After running AdTribe for six years and managing over $100M in ad spend, I learned how hard it is to build and keep a world-class media buying team.

Finding great talent takes months.
Training takes even longer.
And the wrong hire can cost you clients and profit fast.

So I built the service I wish existed back then — Haven.

Haven is a white-label media buying partner that helps marketing agencies scale without hiring.

For $799 per account, you get a complete senior-level growth team:

✅ Media buyer
✅ Creative designer
✅ Video editor
✅ Developer
✅ Performance strategist

No hiring. No overhead. No training headaches.

Today, more than 20 agencies partner with us to handle their paid media.

A few of them said it best:

Olivia Kean, CEO at Fusion Hub
👉 “It’s allowed me to focus on the things I love, knowing they’re crushing it on their end.”

Kory Baraba, CEO at Grow Fast
👉 “We’ve worked with 4–5 different media buyers from Haven, and they’ve all been amazing.”

See more client stories here: https://www.hirewithhaven.com/clients

If you run a marketing agency and want to scale fulfillment without adding headcount,
connect with me or reach out at dmitry@hirewithhaven.com

Dmitry Fesenko

Looking for a TikTok Shop agency.

I just had a call with a $15M CPG brand. They need help with:

→ TikTok Shop setup
→ Affiliate management
→ Magento integration

Anyone in my network have an agency they'd recommend? I will make an intro

Drop a name in the comments or DM me.

UPDATE: Got hundreds of responses. Going through every comment and DM. Will respond to everyone. Thank you all.

CEO at Haven | Hire world-class media buyers for 65% less than in the US | $100M+ in managed ad spend

Took a few weeks off. First break in months.

No Slack. No LinkedIn. No client calls.

Just rest.

Honestly? It felt weird. Almost guilty.

But I came back to our busiest January ever.

→ onboarding 2 new agency partners for white-label offer
→ signed 3 new clients for media buyer placement offer

Not bad for week one.

Looking back, 2025 was really about laying the groundwork.

Building the team. Launching a new offer that's more profitable and easier to sell.

2026 is when we scale.

The break gave me some clarity too. I've been running at 100% for years. Two agencies. Teams across time zones. Always on.  

Turns out stepping away for a bit doesn't break everything. Who knew 😅

Anyway, here's what we're going after this year:

→ Scale placements to 3-4/month
→ Add 10 agency partners
→ Build creative department from scratch
→ Launch AI copilot for media buyers

Feeling good about this one.

What's your biggest goal for 2026?

Our Head of Paid Media just left to serve in the Ukrainian Army.

Andrii was my first hire. I trained him personally. Over the years, he became the backbone of our delivery.

When I heard the news, my first reaction was panic.

We're screwed.

But after the emotions settled, I realized something:

If a business can't operate without one person, it's not a business. 

That moment forced me to rethink how we build Haven going forward:  

→ who we hire next 
→ how we structure leadership 
→ how knowledge is distributed instead of living in one person’s head

The good news: Andrii helped raise incredibly strong team leads. I trust them to maintain the quality standards we care so much about.

Will the next few months be uncomfortable? Absolutely.

I'll need to step back into fulfillment more than I'd like.

But I'm confident we'll come out of this with a stronger, more resilient company than before.

Building an agency that lasts means building one that doesn't depend on any single person. 

Including me.

What's the most underrated skill in media buyers?

It's not platform knowledge.
It's not creative strategy.
It's not attention to detail.

It's enthusiasm.

We recently hired a junior media buyer.

Every call, he's smiling. Every monthly recap, he shows up with a full presentation, pumped to share results. Last week he built a dashboard no one asked for, just because he wanted to understand the data better.

He makes it incredibly easy to work with him. And because of that, everyone wants to help him get better.

Skills can be taught. Platforms change every year anyway.

But energy and curiosity compound.

A highly enthusiastic junior will often outperform a grumpy expert over time.

Not because they know more. But because people actually want to work with them.

Next time you're hiring, don't just check the resume.

Check the energy.

5 years ago, we got hacked.  

Over $20k of client money was stolen (fkn casino affiliates).

At the time, our agency was doing $20k/month in revenue. So, needless to say, this was devastating.

It took 6 months to get the money back from Meta.  

Luckily, none of our clients left. We worked for free for 3 months to make it right.

But here's what came out of it:

We wrote two documents that we still use today.

1. "When FB account got hacked" protocol

→ How to identify which profile was compromised 
→ How to lock it down immediately 
→ How to contact Meta support 
→ How to protect the ad accounts 
→ Red flags to watch for before it happens

2. "How to keep your Business Manager safe" checklist

→ 2FA for everyone with access 
→ Regular audits of who has access 
→ Security checkup for all personal FB accounts 
→ Alerts for unrecognized logins 
→ Review apps and browser plugins regularly

We've used these internally ever since. Never got hacked again.  

Mistakes are unavoidable, but making the same mistake twice is a choice.

If you're running ads for clients, you need this.  

Comment "protocol" and I will send these two docs your way.

Slack is killing your media buyers' output.

Not the workload. The constant interruption.

I had a call with an 8-figure agency owner last week. He shared a simple system that changed how I think about client communication.

His media buyers used to be glued to Slack all day. Context switching between campaigns and client requests. It was destroying their focus.

So he implemented time blocks.

Here's how it works:

→ 9 AM: First communication window (30 min)
→ 12 PM: Second window (30 min)
→ 5 PM: Final window (30 min)

During those blocks, they clear every Slack channel. Outside those windows? Deep work only.

