This week’s podcast episode is different. I had the chance to sit down with Meta marketing expert Chris Erthel.

He’s helped over 142 ecommerce businesses scale their Meta advertising and has even consulted for mega-brands like Red Bull, Uniqlo, and Visa.

For the past 11 years, Chris has done Meta ads.

Obsessing over every detail, every test, every iteration that differentiates brands that struggle from brands that scale.

What really separates him is his testing discipline.

Most brands run a few tests and hope for the best.

Chris has a system—documented in thousands of rows of data—that turns creative testing into predictable growth.

In this episode, we break down 11 years of Meta advertising experience into one honest conversation.

We cover:

- Why most e-commerce brands are failing at Meta ads, and the one testing habit for you to master, that changes everything

- The exact workshop framework Chris uses when Fortune 500 brands fly him out to fix their advertising

- A counterintuitive landing page strategy that’s worked across dozens of brands (most people get this completely wrong)

- The ad format that accidentally hit nearly 4× ROAS on what was supposed to be just a branding campaign

- How to get the algorithm working for you instead of against you—and why most advertisers waste budget fighting it

This isn’t theory or surface-level, general tactics.

It’s a detailed insight into what it takes to build and operate at an elite ecom level.

If you care about scaling ecommerce brands through Meta, this episode is a must-watch.
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TheoClarkePodcast: Bi-weekly podcast with top eCommerce entrepreneurs: brands, agencies & dropshippers, recorded in the heart of Dubai.
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Make $10,000/Month in 90 Days (or Less) with Google Ads Dropshipping 👇
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Guest's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris_erthel/
Guest's Website: https://chriserthel.com/speeches/
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CHAPTERS:
00:00:00 - The Meta Ads System Behind Scaling 142 Ecom Brands
00:05:30 - How One Local Meetup Created a Global Ecom Advantage
00:10:30 - How Speaking on Big Stages Makes Elite Brands Chase You
00:16:12 - Why the Right Viewer Matters More Than Views
00:20:33 - How Brands Fix Ads When Growth Is Failing
00:25:35 - The Ad Testing Process Top Brands Rely On
00:31:19 - How to Make Ads People Can Feel and Trust
00:34:30 - Why Big Brands Fail When They Stop Testing Ads
00:38:15 - Street Interviews Turned into a Branding Ad That Makes Profit
00:41:10 - How Big Brands Use Ads to Teach Skills Before Selling
00:45:14 - One Tool to Connect 120 AI Services and Automate Workflows
00:49:41 - Using AI to break down what winning ads have in common
00:54:41 - How to find ads that spent millions and still run
00:59:26 - Why TikTok ads train b

In the latest episode of the podcast, I had the chance to sit down with Difaino – who’s now doing $5M per month in ecommerce at just 23 years old.

But his story doesn’t start there.

At 18, Difaino was €300,000 in debt.

He grew up in a shelter home, raised on government support, with no financial safety net and no one coming to save him.

Today, Difaino is known for building and scaling multiple high-performing ecom brands.

What really separates him is how deeply he understands customer behavior – how people think when buying online and how to communicate with customers at the highest levels.

In this episode, we break down 8 years of real dropshipping and brand-building experience into one raw, honest conversation.

We cover:

• How going from a shelter home and €300k in debt at 18 built the hunger you can’t fake

• The mindset shifts and decision-making standards that took him to $5M/month by 23

• Why most ecommerce brands fail because they don’t truly understand their customer

• How Difaino builds new brands by speaking directly to people’s emotions, problems, and desires – not trends or surface-level tactics

• The biggest mistakes beginners make when launching stores, and what actually matters early on

• How to think long-term in ecommerce instead of chasing short-term wins that never last

This isn’t a highlight-reel conversation.

It’s a real look at what it takes to build brands, stay hungry, and operate at a high level when there’s no plan B.

If you care about building real ecommerce businesses, this episode is a must-watch.

