Hey, I’m Sam
I’ve spent the past decade helping startups scale from 0 to 8-figures, leading marketing for products that reached 8M+ users. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this:

Most startups don’t have a marketing problem. They have a customer understanding problem.

I’ve seen it happen over and over:

- A startup hits $2M ARR and suddenly, what used to work: founder-led sales, scrappy paid acquisition- stops scaling.
- They try the usual fixes: more ad spend, new channels, hiring an agency - but nothing moves the needle.
- They burn cash testing random tactics without actually knowing what makes customers buy, stay, and refer.

That’s where I come in.

I don’t believe in blind optimizations or playbook strategies.
 
I believe in getting inside your customers’ heads, so we can build a growth system that’s actually designed to work for your unique audience and business.

What Makes Growth Studio different?
Most agencies move too slow.
They hand you off to junior teams who’ve never actually scaled a business.
They build “strategies” in a vacuum - without ever talking to your customers.

That’s not how we operate.

We work directly with founders to get to the root of why their growth has stalled - and move fast to fix it.

✔️ We start by deeply understanding your customers - what they need, what makes them convert, and why they stick around.
✔️ We take full ownership of your paid acquisition & growth strategy - no outsourcing to a junior team.
✔️ We act as an embedded growth partner - not a consultant handing over a deck.

This isn’t about quick wins. It’s about building a scalable acquisition system that compounds over time - so you can grow without the guesswork.

Learn more: https://joingrowthstudio.com

Samantha Leal

Performance Creative Strategist | I Help DTC Brands spending $20k-$50k per month on Meta create Direct Response Ads

In 2019, I left a secure 7-year 9-5 job and started my journey clueless in dropshipping

I lost my hard-earned savings, so I had to ask my parents to pay my rent

All I had left was my laptop and a big dream, so I began to learn how to run ads on Meta

In 2020, a marketing agency gave me a chance to freelance on a client's ad account. That changed everything.

Now, I manage over $100k+ in ad spend per month for various DTC brands and consistently double their returns

If you're looking to elevate your brand’s ad performance and are spending over $20k-$100k+ on ads, 

Here’s how I can help:

1. Make better ad creatives that hook customers' attention and convert.
2. Simplify your ad setup so you can eliminate the guesswork on your own.
3. Double your return on ad spend in 90 days

Or, if you want more personal support:

DM me 'review' for a full creative ad breakdown and a free audit of your ad account.

Also, follow me on LinkedIn for actionable tips on how to grow your DTC brands.

Ladie Pabillar

Nobody expected a water brand to break the internet.

In March 2024, Liquid Death sent Julia Fox through New York City covered in corpse paint.

The canned water company partnered with e.l.f Cosmetics to create a coffin-shaped makeup set. It sold out in under an hour.

But here's what made it genius.

While every other brand was hoarding their weird ideas for Halloween, Liquid Death showed up in the dead of spring.

Completely alone. 
Nothing to compete with. 
No noise to fight through.

Just one utterly bizarre water brand doing something nobody saw coming.

It didn't make sense on paper. 

A water brand partnering with makeup? 

People were confused.

That was the point.

Liquid Death has always prioritized personality over product. 

It's not what you sell. It's how you sell it.

Because attention isn't about the biggest budget. It's about showing up where nobody else will.

They earned it by doing three things most brands are too afraid to try:

Paired with a brand nobody predicted. 
Launched at the wrong time on purpose.
Let personality lead and product follow.

Their campaigns still get noticed long after that makeup set sold out.

Here's the lesson for every brand running Meta ads right now: 

Your audience won't remember what you sold them. 

They'll remember how you made them feel.

Fitting in is expensive. 

Being unforgettable is a choice.

Growth & Performance Marketing | Writing about Meta ads & AI-powered creatives | Scaled 7+ consumer brands past $100K/mo

In 2009, Burger King created one of the most controversial social media campaigns.

They called it "Whopper Sacrifice."

The offer was brutally simple.

Delete 10 Facebook friends, get a FREE Whopper.

Within 10 days, 82,000 people sacrificed 233,000 friendships for a burger.

Here's what made the campaign brilliant:

Every deleted friend received a notification: "You've been sacrificed for a Whopper."

Facebook requested multiple times to remove this notification feature. 

Crispin Porter + Bogusky refused every request.

They knew the campaign had a built-in expiration date.

When Facebook finally shut it down citing privacy issues, the agency was ready. 

They posted: "Whopper Sacrifice has been Sacrificed."

Burger King had exposed an uncomfortable truth: people valued a $3 burger more than their Facebook friendships.

The shutdown became bigger news than the launch.

I see 3 lessons here:

1. Notifications were the most powerful distribution tool on social platforms
   
2. Facebook friendships weren't real relationships just casual connections inflated by numbers
   
3. Follow platform policy, but think creatively to pivot your approach

What other lessons do you see in this campaign?

taplio

The Battle

Samantha Leal

Ladie Pabillar

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taplio

The Battle

Samantha Leal

Ladie Pabillar

Followers

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);}Ladie Pabillar's LinkedIn Performance

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