But here's what makes it actually work.

Clients know about it from day one.

During onboarding: "This is Ali. He's running your ads. Here are his response times: 9 AM, 12 PM, and 5 PM EST. If you message outside these times, he'll respond at the next block."

They frame it as a benefit: "We do this so Ali can focus on actually working on your campaigns, instead of multitasking all day."

Most clients are fine with a 2-3 hour response time. The problem is never the wait. It's the uncertainty about if or when they'll hear back.

Clear expectations beat fast responses.

We'll be rolling this out soon at Haven across all 90+ accounts. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

What systems do you use to protect deep work time?

What's the fastest way to have $1M in your bank account?  

I'm not talking about equity or paper gains. I mean cash you can actually spend.

Start an agency.

You don't need investors, a 7-year exit plan, or to pray for an acquisition.

Just clients paying you every month.

Now look, if you're the Elon Musk type who wants to build life-changing technology and is willing to suffer for 10-20 years without seeing real money, by all means do it. The world needs people working on groundbreaking stuff.

This post isn't for you.

This is for people who want to make good money, play golf on Fridays, pick up their kids from school, and actually enjoy the life they're building.

Most agencies never get to $1M, though. Here's why:  

→ Wrong clients (needy, low budget, bad fit) 
→ Wrong partners (or trying to do it all solo) 
→ Burnout from chasing every dollar

But if you pick your clients wisely and surround yourself with the right partners (like Haven ), agency life is beautiful.

Think about it.

What other model pays you to learn new skills and apply them to real companies with real budgets?

We get to do the sexiest parts of business:

→ Build strategies 
→ Run ads (spending other people's money) 
→ Be creative

Tech founders grind for years hoping for an exit.

Ecom founders are equity rich but always cash poor. Inventory eats everything.

Agency owners deposit cash every month. Cash they can actually spend on upgrading their life.

I will choose agency every time.  

Prove me wrong.

A few years ago I was visiting Vancouver for a few days.

One of our agency partners was organizing a small dinner for agency owners.

I joined without any expectations.

That dinner became one of the highest ROI decisions I've ever made.

First

One of the agency owners there, Gabby, became one of my closest friends. Later, she became a client.

Second

Another owner introduced me to a few friends who were way ahead of me in business.

Every time I meet them, my thinking expands. Problems feel smaller. Possibilities feel bigger.

Third

An agency owner I didn't even talk to that night just booked a call to hire media buyers from us.

Three outcomes from one dinner I almost skipped.

We spend so much time optimizing funnels, running ads, and writing content.  

All of that matters.  

But the best opportunities I've ever had didn't come from impressions or clicks.  

They came from showing up in person and shaking hands.  

The more rooms you walk into, the more doors open later.

Brent started his agency a few months ago.

He signed his first medspa client and asked us to run their ads.

One month later, here’s what he said:

👉 "Amazing work team. I'm seriously so proud of the results we're already getting, and it's only going to get better."

This is why we do what we do.

The best media buyers don't want to work for you.

Here's what most agency owners get wrong:

They try to hire great talent before they're ready for it.

Top media buyers want to work on interesting accounts. They want variety, challenge, and growth.

If you only have 3 clients and they're all low-budget headaches, you're not going to attract A-players. You'll get whoever says yes.

So what do you do before you have 10+ solid accounts?

→ Do the work yourself
→ Use contractors
→ Partner with a white-label team like Haven

Don't force a full-time hire when you don't have the client base to support it.

Once you have:

→ 10+ decent-sized clients
→ A pipeline strong enough that losing 5 won't break you

Then start thinking about bringing someone in-house.

Because the worst position to be in? Paying a six-figure salary while your media buyer sits at 50% capacity because you lost a few accounts.

Build the business great talent wants to join first.

The right people will follow.

Agency owners don't need more promises.

They need proof.

Here's what our partners said this week 👇

Ask 5 agencies what a "media buyer" does.  

You'll get 5 different answers.

At some agencies, media buyers manage millions in ad spend without touching a single creative.

At others, they're basically creative strategists — spending 90% of their time on new ads (like ours).

At others, they're client-facing growth strategists who own the entire funnel.

Same title. Completely different jobs.

After placing dozens of media buyers, here's what I've noticed:

The bigger the client, the more specialized the role needs to be.

Enterprise brands want someone who does one thing extremely well. Smaller brands want someone who can do it all — not just run ads, but actually grow the business.

Neither is wrong. 

But if you're unclear on which one you need, you'll hire the wrong person. 

And that's an expensive mistake.

At Haven, before we even sign a contract for placement, we run an extensive intake form to get 100% clear on who we're looking for.

Some of the questions we ask:

→ Does the media buyer need to be on client calls? 
→ What platforms do they need to be expert in? 
→ What industries or niches? 
→ Do they touch creatives or not?
→ How much ad spend will they manage monthly?

The clearer we get upfront, the better the match.

P.S. If you're hiring media buyers in Q1, we have a few spots left.

🚀 December 2025 results at Haven (our biggest month ever)

Ad spend: $1.7M
Revenue: $4.2M
Leads generated: 85,692

Top-performing niches:
→ Apparel & Accessories ($1.9M in rev)
→ Home & Lifestyle ($680K in rev)
→ Food & Beverage ($520K in rev)

Platform breakdown:
→ Meta: 54%
→ Google: 44%
→ Pinterest, LinkedIn, Taboola: 2%

December highlights:
✅ 83% of accounts hit or exceeded targets
✅ Closed 3 media buyer placement contracts
✅ Built a first version of our AI media buying copilot
✅ Hired a new pod leader 
✅ Wrapped up the year with 87 active accounts

But the biggest win? We've assembled a killer team of media buyers.

