$160k/day at a 2.9x ROAS in eCom

SUMMARY

Spencer Pawliw interviews eCom entrepreneur Gulfam, who scaled his brand from $2K daily revenue in September to $160K/day pre-Black Friday through funnel simplification, ad learnings, branded pages, and backend optimizations like CX and supplier terms.

STATEMENTS

Gulfam started in eCom five years ago at age 20, skipping YouTube tutorials by joining a mentorship program to accelerate learning.
The brand averaged $2K/day throughout the year until September, then hit $160K in a single day without Black Friday influence.
Revenue sustained at over $150K/day, with daily records breaking, including $100K just days prior.
A three-month phase with no winning ads led to depression and considerations of pivoting to a new niche and brand.
One ad learning uncovered a hypothesis that exploded into a new angle, boosting from $20-25K/day to $160K/day.
The creative team consists of just Gulfam and one editor, producing seven batches weekly to achieve this scale.
Early struggles involved stagnant growth at $2K/day, questioning product, market, and ads.
Customer service became a major bottleneck at scale, requiring a branded experience to avoid payment processor issues and maintain Facebook algorithm favor.
Tickets piled up, forcing founders to handle them from 6 AM to 4 PM, delaying marketing efforts.
Hired a CX lead and more staff, transitioning from part-time to full-time for efficiency.
Inventory depleted US warehouse stock in half a day, shifting to China with transparent shipping communication.
Negotiated 180-day payment terms with suppliers, starting post-delivery, avoiding six-figure upfront costs.
Used two suppliers for leverage in negotiations, balancing price and quality without over-lowering costs.
Simplified the landing page by adding prominent product images and reducing problem-agitation deep dives, boosting conversion from 0.8-1% to 2.5%.
Added a branded listicle pre-lander, elevating conversion further to 3.5-4.5% with $100+ AOV.
Funnel fixes preceded creative changes, enabling a 50%+ hit rate on ads after months of zero winners.
Social proof from post-purchase surveys and comments created a flywheel, as customers cited positive feedback as purchase reasons.
Learnings involve analyzing winning/losing ads to form hypotheses for new tests, shifting from quantity to quality.
Avoided iteration overload on dead ads; instead, pursued new angles via research and surveys.
Used Gemini AI for initial ad analysis but with caveats, prompting deeply from customer POV to avoid surface-level insights.
Created 90s, 60s, and 30s video variants with different scripts and hooks to evade Facebook's creative similarity detection.
Prioritized quality scripts over volume initially, now balancing both with a lean team.
Gulfam writes scripts himself using Claude AI, refined via copywriting masterminds and books for natural, customer-focused tone.
Employed 11 Labs for AI voiceovers with emotion, using natural footage matching ad demographics.
Kept team lean: one editor now, adding another; avoided bloated past setups with agencies and multiple editors.
World-class marketing stems from funnel mastery over media buying hacks; backend limits scale more than ads.
Stayed humble by networking with bigger operators doing $500K/day, avoiding complacency.
Joined Evolve community six months ago for eCom-specific guidance on creatives, teams, and holistic scaling.
Media buying uses Target ROAS CBOs set 0.5x above goal (e.g., 2.5-2.6 for 2x target) to control spend amid caps.
Projections aim for $250-300K/day by Black Friday, limited by inventory and CX.

IDEAS

Mentorship shortcuts learning curves more effectively than free resources like YouTube for ambitious beginners.
A single ad's deep analysis can uncover angles scaling revenue 6-8x in weeks by forming testable hypotheses.
Branded experiences build long-term sustainability, influencing algorithms via customer feedback scores invisible to most.
Transparent communication about delays paradoxically boosts conversions by building trust during high demand.
Negotiating extended payment terms frees capital for marketing, turning suppliers into growth enablers.
Funnel simplification exposes the product faster, tripling conversions without new traffic sources.
Pre-landers like listicles add narrative layers, turning cold traffic into engaged buyers at scale.
Social proof flywheels accelerate as volume increases, creating organic endorsements from real customers.
Learnings evolve mindset from "throw everything at the wall" to hypothesis-driven testing for consistent winners.
AI tools like Gemini reveal blind spots in ad performance but require customer-centric prompting to avoid errors.
Variant lengths (90s/60s/30s) with full script changes trick platforms into treating ads as unique, distributing spend evenly.
Incubating research ideas before scripting sparks breakthrough creativity, avoiding rushed outputs.
Lean teams outperform bloated ones by fostering ownership and quality over quantity in production.
White belt mentality sustains growth; comparing to larger peers prevents overconfidence.
Community access to experts yields massive ROI through quick, targeted feedback sessions.
Backend constraints like CX and inventory dictate true scaling limits, not ad creativity.
Prompting AI with natural language and emotional directives creates authentic, relatable copy.
Relating ads to customer desires via avatar training builds unbreakable relatability.
Part-time CX hires scale seamlessly into full-time, minimizing training disruptions.
Projections should conservatively account for bottlenecks, focusing fixes on high-impact areas.
Plateau breaks start with funnel audits before creative overhauls, preventing insanity loops.
Curiosity-driven hooks in leads capture attention, easing the rest of the narrative.
Feedback from any source, regardless of scale, accelerates personal improvement.
Inventory leverage via multiple suppliers enhances negotiation power without quality trade-offs.
Post-scale vigilance on glitches prevents massive losses in high-revenue environments.

