The Adsora founder explains why most marketing agencies are built on broken incentives and how his firm achieved the impossible by only getting paid for results.
In an industry where client churn is the norm, and results are often questionable, Andrev (Andy) Austin has built something remarkable. As founder and CEO of Adsora, a performance marketing agency generating over $150,000 in monthly revenue, Austin has pioneered a compensation model that the advertising industry has long avoided: tying 100% of agency fees to measurable client outcomes. This approach has propelled Adsora to deliver over $20 million in total sales for small and medium-sized US businesses while maintaining retention rates that industry experts consider statistically impossible. With a lean team of just four people, Austin’s proprietary media buying systems process over 30,000 ad creatives annually and generate more than 12,000 qualified leads per month across home services, legal, and fintech sectors.
Austin’s influence extends beyond his agency’s walls. A serial entrepreneur with multiple successful exits in the media space, he has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to identify market inefficiencies and build scalable solutions. His Growth Catalyst Club grew from 36 founding members to 13,000 subscribers before a profitable exit, a feat he replicated across three separate media ventures. Austin’s work is reshaping how performance marketing operates nationwide, challenging an industry built on misaligned incentives and proving that risk-sharing models can drive superior outcomes for both agencies and their clients.
Adsora Founder and CEO Andrev (Andy) Austin on stage at Financial Marketing Summit
We sat down for an in-depth conversation with Andy about his unconventional approach to agency economics, the eighteen failures that preceded his success, and why he believes the traditional retainer model is fundamentally broken. What emerged was a masterclass in aligning incentives, building proprietary systems, and the courage required to only get paid when you deliver results.
You’ve said that most agencies have misaligned incentives. That’s a pretty bold statement. What do you mean by that?
Look, it’s simple. Most agencies win even when their clients lose. That’s just fundamentally broken. The traditional model is a monthly retainer plus a percentage of ad spend. So the more an agency spends, the more money they make. They’re literally incentivized to spend more, not smarter.
And Adsora is different?
Completely. We don’t charge retainers. We only make money when our clients hit their performance goals. If we don’t beat their current cost-per-lead benchmarks while maintaining quality, we don’t get paid. It’s capitalism with skin in the game.
That sounds risky for you. How did you come up with this model?
Honestly? Out of desperation. My first Meta ads agency charged clients a monthly fee, but they kept leaving. I was working with e-commerce, mobile apps, and media companies at first. Then I niched down to media companies because, you know, riches are in the niches. But I still wasn’t getting traction because the model was wrong. Everything changed when we switched to performance pricing.
Walk me through the numbers. What kind of results are you seeing?
In Q1 2025, we crossed 1 million in ARR with just four people on the team. We’re generating close to 12,000 leads every month for clients, mostly home service businesses, legal firms, and fintech companies. For media companies, we’re creating more than 200,000 newsletter subscribers per year. These publications reach about 1million US readers. In total, we’ve helped small and medium-sized businesses generate over $20 million in sales profitably.
Four people? How is that even possible?
We built systems, not a team. Instead of hiring more people, we focused on proprietary processes that compound. We ship over 30,000 ad creatives every year and test them constantly. We scale what works and kill what doesn’t. Fast. It’s all about volume of creative testing, landing page optimization, and being ruthless with capital allocation.
You mentioned going from $50k to $150k per month. How long did that take?
Three months.
Three months?
Three months. When you have the right systems and the right model, growth can be exponential. But here’s the thing: we could probably grow faster if we wanted to. We turn down a lot of potential clients.
Why would you turn down clients if you’re trying to grow?
Because our model requires certainty. We need to accurately predict performance before taking on clients. That means saying no to partnerships where results aren’t guaranteed. We only take clients where we can deliver measurable improvement. I’d rather keep 100% of our clients than chase growth by working with bad-fit customers.
Let’s talk about that retention rate. What exactly are your numbers?
We keep clients at rates that traditional agencies would think are statistically impossible. I’m not exaggerating. Strong results drive retention. Retention creates case studies. Case studies attract better clients. Better clients lead to better results. It’s a flywheel.
What stops other agencies from copying your model?
Most agencies can’t do this because it requires real confidence in your systems. You have to be able to promise results. Most agencies hide behind retainers because they can’t actually guarantee outcomes. If you don’t believe in your own work enough to take the risk, that tells you everything you need to know.
You didn’t always have this figured out, though. What was your journey like?
I had eighteen failed businesses before this. Eighteen. I started Growth Catalyst Club in 2023 with 36 members and grew it to 13,000 subscribers using smart growth strategies. Made over $29,000 in profit and successfully exited. I did that two more times, launching and exiting three media businesses in total. Each one taught me something.
Are you working on anything else right now?
My focus is on Adsora and proving that performance-based pricing is the future of marketing.
Speaking of the future, where do you see the industry heading?
Clients are demanding more accountability. The industry is moving toward alignment. Generic agencies that can’t demonstrate ROI are going to struggle. Agencies that share risk will win. The ones hiding behind retainers will disappear.
What’s next for Adsora?
We want to expand into new verticals while maintaining the same quality. But the goal isn’t to maximize revenue. It’s to maximize impact per client. We optimize for retention, not acquisition. We win when our clients win. That’s how it should be.
Final question. What advice would you give to someone starting an agency today?
Value-based pricing is the only fair way to do performance marketing. If you can’t afford to take the risk, you don’t believe in your own work. Build systems that scale. Be selective about clients. And remember: proprietary processes beat headcount every time.