Took 7 years to build this crew for Haven and Adtribe.  

Now we do it for other agencies too.  

P.S. If you need media buyers who actually deliver, DM me.

The most boring client we ever had made us the most money.

I'm talking about a network of men's health clinics.

→ One offer
→ Same creatives
→ Just different locations

One media buyer managed 30-40 accounts by copy-pasting campaigns.

Boring as hell, but we were printing cash. Both the agency and the media buyer (we pay a % of revenue generated).

Now compare that to a 7-figure DTC brand.

→ New creatives every week
→ Constant testing 
→ Strategy calls
→ Slack messages at all hours

You give it ten times the effort, and results still aren't guaranteed.

Is it more interesting to work on a challenging DTC account than running Meta lead forms for a local business? Absolutely.

But here's the thing. Every exciting project comes with a hidden cost: your time.

You overinvest. You obsess over details. You give it way more than the retainer covers. And it kills your margins.

Agencies making real money aren't chasing the coolest brands. They're running the same boring playbook over and over again.

So ask yourself: 

Are you building a fun business or a profitable one?

Because in my experience, it's really hard to do both.

We just moved every account we’ve ever worked with into Airtable.

All of them.

621 accounts over 7 years. 

That's 621 onboardings.
621 founders. 
621 different business models and niches.

Some stayed for months. Some for years. Some came back twice.

Every single one taught us something.  

What works. What doesn't. What kills accounts. What scales them.  

You can't fake 7 years of reps.

P.S. If you're an agency owner looking for media buyers who've seen it all, DM me.

Marketing is just the game of impressions.

Businesses that serve the most impressions to the right people win the market.

That's it.

Every tactic, every hack, every "secret strategy" is just a way to get more eyeballs on your offer and make more of them buy.

SEO? Impressions.
Paid ads? Impressions.
LinkedIn content? Impressions.
Email/SMS? Impressions.
Influencer marketing? Impressions.

The channel doesn't matter. The math is the same.

More people see your offer → more people buy.

Shopify recently released 150+ updates.

One of them will change how people shop online.

It's called Agentic Storefronts.

This feature allows brands to sell products directly inside ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Copilot.

Think about what this means.

People are already asking ChatGPT "what's the best running shoe for flat feet" instead of Googling it.  

Now they can buy right there in the conversation without leaving the chat.

No ads. No landing pages.

For the last 20 years, ecommerce worked like this:

Search → click → website → convince → buy.

Now it’s becoming:

Ask → decide → buy.

Your storefront is no longer just a website.

My prediction: websites will become almost like a business card. Most commerce will happen directly in chats or on social.

Two things brands can do right now:  

→ optimize your product catalog mapping so AI agents know how to present your products in searches 

→ use the Knowledge Base app to add answers to your most frequent questions

The new era of commerce is already here.  

Brands that adapt fast win. The rest get left behind.

I started a newsletter with zero strategy.

No content calendar. No lead magnet. No "10x your agency" promises.

Just me every week sharing what's actually happening in my life: agency stuff, travel stories, random thoughts.

Last week I wrote about my trip to Vietnam and how we're rebuilding our internal systems to run Haven more like an ecom platform than a traditional agency.

I treat it more like writing updates to my friends. 

And agency owners are liking it 👇

→ "I just opened your latest email and it blew my mind"
→ "It's very informative, please keep them coming"
→ "I'm really inspired by your recent newsletter"

My last newsletter had 46.2% open rate.

Not bad for something with "zero strategy."

If you want to hear what's going on behind the scenes at Haven, the good and the ugly of running an agency, subscribe.

Link in comments.

One change saved our team 10 hours a week.

The last few months at Haven have been busy. We signed a few new partners, and our team is now doing 3–5 account audits every week.

Great problem to have. But it created a new one.

Our team leads were spending hours on Slack every day. Partner requests, audit coordination, invoicing follow-ups. The back-and-forth was eating into actual work time.

That's not sustainable.

So we're making a shift.

My long-term vision for Haven is to operate more like a platform than a traditional agency. Less Slack chaos, more deep work that actually moves the needle.

First process we're fixing: audits.

Before:

→ Partner messages us on Slack
→ We gather context and access
→ Team leads coordinate the work
→ Someone has to remember to send an invoice

It worked, but coordination was taking longer than the audits themselves.

So we automated the entire intake process.

Here's how it works now: 

→ Partner submits a simple form 
→ Chooses platform, adds context, pays upfront 
→ System auto-notifies the team on Slack 
→ Task gets created in Asana automatically

I estimate this one change alone will save our team leads 10 hours per week, which is huge.

That's time they can spend on strategy and results instead of chasing invoices.

Audits are just the start. Onboarding new accounts is next 💪

Which tequila shot got you drunk?

My client asked me why attribution is so hard. Since she's not technical, I gave her this analogy (not my idea):

Imagine you're at a bar with friends doing tequila shots.

You get wasted.

So the question is: which shot got you drunk?

→ The last one? That's last-click attribution.
→ The decision to do shots in the first place? That's first-click.
→ Every shot contributed equally? That's linear attribution.

Same thing with marketing.

There are tools that claim to solve this, but here's my honest take:

Consumer behavior is too complex. Knowing exactly which ad made someone buy is almost impossible.

