Ugis Balmaks

Headhunting for founders: 8 & 9-figure eCom brands, SaaS, coaches, agencies, and of course, @DanBilzerian. Before that, exited an 8-figy online course business.

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

How This $80M DTC Brand Hired 2 Top-Tier Creative Strategists

I want to tell you about a search we almost didn’t take.

At first glance, the company looked kind of sus.

The website was dogsh*t.

Trustpilot had 29% one-star reviews. Not great either.

Then I checked their Amazon.

4.6 stars. 13.3K reviews. 5K+ bought in the past month.

(at a pretty high price point - and it’s not even their main channel).

That’s when I knew these guys were for real.

The product was clearly working.

The founders had gone from dropshipping to serious product development. Built something people actually wanted.

Hit $80M in year 2. Profitably.

But their creative strategy was still underdeveloped.

They were doing that volume with only 1-2 new concepts per week.

If you know DTC, that’s insane.

So the pitch to candidates was simple:

This brand is already winning. Come build a proper creative strategy function with us.

We approached 159 candidates.

37.1% replied. 14.5% booked interviews.

The pitch was working.

The first candidate looked like our hire.

He was managing multi-6-figs in daily ad spend.

Had 5+ years at an agency. Could walk us through a winning ad with $2M in spend.

Knew ROAS, CPA, LTV, funnel metrics, research, AI, and creative systems.

10/10 interview.

The founders loved him too.

Then came the test assignment.

Good, but not as good as the other two.

That’s our main lesson from this search.

For creative roles, let the ads speak for themselves.

A great interview cannot save average work.

We ended up hiring two creative strategists.

One we almost missed until the client pushed us to look closer.

One was strong from start to finish.

Both delivered when tested.

So if you’re hiring creative strategy, don’t stop at the interview.

Ask for the portfolio. Pay for the test.

Give them enough context to do real work.

Then look at what they actually create.

That’s where you see who can actually do the work.

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

@EmailCopyJames for sure. getting the brief right up front matters more than people think

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

The dirtiest secret in recruiting: most searches never close.

You bring your hardest role. They take on dozens at once and close the easy ones first.

So the one you needed filled most is the one they're least likely to fill.

Before you sign anyone, ask how many searches they're running right now and what happens to their fee if yours never closes.

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

How to tell an A-player from a pretender:

> They break down their biggest win in detail (8 out of 10 can't)
> Their work speaks for itself, not the deck
> They solve a real problem of yours in real time
> They've solved it before, in a relevant context to yours
> They take initiative, they don't wait around for instructions
> They own mistakes; an ego hire blames others
> They treat the people below them well
> Your role fits their career trajectory

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

@AlexHormozi rocky got a 2 minute montage, the rest of us get 2 years

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

@codyplof they could at least make the symbol in the background the same

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

Full breakdown: https://t.co/z3WfQN3R76

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

A great hire is the ultimate arbitrage.

More than knowing the hottest new channel.
More than knowing AI.
More than any skill you could have.

What would take you a year, someone who's already solved it does in a couple months.

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

@CoachThisath haha that's a good one, who said it? Robert Frost?

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

The role staying empty is not neutral, someone is still doing the work.

Usually the founder.

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

@aymanalabdul the professional CEO knows the best people aren't applying, you need to hunt the right people and present the opportunity, not the other way around!

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

@joshsuggss + courage. Great job!

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

An open key role feels like waiting.

It isn't. It's a decision to keep doing the job yourself.

What that actually costs:

> The work doesn't pause. It moves onto whoever's left. Usually the founder, now stuck being the bottleneck.

> It feels free, because no invoice ever shows up for the deals you didn't close. But it isn't free. Leave a role open at $10k a month and it quietly costs you about $20k

> The team moves slower, decisions pile up on your desk, and opportunities quietly pass.

> The longer it stays open, the more you'll settle. Eventually you hire whoever's in front of you, just to make the pain stop.

An open role was never patience. It's the bottleneck you chose.

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

@danielcberk What I like about youtube is the algorithm. A video can sleep for years, then one day boom, it gets a decent amount of views.

On instagram or linkedin a post that didn't hit isn't getting picked up 4 months later.

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

Don't hire who interviews best. Hire the person who actually solves the bottleneck.

Impressive looking isn't always effective.

What looks impressive:
> logos
> polish
> confidence
> status

What actually works is someone who's done it before in a relevant context, with the proof to walk you through it.

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

@danmartell my comfort zone asked for a lawyer

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

@andrewxroas Most of the time, things get harder and it’s easier to change stuff, especially at the beginning when you’ve had several months with no results. That’s when you need to keep pushing. That’s where the focus should be.

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

This story reminds me of the book called: "Nonviolent Communication: The Basics As I Know and Use Them" that Paul Chek recommended on his podcast, there are 4 questions:

> what happened?
> what are they feeling?
> what do they need?
> what would help right now?

Amazing Ayman! It takes courage and EQ to see that and talk to them! 🤝

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

@floriandarroman keep pushing Florian!

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

@ecom_cork epic journey!

[Ugis Balmaks @Ballin2TheMax]

My story is kind of wild:
> all my kids are born in Mexico
> I met my wife in Lithuania
> she grew up in Dubai
> we moved to Budapest when we started dating
> our family home is in Arizona
> we spend our summers in Latvia
> I visit a new country/state every quarter

This would've been unimaginable to my parents when they were growing up in the USSR.

The day I was born, my mom had to walk herself to the hospital. The country didn't have enough money to plough our street from the snow.

When I took my parents to an NBA game in Phoenix, they were pinching themselves. They never thought it'd be something they'd get to experience.

On most days, I don't even think about my lifestyle twice. I don't do any of it to impress others.

I just set my life up the way I want because I can. But it is pretty cool when I stop to appreciate it.

None of this would be possible if I had a regular corporate job. I work remotely and set my own hours.

I’m blessed to be able to offer other people fully remote roles at great companies 🙏

This is the future, do you agree?