INSIGHTS

Sustainable scaling prioritizes backend integrity over aggressive ad spend, preserving brand health amid rapid growth.
Hypothesis testing from ad learnings compounds wins, transforming isolated successes into scalable strategies.
Simplicity in funnels amplifies creative effectiveness, as clearer paths to purchase lower acquisition barriers.
Transparent operations foster customer loyalty, turning potential pain points into trust-building opportunities.
Lean, high-ownership teams drive superior outputs compared to oversized, disconnected structures.
AI augments human intuition when prompted through customer lenses, uncovering nuances overlooked manually.
Social proof self-perpetuates at volume, creating exponential conversion lifts without fabrication.
Humility via peer benchmarking fuels continuous evolution, countering success-induced stagnation.
Funnel mastery unlocks ad hit rates, revealing that conversion rates dictate creative viability more than volume.
Extended supplier terms reallocate capital toward marketing, accelerating reinvestment cycles.
Variant ad formats evade algorithmic suppression, optimizing spend distribution for broader testing.
Incubation periods in creative processes yield deeper innovations, bridging research to execution.
Community mentorships provide holistic eCom frameworks, beyond siloed skills like copy or ads.
Customer-centric prompting in AI ensures outputs resonate emotionally, not just logically.
Bottleneck identification directs efforts efficiently, maximizing ROI on limited resources.
Relatability in ads stems from avatar empathy, making purchases feel inevitable rather than pushed.

QUOTES

"This could be the biggest case study in history."
"We just did 160K yesterday and we've been... every day is like a new record like 150k the day before."
"It's like a 3mon phase with no winners, which is just straight up depressing."
"We did learnings on one of our ads and we found like an angle from there and we created a hypothesis... that same angle has boosted us from that 20 25k a day to now 160k a day."
"We're trying to build like a branded experience like we're not drop shipping... long-term you don't want your payment processes to burn."
"We got 180day payment terms now... we ordered stock like for example this month. We pay in April basically."
"That boosted up to like a two 2.5%... now we're at like a 3.5 to 4% conversion rate and like four even four and a half with a like a over $100 AOV as well."
"It's more exciting when you're limited by the budget and not by your ads, right?"
"You want to look at it from the customer's perspective rather than my perspective or the brand's perspective."
"I think if you're like the you're doing the most in your friend group, you're basically in the wrong friend group because you're not going to grow."
"Focus on improving your landing page if your conversion rate is bad... then going into your creators, back into your creators, and then you would find that you you're suddenly hitting a lot more ads, winning ads."
"Why would someone care about this?... At the end of the day, it's the customer buying and not you."

HABITS

Jump straight into paid mentorships to shortcut free learning paths and accelerate progress.
Analyze every ad, winning or losing, to extract hypotheses for future tests.
Maintain transparency with customers about shipping delays to build trust.
Negotiate with multiple suppliers to secure better terms without compromising quality.
Simplify landing pages by prioritizing product visibility over deep problem agitation.
Review post-purchase surveys daily to inform angles and social proof strategies.
Prompt AI tools with customer POV for deeper, more authentic script refinements.
Incubate research findings before scripting to allow ideas to evolve naturally.
Hire part-time CX staff initially for flexible scaling into full-time roles.
Create script variants in multiple lengths to optimize platform treatment.
Network with larger operators to stay humble and gain advanced insights.
Focus on backend fixes like inventory before pushing creative volume.
Use emotional AI voiceovers with natural footage for relatable ads.
Audit funnels before creative iterations to avoid repeated failures.
Seek feedback from diverse sources, regardless of their scale, for broad improvement.
Project conservatively for events like Black Friday, accounting for current caps.