Someone sees your Meta ad Monday. Googles you Wednesday. Clicks an email Friday. Buys Saturday after a friend mentions your brand.

Which one gets credit?

The real answer: stop chasing perfect attribution.

Instead, use a combination of:

→ Blended ROAS (MER) across all channels
→ Post-purchase surveys
→ Multi-touch attribution tools (Triple Whale, Northbeam)

Even then, data won’t give you the full answer.

Experience and judgment still make the final call.

Sara Simmonds

CEO Impact Innovator | Helping Purpose Driven Entrepreneurs Scale to $1 Million, $50 Million and Beyond | Follow Me For Systems On Sustainable Growth 🌎

With 100K+ followers, 14 years controlling $ Billion buying budgets generating $200M+ for corporates

Plus $10M+ growth for purpose led founder results and $50M+ in positioned expansion - I built the organic growth system for entrepreneurs I wished existed when I needed it most.

My $150K Lesson:

2007: Co-founded Sharkah Chakra, world's first award-winning impact jeans brand. Featured in Vogue, GQ. Winner/ 30 team members.

The insight: As a $Billion Dollar buyer, I saw what made offers succeed at scale. When I built my own brand, I realized most entrepreneurs don't think like buyers - they think like sellers.

The breakthrough: I stopped asking "What expert should I hire?" and started asking "What would make ME approve this budget?"

The answer: ONE Category of One business - fully integrated, perfectly aligned, impossible to ignore.

That shift changed everything

Impact Innovator OS - The Integrated Growth System

I built ONE system that integrates everything a Purpose Led Entrepreneur needs to scale:

Strategy - Your custom path to scale
Offer - Your Category of One Offer
Sales - Your revenue engine
Mindset - Your breakthrough leadership

Everything in-house. Everything you own. Forever.

My System Results:

£0 to £300K in 12 months without agencies
100K+ organic following through owned systems
Multiple 6-figure months, 40-hour weeks
Zero debt, 100% profitable

Founding Member Results Using This System:

Eugenie & Luis: $1M+ additional revenue
Ami: 0- $300K launch
Carol: $200K Sell out launches and scaling to $30MN
Rachel: $500K funding round achieved 
Jo: $2MN -$4MN Sales Increase 
Marie & Jason: Eliminated $144K agency costs
Alexandra: Closed $75K funding deal 
Paula: Scaled and exited in 12 months
Elizabeth: Ideal to Launch and 18 International Awards, plus Amazon Prime Distribution
Simon: High Ticket Offer launched in 90 days and Best Selling Author of his niche


Founding Member Access (Limited):

▸ Foundation: $15K - Build Your Category of One (12 months)
▸ Scale: $30K - Scale Your Growth System (12 months)
▸ Empire: $60K - Full Integration & Implementation (12 months)

(All programs replace $150K+ in agency costs with ONE in-house system you own forever)
(Limited spots)

For purpose-led entrepreneurs ready to scale to $1M, $50M and beyond as a Category Of One:

▸ Next Masterclass: "5 Systems to Build Your Category of One Business"
▸ Newsletter: Weekly buyer intelligence insights
▸ Strategy Session: 45-min Category of One assessment

→ DM 'SYSTEM' for founding member details
→ DM 'MASTERCLASS' for registration link
→ DM 'NEWS' for newsletter

Business Mentor

I Just Got Back From 5 Incredible Weeks In Argentina and Uruguay 

I went from not knowing one single person in the country

To build a Dream 100 network In 30 days

Don't get me wrong, there were moments when I felt super lonely

One of them was arriving on an island at a tiny town 

where hardly anyone spoke English

It was right at that moment, my mum called me (her intuition working big time)

Are you ok? she asked. "Well, maybe I am a bit lonely, but we all get lonely, I said."

The difference is how we choose to handle it

I decided there and then to apply my Dream 100 network building principles

One of the key foundations I teach here at Impact Innovator OS

It's the idea of One to Many

Put yourself in the right environment (I was in Jose Ignacio, Uruguay fabulous place)

Next Step 

Be super focused on who you want to connect with and why

Then allow your own unique power and light to shine

And allow yourself to receive more ...

Here is how this worked in ACTION 

I followed my intuition to a relaxed, beautiful beach bar

And most importantly, did not look myself away when I felt lonely and vulnerable

And wanted to just give up

I kept going, putting myself out there

I sat at the bar - alone and embraced the moment

Got into the vibe, relaxed, and let go

Then heard some fellow English speakers

Stood up, took action, went over, said Hey, I'm Sara great to meet you, I'm here on my own and would love to connect

The rest is history

Amazing people introduced me to amazing people, who invited me to incredible events

And I built not only a new dream 100 network in Uruguay, but also in Buenos Aires.

Connection is all you need, with yourself first and then with those around you

It's time to Shine Your Light

Together, we will transform our world

Love Sara

Founder Impact Innovator OS | The #1 Buyer Intelligence Growth System for Purpose Led Entrepreneurs to Scale to $1M-50M as a Category Of One Leader In Their Niche

Together We Will Transform Our World 

How I overcame My Fear Of Being Out Of Control 

Climbing this glacier I was truly terrified.

