Traditionally, agencies run on 30–50% margins — but in 2026, AI-native agencies are hitting 70–90%.

Today’s guest is Romans Ivanov — founder of Big Growth Group, where he helps agencies doing $1–5M a year fix their operations, remove founder dependency, and scale without chaos.

In this episode, we unpack:

🔥 What it actually means to become an AI-native agency — and how that unlocks massive margin expansion.

🔥 Why most agencies get stuck at $1–5M

🔥 The hidden bottlenecks inside agency businesses — from team structure to workflows to decision-making.

🔥 How to remove yourself as the founder from day-to-day delivery without the business falling apart.

If you want to build an agency that scales without you — and understand how AI is reshaping the entire model — this episode is for you.

Chapters:

00:00 - Why AI-native agencies are hitting 70–90% margins

02:11 - The shift happening across the agency industry

05:53 - What an AI-native agency actually looks like

07:28 - How agencies are currently using AI (and where they’re stuck)

09:19 - Why 95% of agencies don’t have real workflows

10:26 - How to “download” your team’s brain into systems

12:03 - The first KPI to track: time, capacity, and utilization

14:43 - Understanding team efficiency and delivery output

19:03 - Becoming AI-native as a founder (not just the team)

20:31 - Tool orchestration and building AI-powered workflows

23:59 - Implementing AI into real agency operations

28:20 - Restructuring your team for AI adoption

33:46 - Romans’ backstory: from factory jobs to entrepreneurship

37:58 - Building multiple businesses before finding agency success

39:25 - The moment agency life stopped making sense

41:00 - What actually drives Romans today (beyond money)

44:54 - Building a self-sustaining business

46:45 - Why most agencies get stuck at $1–5M

48:22 - The real dynamics behind agency growth

53:50 - Balancing innovation and scaling

56:38 - How to set the right growth targets

01:01:03 - Lifestyle vs ambition: choosing your path

01:05:29 - The psychology keeping founders stuck in the weeds

01:08:05 - The hiring mistakes that keep founders stuck

01:10:49 - Fixing operations: audits, workflows, and team structure

01:15:50 - What “good operations” actually looks like

01:19:20 - Hiring A-players and building a recruitment engine

01:25:25 - Using AI to evaluate candidates and remove bias

01:28:02 - Incentives: profit pools and performance bonuses

01:30:09 - Training systems for agency teams (without L&D bloat)

01:32:11 - Why every founder needs a board or external advisor

She helps scale high-ticket funnels to eight figures a year.

And has worked with billion-dollar brands like Wayflyer, Linktree, and Kogan.

Today’s guest is Alisha Conlin-Hurd, founder of Persuasion Experience — a performance marketing agency specialising in paid traffic funnels for high-ticket offers.

In this episode, we unpack:

🔥 The funnel structures that actually convert in 2026

🔥 How to diagnose exactly where a funnel is leaking revenue

🔥 The confirmation system she uses to drive 90%+ show rates on booked calls.

🔥 How Alisha approaches market research before spending a single dollar on ads.

🔥 And how she tests creative at scale using her “5 Types of Ads” framework.

If you want to scale high-ticket funnels with paid traffic — without relying on hacks, hope, or hype — this episode is for you.

Chapters:

00:00 - Scaling high-ticket funnels to eight figures

01:50 - How Alisha got into online marketing and lead gen

05:41 - Learning the fundamentals of lead generation

07:45 - Launching Persuasion Experience

10:15 - The biggest mistake agencies make with client selection

12:45 - Why Alisha focuses only on inbound paid acquisition

14:48 - Lead offers vs sales offers explained

17:54 - Structuring offers that actually convert

21:54 - Why discounts often destroy authority

24:00 - Diagnosing where funnels leak revenue

26:32 - The confirmation system behind 90%+ show rates

28:52 - Why agencies lose sales before the call even starts

30:37 - Why market research determines funnel success

33:55 - Funnel structures that actually work (VSL, webinar, book-a-call)

35:32 - Why most marketers write terrible VSLs

37:08 - Simplicity vs over-engineered funnels

43:25 - Paid traffic channels that work best

45:15 - When to diversify beyond Meta ads

46:49 - Why organic content still matters for lead gen

51:59 - The 5 types of ads framework

54:41 - Creative diversity in the Meta ads era

57:05 - Using AI tools to generate new ad angles

59:01 - How Alisha approaches funnel split testing

01:01:40 - Scaling funnels and diversifying strategies

01:06:28 - Lead nurturing strategies that increase conversions

01:10:01 - Why Alisha avoids integrating sales services

01:11:57 - Funnel economics and upsell strategies

01:13:45 - The future vision for Persuasion Experience

01:16:17 - The team behind Persuasion's success

He built an agency.

