Why you're getting this: You've interacted with Haven or AdTribe before, and this is my weekly-ish update on what I’m working on to build an agency I actually enjoy running. Zero pressure to stick around, just click unsubscribe if you don't want to get it
Alright, let’s get into it.
The AI nightmare
I woke up in the middle of the night recently, sweating.
In the dream I was working, and something came in and took my laptop away. Just said: you're done. I went outside and there was nobody on the streets. Completely empty, like in that Will Smith movie I Am Legend. I just knew. Robots took all the jobs.
I know, dramatic. But I talk to agency owners every week and this feeling is everywhere right now. Anyone doing any kind of work online feels behind on AI, anxious about what's coming, or both.
I was listening to the Invest Like the Best episode with Brian Chesky recently, and he said something that actually helped a bit. His point: all kids are creative, but we lose the ability to express it as we get older. AI gives that back. Anyone can now build and create whatever they want.
I'm still bullish on AI doing more good than bad overall. But the anxiety is real, and I think pretending it's not is just cope.
My friend is getting sued
An agency owner I know is currently being sued by a billionaire's wife.
She hired him to grow her Instagram. Unlimited budget, just get her followers. They ran a global campaign, spent big, and delivered over a million followers. (Mostly India, but a million is a million.)
Then she decided my friend had overspent and could've hit the same numbers for $100K less. Even though every budget approval was confirmed over email in real time. Didn't matter. She hired a lawyer and now they're going after him for damages.
My take: stay in business long enough and someone will probably come at you regardless of what you did or didn't do. But it does make sense to review contracts and check in with a real lawyer (not Claude lol) to make sure you're actually covered.
Why I'm going all-in on agencies
Almost 70% of AdTribe's revenue now comes from white-label work with other agencies. It wasn't the original plan but it became obvious pretty fast why this model works better for me than chasing direct clients.
Here's what I actually love about it:
Retention: agency partners stay for years. Our longest partnership goes back 7 years, to when I was still freelancing.
I'm barely involved in fulfillment. My team leads and head of paid media handle most of it.
Agencies become my sales reps without realizing it. Every happy partner sends me another agency. I don't pitch anyone.
Quality of clients is just higher. One agency's client spent $700K on Google ads in a single month.
Same vibe. Agency owners are my people. When I'm in their city we grab lunch, not as clients but as friends.
The direction I'm pushing toward now: becoming infrastructure. Not just media buying but creatives, AI implementation, whatever an agency needs to scale. The idea is to be the partner they can pull from whenever they need capacity, without having to hire. That's the bet.
Talk soon,
Dmitry