I got over it - by applying my 3 steps to let go of control

As a Purpose Led Founder 

I used to try and control everything  

But that just led to burnout and working 247 getting nowhere fast

5 years ago i started hiking seriously ( turning a once in 10 years to once every two weeks)

Business, Mindset and Energy are all intertwined

And success is systemizing Business, Mindset and Energy

Life is Circular

Winning Systems Are Holistic 

And that is EXACTLY How I overcame my fear of being out of control

Step 1 - Think of Your Energy as a system - only so much mental, physical and emotional energy

Step 2 - Thinking of yourself as Social - your not meant to do things alone 

Step 3 - Set Big Audacious Goal - Focus on the present take one step forward each day


Climbing this glacier i was totally scared - now Im laughing but it was not funny at the time

I had set the goal, and guess what had not worried about it at the time

I prepared

I showed up with the right mindset

And I let myself be social and ask for help

I did not try to do this alone

I did this with experts

I let them hold my hand when I walked up

I let them hold my hand when I walked down

I listened to their expertise - I did not try to take selfies whilst walking on ice that is razor sharp

The Result - I followed a system, managed my energy, allowed myself to be supported

Succeeded - Climbed to the peak of the glacier without falling down

Success happens - one relationship, one system and one step at a time.

linkedin.com

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Talks about #impact, #entrepreneurship, #productinnovation, #businessinnovation, and #businessmentorship

MY CFO Sophia, said to me on Saturday (when we met IRL)

Sara, I love your Simple System to Scale 

One roadmap

It works wherever the team is in the world

They can scale without you

We just proved it, after I was away on a remote trekking expedition 

The team was scaling without. me

And I could relax, and let go, feeling fully supported 

Sophia Shared this

These are the 3 elements we as a  team all understand clearly

1. What Our Category of One Positioning IS

( We help Purprose Led Founders Scale to $1-$50MN)

2. What our High Impact offer is

(One In house sustainable growth system that gives our founders category of one results in 30 days)

3. WHO our ICP IS

( Purpose led founders, conscious leaders, and innovators)

And HOW to sell without you

Using One Team Process, everybody understands: One Team Chat, One Team Meeting

The good and bad  problem today is that teams can be remote

At Impact Innovator, our team is from

London
Texas
Miami
Bangalore
Bali 

We are across continents, yet everyone understands that our positioning, offer, and system are simple

Today, I have one word for you

SIMPLIFY

Simplify All you do

To One Roadmap, One System, One Mentor

Simplicity =  Success

If you would like to unlock your One System To Scale

Join Me live next Tuesday in my masterclass, where I will lay out the simple 5 step roadmap to sustainable scale.

This is an intimate cameras on session, where I answer how you can get buyers to buy from you as the ONLY choice 247.

Join us, link below to sign up

https://lnkd.in/dqNVxTFy

Together, we will transform our world

Love Sara

No alternative text description for this image

How I Stopped Being Overlooked And Became A Category Of One 

One of my favourite words is "Cringey" or "to Cringe."

Do you use it in the US?

We use it here in London, to Cringe means to look fine on the outside

But to be feeling totally naked, exposed, and seen on the inside for who you really are, or are not, or think you are.

The problem today is trying to be like everything else - we all do it, even if we think we are being our REAL AUTHENTIC SELF, we are not

We are all trying to look and be like other people

But buyers don't want to buy from lookalikes

They want to buy from trailblazers, pioneers, buccaneers, innovators, stars

They want to buy from founders who have become so incredibly comfortable 

With their own quirks, own uniqueness, no matter how out of the box that is, and their own story

Buyers want to buy from founders who LOVE, and OBSESS over the GREATNESS of their own offer

I have a catch phrase I say to our members, "Your Real Power Is YOU."

That catchphrase comes from me having to face myself in the mirror and follow my own category of one roadmap

Because here is the thing

If you "cringe" at ANYTHING about your positioning, offer, story, or packaging, people feel it

If you're "trying too hard" to be the same, or to be different, or to be an innovator, or to be radical 

The game changer for me was following my own formula to strip away anything I was doing that was not authentic

To create my own language, to polish my offer, my packaging, and how I show up in the world

To be uniquely Sara AKA Stara

To let go of fitting in, and to embrace standing out

Your Real Power is YOU

The quicker you embrace being uniquely you, the faster you scale, the faster you make a real impact

To find out my 5 step roadmap to unlock how you can lead as a Category Of One Join me in my Live Masterclass Next Tuesday

Link is here to sign up: https://lnkd.in/dqNVxTFy

Together we will transform our world

Love Sara

BECOME CAT OF ONE IN 30 DAYS

So excited, I just heard one of our members signed a multi billion dollar partnership... 

(90 days ago, they were treading water)

Here is my Billion Dollar Buyers Guide

That empowered them to achieve this goal (after years of trying)

Growing a business with a purpose with a founder who has a heart

Isn't easy ... Let's be real

In my Live masterclass yesterday, someone shared this

"Sara, with so many competitors today, business is hard, but your systems make it easy to stand out and scale."

Being overlooked is a real problem today for founders

And here's the thing, it's no one's fault

Buyers will love you, they just got to understand these 7 things

Sara's Billion Dollar Buyers Guide

1. Your Unique Business Hook

2. How your Offer changed your world first

3. How your Offer changes others' worlds second.

4. Why you are a must have now and forever

5. How to sell you in one sentence 

6. Who your followers are

7. Why are you the number one in what you do

This list is the game changer for 2026, to stand out, get seen, get sell in, and get sell out

Give buyers instant clarity on your unique power and purpose

Let your brilliance shine

If you'd like to know more billion dollar buyer secrets, sign up for my newsletter here:

https://lnkd.in/dsVQABvv

Together we will transform our world

Love Sara

7 BILLION DOLLAR BUYER SECRETS

Yesterday I was talking About The Importance Of Trusting Yourself

You can have the best innovation, the best business, the best purpose

But if you don't trust yourself to cross the river

You never will 

You will stop just at the edge of certainty

How do I know that?

