Agencies may build websites or ad accounts under their own ownership, effectively handcuffing you to their service. To maintain control and avoid starting from scratch if you part ways, ensure your business is always the legal owner of all assets, granting the agency manager-level access.

When deciding to build or buy, the key factor is strategic importance. Never cede control of technology that is core to your unique value proposition to a vendor. Reserve outsourcing for necessary but commoditized functions that don't differentiate you in the market.

Establishing a strong brand involves more than customer research. It's critical that the internal team and key partners are aligned on the brand's vision and messaging. This internal clarity serves as the stable foundation for all external marketing efforts.

Lemlist outsourced the technical execution of paid ads (bidding, platform specifics) to a freelancer. This de-risked hiring for a new channel and allowed the in-house team to focus on high-impact work like positioning, messaging, and linking campaigns to major GTM moments.

Many agencies build websites or ad accounts under their own ownership, effectively holding clients hostage. Business owners must ensure all assets (domains, ad accounts, websites) are in their name from day one, only granting the agency manager access that can be revoked.

Marketing is an accompaniment to a great operations team, not a replacement. If your company culture, leadership, or service delivery is weak, increasing your marketing spend will only expose and accelerate those foundational flaws. You must fix the core business before scaling marketing efforts.

New businesses, especially in service industries, often focus so much on clients that they neglect their own brand. The key is to treat your own company as your first client, sweating the details of your strategy, positioning, and story before anything else.

GM's marketing leader reversed a trend of outsourcing key functions. He argued that relying too heavily on agencies underdeveloped internal skills, making the company slow and unaccountable. Bringing capabilities in-house, while challenging, was essential for transformation and agility.

Founders must distinguish between core competencies unique to their brand (e.g., product design) and commodity tasks (e.g., warehousing). Commodity functions should be outsourced to experts who benefit from economies of scale, freeing up internal resources to focus on what creates true differentiation.