Then stepped out of it.

And now he’s building a holding company with the goal of hitting nine figures.

Today’s guest is Peter Kang, founder of agency holding company Barrel. He’s also the author of “Holdco: The Practical Guide for Entrepreneurs to Structure and Scale a Holding Company.”

In this episode, we unpack:

🔥 How Peter transitioned from founder-operator to holding company builder.

🔥 What the structure of a truly healthy agency looks like — from margins to management layers.

🔥 How he sources, analyses, and structures acquisition deals.

🔥 And why stepping out of day-to-day operations is the real unlock for long-term scale.

If you want to understand how to turn agencies into assets — and build a portfolio that compounds toward nine figures — this episode is for you.

Chapters:

00:00 – From agency founder to holding company builder

01:59 – The story behind writing his book

04:54 – Peter’s background and early entrepreneurial path

08:30 – Stepping away from day-to-day operations

12:42 – Why founders become the bottleneck

14:15 – Building management layers that scale

17:37 – Accountability structures inside a holding company

19:43 – Hiring externally vs promoting internally

21:32 – Managing CEO transitions after acquisitions

24:35 – What a healthy agency P&L actually looks like

30:01 – Understanding churn in agency models

34:19 – Reinvesting profits to grow agencies

38:36 – Lead generation channels that work

41:28 – Building partnerships with other agencies

45:08 – Diversifying channels vs staying focused

47:06 – Why some agencies decentralize marketing

48:14 – Value-based pricing strategies

53:31 – The airline pricing analogy

55:40 – Single-service vs full-service agency models

59:46 – Acquisition strategies in the eCommerce space

01:03:14 – Preparing agency portfolios for the AI shift

01:05:22 – Why Peter moved from startups to acquisitions

01:08:56 – How he sources and evaluates acquisition deals

01:12:15 – Red flags that kill acquisition deals

01:15:03 – The thought process behind structuring deals

01:18:11 – Advice for agency founders who want to exit

01:21:32 – Scaling toward a nine-figure vision

01:24:47 – The role of mission and values

01:27:03 – The best way founders should reinvest in themselves

He turned a simple SEO service into a $70 million business.

And rebuilt the agency model into something that actually scales.

Today’s guest is Joe Davies — founder of FatJoe, a productized SEO platform doing $15 million a year, trusted by thousands of agencies and in-house teams around the world.

In this episode, we unpack:

🔥 Why Joe stopped thinking like an agency — and rebuilt FatJoe as an e-com store selling digital products.

🔥 Why FatJoe chose to serve agencies instead of end clients — and how that unlocked cleaner margins and simpler delivery.

🔥 How selling units of work (not retainers or consulting) made costs predictable and operations scalable.

🔥 And how a no-sales-call, no-negotiation checkout still drives 70%+ repeat monthly customers.

If you want to understand how to turn services into a scalable, defensible platform — without bloated teams or constant client management — this episode is for you.

Chapters:

00:00 - Building a $70M SEO marketplace

02:05 - Origin of the name "Fat Joe"

03:25 - From agency chaos to eCommerce marketplace

06:35 - Productising services for predictable margins

09:00 - Why traditional SEO agencies break

11:21 - Agency vs in-house: which actually wins?

12:51 - Protecting margins while scaling

15:16 - Building systems that create consistent delivery

18:18 - Productisation without sacrificing customer experience

23:18 - Why most brands misunderstand backlinks

25:42 - Revenue streams and upsells that increase LTV

29:45 - How Fat Joe is structured to scale

33:30 - Managing a large team without losing control

35:10 - Hiring operators, not just marketers

40:40 - The sales engine behind predictable growth

44:09 - Anatomy of a high-converting sales call

47:57 - Lead generation channels that actually work

50:47 - Events as a brand-building strategy

52:45 - Advertising success and Google Ads strategy

55:50 - Pricing strategy and increasing LTV

58:41 - Creating a chrome extension for SEO

01:00:52 - Leadership roles and responsibilities

01:02:48 - What Joe actually works on day-to-day

01:05:43 - When to double down vs pivot

01:07:29 - The metrics that determine real success

01:10:24 - Marketplace economics explained

01:11:51 - The future of SEO in an AI world