FACTS

Gulfam entered eCom at 20, now 25 with five years experience.
Brand hit $160K/day at 2.9x ROAS, sustaining $150K+ without Black Friday.
Three-month dry spell with zero winning ads preceded the surge.
US warehouse stock depleted in half a day at peak demand.
Negotiated 180-day terms avoid six-figure upfront inventory payments.
Conversion rate jumped from 0.8-1% to 4.5% post-funnel fixes.
50%+ ad hit rate achieved with seven weekly batches from two-person team.
Facebook considers customer feedback scores in algorithms, visible only to reps.
Target ROAS CBOs set 0.5x above goal control spend effectively.
Friend's brand scales to $500K/day, providing benchmarking perspective.
Evolve community joined six months ago, yielding high-ROI calls.
Past bloated team included three editors and agencies, now lean at two.
Projections target $250-300K/day by Black Friday amid inventory influx.
AI voiceovers via 11 Labs add emotion like laughs and sarcasm.

REFERENCES

Evolve community on Skool for eCom scaling.
Evolve Origins for early-stage access.
Easy A Media agency for partnerships (min $250K/month revenue).
Triple Whale Analytics (15% off with EASYA15).
Insense UGC ($100 off with EASYA100).
Fastest Landing Page Builder (15% off with EASYA15).
Opensend for reducing abandoned carts.
Creative Reporting & Ad Spying Tool.
Twitter/Instagram/TikTok: @spencepawliw.
X: @ecomgulfam.
Mentorship program (initial five years ago).
Stefan's mastermind for copywriting.
Alan Sultanic's mastermind.
Fast Forward (copywriting resource).
Copywriting books for sales techniques.
Carlo from Ecom Talent (projects and incubation advice).
Sean (mentioned in context of learnings and white belt mentality).
Professor and Charlie (past Facebook ads mentorships).
Gemini AI for ad analysis.
Claude AI for scripting (preferred over ChatGPT).
11 Labs V3 for AI voiceovers.
Andromeda update (Facebook creative similarity reporting).
Avatar training in Evolve.
Hermosi (more better philosophy).
Sha Zakaria (advice on avoiding complacency).
New Avatar Training (customer perspective).

HOW TO APPLY

Audit your landing page: Remove deep problem sections and add prominent product images for simplicity.
Test a branded listicle pre-lander: Draw inspiration from high-converters to boost engagement before the offer.
Analyze stagnant ads: Spend 10 minutes per ad hypothesizing wins/losses, even if uncomfortable.
Prompt AI deeply: Use customer desires and POV in tools like Gemini/Claude to extract angles.
Create length variants: Develop 90s, 60s, 30s scripts with unique hooks/footage for each angle.
Hire part-time CX: Start with two reps trained for quick full-time transition during surges.
Negotiate supplier terms: Secure backups, leverage prices for 180-day post-delivery payments.
Review surveys daily: Mine post-purchase feedback for social proof and new hypotheses.
Incubate ideas: Research angles one day, script the next after letting concepts settle.
Use Target ROAS CBOs: Set 0.5x above goal in simple campaigns to auto-optimize spend.
Network upward: Connect with bigger operators for humility and advanced tactics.
Focus bottlenecks: Prioritize funnel/CX before volume, scaling only after stability.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Simplify funnels and learn from ads to unlock scalable eCom growth without backend sacrifices.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Prioritize funnel audits over ad volume when plateaued to triple conversions efficiently.
Extract hypotheses from modest ad performers to discover breakout angles quickly.
Build branded experiences early to safeguard against algorithm penalties from poor feedback.
Communicate delays transparently to convert skeptics into loyalists during demand spikes.
Diversify suppliers for negotiation leverage, securing terms that fuel marketing reinvestment.
Add pre-landers like listicles to narrate value, elevating cold traffic to hot leads.
Leverage social proof flywheels by encouraging and monitoring genuine customer comments.
Shift to quality-driven learnings, testing one idea iteratively for compounding wins.
Use AI for blind-spot analysis but always refine with human customer empathy.
Produce variant ad lengths to distribute spend and evade creative fatigue algorithms.
Maintain lean teams of driven A-players to ensure ownership in creative output.
Incubate research before scripting to spark innovative, resonant narratives.
Transition CX to part-time starters for scalable, low-risk staffing growth.
Stay humble by benchmarking against larger peers to avoid complacency traps.
Join eCom communities for holistic advice on teams, creatives, and scaling.
Set conservative projections, fixing high-impact bottlenecks like inventory first.
Prompt AI with emotional, natural directives for authentic voiceovers and copy.
Relate all creatives to customer desires via avatar deep dives for relatability.
Implement Target ROAS in CBOs for controlled scaling amid backend limits.
Vigilantly monitor glitches at high volumes to prevent revenue disruptions.