Because that used to be me

I would put in motion a great innovation or a great system

But I would not give it time for the innovation or the great system

To cross the river to success

I would get scared, I would freak out with the uncertainty of it all 

Here is what I learnt 

What I do 

And a key system I teach our members

You want to go SLOW in the foundation you are building

Take your time building your High Impact Offer Foundation

Breathe,

Give yourself the grace to BELIEVE IN Yourself

And Honour Your Innovation that is uniquely yours, without abandoning this or copying others

From fear

And

You want to

Go FAST in Implementing without waiting to be perfect

Because you ONLY become perfect through repetition of your actions and your process

You only become perfect by doing

You don't become perfect by waiting on the sidelines

My message for today: Just Do IT

Whatever you dream of for yourself this year

Commit and Trust Yourself To Make It a Reality

Life IS Short, Make Each Day Count

Together we will transform our world

PS. If you would like more insights on how to lead an impactful life, sign up for my newsletter here:

https://lnkd.in/dsVQABvv

Founder Impact Innovator OS | The #1 Integrated Growth System for Purpose Led Entrepreneurs to Scale to $1M, $50M and Beyond as a Category Of One Business

Cross The River With Me

Hey, Sara Simmonds here. Welcome to the Impact Innovator Community.

Here is a story about Carol, one ofthe  members

Carol is an awesome ex-Harvard, Cartier Award winner, and brilliant innovator. 

Despite her credentials and working harder than anyone I know, her sales were inconsistent. 

Some months are great, others scaling felt impossible.

Sound familiar?

Using my $Billion Dollar Buyer System

In 30 days, we helped Carol close $200K in a sell-out launch. 

No massive following. 

No chasing attention.

No "Send me an email."

 Just a complete change in how we helped Carol package and optimise her offer.

How? 

I spent years as a billion-dollar buyer controlling $100M+ budgets. 

My success secret?

I chose less than 1% of what I saw. The other 99%? Filtered out. Invisible.

The formula the1% have? 

These Five things:

One: They were Category-of-One. Competition became irrelevant.

Two: One clear offer. Not five confusing ones.

Three: A movement, not just customers.

Four: Mindset mastery. Success is 90% psychology.

Five: They owned their system. No agency dependency.

Here's the truth: knowing these secrets is step one. 

Understanding HOW to implement them is step two.

That's what I break down in my free live masterclass. 

I keep it intimate, just 25 founders, so I can address your specific challenges.

If you're tired of being overlooked while others get all the attention, click below and reserve your spot.

https://lnkd.in/dqNVxTFy

See you there.

Last Night I Had Dinner With One Of My Mentors PETER SAGE And Our Awesome Friends

Peter helped me get out of my comfort zone and made me see WHY mentorship is the game changer

For every entrepreneur 

I met Peter 10 years ago

He helped me shift my mindset from being "Comfortable" playing small 

To be "Uncomfortable" with the status quo 

Here are the 5 shifts being uncomfortable changed in my life

1. I started to focus 10X more on the present - what changes I could make each moment

2. I let go of GOOP - One of Peter's favourite phrases, listening to "The Good Opinion Of Other People

3. I stopped listening to "the noise" of the media

4. I started listening to my own heart - and hearing the impact it wanted to make

5. I worked my a**s of to "DO the work" and realise my true path 

Being a top 1% mentor myself ( because I experienced the transformation in my life first)

Having a top 1% mentor changed my trajectory to live a life of meaning, impact and legacy

Because I stopped being afraid and started to show up in my unique brilliance

Imagine what having a top 1% mentor can do for yours?

Together we will transform our world

Love and Gratitude Sara

There IS A SECRET Formula To Sell Out

Today I'm sharing this formula with you LIVE

But this is not for everyone

It is ONLY for you if you're a purpose led founder

With a mission to make an IMPACT

And you are tired of waiting for a breakthrough

You are ready for a proven system to 

Get noticed by buyers

As the ONE 

Get instant buy in and instant sell out

We have had over 150 sign ups, and my team told me

We have just 3 spots left to join us LIVE today

The link is below to sign up:

https://lnkd.in/dqNVxTFy

Drop a READY below, and I will look forward to answering your questions live

How to transform your purpose, to sales, and to legacy

Together we will transform our world

Love Sara

TODAY UNLOCK THE 5 SECRETS TO BUILD YOUR LEGACY

My category of one purpose connects with people faster than AI ever will 

(If you want to scale faster in 2026 ready my 5 secrets below)

I realised in my temple last week with my community

People don't deeply connect with you through words

I mean deep like wanting to build a friendship, relationship, or sale with you

They don't connect with you through numbers

(Although great numbers are impressive)

And

They don't actually connect with you through status

(status sounds good, but it either attracts fake friendships or followers, or rubs people up the wrong way)

The Truth: In HOW people ACTUALLY connect with you

It's through the FEELING you give them when they meet you

That feeling is an inner feeling

They want to be part of your tribe

I always say to our members here at Impact Innovator OS

The fastest way to gain new business

Is to OBSESS over your Ideal Client

That's the first step

The Gold is the second step that builds the REAL connection is 

To become a Category Of One 

I have built and refined the Category Of One formula over the last decade 

The formula applies to you as a person, you as a founder, you as a brand ...