TheoClarkePodcast: Bi-weekly podcast with top eCommerce entrepreneurs: brands, agencies & dropshippers, recorded in the heart of Dubai.
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Make $10,000/Month in 90 Days (or Less) with Google Ads Dropshipping 👇
https://www.gadsecomacademy.com/google-ads-dropshipping?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=free-training&utm_content=18-1-26
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FREE Google Ads Dropshipping Skool Group 👇
https://www.skool.com/google-ads-ecom-academy-free-6052/about
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Follow our Socials:
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Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theoclarkepodcast/
Guest's Twitter: https://x.com/difaino
Guest's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/difaino/
Guest's Website: https://difaino.com/
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---
CHAPTERS:
00:00:00 - Started with nothing, still built an ecom mindset
00:04:28 - The one mental switch that changed his whole sales game
00:09:16 - The dropshipping hamster wheel that burns everyone out
00:13:38 - The secret is the transformation, not the product
00:20:04 - Stop playing roulette, start scaling with real rules
00:24:45 - Why being young gives you a huge edge in ecom
00:30:33 - The discomfort habit that prints results
00:36:28 - The faster path to growth that isn’t just more ad spend
00:41:07 - The founder bottleneck that quietly kills brands
00:47:39 - The real money math: LTV, margins, repeat customers
00:52:43 - Private equity moves that beat building one store
00:57:23 - The real win is making dropshipping last for years

#dubai #podcast #entrepreneur

In this week's podcast, I sit down with Robert who has been in the Ecom game since 2017, running ads before most people even knew what dropshipping or ecommerce was, and scaling million-dollar brands internationally long before UGC became the industry’s favourite buzzword.

Today he’s running a 7-figure agency, pioneering a new commission-only model, and helping brands win on Meta using a creative system most marketers don’t even know exists.

In this week’s episode, we break down:

• Why creative diversity is the new unfair advantage, how to test hooks, angles, and personas the right way, and how this simple system helps you find winning ads faster

• How he uses AI to save time by generating new ideas, new angles, and new versions of ads without falling into the “robot-looking content” trap

• The commission-only model that lets clients scale without paying a single dollar upfront

• The most common mistakes he sees inside ad accounts and the simple fixes that instantly improve performance

• How he built a lifestyle across Amsterdam, Dubai, Barcelona, and Miami while staying consistent in business

• What he’s learned about building a successful agency, achieving financial and location freedom, and staying sharp in an industry that changes every month

If you want to learn the strategies brands are using right now to grow fast and stand out in a crowded market, this episode is a must-watch. Robert breaks everything down in a simple, actionable way.
---
TheoClarkePodcast: Bi-weekly podcast with top eCommerce entrepreneurs: brands, agencies & dropshippers, recorded in the heart of Dubai.
---
Make $10,000/Month in 90 Days (or Less) with Google Ads Dropshipping 👇
https://www.gadsecomacademy.com/google-ads-dropshipping?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=free-trainaing&utm_content=21-12-25
---
FREE Live Training With Theo 👇
https://www.gadsecomacademy.com/registration?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=free-trainaing&utm_content=21-12-25
---
FREE Google Ads Dropshipping Skool Group 👇
https://www.skool.com/google-ads-ecom-academy-free-6052/about
---
Get Started With Private Processing👇
https://www.privateprocessing.com/
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Follow our Socials:
Theo's Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheoClarkePPC
Theo's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheoClarkePPC
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Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theoclarkepodcast/
Guest's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertpasstoors/
Guest's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCzQQxnnwvnpRDMns55Roz1g
Guest's Website: https://www.instagram.com/digitalmindsagency.com_/
---
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---
CHAPTERS:

00:00:00 - Building an Ecom Agency for Time and Location Freedom

00:05:16 - Scaling Ecom Brands With UGC and Meta Ads

00:10:03 - The Creative Strategy That Drives Meta Ad Growth

00:16:03 - Smart Growth Strategy for Small Budget Brands

00:21:22 - Common Meta Ads Mistakes Killing Performance

00:26:28 - When Ads Keep Working and When to Scale

00:31:13 - How 50/50 Deals Make Big Money

00:35:19 - The Secret to Scaling Ecom Fast

00:42:05 - How to Build Freedom with Your Business

00:46:25 - Choosing Where to Live: Europe, Miami, and True Freedom

00:50:38 - Defining Success: Balancing Business, Time, and Personal Growth

00:55:41 - Lessons on Happiness: Family, Perspective, and Appreciating Life

#dubai #podcast #entrepreneur