MEMO

In a riveting interview, Spencer Pawliw sits down with 25-year-old eCom entrepreneur Gulfam, who catapulted his brand from a stagnant $2,000 daily revenue to an astonishing $160,000 in under a month—well before Black Friday's frenzy. Gulfam, a five-year veteran who bypassed free YouTube tutorials for immediate mentorship immersion, recounts a three-month drought of zero winning ads that nearly prompted a full pivot to an unrelated niche. Yet, a pivotal call reframed his approach: simplify the funnel. By stripping away convoluted problem-agitation narratives and spotlighting the product image upfront, conversions surged from a dismal 0.8-1% to 2.5%, transforming revenue per session from pennies to dollars.

This funnel overhaul proved foundational. Gulfam and his partner Zag, a CRO expert, layered on a branded listicle pre-lander inspired by top performers, pushing conversions to 3.5-4.5% even with a $100+ average order value. No longer hiding the offer in verbose copy, the streamlined path clarified value instantly, enabling ad creativity to flourish. Suddenly, a 50% hit rate emerged where none existed, fueled by easier winner discovery. Social proof amplified the momentum: post-purchase surveys brimmed with positives, and comment sections became organic endorsement engines, as buyers cited peer validation for their decisions.

Creative evolution marked the next leap. Gulfam, a self-taught copywriter via masterminds like Stefan's and Alan Sultanic's, ditched quantity-over-quality chaos—past bloated teams of agencies and three editors yielded junk. Now, with just himself and one editor (soon two), they produce seven weekly batches: 90-, 60-, and 30-second variants per script, each with fresh hooks and footage to sidestep Facebook's Andromeda similarity detection. Learnings drove this: dissecting a modestly performing ad via manual review and Gemini AI (prompted from customer POV) unearthed an authority angle hypothesis. Iterating on it unlocked the $160K day at 2.9x ROAS, limited not by ads but backend.

Backend realities grounded the ascent. Customer experience bottlenecks overwhelmed: tickets piled from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., forcing founders to triage manually. Gulfam hired a CX lead and part-timers (preferable for pre-trained scalability), emphasizing branded service to appease Facebook's hidden feedback scores and avert processor bans. Inventory vanished from the U.S. warehouse in half a day, necessitating transparent China shipments with delay notices—ironically boosting trust and conversions. Supplier negotiations, led by partner Zag, secured 180-day terms post-delivery, dodging six-figure upfront hits and freeing cash for ads; dual suppliers provided leverage without quality dips.

Gulfam's media buying stayed simple: Target ROAS campaign budget optimization (CBOs) set 0.5x above goals (e.g., 2.5 for 2x target), auto-filtering performers amid caps. He credits Evolve's community—joined six months ago—for holistic insights beyond siloed ads or copy, including team building and avatar empathy. Humility remains key; benchmarking against a $500K/day peer curbs complacency, echoing Sean's white belt ethos. Projections eye $250-300K daily by Black Friday, once inventory and CX stabilize.

For plateaued brands at $60-200K monthly, Gulfam advises funnel-first fixes: simplify for clarity, then dissect ads for why customers care. Avoid iteration ruts on dead creatives; hypothesize boldly from surveys and research. AI aids but demands deep prompting for relatability—Claude for scripts, 11 Labs for emotive voiceovers with natural clips. Incubate ideas post-research for breakthroughs, relating everything to buyer desires.

This case study transcends tactics, embodying resilient entrepreneurship: action on feedback loops, backend vigilance, and customer obsession. Gulfam's journey—from near-pivot despair to backend-capped euphoria—illuminates that elite scaling marries marketing artistry with operational grit, proving 100x growth demands evolution, not hacks.