Episode Details

Most founders treat paid ads like a targeting game. Tom Lewis says it’s a creative + story + data loop, and if your ads look like everyone else’s, you’re in a race to the bottom.

In this episode, Matt Haycox sits down with Tom Lewis, advertising performance partner and co-founder of Metastat, who worked with The Diary of a CEO as a client and later became business partners with Steven Bartlett. 

Key takeaways:

•  Why creative beats targeting (let the algorithm work) 
•  How storytelling stops you competing on discounts 
•  The ROAS mindset: build systems, not “one winning ad” 
•  Google Ads: why brand terms cap your growth and exploratory terms scale 
•  How DOAC became a client + the partnership path with Steven Bartlett 

Timestamps
0:00 – Intro 
2:03 – Tom’s background 
13:53 – Marketing and paid ads: what actually matters 
23:14 – Maximising ROAS (and why most people get it wrong) 
30:32 – Google Ads: how to scale beyond brand search 
33:52 – The Diary of a CEO as a client
42:40 – Becoming business partners with Steven Bartlett
57:31 – Networking: partnering for reputation and leverage
59:41 – Final thoughts + where to find Tom 

Follow Tom:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomlewis123/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_tomlewis/

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Connect with Matt Haycox, No BS Business Podcast Host & 8-Figure Entrepreneur.

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