And your brand itself

People connect to people who are a Category Of One

They become drawn to you and your business and your brand

Like a magnet

So if you want to skyrocket your sustainable growth in EVERY area of your life this 2026

Across ALL your relationships, do this:-

Sara's  5 Step Category Of One Formula 

1. Unlock your unique power and embrace the real you

2. Stop burying your unique power, hiding it, or pretending it does not exist

3. Shine your unique light from your heart in all that you do

4. Show Up In Your Unique Power Consistently

5. Stop chasing and allow yourself the space and time to connect to people who truly value what you do

It's time to unleash your unique brand magnetism on the world

If you would like to find out HOW DM light below to join us

Or sign up for my live masterclass next Tuesday, where I will share the 5 secrets to stop chasing and start leading as a Category of One Founder, Brand, and Business.

https://lnkd.in/dqNVxTFy

Together, we will transform our world

Love Sara

5 STEPS TO BECOME A CAT OF ONE

So I'm about to jump on the Closers.IO podcast, and honestly? I'm a bit nervous.

Not because I don't know my zone of genius - how to scale your unique purpose!

But because I'm walking into a room of professional salespeople... and I didn't grow up in sales.

I grew up in buying - and learning $Billion Dollar Buying Intelligence

Which is precisely why Closers.IO invited me on as their expert today

Because here's what I DO know: 

If you want to sell and scale in the world of endless competitors today

You've got to know how to become a category of one.

Here's what most people miss: Category of one isn't ONE thing you do.

It's EVERYTHING you do -

SIMPLE. Systemised and aligned into one roadmap.

That's how I close $15K to $150K deals at a 40% conversion rate.

Not through tactics. Through absolute clarity.

When you own your category, you don't compete. You convert.

The moment you become a category of one, price becomes irrelevant 

If you want the inside track on what that roadmap is, join me in my live masterclass next Tuesday. 

Link below to sign up 👇

https://lnkd.in/dqNVxTFy

Together we will transform our world

Love Sara

Why I Never Talk About Business On Saturdays

One Reason:

We need space each day and each week to zoom out

Think about it

How much of your time do you spend zoomed in?

Hyper focused on the nitty gritty of your day?

Hyper focused on getting that result?

Here is what I learned

Results do not come from

Hyperfocusing on the goal
Obsessing over the goal
Worrying about the goal

Results come from

Hyperfocusing on your process
Obsessing over your system
Joyously expecting the realisation of your goal

Learning to Zoom out resets your mind

Taking time every day and each weekend to zoom out and get lost in nature

It's a great way to do this

Remember this

Balance is the way to win

Together we will transform our world

Love Sara

Most founders believe they need a louder brand, a better-looking website, or a “more unique” offer.

That’s exactly why they stay overlooked -
while less capable competitors get picked.

I’ve spent years inside billion-dollar buyer rooms, watching how real decisions actually get made.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Buyers don’t choose the “best” offer.
They choose the one that aligns with five specific decision criteria most founders never see.

On January 20th at 1:00 PM EST,
I’m hosting a private masterclass where we break down all five.

No surface-level tactics.
No marketing tricks.

Just the real buyer levers that make decision-makers see you as the only obvious choice, and confidently say yes.

Here’s a preview:

Why “trying to be different” often works against you, and what top buyers actually use to decide who wins.

How purpose-led founders sell out $200K launches in 24 hours, without ads or agencies.

The two hidden mechanisms that turn unpredictable growth into sustainable momentum you own.

This is the same framework I used to approve and greenlight over $100M in buying decisions.

Founders have applied it to scale from $1M to $50M+:
→ Without bloated agencies
→ Without stacked systems, they don’t control
→ And without burning out

Seats are limited, and this won’t be made public.

Register now to unlock the private pre-training before we go live.

🔗 Save your seat: https://lnkd.in/dqNVxTFy

If you want to learn how to be the only choice in your niche

Join my Live Today in my $Billion Dollar Buyer Secrets Masterclass

If you are a founder with a burning mission inside you

To make a difference in the world, this is for YOU

Here is why

This year, we are sitting at an amazing crossroads

We are in the middle of the biggest wealth transfer in history

It is the generational wealth transfer to millennials and Gen Z 

$87 Trillion Wealth Transfer

And this generation cares about one thing more than anything

That is buying with purpose

They know that what you buy defines who you are, and your legacy

But here is the thing

Buyers are overwhelmed with choice right now

And they don't want more choice

What they want is The ONLY Choice

So if you are a Founder, Coach, or Consultant who

Is tired of being overlooked or undervalued

And want one simple roadmap to become The Only Choice

Join me today, this is not a recording, this is LIVE with me, Sara Simmonds

These secrets are making founders over $7 Figure increases to their business

So if you want this year to be the year you break through and scale

Join me today, click this link: https://lnkd.in/dqNVxTFy

Together we will transform our world

Love Sara

BECOME THE ONLY CHOICE TODAY

Ten years ago, I made myself a promise.

One day, I would walk the trails of El Chaltén, Patagonia - not as an escape, but as a reminder of why I chose this path.

Last year, I did.

That hike wasn’t just about mountains.
It was about walking the path of innovators who refused to compromise what mattered.

The one who carried me through the hardest years was Yvon Chouinard - founder of Patagonia, the billion-dollar brand that was never meant to be one.

Yvon wasn’t a businessman chasing wealth.
He was a broke mountain climber who wanted better gear.

So he taught himself blacksmithing.
Made tools for his friends.
Sold them from his car for $1.50 each.

He didn’t set out to build a unicorn.
He just refused to betray his values.

