In this episode, Andrew Foxwell and Brad Ploch sit down with Joanna Wallace, who founded the creative department at HexClad and served as VP of Creative Strategy at Birddogs, to map out exactly who to hire, in what order, what they cost, and how to test them before you commit millions in ad spend to their strategy.</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="51:1-51:12;3204-3215">We discuss:</p> <ul class= "[li_&]:mb-0 [li_&]:mt-1 [li_&]:gap-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3 print:block print:space-y-1" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="53:1-58:72;3217-3655"> <li class= "font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2" data-sourcepos="53:1-53:83;3217-3299">Why going cheap on your first creative hire is the most expensive mistake in DTC</li> <li class= "font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2" data-sourcepos="54:1-54:81;3300-3380">What a creative strategy director actually costs in 2026 (It's not what you think) and why</li> <li class= "font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2" data-sourcepos="55:1-55:64;3381-3444">Why your ad volume is determined by your team size, full stop</li> <li class= "font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2" data-sourcepos="56:1-56:73;3445-3517">Why agency experience beats brand-side experience for strategist hires</li> <li class= "font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2" data-sourcepos="57:1-57:66;3518-3583">How to run paid assessments that expose AI-generated word salad</li> <li class= "font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2" data-sourcepos="58:1-58:72;3584-3655">The coordinator role: the smartest entry point into creative strategy</li> </ul> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="60:1-65:26;3657-3965">Join The Scalability School Newsletter: <a href= "https://www.scalabilityschool.com/scalability-newsletter">https://www.scalabilityschool.com/scalability-newsletter</a></p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="60:1-65:26;3657-3965">Connect with Joanna Wallace: <a href= "https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannasloamewallace/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannasloamewallace/</a><br /> <br /> Joanna's creative strategist evaluation template:<br /> <span class="ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto"><br /> To connect with Andrew Foxwell send an email <a href= "mailto:Andrew@foxwelldigital.com">Andrew@foxwelldigital.com</a><br /> To connect with Brad Ploch send him a DM at </span><span class="ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto"><a href= "https://x.com/brad_ploch">https://x.com/brad_ploch</a></span><span class="ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto"> <br /></span><span class= "ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto">To connect with Zach Stuck send him a DM at</span> <span class= "ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto"><a href= "https://x.com/zachmstuck">https://x.com/zachmstuck</a></span> <span class="ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto"><br /> Learn more about the Foxwell Founders Community at </span><span class="ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto"><a href= "https://foxwellfounders.com">https://foxwellfounders.com</a></span> <span class="ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto"><br /> Learn more about the The Hive Haus Creators Community at </span><span class="ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto"><a href= "http://HiveHausUGC.com">http://HiveHausUGC.com</a></span><span class="ytAttributedStringLinkInheritColor" dir="auto">.<br /></span><br /> This episode of the Scalability School podcast is sponsored by NorthBeam and they just launched Northbeam Incrementality. Northbeam Incrementality gives you easy, automated, self-service incrementality tests, while protecting you from the major mistakes so many people make while running incrementality tests. Your MTA handles the daily tactics, your MMM guides the long-term planning, and Incrementality provides the causal truth. It's a closed loop that allows you to scale what works and cut what doesn't. Right now when you head over to <a href= "https://www.northbeam.io/incrementality">www.northbeam.io/incrementality</a>, they're offering Scalability School listeners 50% off unlimited tests for a year when you join. Just tell them we sent you!</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="67:1-67:165;3967-4131">Scalability School is the podcast for DTC media buyers and e-commerce operators who want to scale profitably — hosted by Andrew Foxwell, Brad Ploch, and Zach Stuck.</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="69:1-69:9;4133-4141">Chapters</p> <ul> <li class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="71:1-85:37;4143-4940">00:00 How to build a performance creative team for a DTC brand</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="71:1-85:37;4143-4940">02:02 The #1 hiring mistake: going cheap on your first creative hire</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="71:1-85:37;4143-4940">03:04 What a creative strategy director costs in 2026</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="71:1-85:37;4143-4940">05:06 Player-coach: what the director does in the first six months</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="71:1-85:37;4143-4940">09:10 Why ad volume is determined by team size</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="71:1-85:37;4143-4940">13:13 The hiring order for seven-figure brands</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="71:1-85:37;4143-4940">18:18 Why agency experience beats brand-side experience</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="71:1-85:37;4143-4940">21:21 What nine-figure creative teams do differently</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="71:1-85:37;4143-4940">25:24 Sharing creative learnings across the whole company</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="71:1-85:37;4143-4940">31:27 Where to find great creative strategists</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="71:1-85:37;4143-4940">37:36 How to evaluate candidates with paid assessments</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="71:1-85:37;4143-4940">41:38 How to break into creative strategy (the coordinator route)</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal" dir="ltr" data-sourcepos="71:1-85:37;4143-4940">47:43 How to keep a creative team from burning out</li> </ul>
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Scalability School is your cheat code for building a more profitable DTC brand or agency.
We break down tactical strategies, real-time wins, and tough lessons from three powerful perspectives: operator, agency, and community. It's not theory—it's what's actually working in the wild. Skip the fluff, steal what works, and scale with confidence.
This podcast updates weekly.
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