When being a purpose-led founder nearly broke me 
when every part of me wanted to quit 

I remembered his words:

“Impossible is the lamest of excuses.”

And I realised something important:

Quitting doesn’t make life easier.
It just postpones the dream.

Because dreams don’t quit.
They wait.
And they come back louder.

What stopped me from walking away was understanding this:

Everything is figurable-outable including sustainable growth.

Just as Yvon built for climbers, I spent the last 10 years building for purpose-led founders.

When there was no roadmap, I created one.
And that work became Impact Innovator OS.

So here’s the question I keep coming back to:

What would change if you realised your purpose isn’t the obstacle, it’s the path?

Most founders think they need a louder brand, a prettier website, or a “more unique” offer.

That’s why they stay invisible...
While weaker competitors get chosen.

I spent years inside billion-dollar buyer rooms watching how real decisions are made.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Buyers don’t choose the “best” offer.

They choose the offer that aligns with 5 specific buyer decision criteria almost no one understands.

On January 20th at 1:00 PM EST,
I’m running a private masterclass.

We’re revealing all 5.

Not surface-level tactics.
Not marketing tricks.

The real buyer levers that make someone see you as the only obvious choice and confidently say yes.

Here’s a taste:

1. Why “being different” actually backfires, and what top buyers use instead to decide who wins the deal.

2. How certain purpose-led founders sell out $200K launches in 24 hours with zero ads or agencies.

3. The 2 hidden mechanisms that turn random growth into sustainable momentum you actually own.

This is the same playbook I used to approve and greenlight over $100M in buying decisions.

Founders have used these frameworks to scale from $1M to $50M+:

→ Without hiring bloated agencies,
→ Without stacking systems they don’t control,
→ And without burning out.

Seats are limited.
This masterclass will not be public.

Register now to unlock the private pre-video series before we go live.

Save your seat: https://lnkd.in/dqNVxTFy

Krystal Lopez, Gabriela Longhi and 31 other attendees

5 Billion-Dollar Buyer Secrets Masterclass | Make Customers Choose YOU!

Have you started the New Year trying to fix your brand, your website, or your offer, thinking that’s why sales feel slow?

That’s exactly why most founders get overlooked while weaker competitors close faster.

After years inside billion-dollar buyer rooms, here’s the real truth:

Buyers don’t choose the best offer.

They choose the one that activates 5 specific psychological switches.

We’re going live TOMORROW

📅 January 6 at 12 PM CST

We’re excited to have you tomorrow for this private masterclass, where I’ll break down exactly what those switches are and how to use them to make buyers say yes, fast.

No fluff.

No theory.

Just real decision-making levers.

153 founders already registered

Only 7 spots left

Start your year with the skills that actually drive revenue.

Book your seat here: https://lnkd.in/dqNVxTFy

How I Sold A Billionaire a 50K Offer in 7 days (using my buyer intelligence framework) 

I was talking to one of my team members the other day, explaining my buyer intelligence framework

That I teach Founders

Sara's 5 steps in Sustainable scale

1. Transform to a Category Of One
2. Focus on what you deliver that is a High Impact Offer
3, Implement a Social Selling Game Plan
4. Build a "Real Power Is You" Mindset
5. Stemise everything

And we got talking about step 3 Implement a Social Selling Game Plan

The first time I used this method, I built a $300K launch from scratch

The second time, I sold a Billionaire a $50K High Impact Offer in 7 days

The secret sauce of HOW I did that - I will reveal in my LIVE Masterclass Next TUESDAY

If you want to lift the veil on digital marketing, that is so simple that anyone can do this

And on what buyers really want to buy today to close 5, 6, and 7 figure deals

Join me LIVE:

https://lnkd.in/dqNVxTFy

Link Below to Sign UP

If you want to transform your business in the next 24 hrs read this 

The problem today is this

No one needs more or wants more; they want less

They want:-

The Founder that is a category of one

The Coach who has a proven system

The Consultant who is a game changer

And they want to know 

How are you category of one

What your proven system delivers

And how you are a game changer

In less than 5 seconds

If you can't deliver, you're losing out to the founders who can

To find out how you can stop blending in and start leading as a category of one

Join me live tomorrow in my free masterclass. 

The link is here to sign up (Only 25 spots)

https://lnkd.in/dqNVxTFy

Trustpilot Reviews

⏳ Two days to go.

Most founders think they need a louder brand, a better-looking website, or a more “unique” offer.

That belief is why they stay invisible -
while objectively weaker competitors keep getting chosen.

After years inside billion-dollar buying rooms, I can tell you the real reason:

Buyers don’t choose the best offer.
They choose the offer that aligns with a small set of buyer decision criteria most founders never see.

This Sunday at 12:00 PM EST, I’m hosting a private masterclass where I break down all five.

No surface-level tactics.
No marketing hacks.

Just the real buyer levers that make someone see you as the obvious choice and confidently say yes.

What we’ll cover:

Why “being different” often backfires and what top buyers actually use to decide who wins

How purpose-led founders quietly sell out $200K launches in 24 hours without ads or agencies

The two hidden mechanisms that turn random growth into momentum you actually own

This is the same framework I used to approve $100M+ buying decisions.

Founders using it have scaled from $1M to $50M+
without bloated agencies, tool overload, or burnout.

⚠️ Limited to 25 business owners. Not public.

👉 Save your seat before doors close: https://lnkd.in/dqNVxTFy

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The Battle

Dmitry Fesenko

Sara Simmonds

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Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Dmitry Fesenko's LinkedIn Performance

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